My hope for No Kings Day

It's getting worse.

Dear MoveOn member, It's getting worse. Donald Trump's regime threatens to take away broadcast licenses of networks whose TV personalities criticize him. Demands that the attorney general prosecute his enemies. Sues The New York Times for criticizing him. Bombs boats in international waters. Occupies American cities. Accuses the left but not the right of political violence. Targets "liberal" organizations. Kidnaps (and sometimes disappears) people who look Latino. Allows Putin and Netanyahu to do their worst. And so on. If you are feeling upset, worried, or scared, you have every reason. Yet we have learned several lessons about how to deal with this tyrant, and we must practice them. I want to highlight two of them: First, it's hard to stand up to him alone. Every tyrant in history has sought to divide and conquer. It's one of Trump's major ploys. He wants to attack institutions individually so they don't join together. He also seeks to divide America—by politics, ethnicity, race, religion, region, gender identity, and sexual orientation—so that we're fragmented and angry with each other and not paying attention to all he is doing and getting away with at the top. When JD Vance and Stephen Miller announced last week that the administration will use the full force of the federal government to "destroy" the left, MoveOn—the largest progressive grassroots organization in the country—was not cowed.1 MoveOn responded by saying that the organization would both bolster its power to fight back and prepare to "support others who have our backs." That is precisely what's necessary in this moment. The second lesson is that confronting a tyrant requires courage. Large profit-driven corporations like Amazon and CBS have none. Columbia and several other universities, as well as the law firms that surrendered to Trump, have not shown enough. But when we fight back, we can beat back this authoritarian regime—like when Trump abruptly dropped (at least for now) his plans to occupy Chicago after Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson, and organizations across Chicago stood shoulder to shoulder. And when ABC this week reinstated Jimmy Kimmel's show after a firestorm of outrage directed at ABC and its parent company Disney, including from hundreds of thousands of MoveOn members. And courage can be contagious. It is easier to be courageous if others are courageous, which is why solidarity is essential. Every single day, the groundswell of opposition to Trump and his agenda grows. Demonstrations show us we're not alone—that we're part of a broad movement to take back our democracy. Already, there are more than 1,690 events across the country planned for No Kings Day on October 18. Together, Andra, we could make this No Kings Day the largest day of peaceful protest in modern U.S. history. MoveOn is helping to lead the groups organizing No Kings Day. Perhaps their most critical role is to prepare each of the 1,690 and growing volunteers who host an event—not only with calls, guides, security, and materials but also by working one-on-one with each host. It's a lot to pull off a mobilization of this scale—and, at the same time, moving quickly to prepare for the Trump administration's aggressive attack on the left. That's why I want to ask you to join us in donating $5 a month to MoveOn. Their work takes real resources, and you and I and our country need them to be successful in this moment—both helping to make No Kings Day an inflection point in the movement to stop Trump's tyranny and to enable MoveOn to prepare to confront Trump's aggressive and escalating attacks on the left. Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.) No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation. My friends, these are among the hardest times most of us have ever experienced. I understand the stress you feel. I share it. But please do not despair. Do not feel helpless. Channel your outrage, anger, and sadness into action. Thanks for all you do. –Robert Reich P.S. RSVP here to join a No Kings protest on October 18! Source: 1. "White House Plans Broad Crackdown on Liberal Groups," The New York Times, September 15, 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/us/politics/jd-vance-charlie-kirk-show.html Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump's authoritarian takeover intensifies every day. But we must remember that authoritarian governments worldwide have not withstood a challenge by 3.5% or more of its people. MoveOn can reach, train, organize, and support at a scale unparalleled in the progressive movement—which we need now more than ever. Will you make a monthly donation today to power this urgent and critical organizing? If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Donate: $5 monthly Donate: $15 monthly Donate: $50 monthly Donate another amount monthly Or make a one-time gift Contributions to MoveOn Civic Action are not tax-deductible for income tax purposes. MoveOn.org Civic Action - PO Box 96141, Washington, D.C. 20090-6141. ActBlue Civics Inc. is the merchant of record for all transactions made to MoveOn Civic Action using the ActBlue platform. ActBlue Civics Inc. receives and processes these donations before disbursing them to MoveOn Civic Action within 30 days of receipt. This email was sent to Andra Patterson on September 24, 2025. To change your email address or update your contact info, click here. MoveOn's privacy policy was recently updated. To read our new privacy policy, click here. To remove yourself from this list, unsubscribe. Sent via ActionNetwork.org. 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