Retreat is not an option.

When Donald Trump triumphed in 2016, I, and most of those in my world, felt shock and fear. This time, what I feel — and what I hear from other journalists, as well as public servants and progressives — is, primarily, exhaustion. He has dominated our public life for a decade now. He has generated countless abusive messages and death threats toward journalists — “the enemy of the people” — and now we are sure to experience more, with his vague threats to have the Justice Department go after us and his assurance to the violent that “I don’t mind” if journalists are shot. As CNN’s Brian Stelter wrote Thursday, many journalists are “questioning if they have it in them to report on another Trump cycle.”

On top of this, Tuesday’s results make it feel as though all the years of pointing out the incessant lies, as well as the routine destruction of decency and democratic norms, have made no difference. Now, with fewer guardrails than the first time, he’ll have four more years of power — and that’s if he doesn’t make good on his fantasy to be “president for life” or his assurance to his voters that “you’re not going to have to vote” ever again.

A majority of us — a very slim majority, but a majority, with votes still being counted — have declared themselves okay with the vulgarity, the explicit racism, the disinformation, the erratic pronouncements, and the talk of suspending the Constitution, imprisoning critics and using the U.S. military to attack Americans who dissent.

The usual recriminations and finger-pointing have begun on the left. Harris should have picked a different running mate. The messaging was wrong. President Joe Biden should have been pushed out earlier so a proper primary could have been held. But this is misplaced. She was a strong candidate who drew huge, passionate crowds and thumped Trump in the debate. She ran a strong campaign and made no major mistakes. That she often underperformed downballot Democrats probably reflects sexism and racism more than some flaw in her candidacy.

Harris didn’t lose the race as much as Trump won it. He persuaded two-thirds of Americans that the economy stinks and the country under a deeply unpopular Biden is heading in the wrong direction; that’s not necessarily reality (plentiful jobs, growing wages, moderate inflation, stock-market records), but it’s where we are.

Let’s not overstate Tuesday night’s verdict. Trump is on course for the barest majority of the popular vote, which will be reflected in a nearly 50-50 House. Ballot initiatives protecting abortion rights were resoundingly successful. In Maryland and Delaware, Black women were elected to the Senate.

Yes, progressives and Democrats will, over time, need to rethink their strategy for the future, in particular the belief that demographics, and the increasingly multiracial composition of America, would inevitably favor them. Democrats will need to find new ways to appeal to men, and they will need to reclaim their populism, somehow heisted by a billionaire who has given huge tax breaks to the rich.

I don’t pretend to know the answers, but I resolve to join the search.

Milbank is a columnist for the Washington Post.