WE Are the Mandate.

Chaos is not governance. Corruption is not leadership. And we do not have to accept it.

The right hand of this administration has no idea what the left hand is doing. That much has been made clear through the continuing chaos of the past few weeks. The tariff roller coaster our closest trading partners, the American economy, and manufacturers of everything from automobiles to whiskey have been forced to ride is nothing short of reckless. They're on, then they're temporarily off, then they're back on again under "new conditions," then they're (temporarily?) off once more. Meanwhile, markets are exhausted, our trading partners are preparing to retaliate for the long haul, and manufacturers are caught in an impossible situation—forced to raise prices as the cost of doing business has the potential to skyrocket. What exactly is this whiplash achieving, aside from anxiety and uncertainty? Even the administration itself doesn't seem to know.

Tariffs, in their hands, are not a strategic tool but a weapon wielded without thought—sold as a magic wand to eliminate the national debt and "fix" an economy that wasn’t broken to begin with. And this is just one example of how this government is flailing in the dark, a blind force of destruction unmoored from logic, planning, or real leadership.

The Chaos Theory of Governance

Take the US Department of Education. The administration wants to eliminate it entirely, citing the very real issue of declining reading and math performance among American students. And yet, within the same breath, their Department of Government Efficiency overlords have gutted funding for programs designed to improve exactly those outcomes. Their solution to the problem is to actually make it worse. As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau succinctly put it this week, "Make it make sense."

And then there’s the aforementioned DOGE—Musk’s chaotic, scorched-earth approach to government "efficiency." His handpicked team of barely post-pubescent tech bros—playing with real people’s lives like a hobby or a video game—have taken a blowtorch to essential federal programs, slashed jobs without rhyme or reason, closed vital offices, and terminated contracts, seemingly at random—and some not even because of their substance, but because DOGErs didn’t like associated LinkedIn posts (isn’t it weird how hilariously made up this seems?). Then, suddenly, they backtrack: some jobs are reinstated, some cuts are softened, some contracts renegotiated. The pattern is clear: they make sweeping, uninformed decisions, watch the fallout, and then adjust based on the level of public outrage. This isn’t governance; it’s a deranged beta test where Americans are the unwilling participants.

Alienating the World, One Crisis at a Time

This chaos isn't just domestic. Trump’s impulsive, knee-jerk reactions and the administration’s fumbling missteps have created uncertainty and instability across the globe. America? We’re reeling. Africa? The administration just slashed vital development programs. Europe? Trump and JD Vance publicly humiliated Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an orchestrated stunt at the White House, and now military aid to Ukraine has been “temporarily” cut off, leaving Europe on the precipice of unchecked Russian aggression. Greenland? The administration has vowed to take it by hook or by crook. Central America? Trump’s policies have already pushed key allies to rethink their cooperation with the U.S. (Panama, anyone?). Even Asia is bracing for the fallout of our withdrawal from critical climate finance coalitions.

And in all of this, our greatest global competitor, China, is watching—and waiting. Beijing doesn’t need to lift a finger to weaken the United States; Trump is doing it to us himself. As he alienates allies, disrupts trade, and isolates the U.S. from global leadership, China is capitalizing on every single misstep, without having to do a single thing.

Photo Credit: The New York Times

The Real Human Cost

Beyond the headlines and political maneuvering, the reality is stark: real lives and livelihoods are at stake. People are suffering. Communities are fracturing. Families are being left behind in the wreckage. This administration was supposedly elected to bring stability, security, and affordability to Americans. Instead, they have delivered chaos, uncertainty, and skyrocketing costs.

Gutting Medicare while bloating the Department of Homeland Security to carry out mass deportations? That’s not security. Collapsing markets, forcing manufacturers to raise prices, and pushing the country toward a recession? That’s not affordability. Abandoning public education, leaving Americans unprepared for the future, and decimating critical government programs? That’s not stability.

We Do Not Have to Accept This

This administration operates under the delusion that it has a mandate—that it can do whatever it pleases, unchecked and unchallenged. But as Rep. Al Green, one of the few Democrats showing a spine, reminded us this week: It does not.

And we are proving it every day. Advocacy groups are taking this administration to court, and judges are listening. Resistance is mounting within agencies, as career public servants push back against reckless cuts and Musk’s power grab. Even Trump himself has had to remind his own Cabinet secretaries that they—not Musk—are in charge of their own departments (the mere fact that this needed to be said is horrifying, by the way). And most tellingly, cracks are forming in Trump’s armor. His poll numbers are slipping. Global leaders are forging their own paths, leaving the U.S. behind.

The artificial luster of Trump’s presidency is fading, and now is not the time to let up.

We Are the Mandate

The power in this country has always belonged to the people. This government answers to us, not the other way around. We are the ones who must hold them accountable, demand better, and refuse to be silenced.

We must:

• Keep calling, writing, and showing up to demand action from our representatives.

• Continue legal challenges and watchdog efforts to expose corruption.

• Support organizations fighting back against reckless policies.

• Take to the streets, to the courts, and to the ballot box.

This is not just about opposition. It’s about setting the terms for the future. It’s about putting forward an agenda of Economic Justice—one that centers jobs, wages, healthcare, housing, and education as the real priorities of a just and functional society.

We do not have to accept chaos as the new normal. We do not have to accept reckless destruction disguised as governance. We do not have to accept that our voices don’t matter.

Now is the time to put more pressure on this administration than ever before. Because we are not helpless. We are not powerless.

We are the mandate.