The world watched as Donald Trump took the oath of office Jan. 20, marking his return to the presidency. The inauguration, held on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, was laden with irony. Dr. King, a steadfast advocate for justice over mere order, once warned against “the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice.” Yet, in their commitment to a peaceful transfer of power, the Democratic Party appeared to embody this critique, prioritizing decorum and democratic norms over substantive resistance to a candidate who had repeatedly undermined those very principles.
Despite relentlessly condemning Trump as a fascist and an existential threat to democracy, Joe Biden all but gift-wrapped the reins of power for his return, even sitting down for tea on inauguration morning — an almost surreal display of civility in the face of authoritarianism. While this adherence to tradition may appear noble on the surface, it also underscores a recurring issue within the Democratic Party: prioritizing procedural order over the pursuit of substantive justice. Biden’s presidency, in many ways, mirrored King’s critique of the white moderate — favoring stability, bipartisanship and institutional continuity over transformational change.
The reimplementation of Schedule F by President Trump exemplifies the stakes of this failure. By reclassifying federal employees as at-will workers, Trump is purging career civil servants and replacing them with political loyalists, undermining governmental integrity. The acting attorney general moved Monday to fire over a dozen Justice Department officials involved in Trump’s criminal investigations, stating they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement the President’s agenda.” These purges, carried out with brazen disregard for the rule of law, exemplify exactly the disregard this new administration has for democratic norms.
Biden’s effort to reestablish democratic norms is commendable in theory, but can you reestablish those norms when you are handing power to someone who has actively and previously broken them? When Biden describes Trump as a fascist, someone who disrespects democracy and endangers its institutions, how can his administration’s unflinching adherence to tradition be interpreted as anything other than enabling? Examples of Trump’s norm-breaking — from inciting the Jan 6. insurrection to weaponizing immigration enforcement and attacking civil servants — are numerous.
To meet such an unprecedented threat with only symbolic gestures of good faith is to misunderstand the nature of the crisis. When democratic norms are handed over to a president who openly disregards them, such rituals ring hollow. The Democrats’ strategy of standing for democracy while refusing to confront systemic injustices — or even adequately defend those same democratic norms — has left the party vulnerable and unprepared.
To reclaim political momentum and effectively counter Trump’s authoritarian playbook, the Democratic Party must abandon its reliance on institutional decorum and adopt a more aggressive, results-driven approach. The era of passive resistance is over — Democrats must wield power with the same urgency that Trump and his allies use to dismantle it. This means not only defending institutions but reshaping them to be more resilient, proactive and accountable to the people they serve. The party must embody Dr. King’s vision of justice as an active force, not just the maintenance of order.
Fortunately, there are signs of resistance within the Democratic Party. Trump’s recent attempt to impose a sweeping federal freeze on grants and loans was met with swift backlash, forcing him to rescind the order. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries quickly mobilized Democrats, organizing an emergency strategy session and outlining a three-pronged approach — legislation, litigation and aggressive messaging — to counter Trump’s executive overreach. While this represents a small victory, it underscores the need for Democrats to remain proactive rather than reactive, using every available tool to push back against authoritarian maneuvers before they take root.
Democrats must reclaim the language of populism — not just as an anti-Trump stance, but as a movement for economic justice that directly confronts corporate exploitation, wealth hoarding and institutional inefficiencies. This requires a shift from technocratic policymaking to an emotionally resonant, movement-driven approach that frames economic reform as a battle against entrenched elites who profit from instability and division.
The GOP has successfully used alternative media ecosystems, social platforms and algorithmic manipulation to spread its narratives. Rather than dismissing these tactics as fringe extremism, Democrats must modernize their own messaging infrastructure, leveraging digital platforms to disrupt the GOP’s dominance in online political discourse and right-wing disinformation. A Democratic Party that is not only defending institutions but actively reconstructing them — politically, economically and technologically — will be far better equipped to meet the ongoing challenge of Trumpism and authoritarian resurgence.
Most importantly, Democrats must recognize that Trump has rewritten the rules of American politics, and they can no longer assume the old playbook will work. No more deference to outdated norms, no more assuming institutions will self-correct and no more half-measures in the face of existential threats to democracy. The Democratic Party stands at a crossroads. It can either double down on proceduralism and watch as democracy erodes, or it can seize this moment to redefine itself as a party willing to fight — unapologetically, strategically and with the full force of its power — to ensure that justice, not just order, prevails.
Contact Tejas Varma at varmat@oxy.edu
