Capitulation is a doomed strategy - do not capitulate to Trump
10 April 2025
We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.
Attributed to Benjamin Franklin, but see here.
We must work together to defeat Donald J. Trump, America’s bully. The New York Times agrees, and wrote an editorial focusing on Trump’s targeting of law firms that represented his “enemies”:
A Playbook for Standing Up to President Trump
In his attacks on law firms, universities and other American institutions, President Trump is relying on an illusion. The illusion is that the institutions are powerless to fight back and that they face a choice between principle and survival.
These institutions do not have to capitulate to Mr. Trump. They have a realistic path to defeating his intimidation. Some law firms and others have begun to fight. In doing so, they have provided the beginnings of a playbook for standing up to his attempts to weaken core tenets of American democracy, including due process, free speech and the constitutional system of checks and balances.
The playbook begins with a recognition that capitulation is doomed.
. . .
One firm that was subject to an executive order — Paul, Weiss — surrendered and promised concessions, including $40 million in pro bono work for Trump-friendly causes. Three other firms — Milbank; Skadden, Arps; and Willkie Farr & Gallagher — proactively agreed to deals with the White House and made their own concessions.
A crucial fact about these agreements is that they include no binding promises from the White House. Mr. Trump can threaten the firms again whenever he chooses and demand further concessions. These firms are in virtual receivership to Mr. Trump.
. . .
The second item in the playbook is an insistence on due process.
. . .
“It is thus a core principle of our legal system that ‘one should not be penalized for merely defending or prosecuting a lawsuit,’” Mr. Clement wrote, quoting a 1974 Supreme Court ruling. He described Mr. Trump’s orders as “an unprecedented assault on that bedrock principle.” Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, granted Mr. Clement’s request for a temporary restraining order.
. . .
Finally, the playbook calls for solidarity, especially for institutions that Mr. Trump has not (yet) targeted. The initial response to his executive orders from many other law firms has been the opposite of solidarity. They reportedly tried to steal clients and hire lawyers from the threatened firms. Most big firms also refused to sign a legal brief in defense of their industry. Their meekness is ultimately self-defeating. The campaign to subdue law firms will either be defeated or it will expand.
An increasing number of so-called “leaders” — in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors, and around the world — are telling their boards, overseers, trustees, or legislatures: “We have to give Trump whatever he wants and even try to anticipate his wants, because who knows how he’ll react if we don’t?”
My strong recommendation to anyone in a position of leadership here or abroad: Do not give in to Trump’s feigned madness. Do not surrender. Do not capitulate. Join forces and fight back.
Friends, this is serious. The only way to confront Trump is through unified action — as exemplified by the 504 law firms that have signed on to the friend-of-the-court brief opposing his executive order against law firms that have upset him.
Disunity — as exemplified by the unwillingness of the largest law firms in America to sign on — only feeds Trump’s power-mad bullying.
We should find our courage and look for opportunities to join with others who are or may be targeted by Trump. Otherwise, we are doomed.
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