We are writing our history every day.

April 16, 2025 ROBERT B. HUBBELL, Excerpted from Today's Edition Newsletter

As Trump barreled ahead with his lawless agenda, courageous and principled people and institutions stood in his way. Each of them helped frame otherwise disturbing news in a way that should inspire us to action.

I urge people to be cautious in how they describe the current state of America. After Monday’s shameful meeting in the Oval Office between Trump and El Salvador’s president Bukele, some commentators have said, “American democracy is over.”

That statement is not true—and we must not assert that it is true. If we repeat that falsehood often enough, people will believe it and stop defending democracy.

As you know, I believe that Trump is engaged in a coup to end democracy in America. I also believe that Americans are resisting and opposing that coup in every way possible. The outcome of Trump's efforts has not been determined. Importantly, whether Trump succeeds in his coup is not up to Trump. It is up to us.

We will determine whether Trump's unlawful assault on democracy will succeed or fail. Declaring that “democracy is dead” offers aid and comfort to the man doing his best to make it so.

Don’t help Trump by promoting the falsehood that democracy is over. True, it is under assault and is being tested sorely. It may be suspended or overridden temporarily. But it will continue to live as long as we do not give up.

Black Americans who lived under Jim Crow laws for nearly a century did not say, “Democracy is over,” even as police beat them for marching peacefully and all-white juries exonerated those who beat and murdered them. No, rather than declare defeat, they sang a prayer of resistance: “We shall overcome”—and then they got back to the hard work of claiming democracy’s promise for all Americans.

People are entitled to their feelings during this difficult time. Expressing those feelings may include giving voice to dark and imagined fears as a way of mediating feelings of impending doom. I understand.

But I have no patience or understanding for social media commentators who declare “Democracy is over” because they want to be able to reserve their smug “I told you so” rights if Trump succeeds. Pundits who view it as their jobs to be purveyors of doom are aiding and abetting Trump. Knock it off, please.

Instead, take all of your anger, fear, and cynicism, and devote it to defeating the

threat to democracy—rather than preemptively declaring defeat. We are going to win, and democracy will not end until and unless we surrender. And we will never surrender.