The way to cope with Trump's chaos
Trump is incapable of allowing tensions and stresses to ease without creating new ones.
Case in point: After meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping this past week, he announces that China and the United States — the largest and second-largest economies in the world — will de-escalate the trade war.
Sounds good, I suppose (until you realize that the two nations are now back to where they were before Trump created the trade war in the first place).
Not content to calm any waters, Trump also announces that the United States will immediately restart nuclear weapons testing, after not doing so for more than 30 years. Why? He doesn’t explain except to say “other nations” are doing so. (None of the world’s three major military powers has conducted a nuclear weapons test since 1996, but they will if the U.S. resumes.)
The mad would-be king cannot abide even a moment of calm. He thrives on crises, emergencies, chaos, disarray — all of which give him more power, if we let them.
He refuses to fund SNAP (food stamps) during this government shutdown, although Congress set aside funds to do just that. He won’t extend Obamacare subsidies. His tariffs are killing farmers and small businesses. To say nothing of his violent ICE raids, his criminal prosecutions of political foes, his “war” on Venezuela.
In every sphere of our lives, he is ramping up the stress.
How should we cope with this Trump chaos?
Not by ignoring the news. This only plays into Trump’s playbook: He figures he can cause even more mayhem if we’re not paying attention.
Not by pretending that none of this matters. It does matter. Denial only weakens our resolve.
Certainly not by falling into despair or hopelessness. That’s what Trump and his ilk want more than anything. Hopelessness is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Then he wins it all.
We cope by becoming stronger.
We demonstrate, as we did October 18 in record numbers — and as we’ll do again in even larger numbers.
We call our members of Congress. Appear at their town halls. Protect vulnerable people in our community. Organize for the midterms.
We also pace ourselves. Stay abreast of the news but don’t try to read everything that’s coming at us. Take a break from time to time.
We keep ourselves and others apprised of positive things that are happening: the likelihood that California’s Proposition 50 will pass on Tuesday, that Zohran Mamdani will become mayor of New York, that Virginia and New Jersey will elect Democrats.
We’re grateful for the courage and resolve of our nation’s judges (including some who were appointed by Trump) in stopping his vicious and illegal rampages.
We note the downward lurch in Trump’s poll numbers, largely as a result of his insane economic policies. Even Trump voters are turning on him.
We keep the faith in America’s ideals. We stay as close as we can to our loved ones and dearest friends. And we celebrate small and noble acts of decency, wherever they occur.
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/.
