Many fronts in Trump’s power grab

According to the organisers, eleven million people joined the 2,000 “No Kings” protests across the USA on 14 June against Trump, twice the number of previous protests in April.

On 9 July Trump’s “90 days” pause on tariffs expires. There is no sign of the slew of bilateral trade deals which Trump said he would negotiate with the threat of the paused tariffs — only a semi-deal with the UK, and a minimal temporary truce with China.

Probably Trump will have to find some way to kick the can further down the road. The economically-disruptive effects, however, will remain, even from those tariffs still in place. A world where scales of production in many industries mean capitalists want world markets, not just local ones, requires settled and predictable free-flow arrangements, not unstable and patchy deals.

Trump will seek to assert his power on other fronts.

His latest on Israel-Iran, as we go to press, is: “I have not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form. This is just more highly fabricated, fake news! If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table — Would have saved a lot of lives!!!”

Whether he is just sitting it out until Netanyahu has “softened up” Iran more for the US to assert itself in talks, we don’t know.

After sending the National Guard under federal control (8 June) and Marines (11 June) to Los Angeles, Trump will surely roll out deportation raids in more cities, and with similar military muscle-flexing. We don’t know how fast he will do that. Asked what his criterion would be for sending in troops in other cities, Trump replied: “The bar is what I think it is”.

Sand

Trump may face serious sand in his gears from Republican senators considering his budget bill. Senators are elected for six years, and may not be bothered about getting re-elected after that; and just a few budget-balancing types could derail the bill. Elon Musk signals he wants to mend fences with Trump, but some senators may stick with Musk’s criticisms of the bill.

So far Trump has largely been able to swerve adverse court decisions, rather than have them block him in a big way. That could hit trouble when cases get to the Supreme Court, since one of his appointees, Amy Coney Barrett, seems not as pliant as Trump thought.

Trump is pressing on with his power grab, his drive for autocracy. But the tariffs chaos must dent his authority even in right-wing circles, and he could face serious bumps in the road.

And opposition is rising, as shown by the 14 June turnout. A lot depends on whether and how that opposition can get organised.

Networks

The 14 June organisers — mostly left-NGO types — have evidently generated enough local networks to enable them to get the 2,000 protests on 14 June. David Huerta, California state president of the big SEIU union, which has many migrant members, was arrested for joining a protest line at the gate of a staging ground for ICE operations. He is out on bail, and goes to trial on 7 July with charges that could bring up to six years’ jail.

The SEIU is supporting Huerta and campaigning against raids.

Bernie Sanders has announced a new “Fighting Oligarchy” speaking tour.

But the movement is still a way from the level of organisation which could stop workplace raids and dethrone Trump.

The DSA, the USA’s biggest left group, mis-focuses its current agitation on calls for consumer boycotts of the Avelo airline (for its part in deportation flights) and Chevron (for its involvement in Israel’s offshore gasfields).

The United Auto Workers (UAW) still backs Trump over tariffs, and the Teamsters’ Union backs him specifically over film tariffs.

Working-class resistance rooted in ongoing organisation in workplaces and communities is needed, and urgently. Let’s help it brew.