OCTOBER 22, 2026 -This morning I took a few minutes to read more about what’s happening in France—and why. But here’s the rub: conditions that set off the recent violent demonstrations there exist in Belgium and Italy, as well. In the throes of an election cycle wherein “affordability” is a central campaign issue, America too faces many of the same systemic political and economic shoals that threaten to destabilize Europe—apart from the war in Ukraine.
Everywhere, people struggling economically are quick to blame and just as fast to jump on a populist bandwagon, veering left or careening right. In the U.S., it’s a case of Godzilla (“democratic-socialism” referenced pejoratively by Republicans) vs. The Thing (Trump). No matter which side prevails, however, on November 4 we’ll wake up to the same structural problems that gave us what Republicans despise in Godzilla and Democrats abhor in The Thing.
Having a visceral dislike for The Thing, I’ll be in a celebratory spirit if his “team” loses a week from next Tuesday. Notice I said if his side loses, as opposed to Democrats “winning.” “Winning,” is a dubious distinction. It can translate to power, but as we’ve seen over the past 21 months, political power hasn’t produced much benefit to most Americans. And if we’re brutally honest with ourselves, our front-page problems—economic disparities, immigration propelled by conditions beyond our borders, short-term gain at the expense of long-term investment, and “junk food” capitalism distracting us from sustaining values—have been long in development across Republican and Democratic regimes alike. They were not created by “Godzilla” or “The Thing.”
It was Trump, however, who seized on discontent, and with one red herring after another, he converted grievances into anger and division and used the distractions to grift his way into obscene levels of wealth. His penchant for chaos was devoid of any policy or intention to ameliorate the lives of Americans. He is but a transitory wrecking ball. MAGA still loves him for that very reason—that he operates as a wrecking ball without purpose. Anti-Trumpers oppose him for the same reason—that he’s a raging bull in a china shop, but aside from looting the till, he has no objective.
America isn’t the only country with a love-hate relationship with a character such as Trump. The Brazilians had Bolsonaro. The French have Le Pen. The Hungarians had Orbán. The Israelis have Netanyahu. Populists and extremists—left and right—have significant followings in many other countries. What they all have in common is that none proposes real solutions—yet center-left to center-right governments haven’t been able to deliver effective structural reforms either.
We who have little to gain from burning the house down and much to lose if others do, have reason to worry. If enough people feel excluded from affordable housing, healthcare, education, meaningful work, and financially secure retirement—that is, if a critical mass of the population thinks there’s nothing to lose by starting or joining a revolution, society can easily unravel and descend into chaos. It’s now happening in France and spreading elsewhere—perhaps to our shores too.
To prevent nihilistic revolution, Democrats need to do more than vilify the party that has actively enabled an incompetent grifter contemptuous of the rule of law. Democrats also need to distinguish their platform from what led to France’s economic quagmire and now political crisis.To retain its relevance and to provide realistic hope to struggling Americans, the Democratic Party must develop a succinct plan of political and economic structural reform coupled with a clear and persistent message as to how the plan will work, what it will take politically to enact it, the short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term benefits that can be expected from it, and how the plan will be financed responsibly. Politically, Republicans must be convinced that if they refuse to abandon a Naked Emperor and address the needs of struggling Americans, Republicans risk irrelevance . . . or worse.
Above all, Democrats need to repeat until it becomes America’s mantra, a foundational tenet of good government and good citizenship: Sooner or later, directly or indirectly, the common good is in everyone’s best self-interest.
Rahm? Pete? Fire up your plans, your messages, and . . . your campaigns for 2028.
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© 2026 by Eric Nilsson
