The Silent Violence
of Trump’s Second Term

A climate of authoritarian fear and intimidation is reaching into all parts of public and political life in the United States in 2025, writes CJ Werleman

If a lawless and violent faction carried out an authoritarian purge of the US Government, would it make a sound? Apparently not, based on the deafening silence that has fallen upon Washington DC and beyond since 20 January, as President Donald Trump executes his destructive agenda against all levels of American civil society – from defying court rulings to punishing law firms, deporting student activists and defunding universities, to firing federal workers and threatening journalists.

No one is safe.

The silence grows louder by the day because a climate of fear and intimidation is reaching deep into every government department, every news media outlet, every corporate boardroom, every university, and every American household.

“Fired federal workers who are worried about losing their homes ask not to be quoted by name”, The New York Times observed. “University presidents fearing that millions of dollars in federal funding could disappear are holding their fire. Chief executives alarmed by tariffs that could hurt their businesses are on mute”.