James Fallows is a former speechwriter (and acclaimed author and journalist, obviously) who knows a powerful turn of phrase when he hears one. So he did some of our leaders a solid by pointing out some of the useful and meaningful rhetoric that we’ve seen from a handful of our leaders even as most of them have completely abdicated their duty to say or do anything to resist the encroaching tyranny.
I urge you to click over and read them all but here’s a sampling of the first five he mentions:
The purpose of this post is to note and support people who are using platforms bigger than most of us have, to speak more bravely and bluntly than many others with their privilege dare.
It’s an unscientific and only partial list, ordered chronologically. It starts at the beginning of Trump II, and so leaves out the likes of Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, who took brave stands during the January 6 investigative hearings. Many of these entries will link to reports I did in real time. Here we go:
1) Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde, Jan. 21, 2025.
What she said: That a new president should show mercy to those who were afraid, specifically because of the enmity he had stirred up and the policies he stood for. She named people who pick crops in the field; people “who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shift in hospitals.” People who make the country go, and are afraid.
Why it mattered: She was the first. She said it on live TV. She said it directly, and to his face—a man who is physically well over twice her size, and had a million times more power to wreak vengeance upon her in our mortal world.
She set an example. Let us remember her.
2) Justin Trudeau, Feb. 1, 2025.
What he said: That Canada would not knuckle under to the wave of sweeping tariffs that Donald Trump had just announced, against America’s closest neighbors and largest trading partners (Canada and Mexico).
Why it mattered: Trudeau kicked off what has become a theme of the past year: National pride and dignity among nations that for generations had considered themselves close US allies, now united by standing up to the US.
Who had imagined that the force that would make the European Union more unified than ever, that would give NATO new resolve, was fear of the United States? Donald Trump’s predecessors had worked to build bonds among our allies. Trump has united other countries—against their former friend.
It was Trudeau who, knowing he was about to leave office, first and most clearly made the case for (reluctantly) anti-US-based national pride.
I quoted from the speech, at length, in a post at the time. A brief sample:
“I want to speak directly to Americans, our closest friends and neighbours.
“This is a choice [the punitive tariffs] that yes, will harm Canadians. But beyond that, it will have real consequences for you, the American people.
And then:
We have our own identity, our own history and our own values. Canadians are welcoming, open, and ambitious. We prefer to solve our disputes with diplomacy, but we’re ready to fight when necessary.
Jeesh.
3) Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Feb. 28, 2025.
What he said: “I’m not playing cards, Mr. President. I’m very serious.”
Why it mattered. Zelenskyy was answering Trump’s angry and soulless “you don’t have any cards!” dismissal of Ukraine and its cause. Zelenskyy was establishing: This is not just one of your deals. Or a game.
4) Mark Carney, March 9, 2025.
What he said: “I know these are dark days. Dark days brought on by a country we can no longer trust.”
Why it mattered: Carney—former head of the Bank of England and Bank of Canada, educated in the US and goalie on the Harvard hockey team, elected Canadian prime minister on a surge of anti-Trump sentiment—expressed the heartbroken realism of a neighbor that had to declare its independence from a once-loved but now abusive partner.
“We’re getting over the shock, but let us never forget the lessons: we have to look after ourselves and we have to look out for each other. We need to pull together in the tough days ahead.”
The “we” in the last sentence referred to Canadians, not Canada and the US.
5) Alan Garber, April 14, 2025.
What he said: Go to hell. This, from the previously mild-mannered and compromise-minded president of Harvard.
Why it mattered: The nation’s oldest, richest, and most influential university refusing to bow to Trump/MAGA demands. And thus setting an example and providing protection for other schools.
The others he quotes are Harvey Wilkinson, Gavin Newsom, JB Pritzker, Lisa Cook, Pope Leo, Jack Smith, Mark Kelly, Jacob Frey, Jerome Powell, Tim Walz.
It’s good to see these quotes all in one place. It restores your faith a little bit.