America After Trump: The Exhausted Majority’s Mission is to Build Back Better.

Though bruised and battered and in a state of exhaustion and semi-shock, we have survived the first year of Trump 2.0, so now we only have to make it for three more years. If this first year is anything to go by, though, by January 2029, when Donald Trump, as he did in 2021 when Joe Biden was inaugurated, slinks out of the White House and avoids the ceremony, we’ll be living in a democracy that is even more tattered, but—and I’m being extremely optimistic here—essentially intact democracy.

But, even if the mid-term elections in November deliver us a new congressional majority that is able to circumvent the majority of Trump’s norm-busting activities and keep us from being blindly led into a major armed conflict as he flexes his muscle around the globe like a twenty-first century Atilla the Hun, we will be in the tree line, not out of the woods. Restoring normalcy and rebuilding a fully functioning democratic society, and by this I don’t mean rebuild what was, but rebuild better (more on that later), is not something that will be accomplished during the course of one four-year presidential administration, nor even two or three, for that matter. We must prepare ourselves for a multi-generational rebuilding project, not just to undo the harm that’s been done, but ot build stronger guardrails to forestall an encore of Trump 1.0 and 2.0.

At this point, one has to ask. Do we think we’re up to it? When Donald Trump turns over the keys to a radically altered White House to his successor and flies off to Mar-a-Lago, will his shadow still linger over Washington like the Grim Reaper, blocking the sunlight of a brighter future? Can the political process, where one party has surrendered itself to the dictates of a cult of personality that has emboldened nativism, exclusion, and authoritarianism for four years, dismantling or undermining many of the institutions that form the bedrock of a functioning democracy, ever reform itself? Can We the People commit ourselves to the decades of hard work that will be required to remake the society that our Founding Fathers envisioned, dedicated to forming a ‘more perfect’ union?

The answer to the first question is a qualified yes, depending on the answer to the second: if we’re unable to commit to the second, we won’t be able to achieve the first.

Building back better, after eight years of MAGA mutilation and manipulation, will be a generational task requiring a period of stabilization and rebuilding to restore governing institutions to a basic level of functionality, so we can begin the process of restoring people’s faith in the government and outreach to allies to restore our international reputation. While much of the responsibility for initiating this rebirth will fall on the newly installed executive branch, the essential foundation of this effort will be what is often referred to these days as the Exhausted Majority, the majority of Americans who have become so tired of being ignored and not having their needs met that they’ve basically checked out. It will be absolutely necessary to reengage them, from the older ones who just want a peaceful retirement to the children just starting kindergarten. Through a program of civic education, managed by a revitalized Department of Education with citizen input, children must be taught to understand, communicate, and cooperate as citizens in a diverse society, and adults must be encouraged to actively participate in all levels of governing, from the local PTA or neighborhood watch to engaging with national leaders on issues that affect us all.

Brick by brick, position by position, the new executive branch must begin the process of restoring hollowed-out institutions, enabling them to provide the necessary services to the citizens of this country. At the same time, procedures must be put in place to insulate the government service, the Civil Service, the Foreign Service, and the military and security services from politicization.

Even more important, every one of us must be clear-eyed about the fact that this will be a generational effort, and it will require firm commitment from us to stay the course. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and American democracy will not be restored by a single election. Let us take heart from the American patriot, author of Common Sense, Thomas Paine, whose writings framed the argument for independence from Great Britain, who wrote, “The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.” The way ahead of us will be long and hard, and the journey will not end, but it’s the journey, not the destination that’s important.

“These are the times that try men’s souls,” Paine also wrote. Today, we should replace ‘men’s’ with ‘people’s’, but the message is just as apt today as it was in 1775. As tiring as it might be, we must make the effort.

Charles A. Ray served 20 years in the U.S. Army, including two tours in Vietnam. He retired as a senior US diplomat, serving 30 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with assignments as ambassador to the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of Zimbabwe, and was the first American consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. He also served in senior positions with the Department of Defense and is a member of The Steady State.

Founded in 2016, The Steady State is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) organization of more than 390 former senior national security professionals. Our membership includes former officials from the CIA, FBI, Department of State, Department of Defense, and Department of Homeland Security. Drawing on deep expertise across national security disciplines, including intelligence, diplomacy, military affairs, and law, we advocate for constitutional democracy, the rule of law, and the preservation of America’s national security institutions.