Politics Are Always Personal
Don’t fool yourself into thinking you are safe from the fist of fascism.
Joshua Kloss
President Donald Trump has taken office and wasted no time undoing the years of progress that the Democrats failed to codify into law under former President Biden’s leadership. So goes a familiar cycle of liberal inaction followed by conservatives bulldozing once they gain opportunity to do so: liberals could have codified Roe V. Wade’s legal implications into law years ago—it’s worth wondering why they never did. Years of progressive policies have been swept swiftly from underneath our feet on Trump’s first day in office alone. That’s right: after being sworn in with his hand far from the Bible on January 20, President Trump took to repealing many of Biden’s executive orders in an executive order that Trump signed with the title “Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive Orders And Actions.” It’s a long list.
Trump also signed numerous of his own executive orders that, perhaps one day, a left-leaning president will repeal as swiftly as Trump did Biden’s. Though, at the moment, some of Trump’s executive orders have uncertain futures. Trump’s attempt to repeal birthright citizenship—a 156-year-old hallmark of this country since the ratification of the fourteenth amendment—was challenged and temporarily blocked by District Court Judge John Coughenour. He called the move “blatantly unconstitutional.” Needless to say, the executive order is a hungry one.
But then again, Trump is a hungry man. In fact, attempting to end birthright citizenship was not the only order from his first week that is being challenged legally. President Trump also created an entirely new department—perhaps, to compensate for all the orders he took away from us?—deemed the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). The department is headed by the world’s wealthiest man, Elon Musk. It might be worth asking why Trump ran on promises to help out the middle class, but is giving so much governmental authority to billionaires who don’t work nearly as much as the average American. There are so far three lawsuits against DOGE, some of which argue that DOGE goes against the Federal Advisory Committee Act. President Trump also would like to make it easier to fire federal employees, though the order he signed to achieve such facilitation has been taken to court by the National Treasury Employees Union.
Perhaps, we might call Trump ravenous, even? Either way, there remains uncertainty on who or how all these orders will be enforced. States are up to their own discretion in enforcing federal laws and orders; for example, in Minnesota specifically, Attorney General Keith Ellison said his office won’t enforce federal immigration laws. This somewhat clashes with the recent news from the Minnesota Daily that reports the U will comply with orders and subpoenas ordered from federal courts for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and thanks to President Trump’s policy changes, ICE officers are able to carry out arrests at places previously prohibited, granted they have a warrant. This includes schools, churches, and hospitals. Though, because some Minnesota law enforcement agencies and the Minneapolis Police Department specifically will refuse officers from enforcing immigration law, Minnesota will likely become a sanctuary state for migrants, bolstering our already-existing reputation of being a trans refuge state as well as protecting bodily autonomy for pregnant women and people.
So, even despite Trump’s endless appetite for rights of others that his ancestors have harbored fearlessly for generations, Minnesota remains one of the better places to live for those not fitting Trump’s target demographic. But that doesn’t make us immune from federal law, of course, and some Minnesotans and even gophers here are feeling the effects of Trump legislation in their personal lives. No matter how you feel about politics—perhaps, you don’t necessarily “do” politics, or prefer to stay apolitical—I’m here to assure you that politics is incredibly personal. Maybe you haven’t felt the effects yet, but at least one of your peers has. In my curious pursuit of seeing how my fellow gophers are doing—especially those who have been living in a state of fear since Election Day, whether that be due to the color of their skin, their immigration status, their sexuality/sex/gender or whatever else—I decided to survey gophers who have felt the effects of a second Trump administration already in their own personal lives.
Looking at direct quotes submitted in responses to a survey distributed by The Wake, there becomes clear a stark difference in responses given by Trump supporters versus those who actually shoulder the effects of oppressive Trump politics. Consider one such response, submitted anonymously by someone who is feeling lots of fear in wake of Trump’s inauguration:
“I have lived in fear this week that my student loans, my friends’ loans, a family member’s federal aid, my father’s 401k, are going to be affected by a reckless decision made a week into office. Luckily it has been rescinded, however, a close friend of mine had to be institutionalized due to the stress of the uncertainty surrounding their student loans and government assistance. My little brother who is adopted from a foreign country had to update his passport so that he can’t be accused of being an illegal immigrant and being deported by ICE (because his birth certificate states he wasn’t born here). I’m sick watching children who look just like him, who are from the same country, get deported because birthright citizenship has been revoked. I live in fear that I may not be able to marry a woman I love someday. I live in fear that my body may become a vessel in which an unborn fetus has more of a right to be alive than I do regardless of if I am raped or not. Not to mention the overwhelming sense of dread I feel when checking news headlines or living day to day life.”
Another anonymous response offered this quote. It was submitted just after the previous response was received:
“I like that he’s getting into action quickly! Likewise with my friends and family.”
Another response, short yet not very sweet:
“He’s the greatest president in history and is already making such great changes to the shitshow we called Biden’s presidential term. Everyone can stop crying about the election.”
Note how this response fails to cite any specific action from Trump that would deem him history’s “greatest president.” Truthfully, this response left me hungry for more: I’m unsure what are these “great changes,” that this respondee is referring to.
One response, seemingly citing concerns over the repealing of birthright citizenship, remarks that they have been personally affected because, if the order lands, then:
“My birth here wouldn’t be valid.”
While some responses appear elated, others express genuine concern for themselves or people close to them. Politics is incredibly personal, and empathy or sympathy for people hurt by Trump’s laws is incredibly lacking from Trump’s supporters, reminiscent of how things were during President Trump’s first term.
Emmett Comstock, a third-year student at the U, said that having his own identity questioned and challenged has taken a toll on his mental wellbeing: “Living as a transgender man through the Trump administration has been a constant weight on my mental health as I feel I have to defend my own identity from a world that questions and fears it. Being part of one of the marginalized groups that are the scapegoat and punching bag for the conservative party to use as a distraction from other policies has led me to struggle in my classes and social life since I am always worried if I will have the same rights and protections tomorrow when I wake up as I do today. I also have sisters and friends who have to worry if they will be able to choose when, how, and if they want to start a family and control their bodies. Updating my passport or renewing my ID has become very difficult because of the fact that my gender has been legally changed. For some of my transgender friends, their request to change their passport to match their legal gender has been denied because of Trump's policies.”
It is important to note, no matter your political affiliation or who you voted for, patterns in history when they occur. Adolf Hitler purposefully had Nazis burn books from the Herschfeld Institute for Sexual Science on the streets of Berlin, Germany in 1933. Photographs archived on the web today, for anyone to see, showcase Nazis grinning and throwing up the Roman salute as the research goes up in flames, as if it were a scene painted for Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.” President Trump’s recent executive orders have caused official government websites, such as the Centers for Disease Control, to bar terms such as “trans.” This is not unlike Hitler’s decision to burn public research: acting like a group does not exist facilitates further atrocities to be committed against them.
Nothing happens all at once, and Trump’s barrage of orders is meant to shock us so we don’t know what to keep track of anymore. Pick a few issues close to your heart, and stay up-to-date on policy changes surrounding that issue.
And no matter what, fight like hell for yourself and your neighbors. Even if you think you’re safe, politics will never exclude you. Don’t fool yourself into thinking your actions are meaningless, or that your silence won’t be studied by your grandchildren.