Since the election, I have wanted to write. I have wanted to quickly move forward with answers as to what has gone wrong, what Democrats could have done differently, what should happen next. Now Donald Trump is about to be inaugurated for a second time. While I think the picture as to what has happened has improved, I don’t think I yet know exactly what should come next.

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In soccer there is a tactical concept that has become popular in the last few years. It’s call La Pausa and it entails a team in possession of the ball – usually a central defender or a goalkeeper – standing still, with the ball at their feet, and waiting. The team without the ball has likely dropped off, wanting to compress the space they have to defend. But with La Pausa, the defending team is forced to come out of their shape. In so doing, the player with the ball can now see a different set of options, a more favorable set of options as to what to do next.

La Pausa can be infuriating to watch. It lacks urgency. It isn’t satisfying. It doesn’t make you feel like your team is doing what needs to be done. But time progresses, things shift, and suddenly the right choices appear.

Of course it is something that is done when your team is in possession of the ball. When the other team has the ball, your team must still react to it, to try to get the ball back.

I keep coming back to this concept of La Pausa as I think about America and what progressives need to be doing now to best understand what happened in November and what we should do next.

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There are two modes that progressive activists and the Democratic Party should be in right now: resistance and reflection.

Trump and his agenda needs to be resisted. Full stop. He will try to do horrific things to vulnerable people – we should not let him. He will try to undo good policies from Biden and Obama – we should do what we can to stop him. There will be times where mass mobilisation is needed to show resistance to the Trump agenda. There will be times where direct actions are needed to resist. There will be times where community organizing and legislative advocacy are needed. Now is not the time to sit idle, nor wait for the 2026 midterms, nor wait for an invitation to resistance.

But while that is happening in the moment, there must also be reflection. Not panic based on exit polls. Not rushing to confirm prior held beliefs of pundits and center-right Democrats. Democrats did face a significant electoral loss. Even if the absolute numbers are by no means historic in nature, the consequences of MAGA Republicans controlling the White House, Senate, House and Supreme Court are going to be dire. Democrats and their coalition must develop an earnest understanding of how this failure happened and what can be done to course correct.

Partly this may be about the policies that are pursued. Partly it may be about the language used to talk about Democrats’ policy goals. But there must be a degree of sophistication in the analysis and an investment in trust.

I firmly believe that America can be a place where vulnerable people are protected, where everyone can be cared for and find dignity in their lives, where people are welcomed and accepted. I believe that we can hold strong in our values of diversity, equality and inclusion because it makes us all better. And I believe we can talk about these values and these aspirations in ways that are fundamentally appealing to all sorts of people in America.

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When it comes to what Democrats or progressive groups should be doing now, though, other than resistance, I think time is an asset for strategy. Lacking any substantive influence to proactively advance policies through the federal government, taking a moment to land a coherent, intentional strategy feels sensible.

Inevitably a second Trump administration, in addition to being vile and a fundamental assault on American values, will be chaotic and incompetent. Left to his own devices, Trump will advance policies that hurt the economy, destroy jobs, increase inflation, and siphon wealth from the rest of us to the richest people and corporations. Voters will have the opportunity to quickly look around and see that Trump and the Republican Party’s rule is not what they were sold in this past election. As these things happen, the political landscape will shift and the options available to Democrats and their allies will look different. Perhaps even more favorable.

Today Republican’s power feels overwhelming. But it will shift, likely quickly, and with the shifts new opportunities to start winning again will come. La Pausa is relevant.

I have mixed metaphors and concepts here. This soccer metaphor is a clumsy heuristic for understanding American politics and power. But the need to simultaneously be reactive to crises and be attentive to longer term strategic evolutions is an essential demand for the moment we are in.

Resist, today and tomorrow and at every turn needed. But do so while building a deeper sense of how to navigate forward, proactively growing power and adapting to the changing landscape so that we can turn back from this terrible place and bring people to a brighter future.