The Americans Who Saw All This Coming—but Were Ignored and Maligned

Imagine I sent you back in time to July 2015 with the goal of saving liberal democracy in America. Donald Trump announced his candidacy a month ago, the polls are showing him with a narrow lead , and the media-while noting his extreme rhetoric-are mostly treating this as a fun diversion. You can’t prove you’re from the future, and you’re limited to broadly legal means. Can you persuade enough people to take it more seriously? After all, you know what’s coming-January 6, the overturning of Roe v. Wade, checks and balances failing, massive open corruption, troops on the streets, abductions by masked men, and concentration camps. But when you warn of these horrors, it sounds outlandish. People won’t believe you. If you insist, you’ll be dismissed as hysterical. Despite knowing the future, you won’t be able to prevent it. This is not that far from the position many ordinary Americans found themselves in at the start of the Trump era. They weren’t time travelers but saw what was coming clearly enough. They called Trump’s movement fascist from the very start, and often predicted specific milestones of our democratic decline well in advance. They were convinced they were right-and often beside themselves with worry. Accordingly, they did everything they could to get others to listen. But not enough people did, and many attacked them-even as events proved them right, again and again. As late as February 2025, respected legal commentator Noah Feldman was casually asserting our constitutional system was “ working fine ” and Jon Stewart was scolding people who used the word “fascist,” claiming all they had done “over the last ten years is cry wolf.” There is an ancient archetype at work here. In Greek mythology , Cassandra was given the gift of prophecy-of seeing the future-but cursed that she would never be believed. Her name is sometimes used as a pejorative for an overacting alarmist, which, appropriately enough, misses the point. Cassandra was, after all, right. When the Greek army seemingly abandoned the siege of Troy, leaving behind the Trojan horse , she pleaded with the Trojans not to bring it into the city. They did so anyway, and armed men burst out of it, dooming them all. Why did we see this story again? Why did some immediately see America’s dark future, while others fought them so long and so hard? As part of my research for this article, I interviewed 37 Americans who meet the profile of a latter-day Cassandra-a descriptor that I do not attach any negative connotation to. While there are some Cassandras among professional commentators, my focus here is on those in the Democratic base. I spent around half an hour with each, trying to get a sense of both their views and who they are as people. Many are quoted in this essay. Who Are Cassandras? The first thing to say about fascism’s Cassandras is they’re usually women. Not all women are Cassandras (most aren’t), but most Cassandras are women. My sense...

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