Interview with Jeremy Brecher conducted by Scott Harris
The original can be found on Between the Lines
Listen to the interview HERE
After a polarizing presidential election campaign like few others in U.S. political history, Donald Trump will enter the White House with a majority of Americans disapproving of the erratic real estate billionaire. An ABC News-Washington Post poll published on Jan. 17 found that 54 percent of people surveyed viewed Trump unfavorably, with only 40 percent viewing him positively. That’s the lowest favorability for any incoming president since Jimmy Carter in 1977. The next-lowest rated president in previous polls was George W. Bush in 2001, but with a rating 16 points higher than Trump’s.
Trump’s crude rhetoric during the campaign that cast immigrants, Muslims and other minorities as enemies, has many people across the country frightened about what a Trump administration will mean for them and their families. Within hours of Trump’s victory on Nov. 8, through a win in Electoral College ballots, but a loss in the popular vote, spontaneous demonstrations against Trump and his agenda erupted across the country. Protest signs reading “Not my President,” were seen on streets in small towns and large cities. Larger protests are planned for the Trump inauguration in Washington and across the nation.
Trump’s campaign pledges that would carry out mass deportations, establish a new government registry for religious minorities and repeal ObamaCare that insures 20 million people, has motivated activists from coast-to-coast to organize self-defense assemblies on the local, regional and national level. Between The Lines’ Scott Harris spoke with historian, author and activist Jeremy Brecher, who talks about his recent article titled, “Social Self-Defense: Protecting People and Planet Against Trump and Trumpism,” that examines the importance of mobilizing a critical mass of citizens in the face of the coming right wing political assault on multiple fronts.