Solely six months into his second time period, U.S. President Donald Trump has already wrought unprecedented chaos upon the federal government and society of the US. He issued greater than 20 government orders (EOs) on his inauguration day alone, bypassing Congress and searching for to impose what many have known as a fascist agenda. Among the many most radical had been EO 14158, which established the now notorious Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE), and EO 14169, which froze nearly all U.S. international support.
I’m one of many many in Washington who’ve misplaced their job on account of EO 14169. Till lately, I labored for a high-profile group, implementing tasks that superior and defended human rights in Ukraine. As we reeled from the manager order’s fallout, one of many questions that I heard time and time once more from Ukrainians was: “Why aren’t People doing something?”
It’s not a stunning sentiment. Because the remaining years of the Soviet Union, Ukraine has witnessed three spectacular mass protest actions. The primary was the Revolution on Granite in 1990, during which college students occupied what would turn out to be Kyiv’s Independence Sq. to demand early parliamentary elections, reject a proposed Union Treaty with Moscow, and name for the nationalization of Communist Get together property. Tens of hundreds marched in solidarity with the scholars.
The second was the Orange Revolution of 2004, during which greater than 500,000 individuals gathered within the sq. to protest rigged presidential elections. The third and sure essentially the most well-known to a global viewers is the 2013-2014 Euromaidan, during which lots of of hundreds occupied the sq. in response to then-President Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to signal the long-awaited Affiliation Settlement with the European Union. Whereas essentially the most hanging photos had been from Kyiv, cities throughout Ukraine—together with Lviv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Odesa, and Kharkiv—additionally noticed vital protests, in addition to the storming of presidency buildings.
Notably, all three actions obtained outcomes. The primary resulted within the capitulation of the Soviet state to lots of the protesters’ calls for, the second within the annulment of the fraudulent election outcomes, and the third within the toppling of Yanukovych. Ukrainians have additionally lately been on the streets once more, efficiently protesting in opposition to the abolition of impartial anti-corruption establishments.
There have been severe protest demonstrations in the US. On April 19, there have been anti-Trump actions in 12,000 areas throughout all 50 states, which was later adopted by the nationwide “No Kings” protests on June 14. However nothing has been comparable in scope, period, or success to the three aforementioned Ukrainian examples. To search out out why there’s been no American Maidan, I spoke with 4 Ukrainians: Alya Shandra, founding father of Euromaidan Press; Kateryna Butko, founding father of the activist group Auto Maidan; Romeo Kokriatski, a Ukrainian American journalist who has lived in Ukraine since 2014; and Dmytro Zhmailo, an knowledgeable on Ukraine’s current historical past and the co-founder of the Ukrainian Safety & Cooperation Middle. Each Shandra and Butko participated within the 2014 revolution.
In every of the three revolutions, Ukrainians had been confronting governments perceived as illegitimate. In 1990, it was the unelected Soviet state. In 2004, it was the fraudulently elected Yanukovych. And in 2013-2014, it was Yanukovych as soon as once more—illegitimate this time not due to election fraud however due to his seize of state establishments, refusal of the Euro-Atlantic path, and flagrant violence in opposition to protesters. Against this, even Trump’s staunchest opponents don’t dispute the legitimacy of the 2024 presidential election outcomes.
Whatever the anti-democratic nature of Trump’s insurance policies, the very fact stays that he has the real assist of virtually 50 p.c of the nation and that he received 2.2 million extra particular person votes than Kamala Harris. “There’s a giant a part of the U.S. populace that desires fascism,” Kokriatski mentioned. “In Ukraine, one of many issues that made [Euro]maidan profitable is that everybody fucking hated Yanukovych.” Butko echoed this view, saying, “We had just one objective … make Yanukovych run away, no one needs a president like that. We united for this one objective, and that’s why we had so many individuals.”
The battle for nationwide independence and id has been one other galvanizing think about Ukraine’s mass protests. “All three Ukrainian revolutions … had a typical floor: the protection of nationwide pursuits, the institution of statehood, and the correct of Ukrainians to dwell in their very own impartial state,” Zhmailo mentioned. Shandra had the identical perspective, framing Ukraine’s revolutions as totally different iterations of a “liberation battle from the Russian Empire.” Those that oppose Trump lack an exterior foil to mobilize resistance in opposition to.
Whereas centuries of colonial oppression imply that Ukrainians understand alignment with Russia as a basic assault upon their sovereignty and nationwide id, there isn’t any comparable historic resonance in the US. People should battle a homegrown phenomenon that has vital home legitimacy.
There’s in depth analysis on how individuals select to protest and why, and historic precedent performs a key function. When Ukrainians flooded Independence Sq. through the Euromaidan revolution, they solely needed to look again 10 years for a profitable instance of mass mobilization. People lack this sort of current instance. Whereas there have been nationwide protest actions, such because the 2003 marches in opposition to the Iraq Warfare and the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, they didn’t end in main political change. Arguably, the latest examples of American mass protests leading to concrete change are the anti-Vietnam Warfare demonstrations of the Sixties and ’70s—almost half a century in the past.
In current historical past, People—particularly the white majority—have had the luxurious of taking their rights as a right. Kokriatski defined that “Ukrainians have by no means been a strong nation or a strong individuals.” Centuries of colonial oppression by Russia imply that “Ukrainians know that if you don’t try not less than to battle in your personal rights … these rights … will probably be taken away from you,” he mentioned. “There’s nothing akin to this for the U.S. The heyday of the civil rights period was a very long time in the past … you don’t have that sustained dwelling reminiscence that if you don’t get up proper now, you can be disappeared.”
Zhmailo underscored that time, stating, “The phrases ‘democracy,’ ‘freedom of speech,’ ‘equality’ will not be hole for us.” Shandra additionally highlighted Ukrainians’ readiness to place their lives on the road by saying, “I believe we succeeded [in the Euromaidan] as a result of there have been younger males who had been keen to die for his or her beliefs.” Referring to the protesters murdered by riot police, she mentioned, “We couldn’t step again as a result of we had these martyrs now.”
One other crucial distinction between the US and Ukraine is the salience of ideological variations. “American society appears to be far more polarized than Ukraine alongside ideological camps,” Shandra mentioned. Euromaidan noticed Ukrainians from throughout the political spectrum unite for a single objective. Whereas the motion did little to vary societal prejudices, LGBTQ+ activists stood on Kyiv’s central sq. alongside far-right teams corresponding to Proper Sector to oppose Yanukovych.
Referring to the armed self-defense teams that emerged amongst protesters, Kokriatski mentioned, “You had anarchist sotnyas combating alongside far-right sotnyas.” Zhamilo strengthened this view, stating, “At a crucial second, we put apart all inner contradictions to unite to defend the state. … Solely in concord and unity can we obtain outcomes, and that is what we’re displaying the world. We would like the world to be taught from us.”
Against this, deep ideological variations fragment the anti-Trump opposition. That was seen nicely earlier than the 2024 presidential election, with the divide between liberals and leftists over core points corresponding to the US’ stance concerning Israel’s battle on Gaza.
Each Shandra and Butko careworn that mass protests like Euromaidan are a final resort. “All of our revolutions, they had been as a result of we will’t [effect change] through the elections. … In Ukraine, we didn’t have any choices, solely to go to the streets” Butko mentioned.
“Your democracy is more healthy … than ours, I’m unsure that it may be dismantled in at some point,” Shandra mentioned. “It was simpler for [Yanukovych] as a result of democracy had not taken deep root but.”
The Trump administration could also be attacking the US’ democratic foundations however People nonetheless have institutional technique of dissent, with the courts being a key avenue. On the time of writing, the Trump administration is going through greater than 150 lawsuits difficult each side of Trump’s agenda, from federal company cuts to the persecution of migrants and asylum-seekers.
As of June 4, judges in 188 of those instances have known as on the administration to not less than briefly pause the insurance policies in query. Within the federal district courts, each Democratic and Republican-appointed judges have dominated in opposition to Trump within the overwhelming majority of instances even because the Supreme Court docket has repeatedly gone to bat for him. Resistance by way of litigation has a long-established precedent in the US: The Civil Rights Motion of the Sixties typically performed out within the courts.
The 2026 midterm elections will supply People a vital alternative to overturn Trump’s fragile majorities within the Home and Senate, making it far more tough for his administration to push by way of its controversial insurance policies. Butko underscored People’ entry to various technique of protest, saying, “You’ll have elections to Congress and possibly one thing will change after that. People have many extra choices learn how to do it … not solely by way of protest.”
What stays to be seen is how efficient these different choices will probably be with an administration whose id relies upon the denigration of the establishments that make these choices attainable. The Supreme Court docket voted 5-4 to reject EO 14169 again in March, however the Trump administration has made no transfer to fall in line. Officers corresponding to U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance have refused to rule out defying courtroom orders and dismissed district courts’ authority.
Jan. 6, 2021, was a warning shot, displaying the willingness of Trump supporters to endorse violence and overturn the US’ democratic processes. Those that stand for democracy, human rights, and the rule of regulation could quickly discover that the institutional pathways upon which they’ve hitherto relied are now not efficient. On this situation, People might do worse than to look to the Ukrainians’ bravery for inspiration.
“Once you hit all-time low, that’s when it erupts,” Shandra mentioned.
As U.S. residents stare down the barrel of three extra years of Trump, they discover themselves confronting an much more urgent query: Simply what is going to America’s all-time low be?
