We Radicalized David Brooks

This week made me hopeful again.

There’s no newsletter on Sunday, but so much is happening that I felt compelled to write this today. It’s available for everyone to read and share.

This week, America’s elites seemed to grasp that they, too, were in danger of getting kidnapped and disappeared to a prison in El Salvador. Here’s what went down:

• Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, a Republican who has beat back MAGA challengers before, admitted that she and her colleagues were “all very afraid” and “It’s quite a statement. But we are in a time and a place where I certainly have not been here before. And I’ll tell ya, I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice, because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

• Harvard University stood up to the Trump Regime, responding to its latest edicts by having its lawyers inform the White House that “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights.” A growing list of colleges and universities has joined Harvard in the fight.

• Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Democrat, traveled to El Salvador to fight for the release of his constituent Kilmar Ábrego García and insisted on meeting with him to ensure that he was still alive.

• The Courts have largely lost patience with the Trump Regime’s antics, with harsh rulings and threats of holding the Regime in contempt.

• Here’s where it starts to get weird: Bill Kristol asked on Bluesky, “Where does the “Abolish ICE” movement go to get its apology?” Bret Stephens acknowledged that the Trump Regime’s true aims are to destroy us and Matt Yglesias is encouraging his followers to attend Tesla Takedown protests.

And then there’s David Brooks. Yes, that David Brooks. Who called for a “civic uprising” in his column this week. Brooks not only sounded more radical than most elected Democrats right now, he sounded more radical than a lot of us who want to stop the Trump Regime by any means necessary are comfortable saying out loud. Here’s a taste:

It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power.

Brooks even ends his column with “We have nothing to lose but our chains.” When I first saw the column online, I was certain it couldn’t be real. I considered the possibility that the NY Times website might have been hacked. That’s how shocking it is to hear the likes of David Brooks calling for solidarity, uprising, even understanding the scale of defiance that would be necessary to stop the Trump Regime once and for all.

I believe in savoring the wins, and getting so many elites and institutions to change course and stand up to fight is a significant win. Yes, it’s in their self-interest to mount a fight here, but I’ve been concerned at how few people with power seemed to grasp this. Or like Murkowski, they were letting their fear of the Trump Regime take the wheel. This week, the dam broke, and I suspect next week, more elites will find their courage, speak truth to power, and join the fight.

The Trump Regime’s continued escalation is terrifying. They’ve made it clear that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to destroy America from within and sell our nation for parts. And that they’re willing to harass, sue, and lock up anyone who tries to get in their way. But every week the defiance grows. More people and institutions join the fight, and defying the regime becomes a little less scary each time someone else stands up and says no more.

But the win doesn’t belong to the elites. It belongs to everyone who has put pressure on them, from calls to Congress and town meetings to protests, rallies, economic boycotts, and other forms of direct action. You created the space for all of this to happen. You’ve let them know that you are a force to be reckoned with. You’ve inspired people who previously thought they could probably ride out another four years of Trump to change course and fight. Keep going.