Disarray and Defiance

From Ukraine to Maine, leaders are standing up to authoritarians and the people stand with them.

There’s a point in Hollywood blockbusters where the absolute worst, almost unimaginable has happened, the heroes are scattered and downtrodden, and it really feels like all hope is lost.

In our own version of this script, even the President of the United States has begun falsely blaming the victim of a bloody invasion for starting the war in the first place, aligning himself with a brutal dictator. He does this while securing for himself the fealty of villainous sycophants and Russian mouthpieces at the very heads of our most important agencies and departments—ones that historically are supposed to be non-political and serve our Constitution, not the whims of a would-be king.

The world is upside down, the bad guys have won, and now we’re about to repeat history in the worst of possible ways: with America itself leading the slide into fascist dictatorship.

Good screenwriters know that it’s at this very point where a light flicks on, navel-gazers lift their heads, and somewhere the whispering becomes a chant becomes a roar.

Where Trump has left a gaping hole in our collective security and the future of Ukraine, the nations of Europe are rising up to fill the void. And where the resistance has seemed shellshocked and complacent, a fierce determination grows among the people, answering the call of a few brave leaders. And at last, a true, organized force emerges.

That is the very point we may be at with this Great American blockbuster.

Shame on the enablers, Slava Ukraini!

Three years ago today, Russia invaded Ukraine. Yes, Russia started the war, and we shouldn’t have to reiterate that fact. Yet Trump falsely declared the very opposite, claiming Ukraine caused the war and aligning his worldview with Vladimir Putin.

He may come to eat those words. Since he uttered them, Republicans have fallen over themselves to avoid answering direct questions over who really was the aggressor, Russia or Ukraine. Here’s the new Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, refusing to acknowledge the truth, even from a question by a Fox anchor:

Q: Fair to say, Russia attacked, unprovoked, into Ukraine, three years ago tomorrow?

A: Fair to say, it’s a very complicated situation.

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz also dodged a question over Trump blaming Ukraine and Zelenskyy for the war, answering only that Trump’s goal is to “bring this war to an end.” (Original Twitter video here.)

Congressman Kevin Hern (R-OK) also refused to answer a simple question at a town hall about who started the war in Ukraine. He instead implied instead that Trump merely said so for purposes of negotiations, and that “this is not the tactic I would use to solve the problem.”

And Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who is in a swing district and has previously acknowledged that Russia in fact invaded Ukraine, used his time on the Sunday news talk shows to criticize Zelenskyy for saying that Trump was a victim of Russian disinformation. “I think President Zelenskyy needs to work with the administration ... this kind of back and forth -- saying that the president is falling for Russian disinformation -- does not help his cause, for sure.”

While the GOP squirms and flops, our erstwhile allies are making their positions clear.

Germany held federal elections on Sunday and chose a new chancellor, Friedrich Merz, from the Christian Democrats (former German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party). Merz signaled strong support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, including the sending of Taurus missiles to that embattled nation.

Merz also spoke immediately about the need for complete security independence from the U.S., while slamming Elon Musk for interfering in German elections as much as Russia did. Musk’s support for the Nazi-aligned AfD party failed to sway public opinion polls as that party finished as expected in second place—a disturbing rise, but one checked by the major parties’ collective commitment to exclude them from government.

Over the weekend, public shows of support for Ukraine burst across European capitals and in Washington D.C. Here’s is a smattering of photos and video:

In London: (original Twitter video here)

In Paris: (original Twitter video here.)

In Bern:

In Prague:

In Brussels: (Original Twitter video here.)

And in D.C. (Original Twitter video here):

Meanwhile, leaders of 13 nations gathered in Kyiv, without the U.S., to mark the solemn anniversary and recommit their support, with 24 other national leaders attending online. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau attended in person (original Twitter video here):

Trudeau, who has been one of the world’s most vocal defenders of Zelenskyy, reiterated Canada’s unwavering support for Ukrainian self-determination. “Your fight is our fight,” Trudeau said.

“It’s a fundamental principle for Canada and for the vast majority of our allies: nothing about Ukraine, without Ukraine,” Trudeau had earlier told reporters, following Trump’s false claim that Ukraine started the war.

Bullies get punched

The defiance world leaders are showing Putin and his war is now being matched by leaders in the U.S. who are standing up to Trump and Musk and their political bullying.

At a meeting of state governors, Trump attacked Gov. Janet Mills of Maine and threatened loss of federal funds should the state continue to allow trans girls and women to play sports in the state’s schools. Mills demonstrated that, in our federal system of government, state governors provide an important layer of resistance to Trumpian overreach.

Per reporting by CNN, the exchange unfolded this way:

“Is Maine here, the governor of Maine?” Trump said addressing Republican and Democratic governors in the State Dining Room.

“Yeah, I’m here,” Mills said.

“Are you not going to comply with it?” Trump said.

“I’m complying with state and federal laws,” Mills said.

“Well, we are the federal law,” Trump said. “You better do it because you’re not going to get any federal funding at all if you don’t.”

Trump added: “And by the way, your population, even though it’s somewhat liberal, although I did very well there, your population doesn’t want men playing in women’s sports. So… you better comply, because otherwise you’re not getting any, any federal funding.”

Mills responded: “See you in court.”

“Good, I’ll see you in court, I look forward to that,” Trump said. “That should be a real easy one, and enjoy your life after governor, because I don’t think you’ll be in elected politics.”

The White House retaliated by launching an investigation into Maine schools’ transgender policies. Gov. Mills responded in a statement, and it is worth reading in full:

I have spent my career — as a District Attorney, as Attorney General, and now as Governor — standing up for the rule of law in Maine and America. To me, that is fundamentally what is at stake here: the rule of law in our country.

“No President — Republican or Democrat — can withhold Federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will. It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.

“Maine may be one of the first states to undergo an investigation by his Administration, but we won’t be the last. Today, the President of the United States has targeted one particular group on one particular issue which Maine law has addressed. But you must ask yourself: who and what will he target next, and what will he do? Will it be you? Will it be because of your race or your religion? Will it be because you look different or think differently? Where does it end? In America, the President is neither a King nor a dictator, as much as this one tries to act like it — and it is the rule of law that prevents him from being so.

“I imagine that the outcome of this politically directed investigation is all but predetermined. My Administration will begin work with the Attorney General to defend the interests of Maine people in the court of law. But do not be misled: this is not just about who can compete on the athletic field, this is about whether a President can force compliance with his will, without regard for the rule of law that governs our nation. I believe he cannot.”

In a twist of what must be deliberate irony, the Governors Ball, hosted by Melania Trump, featured the U.S. Marine choir singing “Do You Hear The People Sing” from the musical Les Misèrables…which is about a popular uprising against the monarchy. This point seemed utterly lost on Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino (Original Twitter video here.)

Elon Musk also attempted to throw his weight around but got it served right back at him by Minnesota senator Tina Smith. Musk, apparently responding to a call by Trump to do more, posted a threat to millions of federal employees demanding they justify their work.

Musk then followed up with an actual email from the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) asking for “5 bullet points” of what the employee accomplished last week, copying the employee’s manager. “Please do not send any classified information, links, or attachments,” the email added, giving a deadline of Monday at midnight to respond.

The email quickly hit serious resistance, not only from those online mocking it (and flooding the email address hr@opm.gov with fake accomplishments) but from agencies ordered to comply.

As reported by the Washington Post, managers at the Secret Service instructed agents to respond in a way that was designed to avoid sharing sensitive and classified details of their work:

Other agencies and departments simply instructed their employees not to respond. That included this directive from newly installed FBI Director Kash Patel:

This is not to give the dangerous and feckless Patel any credit for defying Musk, but rather to point out that not everyone in the party is pleased with Musk’s brazen acts that lie way outside his lane. (As Josh Marshall noted, this same email from Musk went to members of the federal judiciary, too, who have also been told to ignore the email.)

Sen. Lisa Murkowski did not ignore what happened, however, firing a warning shot over his bow:

Our public servants work hard to ensure that our national security is protected; that planes land safely; that forest fires do not spread to our homes; that Social Security checks arrive on time; that research for the breakthroughs needed to cure diseases like cancer and ALS continues; and much more.

Our public workforce deserves to be treated with dignity and respect for the unheralded jobs they perform. The absurd weekend email to justify their existence wasn’t it.

But the gold medal goes to Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota, who got into it publicly with Musk on his own platform. She dropped all of her polite midwestern language to do so, calling his move a “dick boss move” except “he isn’t even the boss, he’s just a dick.”

In Musk’s replies, she noted that she’s “on the side of the workers, not the billionaire asshole bosses.”

Musk circled back to come after her, demanding to know of Sen. Smith, “What did you get done last week?”

Smith replied that “I hate to break it to you but you aren’t my boss. I answer to the people of Minnesota.” She added, “since you bring it up, I spent last week fighting to stop tax breaks for billionaires like you.”

While online scrimmaging is fine, given that this is where Musk lives and draws his power, there’s no good substitute for the power of people gathered physically together. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) understands this from his own presidential campaign rallies in 2016. Over the weekend, he barnstormed through red states with stops in Iowa City and Omaha, speaking to crowds of thousands, with over a hundred thousand joining online, about the threat of oligarchy.

We haven’t quite gotten to the part in the movie where the ultimate showdown between the usurpers and the defenders of our nation face off head-to-head. As winter turns to spring, it seems likely that we’ll see more organized resistance, stalwart leadership and direct citizen action as the threat of autocratic rule grows with each day.

For this, we would do well to look to Ukraine. Its people survived a murderous attack by a fascist dictator. Three years on and they are still standing, won’t be cowed, won’t give in despite our own nation’s shameful abandonment of their cause. Their brave example is one that defenders of democracy everywhere should follow, their steadfastness in the face of a barbaric onslaught a true light in the dark, becomes a flame, becomes a fire.