Un-Trumping America

What does it take to rescue a democracy that’s slowly being dismantled from within? In Un-Trumping America, former Obama advisor and Pod Save America cohost Dan Pfeiffer asks this urgent question—and makes a bold argument for how Democrats can reclaim power, reform government, and prevent the next Trump-like figure from ever rising again. Pfeiffer insists that Donald Trump isn’t an anomaly; he’s the logical product of decades of Republican manipulation of American politics. To survive this era—and preserve democracy itself—Pfeiffer argues we must reimagine not just how Democrats campaign, but how they govern.

The book is neither a partisan rant nor a typical political memoir. It’s an inside-out blueprint for systemic change, mixing political storytelling, humor, and fierce strategic analysis. Pfeiffer’s core thesis is simple but profound: America’s democratic crisis didn’t start with Trump—it started with a Republican Party that abandoned civic norms for raw power. Trump merely ripped off the mask. So un-Trumping America means fixing the structural flaws that allowed Trumpism to thrive: minority rule, gerrymandering, the Electoral College, money in politics, and conservative court-stacking. His argument echoes other modern reformers like Ezra Klein (Why We’re Polarized) and Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (How Democracies Die), but Pfeiffer focuses less on diagnosis than on the how-to of resistance.

Understanding the Problem: Trumpism as a System

According to Pfeiffer, Trumpism combines racial grievance politics and plutocracy—a cynical union of white resentment and billionaire self-interest. Republicans have long weaponized cultural fear to protect economic elites. Trump’s crudeness simply made the underlying formula impossible to ignore. Pfeiffer connects Trump’s rise to a lineage beginning with Nixon’s Southern Strategy, Reagan’s coded dog-whistles about “welfare queens,” and McConnell’s ruthless obstructionism under Obama. Trump inherited and enlarged a party culture that rewards winning over governing, grievance over policy, and authoritarian tactics over democratic respect. That understanding is vital, Pfeiffer explains, because if Democrats think Trump is the disease rather than a symptom, they’ll treat the wrong problem.

Democracy on Life Support

Pfeiffer recounts key moments that illustrate how far the democratic erosion goes: Republicans gerrymandering entire states to lock in power, voter suppression laws that disenfranchise millions, and McConnell’s theft of a Supreme Court seat. He connects those anti-democratic moves to broader institutional failures: a Senate that overrepresents rural white states, an Electoral College that lets popular-vote losers win, and a broken campaign finance system that privileges billionaires over citizens. The cumulative effect, he warns, is minority rule where the majority has less and less power to shape policy. Pfeiffer writes not as an academic theorist but as someone who watched these dynamics firsthand from the Obama White House. The result is a visceral sense that democracy isn’t dying in theory—it’s being picked apart piece by piece.

A Blueprint for Un-Trumping America

The second half of the book pivots from critique to action. Pfeiffer proposes concrete strategies: eliminate the filibuster, expand the Supreme Court, abolish the Electoral College, and make Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico states. He calls this agenda “making America a democracy again.” The focus isn’t on revenge against Trump but on preventive reform to safeguard future elections. Pfeiffer’s tone throughout is urgent but hopeful: he views Trump’s chaos as a wake-up call that’s mobilized millions of ordinary Americans into activism. The rise of grassroots groups like Indivisible, Swing Left, and Run for Something—spawned largely by the shock of 2016—shows that the energy to rebuild democracy exists if it’s channeled strategically. His emphasis on everyday activism echoes Barack Obama’s organizing ethos: “Don’t boo—vote.”

Why This Matters

Pfeiffer’s message isn’t only for politicians—it’s for citizens who feel powerless in the face of political dysfunction. He argues that cynicism is the greatest danger; if Americans give up on democracy, authoritarians win by default. The book closes with optimism drawn from activists nationwide, from Parkland students to Stacey Abrams, proving that the antidote to Trump isn’t despair—it’s participation. The author’s humor and insider perspective make policy proposals feel personal, not procedural. As Pfeiffer learned from Obama, when you have everything to lose, the only way to win is to fight like you have nothing to lose. Un-Trumping America invites you to do exactly that: fight not just against a president, but for a better system—one worthy of its people.

Pfeiffer’s first major argument is that Trump didn’t corrupt a healthy Republican Party—he revealed what it already was. Since the 1970s, the GOP has evolved from a mainstream conservative party into what he calls a minority-rule machine. Its leaders mastered the art of seizing power without majority support, weaponizing racial anxiety, evangelical grievance, and billionaire capital to dominate elections despite losing the popular vote repeatedly.

From Nixon to McConnell: The Long Game

Beginning with Richard Nixon’s “Southern Strategy,” the Right learned that cultural fear was more potent than policy. Reagan refined this through smiling dog-whistles—“states’ rights” speeches, welfare rhetoric, and coded racial resentment. By the time Mitch McConnell rose in Congress, Republicanism had matured into a cynical philosophy summarized by Pfeiffer’s phrase “Because we can.” Power became its own goal. McConnell blocked Obama’s reforms during the Great Recession, filibustered judicial appointments, and stole a Supreme Court seat with blatant hypocrisy. Pfeiffer saw these tactics firsthand and describes McConnell as the true architect of Trump’s corruption—the man who built the structure Trump now inhabits.

Trumpism: The Logical End

Trump’s presidency was not an accident. It was the culmination of decades of Republican decay into winner-takes-all nihilism. Pfeiffer calls Trump the result of billionaire-funded racial grievance politics: a system where plutocrats like the Koch brothers bankroll white nationalism because it protects their wealth. From voter suppression to endless scandal cover-ups, Trump’s behavior followed the same “party over country” principle that guided McConnell. The problem, Pfeiffer stresses, isn’t Trump’s personality—it’s the precedent. Every future Republican will now know they can lie, obstruct, and abuse office without consequence if they hold power.

Why This History Matters

To un-Trump America, Pfeiffer insists, we must stop fantasizing about a “return to normal.” The pre-Trump GOP was not normal—it was already radicalized. The myth of a lost golden age blinds Democrats to what they’re really up against: a party that’s abandoned democracy itself. Recognizing that truth is the first step toward reform. Otherwise, the country will continue being governed by an unrepresentative minority sustained by fear and manipulation. As Pfeiffer warns, the system isn’t broken accidentally—it was broken on purpose.

One of Pfeiffer’s toughest critiques is aimed not at Republicans but at Democrats themselves. He argues that for decades, Democrats have played politics like idealists in a knife fight—armed with rules, facts, and moral restraint while their opponents brought brass knuckles. This isn’t an attack on values, but on strategy. Too often, Democrats assume good governance will win public support; meanwhile, Republicans rig systems to make governing irrelevant.

The “Yes We Can” vs. “Because We Can” Divide

Pfeiffer contrasts Barack Obama’s optimistic “Yes We Can” philosophy with McConnell’s nihilistic “Because We Can.” Democrats tend to view power as a means to enact meaningful policies—health care, climate action, civil rights. Republicans view power as the end itself. Pfeiffer recounts how McConnell blocked even bipartisan measures that might have helped Americans simply to deny Obama a victory. The result: Republicans focus on winning, Democrats focus on governing—and in American politics, the winner governs. Without reform, Pfeiffer warns, idealism will continue losing to cynicism.

The Asshole Advantage

In one of the book’s most memorable concepts, Pfeiffer coins the phrase “the asshole advantage”—the competitive edge gained by a party willing to break every norm. Democrats agonize over tradition; Republicans bulldoze rules, appoint corrupt judges, and silence oversight. Pfeiffer’s solution isn’t to emulate cruelty but to match ruthlessness with strategic intelligence. To win, Democrats need to fight as hard as Republicans fight dirty—by reforming systems, expanding voting rights, eliminating filibusters, and refusing to triangulate between morality and power.

Lessons from the Obama Era

Pfeiffer reflects honestly on Obama’s presidency, admitting that even with groundbreaking policy success—the ACA, marriage equality, and Dodd-Frank—the administration underestimated Republican sabotage. Obama’s faith in bipartisanship kept him from challenging anti-democratic norms early enough. For Pfeiffer, this shouldn’t be seen as failure but as education. Today’s Democrats can learn from that era: playing fair only works when the other side values fairness. Otherwise, reform must precede cooperation. Pfeiffer urges Democrats to stop hoping the GOP changes and instead change the game itself.

At the heart of Un-Trumping America lies Pfeiffer’s institutional diagnosis: America’s political architecture rewards minority rule. The Senate, Electoral College, and the Supreme Court have become mechanisms for conservative dominance despite liberal majorities nationwide. Pfeiffer dives deep into why democracy no longer operates on majority consent—and what bold structural reforms could restore balance.

The Tyranny of the Minority

Pfeiffer’s chapter “The Tyranny of the Minority” explains why Democrats repeatedly win more votes but lose more power. Wyoming, with fewer than 600,000 residents, has equal Senate representation to California’s 40 million. This distortion means conservative rural states can veto national progress on climate, health care, and gun reform. By 2040, 70 percent of Americans will live in just sixteen states—yet the remaining 30 percent will control two-thirds of Senate seats. Pfeiffer calls this untenable: a democracy where geography overrides population isn’t democracy at all.

Eliminate the Filibuster and Expand Representation

His first prescription is ending the filibuster—a procedural relic that lets a minority block all legislation. Majority rule should mean majority action, he insists. Without it, every progressive goal dies in procedural purgatory. Next, Pfeiffer advocates adding new states—Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico—to rebalance representation and enfranchise millions of Americans currently denied Senate votes. These reforms sound radical, he concedes, but the status quo is more radical: perpetual obstruction by a minority of senators representing mostly white rural America.

Abolish the Electoral College

The Electoral College, Pfeiffer says, is the most blatantly anti-democratic institution in modern politics. In 40 percent of 21st-century elections, the popular-vote winner lost the presidency. He advocates either a constitutional amendment to replace it with a national popular vote or participation in the National Popular Vote compact—a clever workaround where states pledge their electors to whoever wins nationwide. The message: every vote should count equally, whether it’s cast in California or North Dakota. Ending the system that favored Trump isn’t anti-Republican—it’s pro-democracy.

Breaking the Cycle

These reforms may seem nearly impossible under current politics, but Pfeiffer insists that impossibility isn’t an excuse. He cites FDR’s New Deal and civil rights legislation as examples of moments when Democrats expanded democracy against resistance. Pfeiffer’s mantra—“plan beats no plan”—underscores his faith in activism over caution. Structural reform isn’t just policy; it’s survival. Either Democrats modernize democracy, or authoritarianism solidifies into permanence.

Few parts of Pfeiffer’s blueprint feel as urgent as his argument for court reform. After Trump’s appointments of Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and countless lower-court judges, the judiciary has become a conservative firewall capable of blocking every progressive law for decades. Pfeiffer believes Democrats must demystify and democratize the Supreme Court or watch generations of social progress reversed.

Court Reform, Not Court Packing

Pfeiffer reframes “court packing” as “court reform”—a legitimate response to Republican theft. Nothing in the Constitution dictates nine justices; Congress has changed that number repeatedly. After McConnell refused to confirm Merrick Garland and then rushed through Kavanaugh, fairness demands recalibration. Pfeiffer proposes adding two justices to rebalance ideological representation and implementing term limits for Supreme Court seats. Lifetime appointments, he argues, let luck decide constitutional destiny. Judicial turnover should reflect electoral will, not actuarial tables.

Why It’s Urgent

Kennedy’s retirement and Kavanaugh’s confirmation felt to Pfeiffer like democracy’s low point: a moment when one unelected body forever reshaped America against its voters’ wishes. He calculates that his own newborn daughter will be in her thirties when Kavanaugh reaches Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s age—decades of right-wing dominance. To fight back, Pfeiffer cites scholars like Dan Epps and Ganesh Sitaraman, who propose creative hybrid courts where partisan appointees select neutral judges each term. The details vary, but the moral principle remains: justice must serve the people, not the party.

Making Courts a Voting Issue

Pfeiffer’s most practical insight isn’t legal—it’s political. Democrats don’t talk about courts enough. In 2016, Hillary Clinton rarely emphasized judicial appointments, while Trump made them his rallying cry. Pfeiffer recounts a conversation with college students planning to vote for Jill Stein until he explained how Supreme Court outcomes—like Citizens United and Roe v. Wade—hung in the balance. Republicans made courts central to their message; Democrats must do the same. Court reform isn’t abstract policy—it’s what determines healthcare, civil rights, and democracy itself.

You can’t un-Trump America, Pfeiffer insists, without un-Trumping the Democratic Party itself. His chapter “The Democracy Party” examines how Democrats, despite moral superiority and better policies, keep losing the structural war. His solution: reinvent the party from a campaign machine into a permanent pro-democracy institution that works year-round and fights everywhere—not just during presidential elections.

End the Presidency Obsession

Democrats, Pfeiffer says, have fixated on the White House at the cost of everything else. While Republicans built dominance in statehouses and courts, Democrats cared only about presidents. The result: ten years of local losses that enabled nationwide gerrymandering. Pfeiffer calls for a 365-day campaign mentality—organizing, registering, and legislating every year, not just every four. His motto: the campaign never stops. Grassroots groups like Swing Left and Sister District embody this model of continuous activism.

End the Consultant Culture

In one of his boldest sections, Pfeiffer skewers the Democratic consulting class for profiting off defeat. Many consultants still run outdated television strategies while ignoring digital engagement. Worse, they spend off-years working for corporations that oppose Democratic policies. Pfeiffer demands a two-year cooling-off rule: if you want to advise Democrats, you can’t simultaneously work for corporations undermining democracy. It’s time, he argues, for new communicators who understand memes as well as message discipline.

A 50-State Strategy, for Real

Every future DNC must treat all fifty states as battlegrounds. Pfeiffer notes how Republican donors finance candidates in school boards and local races while Democratic donors chase glamorous presidential campaigns. A diversified, permanent infrastructure—not charisma-driven celebrity politics—is how you sustain democracy. Pfeiffer’s idea of a “Democracy Party” imagines an institution less obsessed with candidates and more obsessed with voters: protecting their access, amplifying their voices, and fighting suppression everywhere. Building it starts with small daily action from everyone.

If democracy is dying, Pfeiffer warns, propaganda is its weapon. His chapter “The Art of Information Warfare” redefines political communication for the digital age. The mainstream press, though staffed by liberals, unintentionally empowers conservative disinformation. Fox News and Facebook form what Pfeiffer calls the perfect storm—“Facebook + Fox = Fucked.” To fight back, Democrats must learn to wield information like Republicans wield outrage.

Understanding the New Media Power

Pfeiffer recounts how, during Obama’s second term, he discovered that conservative narratives—even false ones—were reaching voters through Facebook faster than through cable news. Republicans learned to exploit algorithms that amplify anger; stories designed to provoke engagement spread further than factual reporting. Breitbart headlines like “Birth Control Makes Women Unattractive and Crazy” rolled through social platforms, reshaping public perception. This outrage economy turned propaganda into a profitable enterprise. Meanwhile, traditional journalists clung to norms of objectivity, inadvertently serving as conduits for misinformation.

Seven Commandments for Winning the Message War

• Change or die—modernize communication to match how people actually consume news.
• Stop waiting for the New York Times to save democracy; journalists aren’t allies, they’re amplifiers.
• Become your own media outlet by producing shareable content like videos and podcasts.
• Invest in progressive media platforms—not just campaigns.
• Mobilize activists online to amplify messages and debunk lies.
• Pressure advertisers to stop funding right-wing propaganda (as activists did with Sleeping Giants).
• Use visuals, memes, and charts over jargon; in the digital age, a picture beats 280 characters.

For Pfeiffer, communication isn’t PR—it’s survival. Democrats must treat disinformation as an enemy combatant, not a debate partner. Winning depends not on shouting louder but spreading smarter—through authenticity, humor, and viral clarity. The next revolution will be televised and retweeted.