WASHINGTON —
President Obama is rethinking his plans to withdraw from
the political arena after he leaves office next year, hinting to friends and
supporters that he wants to add his voice to the shellshocked Democratic
activists and elected officials who are now angrily vowing to oppose
Donald J. Trump’s presidency.
White House aides say they expect the president to try to refrain from
criticism during the transition because of his belief in the importance of
a courteous and dignified transfer of power. But while the president holds
out hope that he might influence Mr. Trump, he has made it clear that once
out of office he will not remain silent if Mr. Trump goes too far in undoing
his legacy.
“I’m going to be constrained in what I do with all of you until I am again
a private citizen,” Mr. Obama, who will be living a few miles from the White
House next year, told a meeting this past week of Organizing for Action,
the group that maintains his political movement. “But that’s not so far off.”
Dozens of liberal advocacy groups, which have received a flood of
donations and new members in the chaotic days since Mr. Trump’s defeat
of Hillary Clinton, are gearing up for years of clashes with Mr. Trump.
After eight years of advocacy on behalf of the Obama agenda, they are
racing to recast themselves as bulwarks against
Mr. Trump’s expected
assault on an array of Democratic policies.
The mobilization against Mr. Trump began even before his victory was official.
At just after midnight on Election Day, panicked immigration rights activists
gathered for a conference call to strategize. A few days later, more than
80 representatives of 57 progressive groups convened in the offices
of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in Washington.
The mood was intense, angry and unforgiving, according to people
who attended the confidential organizing session, which included
representatives from labor, environmental groups, immigration activists,
gay rights and civil rights organizations.
Jim Messina, who managed Mr. Obama’s re-election
campaign, offered brief remarks at the meeting,
cautioning against any attempts to compromise
and work with Mr. Trump. “Push back at every level,”
Mr. Messina urged.
No one in the room objected, one attendee said.
Nan Aron, the president of the Alliance for Justice, started calling law firms
in Washington the day after the election, beginning the process of
opposition research on Mr. Trump’s likely
Supreme Court nominees.
Dozens of lawyers eagerly signed up for what is sure to be a heated
battle over the direction of the court for a generation.
Photo
President Obama said he would be “constrained in what I do with all of you
until I am again a private citizen.” Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
“They want to get involved,” she said. “They are worried about the new
administration.”
Neera Tanden, an adviser to Mrs. Clinton and the president of the Center
for American Progress, a liberal think tank, said her organization had
begun hosting daily meetings and conference calls as it plots the best
way to resist Mr. Trump.
She called Mr. Trump’s
first appointments extreme and said they had
helped to “stiffen the spines” of Democrats. And she said the election
had sparked a grass-roots awakening, with largely peaceful protests
across the country.
Two planned rallies in Washington — one for immigration and civil rights
on Jan. 14, and
another focused on women the day after the inauguration
— were devised mostly by social media campaigns. Activists in Washington
expect hundreds of thousands of people to gather for the second rally.
But Ms. Tanden warned of dangers posed by the Trump administration,
and warned against treating them “in normal Washington political terms.”
“I think the issue is, we do have the makings of an administration that
could do more damage to democratic norms than any presidency in my
lifetime,” she said.
Some Democrats say they are eager for Mrs. Clinton to re-emerge
after a period of recovery interrupted so far only by a speech to
the Children’s Defense Fund on Wednesday.
It is unclear when, or if, she might return to politics, though many
Democrats said they would welcome it. “She’s one tough lady,
and public service is in her blood,” said Representative Adam Schiff
of California. “Don’t expect her to go quietly into that good night.”
But
the immediate task of confronting Mr. Trump will fall to Senator
Chuck Schumer of New York, the new Democratic leader.
Photo
Hillary Clinton supporters cheering as Mr. Obama spoke about Puerto Rico
at a campaign event in Florida before the election. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times
Mr. Schumer has already alarmed some progressives in Washington with
his talk of trying to cut deals with the new president on issues where their
interests align. But he said on Friday that Democrats in the Senate would
not hesitate to confront Mr. Trump.
“When he takes a divisive, nasty turn, when he just sides with special
interests and gets co-opted by the Republican right,
we will oppose him
tooth and nail,” Mr. Schumer said in an interview.
That is not nearly enough for some liberal activists,
who view Mr. Trump not as a traditional policy adversary
to be challenged but a fundamental threat to democracy
who must be confronted and destroyed.
“This is a crisis of unparalleled dimension,” said Wade Henderson,
the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights,
a coalition of liberal groups in Washington.
A
disagreement over strategy threatens to sow division among Democrats,
some of whom advocate finding ways to work with Mr. Trump.
That approach could help senators who face re-election in 2018, especially
in states where Mr. Trump trounced Mrs. Clinton.
Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia announced on Friday that
he would support Mr. Trump’s nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions
to be attorney general. Others, like Senator Richard Blumenthal
of Connecticut, say Democrats should work with Mr. Trump in areas
where they have similar goals (though Mr. Blumenthal also warned
against ceding ground on issues like civil rights).
By contrast, Senator
Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, whose fierce
criticisms of Mr. Trump on the campaign trail often verged on the apocalyptic,
rejects compromise with Mr. Trump. She says he is mounting an effort
“to turn this country into something very different than it is.”
“On basic issues of humanity, we don’t give an inch,” she insisted in
an interview on Friday. “Be very, very clear about what we won’t
compromise on and very clear about what we’re fighting for.
If we have clarity, the American people are with us.”
Photo
Mrs. Clinton addressing the Children’s Defense Fund in Washington on Wednesday,
her first appearance since her defeat to Mr. Trump. Credit Al Drago/The New York Times
Senator Christopher Murphy of Connecticut reflected the uncertainty
among Democrats, who are still trying to assess the implications of
a Trump administration and how to respond.
“We don’t know yet if it is a threat to democratic norms,” he said,
“or to policy.”
For Mr. Obama, a return to the partisan fray was never the intention.
His library and foundation will serve as a platform for him to travel around
the world, confront systemic issues of race relations, and push for
technological change aimed at improving society.
But that vision assumed that his presidential legacy would be protected
and nurtured by Mrs. Clinton in the Oval Office.
In his remarks to activists, Mr. Obama urged them to stop moping and to
ratchet up their opposition to Mr. Trump by Thanksgiving. He promised to
join their cause soon after, telling them: “You’re going to see me early next
year, and we’re going to be in a position where we can start cooking up all
kinds of great stuff to do.”
He has echoed that message in private conversations, making it clear that
he may not completely pattern himself after George W. Bush, who almost
never criticized his successor.
One friend of Mr. Obama’s, who requested anonymity to discuss private
discussions with the president, said the election results seemed to have
made him more willing to remain part of the political debate.
“Everyone he talks to walks away with this impression,” the friend said.
In an
interview with The New Yorker this week, Mr. Obama said that if
Mrs. Clinton had won the election, he might have just turned over the keys
and walked away on Inauguration Day.
With Mr. Trump’s victory, he said he felt “some responsibility to at least
offer my counsel” to the
Democratic Party’s political warriors he leaves
behind in Washington.
Exactly how — and when — Mr. Obama would once again engage
in direct and public opposition to Mr. Trump’s agenda is unclear.
“I don’t know what President Obama will do,” Ms. Tanden said.
“But I know that he loves the foundations of democracy.
If he thinks that’s threatened, I imagine he might speak out.”
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