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MINNESOTA IS THE BEGINNING OF AN AMERICAN COLOR REVOLUTION  
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Paul Krugman
January 28, 2026
Paul Krugman Substack
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_ Ordinary people are ready to save democracy _

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In October, just after the second No Kings Day demonstrations, I
interviewed
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Erica Chenoweth, author of _Civil Resistance: What Everyone Needs to
Know_
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a survey of nonviolent resistance movements across many nations.
Chenoweth and other scholars have shown that civil resistance to
authoritarian regimes can, under the right conditions, be
extraordinarily effective.

But would it be capable of stopping Donald Trump and his MAGA regime?
I will admit that, in October, I had my doubts. Granted, the No Kings
Day marches were huge, spanning large and small cities, blue and red
areas, young and old. But did this amount to a serious resistance,
with a breadth and depth sufficient to counter Trump’s authoritarian
putsch? In the course of my conversation with Chenoweth I aired my
skepticism:

[The] question is about impact on the regime, whatever you want to
call it. We’re somewhere in between where normal democratic
elections are going to take place and this might move the votes a few
points and color revolution against an autocrat.

A little background: a “color revolution” is a widely used term
for the nonviolent uprisings that overthrew some of the autocratic
regimes that emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The most
famous of these uprisings was the 2004 Orange Revolution
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that brought democracy to Ukraine. Ukrainian democracy has had its ups
and downs since then, but it’s still standing — and still standing
up to Russia’s brutal attempts at conquest.

Early in the second Trump administration it was clear that something
like a color revolution was the only way to reverse the destruction of
American democracy. Empowered by a corrupt Supreme Court that gave him
blanket immunity and unconstitutional powers, fueled by a tidal wave
of billionaire money, and abetted by a sycophantic Republican party,
Trump was able to steamroll any opposition. Elites and elite
institutions, from big corporations to law firms to many universities,
capitulated without a fight.

And despite the massive turnout for the No Kings Day protests, it
wasn’t clear if American patriots were tough enough, determined
enough, to succeed where elites had failed. One day of marches at
which the atmosphere was, if anything, festive, isn’t the same as
the grim business of standing up to an autocratic regime, one willing
to employ violence, on a sustained basis. Do Americans really have
what it takes?

Yes, they do — in Minnesota and, I believe, in the rest of the
country.

We’re fortunate that Trump is too impatient, too addicted to
violence, to pursue the salami tactics
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used in Hungary — slicing the institutions of democracy away
gradually and insidiously until there was nothing left. Trump,
instead, is trying to speedrun the process, shocking and aweing the
nation into submission. The siege of Minneapolis was clearly meant as
a show of force that would intimidate not just undocumented
immigrants, but blue states as a whole and opponents in general. It
was entirely predictable that innocent people would be dragged from
their cars, beaten, pepper-sprayed in the eyes, and killed. Earlier
this month Trump told
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the GREAT PEOPLE OF MINNESOTA that THE DAY OF RECKONING AND
RETRIBUTION IS COMING. This is what that promise looks like in action.

However, MAGA has clearly been shocked by the way the people of
Minnesota responded. Rather than rolling over in submission, ordinary
citizens quickly organized highly effective resistance. Although they
haven’t stopped ICE’s reign of terror, they have thrown a lot of
sand in its gears.

They have also shown remarkable courage and selflessness. A week
before Alex Pretti was executed at the hands of ICE, he suffered a
broken rib
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in another protest. And he died trying to protect an innocent woman
who was being brutalized. Nor was he alone in his courage and
selflessness. As you watch the video
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of his murder, listen to all the whistles blowing, look at all the
people who continued to film after multiple shots were fired.

Trumpists insist that the thousands of ordinary people opposing ICE in
Minneapolis are all, as Trump has said
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“paid professional agitators”. They must know how absurd their
claim is. Yet behind the absurdity lies a genuine sense of bafflement.
MAGA can’t understand the willingness of so many people to endure so
much hardship and run so many risks out of a sense of civic duty and
care for their fellow man. Surely, they think, there must be hidden
paymasters and puppet masters coordinating the anti-ICE resistance.

But there aren’t. Ordinary Americans are braver and more determined
than was dreamt of in their philosophy. As Adam Serwer
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writes,

Every social theory undergirding Trumpism has been broken on the steel
of Minnesotan resolve. The multiracial community in Minneapolis was
supposed to shatter. It did not. It held until Bovino was forced out
of the Twin Cities with his long coat between his legs.

It’s important to understand that there is still much more work to
be done and pain to endure. Running the loathsome Gregory Bovino out
of town won’t end the siege of Minneapolis, let alone the ongoing
attack on American democracy. Tom Homan, the “border czar”
replacing Bovino, brings menace rather than conciliation. Earlier this
month he told Fox News that he was pushing to create a database of
protestors, which would be used for retribution
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We’re going to make them famous. We’re going to put their face on
TV. We’re going to let their employers, in their neighborhoods, in
their schools, know who these people are.

But given what has been happening in Minnesota, such intimidation
would surely backfire. Imagine being a Minneapolis business owner who
fired employees for joining peaceful protests. How well do you think
that would sit with your customers?

In short, the news from Minnesota is horrifying but also hugely
encouraging. Ordinary Americans are showing more strength, more
resolve in defending our fundamental values, than almost anyone
expected.

* Minnesota
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* color revolution
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* save democracy
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