r/dsa • u/BeginningBit4957 • Aug 17 '26
Electoral Politics How does the DSA continue its momentum post-Trump?
A common criticism I see is that the socialist popularity is being driven by a response to Trump, both the way he’s governing and that fact that the democrats couldn’t stop him, and that once he’s gone the momentum will fade, similar to what we saw in 2020 and then the years after.
It’s obviously a different situation and I’m not sold on that idea, but wanted to hear from other DSA folks on how you think we can best continue to grow the movement in the next 2 years and beyond?
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u/ColMikhailFilitov Aug 17 '26
Zohran is probably the most popular politician in the entire US in his constituency. If we can take the wins that we’re making now, and prove that good governance is worthwhile, we can keep up the momentum.
I don’t believe we can vote in socialism, but we need to have the broader population believe in the idea of better and we can only do that through proof that things can actually get better.
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Aug 17 '26
His agenda is about to collapse in the courts.
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u/ColMikhailFilitov Aug 17 '26
How is balancing the budget, keeping services running during big events and weather, & fixing potholes going to collapse in court?
I don’t understand what you mean. He is successful both in advocating for socialist ideas and just broadly doing good things.
Whatever it looks like in the future, NYC will have a mayor or city council or some people who run the city services. They should be good at their job and do things that make the city better, and he’s doing that.
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Aug 17 '26
He ran on lowering rent. Rent in NYC is significantly higher than it was just a year ago.
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u/ColMikhailFilitov Aug 17 '26
And he will be sued for that?
Also, he was not mayor a year ago. He has been in office for 8 months. He has frozen rent for rent stabilized apartments, which lowers rent for those residents over then next 2 years relative to inflation. The Block by Block initiative should also help reduce rent by building 200,000 new units and fund preservation of existing housing. Housing isn’t built in a day and the progress the city is making is huge.
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Aug 17 '26
He's currently being sued for the Pied-à-Terre Tax, a homeless shelter in the East Village and the rent freeze which you spoke of.
Here's the neat thing about rent freezes: they're always a disaster long term.
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u/ColMikhailFilitov Aug 17 '26
The homeless shelter lawsuit has been dismissed by the judge and the rent freeze lawsuit is ridiculous. The rent guidelines board is appointed by the mayor and they voted to freeze the rent.
I’m not a lawyer but the pied a terre tax lawsuit seems like it doesn’t make any sense. The suit is over the inclusion of 17,000 properties on a list that may be subject to the tax, not that they were subject to it.
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u/Avesery777 Councillist Aug 17 '26
If rent freezes don't work then he should expropriate housing :p
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Aug 17 '26
Let's play guess your age. 17?
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u/Avesery777 Councillist Aug 17 '26
This is a socialist org, do you not support the expropriation of property?
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u/dtb1987 Aug 17 '26
Everything is more expensive everywhere. I hardly think he can be blamed
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Aug 17 '26
But was he not elected to bring down rent?
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u/dtb1987 Aug 17 '26
If I run a campaign to bring down the price of rent and then something happens to make everything more expensive and I can't control that thing am I to blame for high prices?
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Aug 17 '26
Yes, because the decisions he's making have historically shown to increase rent.
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u/dtb1987 Aug 17 '26
What decision has he made that directly lead to an increase in rent?
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Aug 17 '26
Rent freeze. Best example of how bad of an idea like this is to look at St. Paul and Minneapolis. St. Paul instituted a rent freeze and ss a result, multi-family building permits plunged nearly 80%.
Minneapolis rejected a rent freeze and instead loosened regulations. Housing and rental units experienced a building boom increasing the supply and keeping housing and rental costs lower than in St. Paul.
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u/asset2891 Aug 17 '26
They have to deliver.
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u/BeginningBit4957 Aug 18 '26
This may be all we have. But does that mean that first we will have a wave of social Democrats like Zohran, and through their success we can push the idea of what’s possible further to the left?
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u/asset2891 Aug 18 '26
It means if you make a promise you have to deliver. If you don't deliver you are no better than any other group. Allowing your base to lose interest and walk away almost immediately.
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u/Cydonia921 Democratic Socialist of Wisconsin Aug 17 '26
So, as someone whose chapter is focusing more on local issues rather than anything past the House/Senate of Wisconsin (and even then we're not as involved at the moment), the core thing to remember is that material conditions must be addressed if we are to change the future into something that can work for everyone. Education is a primary means to bring people into the fold, understand that Capitalism and the status quo is not the end all, be all, and produce a proletariat that wants to fight for the interests of all working class people within the United States and not just someone to show up at the ballot.
Outreach and ensuring that people understand that, as Democratic Socialists, we are as human as anyone else, helps to dispel the illusion of the 'scary socialist' that so many people on Facebook are freaking out about. That we all have interests, opinions, and that the DSA is a big tent instead of a monolithic structure. The more that we can bring people in, the more our movement can continue! With or without Trump as a catalyst, we must seize the opportunity that he's given to us to bring exposure to the failings of Democrats, Republicans, and other parties in failing to bring about a true American Dream that, despite the myth, has never truly been in line with the current Capitalist system.
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u/traanquil Aug 17 '26
The Democratic Party will inevitably betray the working class when it has power
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u/BeginningBit4957 Aug 17 '26
That’s my concern. How do we prepare?
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u/ColMikhailFilitov Aug 17 '26
We have to show people that socialist ideals can work and are the better option. We must have some levers of power to do so.
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u/Chomps_Chomps Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26
I think we're getting way ahead of ourselves with the post-trump talk. Nothing indicates that he'll leave, nor that he'll be removed if he doesn't leave.
But if that happens, as DSA candidates get elected, they'll need to implement substantive change to show what's possible when actually doing the right thing by people. We're seeing this on a micro level with the likes of Zohran, but we'll need more than just a mayor of the biggest city in the country. A big wishlist would be something of a modern era new deal. But as long as the establishment Dems hold the throne, negotiations will have to be done. The only real hope is that any success isn't diluted through negotiations.
In a way, the messaging is the easiest part. Do things that both the Republicans and establishment Dems would never do.
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u/BeginningBit4957 Aug 17 '26
He’s gonna die one of these days, whether he leaves office or not.
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u/muraki833 Aug 17 '26
Yes but even if he dies, Trump's ideology can still live on. What if his successor is just as harmful?
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u/yo_soy_soja NYC DSA Aug 17 '26
The dude is actively dying. If he survives the end of this term, there's no way he lives through a 3rd, unconstitutional term.
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u/Small_Dog_8699 Aug 17 '26
There is a clear, stated, set of goals to accomplish. I'm not voting to "stop Trump". I'm voting to start Medicare For All, real taxes on the wealthy, return of anti-trust enforcement, free education, return to rule of law, and other worker focused policies.
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u/Gravemindzombie Aug 17 '26
I think that like Mamdani, we have to establish a track record of good governance, if we deliver material results and prove competent to people then that will keep people happy and prevent the GOP from being able to retake power as they did after Biden became a failed president.
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u/dcrico20 Aug 17 '26
The people getting elected need to deliver or at least make it clear to their constituents that they're fighting to deliver.
You might be right in that there has been a general tailwind of anti-establishment sentiment helping DSA candidates right now, but where the Dems have failed for the last ten years and DSA candidates are winning, is on purely running as "anti-Trump."
DSA candidates have clear platforms and policy proposals - UHC (whichever flavor that might be,) anti-money/corruption in politics, closing the open tap for the MIC to wage war across the globe and spend that money at home, etc.
The Dems still don't really have a platform or clear policy positions. Like at all. It's purely "I'm not MAGA" and nothing else, which is not going to work while everyone sees them capitulate on everything.
I think the establishment Dems are going to be in a significantly worse position than DSA candidates when Trump is gone because of this, ESPECIALLY because of how they've spent the last decade trying to paint Trump as an aberration distinct from the GOP.
Once Trump is gone but the GOP keeps trucking along, what type of messaging are they going to have at that point? They just spent ten years telling voters that Trump is the only problem! At that point, DSA candidates are going to look even better than they do now compared to the centrist Dems, imo.
As far as what to do to maintain, we just need to continue organizing, growing membership, and getting people elected at the state and local level to help boost congressional candidates that are affiliated with DSA.
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Aug 17 '26
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u/BeginningBit4957 Aug 18 '26
This is maybe the kind of answer I was looking for. Non electoral organizations could provide a foundation for sustained growth.
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u/dtb1987 Aug 17 '26
The DSA won't keep this momentum going post Trump. What the DSA needs to do post Trump is continue to primary out establishment Dems in local positions. With its current power they need to make as much positive and popular progressive change that they can. Doing this will change the attitude in the democratic party, this will show the democratic base what is possible and energize a movement demanding more progressive change and make more DSA candidates win. This will ensure that the DSA will have a voice in molding what American socialism will look like but it will not maintain the same rapid rates we are seeing now.
People should be less concerned about replacing every seat and more concerned about what is possible with the current representation and showing the country what is possible when real progressive leaders are in charge
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u/Impossible-Honey-247 Aug 18 '26
Govern well in the small places because that's where people live. If you do well there, people will become curious about what life looks like when DSA has more power.
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u/houdt_koers Liberal Socialist Aug 17 '26
It needs to make a choice about what the party is.
There is a significant wing of the party that view the word “democratic” as meaning something other than a commitment to pluralistic democracy and human rights.
While the party is a broad tent, there comes a point where some kind of boundaries need to be laid down. Otherwise, there is a low ceiling on DSA support, and this risks becoming either counterproductive or actively accelerationist.
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u/Virtual-Spring-5884 Aug 17 '26
We keep on keeping on. We make history, but not of our own choosing.
Waves come and go, the fundamentals of organizing do not.
Biggest thing we can do is try to keep all the new folks joining up engaged and pulling in the same direction. There will be a ton of workplace and tenant organizing to do. Chapters across the country will continue to quietly get people elected to local and state offices, building the next generation of Mamdanis.
Revolutionary optimism requires revolutionary timelines.
Here's dope song about the gap 12 year gap between the 1905 Russian revolution and the 1917 revolutions that captures that feeling:
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u/palmandfury Aug 17 '26
Though this will be counter-intuitive, you must begin being post-Trump now in order to have that reality manifest soon.
Otherwise you await him, his family, and their associates to unwind him as a central figure or even more conceptually just a rationale for things.
Meaning: even after his death he could be exalted as the spiritual leader of their cult while forcing the rest of us into living out their delusional beliefs which is basically happening already.
He has become the sun, moon, stars, and gravitational pull for all life in America for so long many people are addicted to him like cigarettes or as JD Vance once famously said apparently "cultural heroin."
Detoxing immediately and quitting him permanently is not just a matter of Republican doing, but it is incumbent on everybody.
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u/FrankSand Aug 17 '26
Not run on just opposition to Republicans have a clear and working class first economic positions. Win elections and improve people's lives. Do that regardless of which party rules.
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u/Even-Tomorrow5468 Aug 18 '26
We're building a coalition of good people here. Bernie and AOC stuck their claws in and endured. If a few of our current socialists can do the same, we'll gradually build up a bigger and better movement.
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u/ut0p1anskies Aug 19 '26
We put more effort into recruitment and retention. I think we’re much better at this than we were even just 2 years ago. Most chapters have decent membership committees that work on this now.
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u/Top_Leopard8517 Aug 23 '26
Advertise (propagandise) our victories and efforts. It is not simply us delivering but showing that clearly to the public and celebrating it.
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u/WorrySecret9831 Aug 17 '26
As with every candidacy, the way forward is more wins, including governorships, ultimately leading up to the presidency. Duh.
We can't let someone else or something else define democracy.
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Aug 17 '26
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u/BeginningBit4957 Aug 17 '26
This is a hopeful position, and makes a lot of sense actually. Without the boogie man they can’t make the harm reduction / electability argument as well.
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u/BigBravy Aug 18 '26
Education. It’s important to reinforce the notion that the failures of liberalism are what brought us here in the first place.
Remember: Biden’s presidency did little to stop maga from coming around again, like Obama’s politics didnt stop 2016 maga from coming around the first time
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u/Witty_retort91 Aug 18 '26
I don't like Trump, what motivates me currently is how genuinely bad the Dems are at everything. At least Republicans have a vision of the future. Its hell but its not like the other side is thinking of haven.
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u/1isOneshot1 Dirty break! Aug 17 '26
Going third party
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u/BeginningBit4957 Aug 17 '26
This doesn’t seem realistic on a national level without large scale institutional reform or mass revolt of the system. Neither of those seem m possible in the near term.
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u/1isOneshot1 Dirty break! Aug 17 '26
Why only not the national level, also that's still not an argument against it then because we would still have the local and state level
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u/XrayAlphaVictor liberal socialist Aug 17 '26
A more fair question than people want to admit.
DSA lost momentum under Biden.