Since Donald Trump was inaugurated on January 20, his administration has declared an all-out war on science and scientists. It is difficult to overstate the impact of this remarkable turn on our nation’s scientific enterprise. Yet, the administration has already taken extreme measures. They froze all federal funding, laid off every leading scientist from at least four agencies, scrubbed all information that contradicted their agenda, and canceled hundreds of scientific advisory committees. In response to all of these moves, advocates for science and democracy have raised an alarm.
On March 7, Stand Up for Science rallies surged in 32 cities nationwide including Washington, DC. These events underscored the growing dissatisfaction with the current administration’s disrespectful treatment of science. The organizers of these rallies aimed to “defend science as a public good and pillar of social, political, and economic progress.” This movement is part of an increasingly widespread pulse among many Americans who think science is under siege.
In fact, one of the early highlights was the rally held in Washington, D.C. At each stop along the way, participants strongly articulated their anger over deepening federal workforce cuts and funding reductions. In fact, 81 percent of attendees listed these issues as their main reason for coming to the rally. Climate change was already rising to the top as an important issue. In fact, 73 percent of respondents listed it as the top reason for their participation.
In addition to expressing their support for science, many participants at the D.C. rally shared alarming views on political violence. Notably, one-third of workshop attendees indicated that they agree with the statement that political violence might be needed to rescue America. Dana R. Fisher, a political scientist, articulated this frustration, stating, “because things have gotten so far off track, Americans may have to resort to violence in order to save our country.”
The demographic profile of event goers at the Washington, D.C. location showed that we had an overwhelmingly female, white and well-educated group of attendees. A lot of them had voted for the Democratic candidate in their first presidential election just the year before. They were less civically engaged than people who participated in the March for Science. This event took place at the very beginning of Trump’s presidency. This shift signals a new, more complicated age of political polarization and intimidation and what that could mean for civic life in the future.
And the organizers of Stand Up for Science have some very cool things in the works. They are preparing for additional rallies, including a big national march on April 5th. This massive event, dubbed the largest climate mobilization in history, has been organized by a set of unusual bedfellows, including Indivisible and the Women’s March. The coalition’s theme underscores their opposition to what they describe as “Trump and Musk’s illegal billionaire power grab.”
To be clear, the Stand Up for Science organizers have not formally joined this coalition. What’s for sure is that friends of science will be well represented at both! The solidarity displayed at the D.C. rally between federal workers and supporters of science was palpable.
It’s the data, collected from participants at each of these events, that tells the alarming story of changing public sentiment. It seems clear that many Americans on the left are more and more willing to say that extreme action might be required to save American democracy. As political tensions continue to boil over, it begs the important question that speaks to the future of civic discourse in America.
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