They’re going to need more than name calling and lies!

We are witnessing a full-throttle campaign of delegitimization being waged against anyone who dares to resist the presidency of Donald Trump and the Republicans backing him. Make no mistake: this is not about a policy disagreement. It’s not even merely about vehement critique. What we are seeing is the systematic branding of us — those who oppose the Trump agenda, who question his motives, who reject his authoritarian impulses — as un-American, dangerous, and illegitimate. That is the message. And the message is being blasted out constantly.

We are being called communists. We are being called traitors. We are being painted as some sort of fifth-column, unpatriotic mob. They have the gall to say we “hate America,” even though our love for this country is precisely what drives us to resist this administration. We believe America must live up to its ideals: equality under law, freedom of speech, accountability, protection of the vulnerable, a democracy of, by, and for the people. But the Trump-Republican machine wants us portrayed as the enemy of all that. That’s not a coincidence. It’s a strategy: delegitimize the opposition so the power grab can proceed unchecked.

Let’s catalogue a few of the lies and the hateful rhetoric being hurled at us:

• We hear it again and again: “If you criticize the President, you hate America.” The insinuation is clear: dissent = betrayal. That’s a direct assault on the principle that civic engagement, protest, and questioning authority are hallmarks of American democracy.
• We are smeared as “socialists” or “communists,” as though opposing corruption, cronyism, authoritarianism and naked self-enrichment were equivalent to embracing a one-party communist dictatorship. That slander is not about accuracy—it’s about scare tactics.
• We are described as “radical leftists” who aim to dismantle everything good in America. We’re accused of wanting to erase the Constitution, bash the military, and tear down the flag. None of that is true; and yet the rhetoric is repeated so widely and so loudly that harmless citizens begin to doubt whether they’re the crazy ones.
• We’re told we’re supporting “illegal immigrants,” “open borders,” “lawlessness,” and that we don’t care about American jobs or American children. In reality we oppose policies that exploit vulnerability, we value civil rights, and we believe a truly just economy and immigration system protects the weak rather than weaponizing them.
• We’re characterized as haters of the police, haters of the military, haters of “good Americans.” Meanwhile, the people doing the smearing are shielded behind law enforcement memorabilia, “patriotic” flags and MAGA hats. The inversion is glaring: they claim to be the defenders of “law and order” while undermining constitutional order by delegitimizing dissent.
• We are painted as conspiracy-theorists, “deep state” warriors, professional protesters, paid provocateurs—anything other than engaged citizens exercising our rights. The goal: make us seem bizarre, extreme, disconnected from “real America.” So the speech becomes: “If you’re not with us, you’re the other.”
• We are told we’re ushering in chaos, anarchy, the downfall of civilization. Because if you can frame your critics as society-destroying agents, then any crackdown—any authoritarian move—can be justified as “defending” the republic. And that is profoundly dangerous.

And dangerous it is. Because delegitimization doesn’t stay in the realm of language. It seeps into public institutions, into law enforcement behavior, into media coverage, into the culture of intimidation. When you tell half a country that their fellow citizens are “unpatriotic” or “traitors,” you invite harassment, you invite suppression of free speech, you invite erosion of democratic norms.

Yes: we’ve been called traitors, called enemies of America. People think that it’s hyperbole—but no. Look at how people speak about us on cable networks, on social media, in campaign rallies: the tone is toxic, the suggestions are ugly. “Lock them up.” “Silence them.” “They are a danger.” That language matters. Truth matters. Because a democracy cannot function when people are afraid to speak, afraid to dissent, afraid that the very foundations of their rights will be attacked.

What we are seeing is this: an unstoppable-looking Republican juggernaut, allied with Trump, that cannot win on substantive policy alone. So it resorts to delegitimization. It says: “We are the real America. You aren’t. You hate America. You are the un-American force.” If we accept that framing—or are too tired or frightened to push back—then we lose not only the battle of ideas but the very idea of political legitimacy.

Because resistance isn’t optional. When leaders treat criticism as a threat, when dissent is portrayed as subversion, when openness, plurality and contestation are portrayed as “betrayal,” we are no longer living in a healthy republic. And that is what’s at stake. Our institutions — judiciary, press, civil society, elections — depend not just on majority rule but on respect for the rights and legitimacy of opposition. When those rights are denied or tarnished, majority rule easily slides into majoritarian tyranny.

So I say this: we do love America. We do stand for America. But we also stand for the America that keeps its promises: the America that defends civil liberties, that respects dissent, that protects minorities, that demands transparency and accountability of power. We resist not because we hate America, but because we love America—and because we believe love demands vigilance.

And to the leaders of the revolt against democratic norms — to Trump and his Republican cohorts — make no mistake: you may smear us, but you cannot silence us. You may brand us “communists,” “hating America,” but you cannot erase our presence, our votes, our voices. There will come a day when we will be heard. There will come a day when your delegitimization campaign will be exposed for what it is: a desperate effort to maintain power rather than serve the people.

The danger is real. When a democratic system allows one side to define legitimacy and then criminalize dissent, it ceases to be democracy. It becomes authoritarianism in slow motion. We must refuse to accept that. We must say: No, dissent is not betrayal. Questioning power is not treason. Democracy is alive only when it allows all voices, including the unpopular, to be heard safely.

And we will be heard. We will demand accountability, we will demand fairness, we will demand our rights. We will show up, vote, speak out, organize, build coalitions. We will refuse to accept the false narrative that “if you don’t support Trump you hate America.” That lie is being spat at us constantly—and we must spit it back.

So let’s call it out: The delegitimization campaign is unacceptable. The smears—“communists,” “un-American,” “traitors,” “radical left”—they must be named for what they are: a propaganda strategy to keep power, not a reasoned critique of policy. We must tell our friends, our neighbors, our fellow citizens: whatever side you’re on, this is not just about left vs. right. It is about whether dissent is legitimate in America.

If you believe that dissent is a bedrock of democracy. If you believe that criticizing the powerful is neither un-American nor extremist. If you believe this country’s promise includes both justice and freedom. Then you are not alone. Stand with us. Resist the smear campaign. Challenge the delegitimizers. Protect our right to question. Protect our right to dissent. Because that right is not just for “them” — it’s for all of us. And if we lose it, we lose the America we love.

Julie Bolejack, MBA

juliebolejack.com

mindfulactivist.etsy.com