Olivia Troye - Grief as a Call to Action: Facing the Next Four Years
Sometimes, life comes at you with an unrelenting force. That’s how 2025 has begun. A terror attack on New Year’s Day, a nation mourning the loss of Jimmy Carter, and wildfires consuming Los Angeles with a fury that defies comprehension—all in just 20 days. The grief is palpable, a shadow that looms heavier by the day.
Can you feel it too? This ache in the air will only intensify today and going forward. I had a front-row seat to the turbulence, chaos, and divisiveness that defined Donald Trump’s first presidency. I spent countless hours grappling with policies that I knew, deep down, would leave lasting scars on our country and on the values that make America what it is. Now, with his return—emboldened and vengeful—I am overwhelmed by a profound sense of mourning.
This isn’t theoretical. I know what’s coming. I know what this presidency will do to our nation, our institutions, and our people. I lived Trump 1.0 from the inside while you lived it from the outside. I fought hard to stop this from being our reality again. I am grieving for our democracy, which will face irreparable harm under his leadership. It’s no longer a question of if. His first term revealed a blatant disdain for the principles that have sustained our republic for more than two centuries—rejecting the peaceful transfer of power, undermining and attacking the free press, and dismantling truth itself. A masterclass in how to destroy trust in institutions. As someone who proudly worked in government for many years, I never got used to it. I was continually astonished by his disregard for even the most basic norms.
In the past couple of days some political pundits in the media have suggested that he may be more tempered this time. No. He hasn’t learned from his mistakes; he’s weaponized them. With fewer constraints, his ambitions are clearer than ever: consolidate power, crush dissent, and warp our government to serve his own interests.
https://www.livingitwitholiviatroye.com/p/grief-as-a-call-to-action-facing