Why Empathy Alone Won’t Fix What Comes NextAccountability, strength, and what the post-Trump era actually requires
So I was asked on a podcast the other day if we’re going to see a return to civility, empathy, and kindness whenever we reach the inevitable post-Trump America—when he’s finally gone or at least becomes so irrelevant that we can, God, maybe ignore him. And I think that’s a fascinating question. It’s been sitting in my mind for the last couple of days. In the moment, I said yes, because I believe the vast majority of Americans—including a lot of people who voted for Donald Trump, many of whom are now regretting that decision—are sick of this moment, where some of the worst voices in our society are dominating the discourse and dragging the country down. Today’s rant is sponsored by Ground News. I’ve been paying more attention to how differently the same story gets covered depending on where you read it—especially lately, when everything feels optimized for speed and outrage instead of context. Take this one—over 200 outlets covered Trump criticizing NATO’s response around Iran. CNN frames it as “Trump is not listening to experts” as tensions escalate.
New York Post states he’s “calling NATO members ‘cowards’ for not stepping up.”
Same story—completely different narratives. People are exhausted. What looks like apathy isn’t apathy—it’s overload. There’s so much chaos and noise that people have gone numb just to keep up. But that numbness isn’t permanent. When the pressure lifts, people are going to feel all of this more clearly. And that’s when empathy and kindness are going to matter most—when people are trying to process what happened and start putting things back together. We’re going to need people to step up and be part of the solution. And I look forward to that moment because, as I’ve said before when I’ve debated conservatives on their shows, I don’t hate them. I don’t hate people who voted for Donald Trump. I’m mad at them. I don’t understand them. But I don’t like the coarseness of our politics. I don’t like waking up every morning and writing a “good fucking morning” tweet. It doesn’t feel good. As much as the engagement is great, it feels cheap for the discourse to operate that way. I want us to get back to a politics that’s about improving people’s lives—having real debates, but actually solving problems. And I think we can get there. But there’s an important caveat. A return to empathy or kindness should not be used to force some kind of bland D.C. moderation. It should not become an excuse to forgive and forget the corruption, the chaos, and the damage that’s been done. The clearest example is Gerald Ford pardoning Richard Nixon in the name of national unity. I don’t think that made the country stronger. I think we’d be in a different place today if a president had actually been held accountable. We’ve seen this pattern before. We didn’t prosecute the people who devastated millions of lives during the Wall Street financial crisis. We’re still not prosecuting people tied to the Epstein files. We can be kind. We can be empathetic. We can love our neighbors—people who are just trying to survive, people who’ve made decisions we don’t understand. But that empathy cannot come at the expense of accountability. I worry about two paths from here. The first is that Democrats try so hard to win that they become a mirror image of Republicans—driven by grievance, focused on anger, more interested in pissing people off than actually helping anyone. The moment the party stops trying to improve people’s lives—even imperfectly—I’m registering as an independent. The second is more subtle, and maybe more dangerous. We elect a Democrat in ’28, everyone exhales, and people tune out again. Civility returns—but so does a lack of accountability. We’ve heard this before: time to move on, don’t look backward, focus on healing. No. We can’t do that again. What’s actually good for the country is accountability. Right now, the country feels adrift. Part of that is because we’re not holding the right people accountable. We over-penalize low-level offenses, but we don’t go after white-collar crime. There’s an entire class of people who can abuse kids and get away with it. We haven’t even prosecuted the people who helped traffic them—and the DOJ has the information to act. Mid-rant note: this section is sponsored by Ground News. I’ve started paying more attention to how the same story can feel completely different depending on who’s reporting it. Ground News makes that easy to see by showing coverage from across the political spectrum and pointing out what certain outlets leave out. My team and I use it because it helps cut through the noise. If you want a clearer view of what’s actually going on, check out Ground News → Give it a try! We can’t turn away again. Civility cannot become a way to avoid hard decisions instead of a foundation for making them. That kind of D.C. thinking is more about protecting the cocktail party circuit than delivering for the public. We should show empathy and kindness to our fellow Americans—including people who were misled or taken advantage of, yes, even people who voted for Donald Trump. That doesn’t mean you don’t get to be mad. I’m mad. I’m still mad at MAGA influencers who flipped overnight but won’t admit the role they played. But empathy is not a pass. There are people in this administration, in Trump’s orbit, who have stolen from the American people, gotten people killed, and covered up serious crimes. They must be held accountable—period. Not just for justice, but because failing to act tells the next group in power they can get away with the same thing. And even if some of them are pardoned on the way out, that doesn’t change the obligation to pursue the truth. So whoever earns my vote in the 2028 primary has to do two things. First, lay out a real vision for the future. How do we rebuild this economy so it actually works for average Americans—not corporations or the untouchable elite, but working people? What does the American dream look like in a world shaped by AI, robotics, and constant technological change? Second, show me what accountability actually looks like—and make me believe it. Investigations? Hearings? DOJ action? I want specifics. Real oversight, subpoenas, independent investigations, and stronger guardrails that can’t be ignored. How do we rein in executive power so we never end up here again? How do we confront corruption and abuses of power instead of brushing them aside? That means strengthening the law. It’s been too weak. We have to reassert Congress as a co-equal branch of government. I’m not going to support a technocrat who says the right things and does nothing with teeth. On some level, that’s how I feel about the Biden administration. I love Joe Biden, but I don’t think they did enough—and that’s part of how we ended up back here, in a situation worse than Trump’s first term. We’ve tried that version of “normal.” It doesn’t hold. There has to be strength behind the empathy. Consequences behind the rhetoric. Accountability—full stop. Otherwise, we fail people again. And when that happens, voters will look for someone louder, more extreme. I get laughed at when I say this, but I don’t think Donald Trump is the bottom. I think someone worse could come along and take this country down an even darker path. That’s why this moment matters. Yes, this period has been chaotic and damaging. But it’s also an opportunity—to fix what’s been broken for decades, to restore dignity, and to build a system that actually lets people live the lives they were promised. We can do that. I believe we can. But don’t let anyone confuse empathy with weakness. Empathy is strength. It lets you see clearly and act decisively when it matters most. The best leaders are strong, clear-eyed, and willing to act. We can be compassionate and still hold the line. If we’re serious about fixing this country, we have to be both. Mike Nellis is a Democratic strategist and entrepreneur who has raised over $1 billion for Democratic campaigns and causes. He’s the founder of Authentic.org, an award-winning fundraising and advertising agency, and a former Senior Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris. This Substack is where he writes with endless urgency about the issues of the day—and how we can save the Democratic Party and our democracy. You’re currently a free subscriber to Endless Urgency with Mike Nellis. For the full experience or to support my work so I can keep it free for as many people as possible, upgrade your subscription.
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Keep a civil tongue.