Do Not Believe Them: There is No Mandate

Just 3.5% of us can turn this around. Here’s how.

Wow, another tough week that has felt like a year.

Here in our household we’ve been working to keep our heads above water. Kym has been filing briefs (thank you, by the way, for all the outpouring of support for her work last week) and I filed and signed onto 34 bills in the General Assembly. When we come up for air, we tend to our kids – who each have their own increasing fears and questions about the new world we are living in. And on top of all that there is the endless barrage of news from Washington – which this week ranged from the terrifying to the frankly absurd.

But I’ve noticed a pattern and it's keeping me sane. Every time Trump issues some new pronouncement that is clearly unconstitutional or illegal, he attaches a statement about how his election was a “mandate”.

At this point, hearing him say “mandate” actually helps my mood. It brings a laugh that accompanies the dismay about whatever else he said. And while I am appalled at the deep harm he is causing, it reminds me that his actions are also absurdist theater.

When Trump tries to reinforce his Authoritarianism by claiming any sort of mandate… Do not believe him. The media is abjectly failing at challenging his claim, so our resistance needs to strengthen our “you’re full of shit” muscle and make it plain.

There seems to be a collective amnesia that the 2024 election was so incredibly close that there is no legitimate claim to any sort of mandate. Trump ran ahead of Harris by only 1.5% of the popular vote, but deeper analysis shows that just 0.15% of total voters were responsible for his electoral college win. The Congressional election was also no landslide - in fact if the fair maps required by the prior (Democratically-controlled) North Carolina Supreme Court had been in place Congress would be close to an exact tie.

The reality is Trump’s power is incredibly fragile. His approval rating is underwater, and falling quickly with older voters. And his bullying shows his weakness. Think about it: if he actually had a mandate from the country, he would have an easy pathway to enact his policies through Congress. But he doesn’t. He just admitted as much when he withdrew Elise Stefanik’s nomination to be U.N. Secretary to ensure he doesn’t lose a single seat in the razor-thin GOP House majority.

If his policies were actually on the right side of the law, he wouldn’t need to bully judges and law firms because he would just prevail in court. The reality is he is losing motion after motion before judges appointed by Republican and Democratic Presidents alike for the simple reason that his actions are flagrant in their illegality.

Even the clown show of Signalgate shows how weak their power is. Consider: 1) the lengths Trump has had to go to in order to have sycophants in position of power; means that 2) unserious people who have serious power will make very dumb mistakes; and then 3) have nothing but lies to defend their failures.

This fundamental weakness means Trump can be easy to beat if we stand strong and stand together.

And while we want a broad and diverse majority to come together, we only need a much smaller number to be engaged in collective action to succeed. History has shown that a nonviolent popular movement that engages just 3.5% of the population is almost always enough to enact its desired change. That means out of 340 million Americans, we need just 12 million to truly engage. Surely we have more than 12 million people who are enraged by Trump’s authoritarianism, the question becomes how do we mobilize them?

You are the answer to that question. For North Carolina we need approximately 400,000 people engaged. Who can you bring along?

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We are in a stage today where the popular movement is brewing. We need a pathway to clear goals, and unification around a disciplined strategy. April 5 is a national day of action where we can test how big the resistance is. By June we need a regular schedule of events in every state capitol in the Country as well as DC. By September we need to have clarified the central elements of our demands. By December we need identifiable (and likely new) leaders who have seized the national debate and put Trump on the defensive.

The Democratic party should become the willing receptacle of this movement. My Democratic colleagues who put their names on the 2026 ballot need to show up with ferocity and clarity that matches the popular movement’s demands.

Meanwhile, we also need the movement to broaden. It’s one thing to reach the 3.5% numerical goal, but another to build a movement that has the breadth to support a rebirth of a more vibrant and inclusive democracy over the next few years. Imagine our strength when establishment political leaders welcome the newly mobilized. When communities of color who have been organized for decades rise in new spaces and with new tactics. When the Labor movement gains muscle for prioritizing workers over oligarchs. And perhaps most importantly of all, when a new youth movement steps up where others fear to tread.

A mass popular movement can also breathe life into the leadership we need from civil society. Kym has been apoplectic about big law firms capitulating to Trump, undermining the essential foundation of our justice systems. But this week we saw other law firms fight back. Columbia University may be capitulating, but I am hopeful other academic leaders will band together. And while the President is now pressuring even FRENCH companies to stop their DEI practices, many corporate leaders remain resolute. Popular momentum can move other civil and corporate leaders to find their strength.

3.5% is possible. There is a path ahead. Do not believe their “mandate” bullshit! Stay engaged. Continue to care. ORGANIZE!!!

What You Can Do this Week

• Join a Hands Off! event on April 5. As I mentioned above, this national day of action is going to be a pivot point for movement building. If you live near me in NC, consider attending the event in Raleigh. And if you’re elsewhere, I bet you can find something near you. Also, feel free to post event links and calendars in the comments for this post on Facebook or Substack.

• Call Thom Tillis, again. Tell him to keep his hands off your social security! This week he had the audacity to say, “You have my commitment, if you present analytics that say the best and highest use of American taxpayer dollars to support those who are on Social Security is somewhere else, then I’m going to support it. Do not pull any punches. Go after it the way you would in the private sector.” That’s our money, Thom!

• Sign up for the Town Hall I’ll be co-hosting in Roxboro on April 14. I’d love to see you there!

• Support laid off federal workers. Governor Stein set up this site to help federal workers and others like Hurricane Helene survivors to have easier access to finding employment with the State of North Carolina.

Finally, thanks to everyone who pitched in last week in response to my request for help in getting these posts onto Substack and other social media. The Substack is live and you can sign up here!

Onwards,
Graig

P.S. If you can contribute a few dollars to support our efforts to expand the reach of these weekly messages, please consider becoming a monthly donor. We’ll use it to build out the Substack and add other media platforms.