Trump and his allies are already seeking to intimidate the four most likely centers of resistance

At a Monday press conference, Trump referred to recent visits he’d had at Mar-a-Lago from Tim Cook, CEO of Apple; Sergey Brin, a co-founder of Google; and other tech CEOs. “In the first term, everyone was fighting me,” Trump said. “In this term, everyone wants to be my friend.”

Since Trump won reelection, some of the most influential people in America seem to have lost any will to stand up to him as he goes about transforming America into the sort of authoritarian oligarchy he admires.

America’s CEOs are standing in line to kiss his tush. So are the titans of Wall Street. Even some influential Trump critics from the first term, like Joe Scarborough (whose “Morning Joe” program I was on yesterday) have made pilgrimages to Mar-a-Lago to make amends.

So, where will the opposition to Trump come from? From what sorts of institutions can we expect to hear forceful criticism and defiance? Four possibilities come to mind, although Trump is gunning for each of them.

1. Universities?

University faculties are dedicated to finding and exposing the truth — which has often meant calling out Trump’s lies — but Trump has warned that he’ll change the criteria for university accrediting in order to force university faculties into line.

In a campaign video, he said, “Our secret weapon will be the college accreditation system … When I return to the White House, I will fire the radical left accreditors that have allowed our colleges to become dominated by Marxist Maniacs.”

Authorized by the federal government, these accreditors are essential to college operations. If a college isn’t accredited, it can’t get federal funds.

Trump’s Project 2025 calls for replacing the current system of independent, nonpartisan accreditors with more politically pliable state accreditors. This would have disastrous effects. Many of the worst educational gag orders at the state level, along with DEI bans and faculty tenure bans, have been voted down or toned down because state legislators realized they were putting their schools’ accreditation status in jeopardy. If Project 2025’s recommendations are adopted, that guardrail disappears.

Trump has also threatened to increase taxes on university endowments. Republicans in Congress believe they were instrumental in getting the presidents of Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, and Harvard to resign over their alleged failures to stop protests against Israel’s bloodbath in Gaza. Some are eager to resume their attacks on major universities.

2. Nonprofits?

For many decades, America’s nonprofits have been at the forefront of efforts to protect the environment, voting rights, and immigrants’ rights.

Trump and his allies are seeking to stop nonprofit activism. The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed a bill that would empower the Treasury Department to eliminate the tax-exempt status of any nonprofit it deems to be supporting terrorism. An identical or similar bill could come across Trump’s desk after being reintroduced in the next Congress.

The legislation does not distinguish between foreign and domestic terrorism — whether real or imagined — thereby making it easier for federal authorities to intimidate nonprofit personnel and donors.

We’ve already seen something like this at the state level. In Texas, state authorities have attempted to shut down charities that assist immigrants. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has launched a probe of nonprofits, including the God Is Good Foundation, that have allegedly conspired to bring noncitizens to the state.

3. The media?

I’ve been a critic of the mainstream media’s tendency to give “both sides” credence even when one side is clearly in the wrong and to “sane wash” some of Trump’s and his enablers’ rants. But journalists are an important bulwark against tyranny — which is why Trump and his allies are seeking to intimidate news outlets that have criticized or questioned Trump.

The flurry of defamation lawsuits — such as Trump launched against ABC previously (and ABC caved to) and against the Des Moines Register this week — are the latest signs that the incoming Trump administration is poised to crack down on unfavorable media coverage. Trump and his allies have also discussed revoking networks’ broadcast licenses and eliminating funding for public radio and television.

4. Organized labor?

In the 1950s and 1960s, labor unions were viewed as a source of countervailing power because of their activism on behalf of the working class and their significant political clout.

In those days, a third of workers in the private sector were union members. But today, only 6 percent of private-sector workers are union members, and it’s far from clear that organized labor will be an active source of resistance to Trump. (If government workers are included, the percentage of American workers who are members of unions is around 10 percent.)

Trump has warned organized labor that he will oppose their efforts to organize. The president of the Teamsters Union even appeared at the National Republican Convention in support of Trump.

Each of the possible centers of resistance to Trump has been targeted by Trump and his allies. But this hardly means no resistance.

Hence, this week’s Office Hours question: Where will the resistance to Trump come from?

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Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/.