It's easier to swim for four years when we do it together

Three steps you can take to surf the waves of the Trump flood and lead in your community

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Now we know what a fully professional Trump administration looks like. Beyond the executive orders, some performative, but far more substantive, there has been a whole of government shift. Career professionals fired. Agency walls painted gray, covering up inclusive messaging. Elon Musk and DOGE, and the corresponding circus of a congressional subcommittee are testing the boundaries of federal law in the pursuit of … budget savings, scorched earth, or both?

President Donald Trump’s nominees are making it harder for senators to get to yes because they hold such extreme views on vaccines, what a traitor is, and January 6, 2021. But fear not, senators will get to yes because they see the end of the Trump era in four years and primaries are the ultimate inconvenience.

None of this includes the worst plane crash in a generation, at DC’s hometown airport. (Trump, as I’m sure you’ve heard, felt it was “common sense” that DEI was partially to blame, although he also conceded there was no evidence of that being a factor.)

What’s obvious to me is that taking a flight out of a clearly over-congested DCA with overworked and now targeted air traffic controllers isn’t smart — and that’s exactly what I have to do on Monday and back on Tuesday. Sigh.

And yesterday we launched a Trade War with our neighbors and China.

It follows his standard playbook. Trump announced his tariffs and everyone freaked out everywhere. This is the Trump “maximum pressure” move. It’s meant to force concessions, any concessions. Weak players will give back a lot, stronger ones less. Neither matters. Trump gets something for nothing, lifts the tariffs, calls it the best deal ever, and MAGA wins.

So that was January. I’m sure I missed things because even I can’t read every story about the changes and, more importantly, who they impact. This is what happens when Americans don’t take Trump literally or seriously. Trump said he was in for a second term for retribution.

This is what retribution looks like with a professional at the wheel: White House chief of staff Susie Wiles. Surgically efficient, and no drama in the execution, as long as you’re not the one being executed, (metaphysically, for now at least.)

But, again, it’s just February 3.

I am not going to claim that I am against everything this administration is doing or is going to do. I don’t think that’s reasonable or *coughs* on The Level. There were some real issues at play in the 2024 presidential election and it remains to be seen if any of them will be addressed in the long-term by (waves hands) January.

Here’s what we can do as citizens before we get to vote later this year, next year, or in 2028, to stay afloat.

Step 1: Stop Drowning

You must commit to being informed enough to understand what is happening, but not spiral down rabbit holes on social media, Reddit, or even well-intentioned group chats. It’s far too easy to find yourself in a place where you’ve spent 45 minutes on the three-page opener to the Trade War the White House released at the end of January and think, oh, I see where this falls apart.

No, that’s a waste of time and energy. The Trade War is something you and I will be impacted by, not something we can impact.

We’re all going to be okay.

In fact, those closest to Trump, including oligarchs like Jeff Bezos will want a quick wrap to this soon because this is why he gave $1 million to Trump’s inaugural committee and destroyed the Washington Post: he’s all about business.

(Disclosure: I am an Amazon Prime member and, no, I am not going to upend how I buy things and sacrifice my time because Bezos is doing what every other major corporation did. I unsubscribed from the Post, however. Too much brain drain. Upside: more money for Substacks like this one, this one, this one, or anything on the platform.)

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Step 2: Refocus on Community

Not everyone is going to feel the same impacts of major policy changes. I have a close friend in the Midwest who went to fill his gas tank yesterday because of the looming Trade War. My wife and I are going to Uncle Julio’s Mexican restaurant tonight because we (1) Have an awesome coupon and (2) We are going to miss avocados and guacamole.

Since I live in the DMV (District, Maryland, Virginia), a lot of my work life involves people who work in politics or for the federal government, or who are vendors and contractors. D.C. really is a company town.

This means that everyone is on edge at some level. People are asking quietly, is Elon Musk targeting … me? For a brief moment my wife wasn’t allowed to talk with her client who is a fed because of a memo that was basically rescinded afterwards.

The disruptions are real.

Beyond work, it’s important to remember that you live in a community, not just a country.

Reengage that part of your life.

Pick up the local rag and find out about what’s being built in that new shopping center. What hot restaurant are you not going to yet? What local groups are doing good work that you can be a part of instead of doomscrolling? Is there a pickleball league? (Scratch that, as a tennis player, pickleball is a gross perversion and more dangerous.) Take tennis lessons instead.

Step 3: Help the Impacted

Finally, fully embrace the Truth® that Trump absolutely doesn’t care. So we need to care; but not about what he does, but who he impacts. We need to be there for those people in our lives being marginalized, targeted, fired. Be generous with your time and your personal and professional networks.

Provide support and soft landings.

What does this mean, practically?

For me, I have a handful of close friends who have transgender kids. I am checking in with them more often to let them know I support them and to listen to what they are going through. Needless to say these are difficult conversations and the uptick in bullying is real.

Most of these kids were doing really well and a few of them are now struggling.

You don’t need to agree on every aspect of policy. Support their struggle.

For those being targeted or who have been fired, it is crucial that those of us with large professional networks engage them to help through the transition. If we want our public servants to do the right things when they are unjustly targeted or fired it is up to us to make it right.

Everyone I know wants to help. It is our job as leaders to make those connections.

It’s going to be a long four years (at most). It’s already been a long two weeks. The only way to survive the Trump Flood is keep swimming together.

Michael Cohen, is the author of the book Modern Political Campaigns, president of Cohen Research Group and a 30-year veteran of the polling industry. He writes The Level regularly for 24sight News, analyzing polling and campaign trends with a keen eye and level-headed approach.