The Local Resistance to President Trump Begins

By January 12, eight days before the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the 115th Congress had already taken the first step to repeal the Affordable Care Act. That afternoon, a dozen people—most of whom barely knew each other—shuffled into the Raleigh Court Public Library in Roanoke, Virginia. Someone had brought muffins. As folks started eating them, conversation bubbled up. And soon they settled down to prepare letters to their members of Congress on behalf of around 60 members of their community.

The typed letters requested a careful reevaluation of the consequences of dismantling Obamacare. “What’s the rush?” they asked, in a clean font. Sitting side-by-side, the new acquaintances folded each letter into a paper boat. They joked about their clumsy technique. Someone pulled up a tutorial on YouTube. Others shared stories about the times they made paper boats with their grandkids.