By Frank F Islam & Ed Crego, May 8th, 2025 (Image credit: Adam de Boor)

In 2020, as Donald Trump neared the end of his first term in office, we thought that there would never be a worse president than Trump and that he would never be re-elected. We were wrong on both counts.

Trump was re-elected. And in the first 100 days of his second term in 2025, he has proven to be far worse than he was in his first term.

America in Wartime

During his first term, even as he failed to provide leadership in the fight against COVID, Trump compared himself to a “wartime president.” In this second term, he has not referred to himself to a wartime president but through the actions of his administration President Trump has unofficially declared war on our American democracy and many Americans.

This war has created a state of shock and awe for the majority of American citizens. The extent of the damage done and the effect on the perceptions of those citizens has been documented in poll after poll conducted close to the Trump’s first 100 days marker.

We presented some of the findings from a Washington Post-ABC-Ipsos poll in our blog preceding this one. The topline result from that poll was that of those surveyed, only 39% approved, while 55% disapproved, of “the way Donald Trump is handling his job as President.”

Trump received negative marks of “disapprove” on all seven issues surveyed in this poll, with disapproval ratings ranging from a low of 53% to a high of 67%. The poll also showed that “about two-thirds of Americans say the Trump administration is trying to avoid complying with court orders.”

Trump’s numbers are exceedingly bad. In fact, his approval ratings are “lower than any president’s since polls began” — which was seventy years ago, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt was president.

Given the polling results, one might assume that Trump would be in considerable political trouble because of his poor performance, and the Democratic Party could be positioned for future success. That is not the case.

The same Post-ABC-Ipsos poll found that 39% thought that Trump was “in touch with the needs of most people in the United States today.” That’s dismal, but the Democratic Party scored much worse in its rating than Trump, with only 30% of the respondents saying that it was “in touch.”

That low rating is not surprising given the Democrats defeat in the 2024 presidential election due to its being out of touch with the working class, and its wandering about rather aimlessly since then. The last month of 2024 and the first quarter of 2025 was a relatively disconnected one, with Democrats in search of a focus, a message, and a united voice.

The past several months has definitely been a bad news period for the Democratic Party. The good news is that over the past month or so, some Democratic politicians have started to fight back, to speak out, and are being heard. They include: Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Chris Van Hollen, and J.B. Pritzker.

Senator Booker (D-NJ) set a Senate filibuster record when he delivered a marathon speech for a little more than 25 hours against Trump’s economic and social actions. Senator Sanders (I-VT), an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, and Representative Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), have barnstormed across the country, turning out huge crowds to listen to them attack the policies of the Trump administration. Senator Van Hollen (D-MD) protested against Trump’s immigration deportations without due process, and traveled to El Salvador to meet with the immigrant from Maryland deported to prison there due to an administrative error. Governor Pritzker (D-IL) gave a fiery speech to New Hampshire Democrats attacking Trump and the Republicans, denouncing “do-nothing Democrats,” and calling for mass protests.

Those in the media are joining the chorus in crying out on our current national condition as well. In March, Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson published their best-selling book Abundance. While Klein and Thompson briefly discuss problems caused by Trump and Republicans, their book places the majority of the blame for the Democratic decline in political influence and public opinion on the Democrats themselves.

Samuel Moyn, in his New York Times review of the book, states, “It’s mainly a sharp cry against myopic Democrats who block new ideas and govern through checklists, leading to what the authors call ‘an endless catalog of rules and restraints’.” Given that focus, a better title for Abundance might have been Redundance.

On April 17, David Brooks, in his New York Times article, provided the following observation and recommendation:

What is happening now is not normal politics. We’re seeing an assault on the fundamental institutions of our civic life, things we should all swear loyalty to — Democrat, independent or Republican.

It’s time for a comprehensive national civic uprising. It’s time for Americans in universities, law, business, nonprofits and the scientific community, and civil servants and beyond to form one coordinated mass movement. Trump is about power. The only way he’s going to be stopped is if he’s confronted by some movement that possesses rival power.

On May 1, the New York Times editorial board published an opinion piece titled “Fight Like Our Democracy Depends on It.” The piece outlines Trump’s attacks on five pillars of democracy: separation of powers, due process, equal justice under the law, freedom of speech and the free press, and governing for the people.

The editorial board called for pushing back against Trump, but to do so cautiously. Near the end of their piece, they advise:

Given the threat that Mr. Trump presents, we understand the urge to speak out in maximalist ways about almost everything he does … The best way to support American democracy is to build the largest possible coalition to defend it. It is to call out all Mr. Trump’s constitutional violations while diligently avoiding exaggeration about what qualifies as a violation.

As we stated in our blog preceding this one, we agree with Brooks’ perspective. We also agree with the Times editorial board that it’s important for Democratic politicians and concerned citizens to speak out, and get involved in working together to address the problems that Trump and his current administration are causing with their disregard for the Constitution and destructive initiatives.

Finally, we concur that it is important for Democrats to recognize what they have done in the past to “hobble” the government with too many regulations, preventing it from operating with maximum effectiveness and efficiency in addressing the problem conditions in our great nation.

A Plan for Peace

In our opinion, however, what will be most important going forward is putting a comprehensive and integrated strategic plan in place to use to reverse the devastation that is being, and will be wrought, by the Trump administration, and to address the real major issues that have been problematic for our nation for decades.

Republicans proved the pivotal importance of a plan for bringing about change with their detailed plan for the Project 2025/Presidential Transition Project. The Project 2025 plan is being used by the Trump administration to increase executive power — and to decimate the federal government and our country today.

Unfortunately, that plan was not intended to make the country better and fairer. Instead, Project 2025 was aimed at gaining total control of the country for the MAGA wing of the Party of Trump. The goal of Project 2025 (Project 2025 | Presidential Transition Project), as stated on its website, was as follows:

It is not enough for conservatives to win elections. If we are going to rescue the country from the grip of the radical Left, we need both a governing agenda and the right people in place, ready to carry this agenda out on Day One of the next conservative Administration.

The project was built on four pillars:

• A Policy Agenda — proposals for every major issue facing the country
• A Personnel Database — a network across the country for conservatives
• Training — by experts, in workshops, seminars, online videos, mentorship
• A 180 Day Playbook — actions to bring relief from the Left’s devastating policies

The scope and detail of the Project 2025 plan have enabled the Trump administration not to bring “relief from the Left’s devastating policies,” but rather to take rapid and devastating actions, and implement executive orders that have hurt our American democracy and millions of Americans. As we have discussed, these actions have offended and alienated many citizens.

This means that, in spite of the low regard which much of the general public have for the Democratic Party, there is an opportunity for it to put the right plan in place that will make a positive difference for the future of our democracy and this nation.

Unlike the Project 2025 plan, that plan should not be a political plan or a plan targeted at the Radical Right. It should be an American Renewal Plan (ARP or Plan). The American Renewal Plan should be dedicated to making America a better and fairer nation for all.

The Plan should not be a partisan plan to elevate Democratic interests but a nonpartisan plan focused on moving the country forward. We advocated for the development of such a plan in 2020 during the coronavirus epidemic, and the last year of Trump’s first term as President.

At that time, we observed we were living in an “era of repression and regression,” and stated: “The repression has been going on for some time but intensified with the presidential political campaign of 2016 and has intensified even more-so under the Trump administration.”

The areas repressed then included: the three branches of government, federal government agencies, the free press and media, voting, and civic life.

In terms of regression, we traced it back to the late 70’s, which brought a combination of high inflation and unemployment, leading to the economic recession of the early 80’s. The regression accelerated with the economic crisis of 1987, and the Great Recession of 2007-2009 increased its speed in the second decade of this century.

The major areas of regression we identified in 2020 included the conditions of: American workers; women; minorities; manufacturing; schools and teachers; small business; the print and news media, urban areas; rural areas; civic learning and engagement; higher education; innovation; and political partisanship.

In the period from 2021 through 2024, Joe Biden issued executive orders to reverse or nullify some of Trump’s repressive executive orders. And the Biden administration passed some significant legislation to address areas of regression, such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, but some of those policies were not implemented or only partially implemented during his tenure. More importantly, the Biden administration did not connect with the working class as inflation rose and salaries did not keep pace with the rising cost of goods and services.

So in 2025, many of the conditions that existed in 2020 remained problematic, and in its first 100 days, the Trump administration, through the work of DOGE (the improperly named Department of Governmental Efficiency) and others in leadership positions, reignited and expanded its repressive and regressive initiatives.

Because of this, the ARP is as — and perhaps even more — essential than the acclaimed Marshall Plan the U.S. put together to finance the rebuilding of Europe after the devastation of World War II. This Plan will have to be much broader in scope and thrust.

It should be developed based upon a thorough and in-depth situational assessment and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis in all of critical repression and regression areas. Based upon those findings, the Plan should clearly spell out for each area: goals, objectives, strategies, strategic action programs, implementation requirements, facilitating factors, potential obstacles and barriers, and critical success. It should also present a budget and cost benefit analysis for its implementation.

Obviously, putting together a meaningful ARP will require talent, time, and money. The Project 2025/Presidential Transition Project was based upon The Mandate for Leadership: Project 2025, published by the Heritage Foundation. The Mandate was over 900 pages long, contributed to by hundreds of scholars and experts, and supported through major contributions by conservative donors.

The leaders of the Democratic Party will have to determine how best to finance the ARP, and put the the people and process in place for selecting the individuals and/or organizations to team with in order to develop a viable ARP. Those plan development partners must not just be politicians or political consultants. They should have content knowledge and expertise in key relevant areas of the plan, and been involved in major studies that have contributed to the successful implementation of turnaround and/or transformation plans.

The ARP plan development should begin by no later than the end of 2025. It should be completed in draft form in 2026. ( The Heritage Foundation Project 2025 Mandate was created between April 2022 and April 2023)

The draft Renewal Plan can be modified, as required, in 2027. It should then be used as the basis for a national Renew America campaign in 2028, and be updated for full implementation by the Democratic president and his team on January 20, 2029.

Even with a well-constructed plan and ardent citizen advocates and supporters, renewing America will not be easy. The plan itself is merely a starting and reference point, to be adjusted and updated based upon the progress made and changing conditions. Success in renewing American requires committed citizens with the principles, patience and persistence to persevere.

With that in mind, we close with the following comments from President Dwight D. Eisenhower:

• “Plans are worthless. Planning is everything.”
• “I believe the only way to protect my own rights is to protect the rights of others.”
• “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

Eisenhower’s comments are as relevant today as they were during his presidency, and provide us guidelines for moving our democracy forward toward the more perfect union envisioned by our country’s founders.