President Donald Trump hasn’t been in office a month, yet his administration is pushing for some of the most extreme and controversial actions in modern American history. This now includes Trump’s bizarre proposition that the U.S. “take over” the Gaza strip, turning it into “the Riviera of the Middle East.”
He already has left the nation reeling from his failed attempt to halt federal aid programs, his reckless drive to eliminate all federal DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs, and his order to deny the right to citizenship to the children of migrants either in the US illegally or on temporary visas.
So, what can Democrats, locally and nationally, do to combat Trumpism?
To address that question, St. Louis County Democrats kicked off the “Day of Community Action” on February 1, 2025, the first day of Black History Month.
Joining to respond to the impacts of the newly elected Republican administration on our local communities were Congressman Wesley Bell, County Executive Sam Page and other speakers.
Jessica LaBozzette, chair of the St. Louis County Democrat Central Committee, said the day of action was all about “reinforcing connections.”
“We’re going to do some canvassing, knock on doors, and ask people things like ‘Do you know our townships are active? Do you know we meet on the third Thursday of the month?’ It’s building community and making sure we’re taking it off the silly social media (sites) and meeting face-to-face,” LaBozzette said.
Bell added: “We must be deliberate; we’ve got to be coordinated. That means I need to hear from y’all. If there’s an issue in your community, call me. If you need me to be there, I’ll be there. Because I need to know what’s going on from your vantage point so I can take that back to DC and advocate for the resources we need at home.”
Page expressed gratitude that Bell “is representing us, fighting for St. Louis County and city in Congress, but he added a sense of urgency in pushing “Democratic values.”
“We can’t wait to see what Trump does next. We gotta get out there and tell our story. We saw what he will do if he’s unopposed. We saw what he will do if we’re not out there talking about Democratic values and what we’re for and what we want to do with our elected Democratic officials and our folks in office.”
Since his election to Congress, Bell said he’s “encouraged” by the Democratic Caucus in DC and its leader, Hakeem Jeffries.
“We’ve been very deliberate and coordinated in responding to the new administration,” said Bell, adding that Democrats “will be responsive, coordinated and “focus[ed] on our message not just in reaction to Trump’s rhetoric but on what our values are, what our priorities are,” said Bell.
“Only the majority speaker of the House has standing to sue presidential administrations, not the minority caucus.”
Bell explained why it is necessary for the Democratic Caucus to coordinate with other organizations that have standing to file suits, such as those immediately affected after Trump froze all government spending and grants in a crazed effort to eliminate funding of “woke” programs.
“That’s what we did, and [the Trump administration] walked it back,” Bell stressed.
“But I want y’all to be clear. We may have won the first round, but this will be a 15-round fight. What they did the other day on a whim, they’ll continue to do tomorrow and they’re going to continue doing it.
“We’ve [heard] this broken record over and over, so we have to stand together, push together because we go further when we work together.”
Both Page and Bell lamented the chaos that has already ensued under Trump, such as his executive order that required all federal agencies to “temporarily pause all activities related to…disbursement of all Federal financial assistance, and other relevant agency activities.”
Legal challenges swiftly caused the administration to rescind its order. But damage, according to the congressman and county executive, was already done.
“What it has done is root uncertainty about what organizations can and cannot do,” Bell said.
“There was no guidance that came down with that memo to tell organizations what was and was not included. It was just a sweeping memo that left organizations all over the country wondering if they would have federal funding or not.”
Page said the executive order, “Injected chaos and uncertainty into our routine work.”
“That uncertainty is causing folk who are already struggling to scramble trying to figure out ‘How am I going to live? What am I going to do next?’ It’s an assault on the daily living of people who are already struggling.”
Bell said he and the Democratic Caucus plan to pushback on Trump’s efforts to defund DEI programs.
“I don’t care that some folks are trying to make diversity and our accomplishments some kind of four-letter word. No, we’re going to lean into it. Diversity is our superpower,” said Bell.
“What makes this country so strong is that we have so many folks with so many backgrounds that contribute to this country being the greatest country in the world. Inclusion doesn’t mean just certain groups; it means everybody. We’re going to continue to come together, pull together and move this region and this country forward.”
Page spoke similarly. “In St. Louis County we believe in diversity, equity and inclusion. We love that everything that we do is through the lens of equity. Despite this narrative on the national landscape, in St. Louis County we will celebrate Black History month, we will celebrate Pride Month because we see the value of respecting and recognizing our communities…we’ll be there.”
Trump’s measures and executive orders are already impacting people in St. Louis City and County, the politicians stressed. That’s why, Bell said, there was a need to expand the St. Louis County Democrats’ theme of the day.
“We call it a ‘day of action’ but we’re really focusing on days of action.”
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.