Adam Michnik: One of the leaders of the "Solidarity" movement in 1989, and a participant in the roundtable talks that ended communist rule in Poland, he is the editor-in-chief of Gazeta Wyborcza.
Irina Grodzinska Gross: A professor at the Institute of Slavic Studies at the Polish Academy of Sciences, and a 2018 Fellow at the Guggenheim Foundation.
As the second Trump administration rapidly dismantles American alliance networks, local institutions, and global trade arrangements, historian Irina Grodzinska Gross recently posed a question to former Polish dissident Adam Michnik regarding how the democratic opposition in America should confront the authoritarian regime currently in power.
Irina Gross: The Trump administration wasted no time attacking the institutions it considers part of the opposition, such as cutting federal funding to major research universities, intimidating the media, and blocking lawyers from major law firms from entering federal buildings. As a politician, historian, and former dissident activist, what advice do you give to a student at Columbia University, for example?
Adam Michnik: I wouldn’t presume to offer specific advice to Americans on how to deal with the situation, as it requires first diagnosing it. The situation is new and has turned the world upside down. We need to learn to think about geopolitics and America in a new way, and ask: Is what’s happening incidental or indicative of a world evolution? Is the world heading towards a new and different path?
Gross: What is your preliminary diagnosis? Is America heading towards despotism?
Michnik: There are commonalities between the system of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Trump’s regime that extend beyond rhetoric. In both cases, foreign policy is an extension of domestic policy. Putin needs a state of perpetual war to keep Russians under control; Trump needs to create conflict with the entire world to justify exercising power as a necessity to protect American identity and the welfare of the country.
From the perspective of the average Russian citizen, it doesn’t matter whether the rubble of Donetsk belongs to Ukraine or Russia. What matters is the existence of war, as it unifies people around a banner. Putin first started destroying civil society in Russia, which he has consistently done since the beginning of his rule. As for Trump, he has subjugated major components of American civil society in less than three months; such widespread destruction usually takes three years.
Putinization of the American System
Gross: Among all the foreign leaders you can compare Trump to, why specifically choose Putin?
Michnik: Because we are witnessing a comprehensive “Putinization” of the United States. Trump wants to establish a system akin to Putin’s, but he has to do so within the American framework, which is a different society with different traditions, laws, and institutions. So it will not be an exact replica. Yet the difference between Japan and Portugal does not mean they are not both democracies; similarly, authoritarian regimes always carry a historical and national flavor, but they remain authoritarian.
What Putin is doing, as a Russian friend of mine put it, is adapting an authoritarian system towards totalitarianism. Similarly, what Trump is doing has been accurately described by historians like Anne Applebaum and Timothy Snyder—as well as figures like former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
If I were to give advice to my daughter’s colleagues studying at Columbia, I would tell them: read Snyder’s book "On Tyranny." It’s a primer that helps you understand the world you live in and the dangers you face. Snyder often draws on Eastern European experience in the late era of communist dictatorship for a reason.
Malicious America
Gross: What do you mean by “malicious America”?
Michnik: We now see a different face of America that we had overlooked, yet it was always there: the face of racism, exclusion, brutality, extrajudicial killings, and brutal imperial control—it has become glaringly evident during the scene with Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.
As I watched that abhorrent scene, I physically felt the anger that Latinx people harbor towards “Yankees.” There was a rudeness, a barbarity, from men who don’t even attempt to pretend that there are laws or rules. What matters is only who has the power. If you don’t obey, you’ll be hit in the face. No one expected this. It was a physical shock.
I describe it as “the revenge of memory,” the America that has not adapted to the 21st century. This dark America defines its enemy by gender, sexual orientation, identity, or immigration status. It is the uprising of the frustrated part of society against attempts to build a tolerant community.
But I don’t want to imply that the opposition is composed solely of angels. There are real reasons for frustration, and we must understand the discourse that has made Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric acceptable. Why do people follow him? There are also dangers in the extremism we’re witnessing at universities. We need to figure out how to defuse these mines. And it won’t be easy.
Choose Your Battles
Gross: What does “defusing the mines” practically mean? Does it mean the opposition shouldn’t organize protests? Do you advise Democrats not to defend transgender people?
Michnik: I advise them not to make this issue the centerpiece of the struggle against Trump. They should clarify how Trump harms America and identify the damage that everyone can recognize, including those who recoil from gender policies. Naturally, everyone should be defended; everyone has a right to freedom and dignity. However, allowing an issue like transgender rights to overshadow concerns that affect society as a whole is a significant risk.
For instance, union members need to understand that Trump’s tariff policies are not in their favor and will ultimately harm them. “America First” means imposed self-isolation. If you act like an imperial tyrant, you will end up in disaster.
That’s what needs to be conveyed to Trump’s voters. They have supported an assault akin to Putin’s on American institutions and soft power. As someone who has been pro-America all my life, I find this terrifying. Despite things I didn’t like before, I believed America would end up on the right side of history. Now, Trump has taken it to the wrong side; he even echoes Putin’s language.
Practical Outlook
Gross: This sounds realistic. What should be done practically? What cards does the opposition have against Trump?
Michnik: The immediate goal for anyone who cares about American democracy is to ensure that Republicans lose the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats need to connect with all social groups that supported Trump and explain to them how he harms their interests.
Given that Trump won in 2024 without dispute, the opposition should ask the people: Why did you trust him? There’s no escaping that question. They need to analyze it and then clarify how Trump makes people less safe and less prosperous. All his promises are deceits. Yet the effects will not appear overnight; it will take time.
Gross: Some effects have already begun, such as market downturns and warnings of economic recession.
Michnik: The pro-democracy opposition needs to maintain space for discussion about our concerns. The authoritarian Trump administration relies on chaos and on people losing their understanding of their world. We need think tanks and institutions that analyze, diagnose, and predict what is happening. Above all, we must tell the truth. As my favorite Christ said: "The truth will set you free."
We must draw attention to the fact that Trump’s diplomatic threats are primarily aimed at destroying democracy and civil society domestically. That is the essence of his threats to Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal. And finally, there is Ukraine, which he will hand over to Putin’s control. It’s the same logic as Munich. We remember how Chamberlain returned from Munich saying: "I bring you peace in our time." And that peace lasted less than a year.
As we look at Trump’s efforts to reshape the world, we must remember that there is no final victory, nor is there a permanent defeat. We can fight again after defeat. And we must fight.
The European Perspective
Gross: How should Europe respond to this threat?
Michnik: Europe is beginning to awaken, trying to build its own strength and agency. It will certainly be difficult. I don’t know if it will succeed, but we must try. I am very proud of my government—led by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. They know how to talk to America with dignity, not servility.
When the Law and Justice party won in Poland, I faced severe criticism for saying: “You cannot hand Poland over to these bastards.” Today I say: you cannot hand America over to these bastards. Elon Musk, who recently told Sikorski “shut up, little man,” is a bastard. You’re a little bastard, Mr. Musk.
Gross: It seems that the Polish experience gives us some hope.
Michnik: During the years of dictatorship in Poland, there was a saying: “A grain of sugar must melt.” We meant that these things take time. You can’t expect the way to open immediately. But authoritarian regimes are mortal, and this regime will stumble eventually.
You can talk recklessly about annexing Canada or controlling Greenland, but such arrogance only leads to a dead-end—just like Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. It may seem effective in the short term, yes. But we know from Polish history that there are moments when it seems all hope is lost. In such moments, you have to rely on instincts and tactics to survive.
It’s useful to return to how universities in Poland behaved during martial law (1981–1983) and how they resisted pressure and tried to salvage what could be salvaged. Now, the Trump administration is using a flamethrower. And when the house is on fire, it’s hard to extinguish it with ink. The American house is truly burning. But no fire lasts forever.
