We, The People, Are Taking Too Many L's

No matter what’s said during President Trump’s SOTU speech, we know the reality for many communities of color across the United States.

Tonight, President Trump will address the nation during his State of the Union, and we will be told America is “winning.” The economy is booming. The border is secure. Energy is dominant. America is respected again.

But we’re not grading (or listening to) the speech. We’re counting the L’s.

The Unaffordable L: Our Economy

The Trump Administration made the rich richer while working families fell further behind.

On average, we are working more for less while billionaires and big corporations cash in on Trump’s economic agenda. His tax cuts starved investments in housing, education, and health care that our communities needed, while cutting medicare and other essential needs for aging populations.

So tonight, you’ll hear about tax cuts, GDP, and the stock market. But here’s the real scoreboard:

• Rent is up.

• Groceries are up.

• Gas is up.

• Childcare is sky high.

• And our wages are not keeping pace.

While working families stretch every dollar, billionaires and big corporations cashed in on massive tax breaks. When you funnel wealth upward, you drain investments from housing, education, healthcare, and community infrastructure. This is by design. Farmers and small producers have been hit by reckless trade decisions that destabilized markets and food supply chains.

When everyday people taking the L while billionaires take victory laps, that is not economic strength. That is Trump doing the bidding for billionaires.

The Unhealthy L: Our Healthcare

The Trump Administration has driven up costs and barriers to care while enriching insurance and drug companies.

President Trump and his administration has proven with their actions that they do not care about our health. He made it harder and more expensive for people to get the care they need while rewarding insurance companies, Big Pharma, and private profiteers. You may hear claims about “fixing” health are, but premiums rose across the country, drug prices soared, and hospital bills stacked up. Communities already facing racial health disparities were pushed further to the margins.

Imagine what could have been funded instead of corporate giveaways and enforcement expansions:

• Community clinics

• Maternal health programs

• Mental health services

• Preventative care in underserved neighborhoods

Instead, families are choosing between rent and prescriptions.

The Militarized L: Our Public Safety

We are not safer as a result of the trump’s policies with ICE and the U.S. National Guard.

The administration’s actions with Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE) and the U.S. National Guard are about cruelty, racism, and political theater – not public safety. ICE and DHS have carried out abusive raids, family separations, and violence in our communities. The myth that harsh crackdowns reduce crime is widely debunked by the studies that show community-centered solutions to public safety and crime prevention.

Real safety comes from stable housing, quality education, accessible healthcare, and economic opportunity. Flooding communities with enforcement only exacerbates the existing trauma. It also uncovers an underlying truth about the origin of law enforcement and modern-day policing in the United States.

The Delusional L: Our Climate and Environment

Trump chose fossil fuel profits over our lives, our health, and our future.

During President Trump’s second term, countless rollbacks from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) paved the way for industry profit while our communities suffer from pollution, poverty, and poison in our water supply. You’ll hear the president refer to this as energy dominance, but in practice, we are weakening clean water safeguards, expanding drilling and pipelines, and siding with fossil fuel companies over frontline communities. Climate disasters don’t hit everyone equally. Black, Brown, Indigenous, and marginalized communities bear the brunt, from record-breaking flooding to heatwaves to pollution-linked illness.

When you intentionally block climate solutions while disasters intensify, that’s not just a delusional L –it’s a generational L.

The Nclecta L: Our Education

Undermining access to education is an intentional attack on our intellect.

Education costs continue to rise. Student loan structures fail to match the reality of tuition. Changes to higher-ed rules have made access and relief harder, especially for Black, Brown, low-income students, and students with disabilities. The dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education will make it more difficult for our communities to recover from the divestment. Public education has been weakened while privatization efforts gained ground. When education becomes more unequal, the next generation starts behind before they even begin, and we don’t need more of us making up words on podcasts.

The Authoritarian L: Our Democracy

Attacks on voting rights and civil rights bring a closer to an authoritarian state.

The Trump Administration has been waging a war on democracy, turning agencies and institutions against the very people they are supposed to serve. Anyone who opposes him is then deemed “un‑American,” and there’s a lot of rhetoric about enemies within.

But the real pattern has been:

• Attacks on voting rights

• Undermining independent institutions

• Stacking courts and agencies with loyalists

• Framing dissent as disloyalty

The truth: When power is concentrated and accountability is weakened, democracy itself takes the L.

Freedom requires functioning institutions, checks and balances, and the right to disagree without retaliation. Undermine those pillars, and the country loses.

The Imperialist L: Our Foreign Policy

Trump’s approach to diplomacy and foreign policy is about greed and profit, not peace.

Whether it’s domestic or international, President Trump and the Trump Administration is using “America First” rhetoric as a cover for militarism and authoritarianism. His tariff policy has also increased costs for nearly every American. Militarism drains resources from urgent domestic needs and increases instability.

Over the past year, one of the clearest dangers of unbounded executive authority has been the Trump administration’s use of military force. The most extreme example is the military action to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and seize Venezuela’s oil sector. Similarly, in June 2025, the Trump administration ordered military strikes on Iran without congressional approval—or even consultation.

When diplomacy is replaced with domination, everyday people pay the price across the world.

Peace isn’t weakness. It’s strategy. And abandoning it puts us all at risk.

The Reality

This isn’t about one speech – it’s about how we decide to respond to this moment. No matter how polished the lines are, here’s what matters:

If billionaires win while working families lose – that’s an L.
If healthcare costs more and covers less – that’s an L.
If communities live in fear – that’s an L.
If climate disasters worsen – that’s an L.
If democracy weakens – that’s an L.
If education becomes more unequal – that’s an L.

This isn’t partisan. It’s personal. You know when you’re taking losses. And right now, as U.S. citizens, we’re taking too many L’s.