If You’re Scared of Trump, Resign.

Cry in the bathroom, not the senate.

If you’ve been nervous lately, don’t worry! America is burning, but our leaders are busy journaling and oversharing on c-span.

This week, Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) made headlines not for taking a bold stance, but for admitting she was too afraid to. “We are all afraid,” she said at a public summit in Alaska, referring to the chilling effect Donald Trump still has on lawmakers. “I’m oftentimes very anxious myself about using my voice,” she added, “because retaliation is real. And that’s not right.”

While Senator Murkowski’s fear is valid, respectfully, this isn’t a Mel Robbins podcast. It’s the United States government in the middle of a constitutional crisis. Senators should be in therapy, not trauma-dumping on their constituents. It’s one thing to process fear. It’s another to publicly project it onto the people you’re supposed to protect.

If you’re scared of Trump, maybe politics isn’t your calling. Her confession is the political equivalent of a trash collector saying, “Ew, I really don’t love how trash smells.” Then don’t collect it? But also? Move. Because the garbage is piling up and hot hitler summer is coming. Her response is like a Kardashian complaining about unrealistic beauty standards. You can’t be a victim and the architect of the problem. You don’t get to be the fire and then cry about the smoke.

As I write this, the government is being gutted in real time by billionaires and felons in suits. I don’t want a ted talk about your inner child. I want you to grow a spine. This isn’t a Jay Shetty interview. It’s a slow-motion coup. And if you’re too scared to stand up to it, then get out of the way. By all means. Take your fear, pack it in a cute little emotional carry-on, and go and let someone else (maybe someone under 80, maybe someone who didn’t go to prom with Mitch McConnell??) handle it. You don’t get to have a panic attack and a Senate seat!! I’m sorry, Lisa, but if you can’t act, you shouldn’t lead.

Because here’s the thing. While this senator is out here saying she’s too scared to do her job, the rest of us are white-knuckling democracy on three hours of sleep and a 401k we’re too terrified to open. We’re all scared. And yet we’re still showing up to jobs that ghost us after layoffs, still logging onto zoom calls where “cost-cutting” means our rent won’t get paid this month. I’m sorry, but how am I still doing my job and she’s not?

If Lisa’s sad, she can cry in the work bathroom and switch to waterproof mascara like the rest of us. Her emotions are valid. It is okay to be afraid. But if fear is stopping you from doing the one job you were elected and paid to do, then for the love of God, America, and literally anyone born after World War II, get out of the way. If the rest of us are scared and still employed, politicians don’t get to be scared and useless.

If I can sit through a quarterly earnings meeting talking about ROIs while internally sobbing about the collapse of civilization, she can vote against fascism.

And let’s not forget Senator Murkowski voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a man who just spewed some of the most dangerous, unhinged garbage about autistic people and wants to force the mentally ill into labor camps. She voted for Tulsi Gabbard, a human misinformation portal and honorary member of the secret “bomb yemen with emojis” group chat. You don’t get to claim fear while helping the monster grow sharper teeth.

And this isn’t just a Murkowski problem. It’s not even just a Republican problem. Too many politicians, even on the left, are acting like they’re the captain on the titanic, instead of the coast guard. If they want to be public servants, they need to act like it. If they can’t be the adult in the room, maybe they should leave so that someone younger and more therapized can. Every single person in power right now helped build this mess. Some more than others, sure. But trusting the architects of collapse to lead us to safety is how you end up under rubble.

So yeah Lisa Murkowski doesn’t need a microphone. She needs to cry in the Trader Joe’s parking lot like the rest of us. Sit in the car. Feel the existential dread. And then go back inside and do the job she is being paid $174,000 a year to do.

Most Americans are resisting authoritarianism with more clarity and courage than the people elected to lead them, and they’re doing it for free. They’re doing it while being laid off, losing their health insurance and being told to start a “gratitude monday” slack channel instead of getting a salary that keeps up with inflation. They’re doing it without institutional power. Just group chats, protest signs, and the quiet compulsion to keep going.

If politicians want to be vulnerable, that’s beautiful. They can do it in their diary. If they’re scared, welcome to the club. That’s what tik tok comment sections are for. But if they want to govern, they can do their job.

Politicians don’t need to be fearless. They just need to be useful.