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On this episode of the podcast, we explore the contours of the new Trump administration. In many ways, the incoming government is in a position of strength. Not only did Donald Trump win the election — including the popular vote, the first time a Republican had done so in two decades — but the GOP controls all three branches of the U.S. government. Several of his policies, including on immigration, have growing popular support, while Republicans of all stripes appear broadly united around the need to fight “wokeness.” And even before Trump returned to office, he managed to take credit for two popular wins: reinstating TikTok, and the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal.
However, the incoming government has some key contradictions and divisions, particularly among its three key groups: the so-called conservative mainstreamers, America firsters, and tech tycoons.
For example, in early December, Republicans’ disagreements on immigration were on full view: tech billionaires like Elon Musk support “skilled” immigration and continuing the H-1B visa program, while more populist MAGA sectors call for a crackdown on all immigration. On China, Trump’s vision for sky-high tariffs will clash with U.S. business interests — many of the capitalists supporting Trump, like Musk, have companies whose supply chains are deeply reliant on China. In terms of labor, some Republicans are positioning themselves as being pro-worker, and are even courting labor leaders like Teamsters president Sean O’Brien. This is a stark contradiction with Trump’s deeply anti-worker policies, and the fact that he is surrounded by fellow union busters.
These are just some examples of the challenging divisions that Trump and the Republicans will have to navigate, especially as they determine their political priorities. But despite these contradictions, we must not downplay the threats posed by Trump’s incredibly right-wing program, and by the strength of Trumpism and the Far Right in this moment. We can’t sit around crossing our fingers, waiting for the government to collapse.
Likewise, we can’t sit idly by hoping that Democrats will save us in the next midterms or the 2028 presidential election. As we’ve emphasized repeatedly, the Democrats have paved the way for the rise of the Far Right, and they offer nothing for the working class and oppressed. The road to defeating Trumpism does not run through the Democratic Party.
Instead, what will be decisive in this coming era is class struggle. Whatever his current strengths, Trump does not have an open path to implementing his right-wing agenda, because what happens next depends on us — it depends on the labor movement, on the social movements, on our unity in the face of the attacks from the Far Right.
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