Former Republican chair says US institutions yielded to Trump, ‘the bully’

The biggest surprise of Donald Trump’s first year back in office is how quickly America’s institutions capitulated to “the bully”, said Michael Steele, a former chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) turned arch critic.

But with the midterm elections for Congress looming, Steele predicts a resounding Democratic victory amid a hunger among voters to hold the president and his allies accountable for threatening democracy.

Steele, 67, was the first Black chair of the RNC and coined the phrase “Drill, baby, drill!” in a speech at the 2008 Republican national convention. He was implacably opposed to Trump’s takeover of the party and is now a co-host of The Weeknight on the liberal-leaning MS NOW network.

As the first anniversary of Trump’s second inauguration approaches, Steele said the president’s authoritarian assault on the constitutional and rule of law was more expected than the way in which many law firms, universities and media companies caved.

“The only thing that would be surprising is the speed with which institutions collapsed,” he said in a recent phone interview. “I thought that there would be more resistance from lawyers and institutions of higher learning than we’ve seen.

“The administration came out of the gate with an everything-everywhere-all-at-once strategy that overwhelmed institutions and processes in a way that it was easier to collapse and give in than to stand and resist. The few institutions that did have proven that in the long run was probably the better strategy.”

Trump targeted law firms that opposed his policies or were involved in investigations related to the 2016 election. The threats included revoking security clearances, restricting access to federal buildings and terminating government contracts. Many firms negotiated settlements that involved providing pro bono legal services aligned with Trump’s priorities.

The White House also hit elite universities with funding freezes totalling more than $5bn in federal grants and contracts, often linked to investigations into alleged antisemitism; diversity, equity and inclusion practices; or perceived liberal biases. This led many to negotiate financial settlements, policy changes and oversight concessions to restore funding. Harvard was a notable holdout.

Steele commented: “Once you beholden yourself to a bully, you will always be bullied. It’s not a complicated narrative. In that regard, I’m not surprised by the ultimate outcome but I am surprised at the speed with which we’ve gotten there. Literally within six months of taking the oath of office, Donald Trump had pretty much slapped the crap out of everything and everyone he could and instead of fighting back they cowered in a corner.”

As Trump’s first year wore on, there were signs of dissenters finding their footing. Millions of people took to the streets in No Kings protests. Disney reinstated ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel after its decision to suspend him over comments about Charlie Kirk was met with criticism from unions, free speech advocates and some Republicans, as well as millions of cancelled subscriptions.

But Steele cautioned that, even if 79-year-old Trump’s pace slows in his second year in office, his allies are eager to maintain the moment. “I guess at a certain point an old man will run out of steam, but he’s got enough other engines around him in [Steve] Bannon and [Stephen] Miller and [Kash] Patel and the like that they will keep things going.

“They know what he wants. They have bought into his diktats. They see themselves benefiting directly and indirectly from everything that is happening so they will continue to pursue those agendas.”

Steele grew up Washington DC, studied at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and spent three years as a seminarian in the Order of St Augustine in preparation for the priesthood. He joined the Republican party in 1976 and became the first Black person elected to statewide office in Maryland, serving as lieutenant governor from 2003 to 2007.

Steele was elected chair of the RNC 10 days after Barack Obama was sworn in as the US’s first Black president in 2009. He oversaw major gains for the party in Congress, governor’s mansions and state legislatures in the 2010 midterm elections but lost the chairmanship to Reince Priebus the following year.

Steele opposed Trump from the start and had a spell at the Lincoln Project, a group formed by anti-Trump Republicans, while also pursuing a media career. He became a pundit then a presenter on MSNBC, recently rebranded MS NOW, where since last May he has co-hosted The Weeknight with Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend.

He remains a pungent critic of the president. When, for example, the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington was rebranded the “Trump-Kennedy Center”, Steele posted on social media: “So pathetic. Such a lonely, desperate cry for acceptance. A craving not even his family can satisfy – he has to appropriate another family’s legacy.”

He voted for Democrats Joe Biden in 2020 and Kamala Harris in 2024 but has not quit his party, describing himself as a “Motel 6 Republican” who has to “leave the lights on” in the hope the party will find its way back to its principles. When that day comes, he hopes, the legions of Trump enablers who indulged his autocratic tendencies will face a reckoning.

Steele said: “For me the most important conversation Democrats and independents and like-minded Republicans like myself need to be having is: are we prepared to hold every last one of these folks accountable? You may be doing Donald Trump’s bidding but, at a certain point, Donald Trump will no longer be president and you will be exposed.”

He continued: “That, to me, is the next big piece in conversations going into the ’26 cycle: why the Democrats need to take the Congress, why the Democrats are in a position to make the Senate competitive. A lot more Americans are going to align themselves with demanding some level of accountability and wanting that process to unfold.

“It’s not impeachment of the president, because we’ve done that twice and failed. But individuals in their capacities as secretaries and administrators and directors and advisers can be held accountable and must be held accountable.”

With Trump sinking in the polls, Steele believes that Democrats should be looking to pick up a minimum of 30 to 35 seats in November’s midterm elections for the House of Representatives. “There are a lot of similar similarities to what I saw on the political landscape in 2010 that will be relevant some 16 years later in 2026 that can give you a very good indicator of how things could play out.”

The former Republican chair noted the Democrats’ run of successes in elections in 2025, including the New Jersey and Virginia gubernatorial races and Proposition 50 in California, which allows the use of new congressional districts drawn to benefit Democrats in an effort to counter redraws by Republicans in Texas and other states.

“All of these are very important indicators for Democrats that are signals from the American voter about how they’re looking at these things,” he said. “And how they are going to respond.”