Dear MoveOn member,
This is former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. If you're outraged, frustrated, or even despondent, you're not alone.
It's infuriating and heartbreaking to accept that, just a few weeks from now, Donald Trump will return to power in Washington—with an agenda more dangerous, cruel, and antidemocratic than anything we've seen before in our lifetimes.
Millions of us feel anger and fear but also determination.
Together, we must raise our voices louder than ever and take action.
We must remind our neighbors, friends, and communities that our Constitution is worth defending, that our shared humanity is worth fighting for, that antipoverty programs must not be cut, and that our democratic ideals will not be toppled.
And we must be clear there is no middle ground between democracy and fascism. That we will not compromise with cruelty, tolerate intolerance, or accept quietly the loss of more hard-won civil rights.
MoveOn members have a critical role to play in ensuring that our movement has the resources it needs to fight Trump's cynical agenda every single day, to defend the vulnerable and stand for justice, and to do everything possible to stop the collapse of our democracy and the destruction of our essential safety nets.
Start a monthly donation of $5—or whatever you can afford—to support MoveOn's critical work of fighting Trump's agenda every step of the way.
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The team that Trump is assembling is full of fanatics, extremists, billionaires, and conspiracy theorists. They make his first administration look almost moderate.
His team is getting ready to launch the "largest deportation" program in the history of the country, rounding up and deporting immigrants en masse, even if that means breaking up families and using the Insurrection Act to send federal troops into our communities.1,2
The future of abortion rights and self-determination is under greater threat than ever—in both red states and blue states. Efforts to restrict access to medication abortion nationwide are likely, at a minimum.3
And under Trump, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid will be under enormous threat.4,5 Consider what Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) co-chair, Vivek Ramaswamy, have in store. Musk has pledged drastic cuts to the federal budget—at least $2 trillion, or nearly 30% of the entire budget—and there's no way to achieve this without gutting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.6 Recently, he even retweeted Republican Senator Mike Lee's call to dismantle Social Security.7
Meanwhile, Ramaswamy has openly talked about "hundreds of billions of dollars of savings" to be "extracted" from these vital programs.8
By removing the income cap on Social Security taxes, we could ensure full benefits for the next 75 years, without burdening most households. But instead, Musk, Ramaswamy, and Trump's other allies want to destroy Social Security and harm millions of Americans who have paid into the system their entire working lives and rely on it to stay out of poverty.
It's no exaggeration to say that we face the greatest threats to our country in living memory. If we've learned anything over the years since Trump first emerged on the political scene, it's that we can't rely on Republican guardrails to restrain his abuses of power. This time, with far fewer grown-ups around him to tell him no, Trump's worst impulses will have free rein. Meanwhile, too many Democratic leaders are on the sidelines, hesitant to speak out.
Start a monthly donation of $5—or whatever you can afford. Your ongoing support will provide critical resources for the work that we will need for the next four years.
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During the first Trump administration, MoveOn was a beacon of the resistance—and MoveOn is prepared to again do this important work, together with its members.
Unfortunately, fundraising goals have not been met at progressive organizations like MoveOn for a few years now. And MoveOn can't mobilize at the scale that's needed without the resources. Right now and for the next four years, we need MoveOn to be stronger than ever.
Which is why I'm writing to you with an urgent request: Will you join MoveOn and fuel the resistance to Trump's second term by donating today?
Click below to start a $5 monthly donation. Your ongoing support will provide critical resources for the sustained campaign of resistance that we will need for the next four years.
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We're going to have to do it all: expose the lies and propaganda, protest in the streets, put our members of Congress on speed dial, stand with immigrants and vulnerable communities under direct attack, and protect our core institutions from Trump's authoritarian ambitions.
MoveOn will need unprecedented support to take on Trump's propaganda machine, fund hard-hitting campaigns, train new activists, and support the communities that Trump and his allies target, for the next four years.
MoveOn has a proven track record. They helped to stop the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, end family separation, and mobilize millions at a moment's notice. MoveOn and its members—people like you and me—have shown time and again that we can meet challenges head-on.
Now, as we face a great existential threat, we must invest deeply in MoveOn once again.
Click below to start a $5 monthly donation. Your ongoing support will power MoveOn's critical work in the months and years ahead.
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MoveOn's grassroots organizing will help protect social programs, block Trump's extremist nominees, defend vital programs like Social Security, fight efforts to take away access to abortion, and empower local communities to resist deportations. And MoveOn's rapid-response tools will help ensure that when Trump launches a new attack, millions of us join together in defense of our values.
We've faced dark moments before but nothing quite like this. We must resist the normalization of cruelty and the erosion of democracy, and we can't count on those in power to do it for us.
This will be a collective effort that lasts not just a few weeks or months but the entire duration of Trump's tenure. It will require steady, reliable resources to keep building this movement for as long as it takes.
By giving a year-end gift to MoveOn, you will help guarantee the long-term viability of the resistance. If money is tight, we understand. And people are welcome to give just a few dollars. If you can afford more, please donate what you can.
What matters is that we all step up, do our part, and commit to sustained action in these dangerous times.
Start a $5 monthly donation.
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Thanks for all you do.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. "Trump promised the 'largest deportation' in US history. Here's how he might start," OPB, November 15, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/200977?t=12&akid=419611%2E40999114%2E191V6Y
2. "How Trump could bring on a second civil war," Robert Reich's Substack, December 6, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/200978?t=14&akid=419611%2E40999114%2E191V6Y
3. "What Trump's victory could mean for the future of abortion rights," NBC News, November 8, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/200979?t=16&akid=419611%2E40999114%2E191V6Y
4. "Targets of Trump's threats brace for the new administration," NPR, November 14, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/200980?t=18&akid=419611%2E40999114%2E191V6Y
5. "The Trump-Muskrat plot to kill Social Security," Robert Reich's Substack, December 9, 2024
https://act.moveon.org/go/200973?t=20&akid=419611%2E40999114%2E191V6Y
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.
8. Ibid.
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