Dear fellow MoveOn member,
Donald Trump says we need to go after drug cartels. So his regime is summarily executing people suspected of being drug dealers, without providing any proof.1
Meanwhile, he disbanded a Department of Justice task force that actually took on the cartels.2 And he pardoned a former Honduran president convicted of drug trafficking.3
Here’s the thing. Trump doesn’t care about drugs—he wants to be able to declare war on anyone he labels an enemy. It’s a power grab.
And, by his logic, who’s next? Trump has already characterized domestic political opponents, including nonprofit organizations, government officials, critics, and protesters, as the “enemy within” the United States.4 And, in September, Trump signed a presidential memo, known as NSPM-7, ordering federal law enforcement to investigate progressive organizations and activists espousing a sweeping range of views, including “anti-Americanism,” “anti-capitalism,” and “hostility toward traditional American views on family, religion, and morality.”5
That’s what I was thinking about when my friends at MoveOn, our country’s largest grassroots progressive organization, told me that their fundraising has been down significantly in November and December. In December alone, MoveOn is $280,000 short.
I get it. Times are incredibly tough. Prices are up. Many people can’t afford to donate. And MoveOn is powered by hundreds of thousands of people all across the country chipping in whatever they can. So it makes sense their donations are down in this moment.
But the threat to high-profile Trump opponents like MoveOn is real, so they absolutely need to be prepared. And the work we need them to boldly lead in 2026 could not be more important.
To stop Trump’s increasingly dangerous power grabs, we need more people in the streets for the next No Kings Day … and the one after that.
At the same time, we need MoveOn to help recruit inspiring and courageous candidates to run for office up and down the ticket—and help them win in 2026. I’ve seen MoveOn’s midterm elections plan, and I’m impressed. It builds on critical lessons from 2024, successes in 2025, and is both data-driven and innovative. And, perhaps most importantly, it’s grounded in meeting people where they’re at and connecting with and engaging them—not just to stop Trump and MAGA but to win power for working people and build a future where everyone can thrive.
Remember, a tyrant can exercise tyranny only insofar as the objects of his tyranny continue to allow it.
And we will absolutely not allow it.
Thanks for all you do. And Happy New Year.
–Robert Reich
Sources:
1. “U.S. strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in eastern Pacific, killing 1 person,” PBS, December 23, 2025
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/u-s-strikes-another-alleged-drug-smuggling-boat-in-eastern-pacific-killing-1-person
2. “Exclusive: US scraps Justice Department task force that took on cartels, documents show,” Reuters, October 2, 2025
https://www.reuters.com/world/us-scraps-justice-department-task-force-that-took-cartels-documents-show-2025-10-02/
3. “Trump pardons cocaine kingpin who ruled Honduras,” USA Today, December 2, 2025
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/12/02/trump-juan-orlando-hernandez-pardon-honduras-drugs/87564181007/
4. “Trump defends use of the U.S. military against the ‘enemy within,'” NPR, September 30, 2025
https://www.npr.org/2025/09/30/nx-s1-5557232/hegseth-generals-trump
5. “Leaked Memo Shows Pam Bondi Wants List of ‘Domestic Terrorism’ Groups Who Express ‘Anti-American Sentiment,'” Common Dreams, December 7, 2025
https://www.commondreams.org/news/pam-bondi-doj-memo
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