I’m not joking about a third term!
Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that he will continue down his authoritarian path, and neither Congress nor the Supreme Court has shown a willingness—nor do they currently have the ability—to impede his authoritarian rampage.
As political scientist Barbara Geddes has shown in Authoritarian Breakdown, authoritarians like Trump do not voluntarily relinquish power.*
Trump tried to “overstay his visa” on January 6, 2025, and has since said “I’m not joking” about serving a third term “There are methods which you could do it.”
Trump is correct, there may be legal means that will allow him to remain in the White House beyond the end of his second term, albeit most constitutional scholars disagree. If his legal options fail, by then, he will have reconfigured America’s military and the various federal police forces so that he (or his successor) would have the physical power to remain in the White House.
Some will say Trump is “only kidding” and “why can’t the left take a joke?” Throughout his political career, Trump has repeatedly made outlandish statements, which were initially ignored, only to discover later that he was quite serious. His most serious accusation was that he lost the 2020 presidential election because of “voter fraud,” despite the fact that 60 of 61 federal courts and the Supreme Court ruled against him, and even his own employees stated there was no voter fraud. He has said the insurrectionist on January 6th were peaceful protestors or leftist in disguise, and is now actively trying to rewrite history in that mean. Here is a Department of Justice Youtube video of January 6 attack on Congress. If the link does not work, you should assume Trump’s employees have deleted the video, then try this link.
Trump had complained that Biden had politicized the Department of Justice and restricted the free speech of the political right, tools which he now employees in a manner that is standard of deviations beyond the bounds of anything done by any president in the history of the United States. If you think all of the above is delusional, then you should stop reading and move on – but first watch the above insurrectionist videos.
Many of the pro-democracy talks I have heard in the last few months, by Indivisible, 50501, ACLU, Choose Democracy, Move On, historians, and constitutional scholars, have concluded that we should not expect the Congress or the courts to thwart Trump; only a massive display of the “power of the people” can stop Trump. This will require centralized planning (in process) and a well-thought-out, four-phase master plan.
Phase 1
Create an increasingly powerful body politic that repeatedly and peacefully protests, showing Trump and his allies that his policies do not reflect the will of the majority of Americans, and “we are not afraid of you.”
In response to this call to action, I created a large banner that I episodically display around Boston and I built RetireesforDemocracy.org. Unfortunately I never figured out how to use this organization/website effectively.
Phase 2
Once the pro-democracy movement reaches 12 million fully committed protesters, the movement will then attempt to peacefully shut down the functioning of most businesses, governmental institutions, and society at large, as Geddes notes, dictatorships like Trump’s collapse only in the face of “disastrous economic events.”*
These shut-downs may take the form of noncooperation campaigns—targeted boycotts, labor strikes, professional refusals by lawyers, doctors, civil servants, police, and soldiers.
Phase 3
It is hoped that by this time a charismatic, pro-democracy leader, with a clear vision of our future, will rise from the chaos or by election, and peacefully assume the reins of power; but this phase is not yet clearly defined in my mind’s eye.
Phase 4
After the authoritarian is forced out, democracy will remain fragile until we rebuild our democratic institutions, install new democracy guardrails, and create a democracy that works for all Americans, regardless of race, income, education, gender, religion, employment, and all our unique characteristics that make our multicultural country so amazingly effective and desirable.
This will take a lot of effort, perseverance, and years.
What Can You Do?
Lately multiple pro-democracy organizations have asked its advocates to begin building local pro-democracy “pods,” with whom you will participate in various pro-democracy activities that your pod deems appropriate, such as rallies and peaceful civil disobedience. The creation of a pod will increase the number of people attending the rallies and it will be safer to engage in pro-democracy activities as part of a pod. (For additional “What Can You Do?” options, see Retirees For Democracy: What Can I Do?)
While I have been unsuccessful in creating a pro-democracy pod, I ask you to consider doing so. You can learn more about creating your own pro-democracy pod at 50501, Fight Back With Friends!, and Indivisible.
Hayward Zwerling
September 2025
Footnote:
*Authoritarians like Trump “…do everything they can to repress [competing political] factions. [These] regimes tend to collapse in two situations: when the leader dies or becomes quite ill, as that undermines repressive capacity centralized in his hands; or when disastrous economic events prevent the distribution of benefits and profit opportunities to close supporters. Because they usually respond to opposition with repression rather than negotiation, personalist regimes [like Trump’s] are more likely to end in bloody upheaval of one kind or another than either of the other types [single-party, military] of authoritarianism” Barbara Geddes, “Authoritarian Breakdown,” Department of Political Science, UCLA (January 2004).