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It has officially begun. Donald Trump has finished his first week of office. He was sworn into the oval office in the midst of protests against the Administration that drew hundreds of thousands of people to the streets. The Democratic Party-funded Women's March condemned Trump's sexist campaign the day after the inauguration. These events added further pressure on to Trump's initial approval rating of 40 percent and have produced a level of political uncertainty unparalleled in US history. In the midst of crisis and chaos, the question of what is to be done requires deep investigation moving forward.

First, opposition to Trump has thus far revealed deep contradictions in the progressive and radical movement in the United States. The Women's March, for example, was organized by a consortium of non-profits and Democratic Party funding sources. There were many Hillary Clinton and Democratic Party supporters in attendance carrying "I'm with her" and anti-Russia signs. Some of the grievances expressed by the march were legitimate, such as the defense of reproductive rights and the rejection of Trump's racist rhetoric. However, even these legitimate grievances were drowned out by the attendance of millionaire celebrities and the Democratic Party leadership of the march.

Trump's executive orders have touched every one of his campaign promises and have generated more protest in a few weeks than was present throughout the duration of the Obama Presidency. The protests have been mixed in character, with participation ranging from anarchists and socialists to Hillary Clinton supporters. A number of protesters carried signs that emulated the Democratic Party's neo-McCarthyism against Russia. In what was a stunning political display, those who call themselves radicals in the US marched alongside rich Democrats who want nothing more than to provoke a broader war with Russia as long as it helps them escape responsibility for the chaos and crisis of the current period.

And here lies the great danger of the movement against Trump. At this moment, the working class and oppressed are in a vulnerable political position. The Democratic Party, traditionally the party that appeals to working class sentiments, has attacked Donald Trump from the right by framing his administration as the product of Russian meddling. Furthermore, the defense of reproductive rights and the struggle against racism are two key components of a working class program that Democrats have consistently fought against for decades. For the first four years of his tenure, the Obama Administration worked hard to strike a Grand Bargain with the GOP on cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and federally-funded programs generally. Obama also inherited the GOP's financial collapse and the War on Terror. He went on to expand old policies and create new ones in service of the rich.

The record is clear. Democrats have nothing left to offer the masses of people. This was expressed in the 2016 elections when the DNC rigged the primaries in favor of Hillary Clinton even though it was Bernie Sanders who offered concrete policies that spoke to the condition of workers. Unemployment, low-wage employment, and persistent poverty have tarnished the legacies of both the GOP and the Democratic Party. And even though it remains a silent point on the left, millions of people have begun to question the benefits of endless warfare at the cost of hundreds of billions of US tax dollars each year.

Trump has filled a gaping political vacuum left by the two corporate parties. It should be expected that his agenda will be full of contradictions. Trump has already moved on some of his promises to his grassroots base. He immediately withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and has brought a number of building trades unions to the White House. These policies, while unprecedented in nature, have been complimented by more troubling developments. This includes the possible reinstatement of CIA Black sites, the institution of a border wall between the US and Mexico, and the reviving of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL Pipelines.

Genuine radicals and progressives need to resist the urge to condemn Trump's withdrawal from the TPP or his desire to build friendlier relations with Russia. As Vladimir Lenin asked in 1902, movement organizers must confront the question of what is to be done in the midst of these conditions. An objective assessment must be formulated to explain to the people exactly why someone like Trump would pursue such measures. At the same time, Trump should be fought every step of the way on his attacks of women, Muslims, and undocumented immigrants. However, whatever resistance emerges in the era of Trump will be politically vulnerable if the Democratic Party remains free from criticism.

That means movement activists cannot merely ignore or minimize the anti-Russia narrative being peddled by the Democrats. Some may argue that focus on the Democratic Party at this time is a distraction from Trump and the GOP’s agenda. Yet few activists and organizers have asked why so few protested Obama's policies during his two-terms of imperial rule. Confronting corporate democrats is not the same as condemning protesters whose consciousness may have been deeply affected by corporate media and Democratic Party deception. Activists and organizers must pierce through these contradictions and be able to separate anti-Russia, pro-imperialist elements within the anti-Trump opposition from those who are genuine about building a new world based not on the profits of the few, but the needs of the many.

Democrats and leading Republicans have been embarrassed by Trump and the events of 2016 elections generally. That's why they continue to fight Trump from the right. Russia has been used as a convenient explanation for Trump's political success. Democrats have even introduced a bill to Congress that mandates California schools to teach students about Russia's alleged role in the 2016 elections. These lies, based on unverified CIA allegations, present a danger to the world not seen since the US nuclear provocations toward the Soviet Union in the 20th century’s Cold War.

The narrative has a simple purpose. Both corporate parties do not want to be seen as responsible for the Trump era. The fact that both Democrats and Republicans see the destruction of Russia as a necessary precondition to US hegemony means that the anti-Russia narrative against Trump is an added bonus for the ruling class. This narrative must be publicly condemned by grassroots forces inside and outside of the anti-Trump insurgency. The stakes are too high at this moment to privilege resistance against Trump over opposition to the Democratic Party opportunists who eagerly await the right moment to further their political careers in the midst of the chaos in Washington.

Trump's mere presence in the White House thus lays bare the crisis of US imperialism to a degree never before seen in its history. Now is not the time to sit back and watch the people become consumed by the Democratic Party. The time has come to base our political activities in the struggle of the working class and oppressed. All lies must be dispelled, and all reactionaries must be brought to their knees. Fear must be relinquished for sobriety, discipline, and organization. If millions are going to rise up against Trump, it is not the left's job to condemn them. It is our duty to articulate what is to be done from here from the perspective of the billions of struggling, starving, and exploited masses made possible by the system of imperialism that produced Trump in the first place. That means placing equal emphasis on both corporate parties for their role in the miserable conditions that exist on this earth.

*(Rally against Trump's "Muslim Ban" policies sponsored by Freedom Muslim American Women's Policy. Image Credit: Lorie Shaull/ flickr).