[boink] Donald Trump thinks he’s making America great again like this. [honking] A little bit of this. “Our nation — ” “Honey, I’m calling ICE.” Ugh. And this. [applause] It’s a throwback to another era, when things were black and mostly white. Not really our idea of great. “Make America great again.” But Trump has achieved something significant, and he deserves credit. But it’s the same kind of credit Inspector Gadget deserves for unintentionally solving a crime. [groans] All right, hear me out. During Obama’s eight years of competent, scandal-free leadership, democracy was very much a spectator sport. In the 2014 midterm elections, Democrats had so much confidence in Obama, they didn’t even bother to show up at the polls, turning out the lowest number of voters in 70 years. “A goddamn disaster for Democrats. They got destroyed.” Which just so happened to give Republicans the edge to block Obama’s Supreme Court pick, Merrick Garland, in 2016. And now, Trump is forcing us to engage in our democracy like many never have before. For instance, contrast their very different reactions to the most mind boggling, only-in-America dilemma — mass shootings. ”(SINGING) Amazing grace ...” [applause] I mean, he breaks into a pitch-perfect rendition of “Amazing Grace.” You can’t get better than that. He insisted Congress take action and ban assault-style weapons and high-capacity magazines. He even signed 23 executive actions. And then, nothing changed. Not a single law or reform was made to address our gun crisis. Was our faith in Obama so profound that we forgot to do something ourselves? Enter 45. “To help secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health ... ” Trump, with his total lack of actual solutions on our gun crisis, inspired this. [cheering] After years of nothing, Florida raised the legal age for buying a firearm from 18 to 21 and banned bump stocks. Stock prices soared for sports stores that stopped selling assault-style rifles. Even several gun owners destroyed their own weapons for the cause. Where was this urgency after Orlando? San Bernardino? Aurora? Charleston? Sandy Hook? All right, now, before you start ranting about normalization, let me be clear. I have no delusions about the destructive force of a narcissist for president, for reproductive rights, for public schools, for immigrants, for the planet. However, something important and desperately needed is also happening. Americans are taking a stand. And it’s much more than guns. Witnessing a self-admitted sexual assaulter win the presidency pushed us over the edge to finally tackle decades of silence around sexism. “Allegations by numerous women who say the Hollywood mogul — ” “Harvey Weinstein in handcuffs.” “CBS News has suspended our co-host Charlie Rose — ” And the sea change goes beyond calling out gross men. More women than ever are entering politics — nearly 600 in total for 2018. And we’ve already seen some early primary wins. Oh, and way more people are supporting organizations that are vital to our democracy, like the more than $86 million donated to the A.C.L.U. in 2017, up from the $5 million they received in online donations in 2016. Planned Parenthood donations skyrocketed, reaching 40 times their normal rate in the week after the election. Even local politics hold our attention and make national news. It’s the new norm to track court rulings and be informed. People are actually reading and paying for news. So here’s the deal. The Democrats appear to be more fired up about the midterms than Republicans, according to this Pew Research study. But we all know what happens when eggs are counted before they hatch. “The largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period.” So don’t go back to sleep. Don’t let this deluge of news and chaos turn into white noise. Stay in the game. And definitely, please, vote in the midterms this November.