Solidarity with everyone organising to get Trump out

The Stop Trump Coalition was set up to oppose the racism and division of Donald Trump’s presidency. We hope those four long years are about to come to an end. While the UK government – first under Theresa May and then Boris Johnson – has tried to cosy up to Trump, we are proud to have mobilised opposition to his visits, his policies and his toxic trade deal with the UK.

We are deeply concerned, however, that Trump will stoke voter intimidation and violence during the election, and then refuse to respect the result. He has openly and repeatedly refused to commit to a peaceful transition of power. From casting doubt on postal ballots to the rushed installation of a hard-right majority on the supreme court, all the pieces are being moved into place for an attempt to disregard the democratic outcome if it does not go his way.

We stand in solidarity with all in the US who are organising to get Trump out of office – before and after election day, and for however long it takes. We will demand that our government in the UK does not ignore – or worse, endorse – any anti-democratic actions taken by Trump in the coming days and weeks and show solidarity with those on the frontline of opposing him.

Trump’s presidency has not only been a disaster for the US, but has seen the rise of authoritarian ‘Trumpism’ globally. He is the kingpin for a global network of far-right politicians, activists and funders who seek to destroy democratic norms, undermine human rights, prevent effective action on climate change and implement a deeply reactionary political project. We need to continue to build our networks of resistance globally.

In the UK, Trump’s presence in the White House has emboldened the far right, and provided a crutch on which our own right-wing government can lean as it tries to implement a series of post-Brexit measures which will make Britain a poorer, nastier, more isolated country. Whatever happens on November 3rd, we will stand in solidarity with migrants, workers, women, trans people and people of colour in the onslaught that is to come.

But we also need to remember that Trump did not emerge from nowhere. The origins of his project can be found in the capitulation of democratic politicians to the rule of big business and the law of the ‘free’ market, which has torn up communities, fostered unprecedented levels of inequality and fuelled deep anger and resentment.

Defeating Trump at the ballot box will not necessarily make these problems disappear. Only a transformative political programme can achieve that. We are committed to working as part of an international movement to bring about the radical change the world so desperately needs. Defeat Trump, then build a better world.