I still don’t think Trump’s stupidity from this weekend’s interviews are enough to tip the scales. Once his economic policy starts to hurt the right people, the blinders will come off and the emperor will then truly have no clothes.
I realize this body shaming is meant as a jest but I SERIOUSLY wish people would refrain from it, even in jest. We should be better than that and realize how it hurts those of us with truly good political motives but suffer in reality from the body traumas that are mocked in these comments.
There is PLENTY of what Trump does substantially that can and should be mocked and mauled; I urge us all to focus on the substantive and leave the imagery on the side.
Of course not. So you think it is okay to indulge in offensive arguments just because "they do it too"? Didn't your mother teach you how disgusting that kind of crap is?
I expect that kind of BS from Trump. I do NOT expect or accept it from people who should be speaking from the honorable side of any argument.
If you think that is acceptable, to mock people for their body shape, regardless of who they are, then YOU are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
I was a little surprised when Trump replied essentially, but what about those on Wall Street that say his policies will lead to an amazing success, and Kristen Welker did not bother to ask him, who the "they" who supposedly say such things even are.
Good grief, even the right wing WSJ has called his tariffs, dumb.
She should have asked him for their names saying that she would like to interview them.
Then, like his health plan, everyone would see that the "they" do not exist.
It reminds me of when Trump says, "the best ever they say" about his term 1 economy.
They who? GDP was only average-ish or below at 2.8% average even before the pandemic hit, and this was after he nearly doubled the deficit before the pandemic, as well, with a lot of it due to his tax cuts. It was projected at 559 billion when Obama left and before the pandemic even hit in Jan 2020 the deficit was already projected at 1.015 trillion.
Why do people not challenge what he says with basic facts?
I have stopped watching Sunday morning political shows because they simply let the guests lie and even if they try to challenge them a bit, it is half hearted and lacking in enough expertise. She even seemed to go along with his claim about the long-run being good. Says who? No economist, I know of says this. Then NBC reruns this clip in ads, like they are proud of it. Clearly they need more economists on staff.
They need economists and lawyers as hosts for the Sunday morning shows - heck make it like a game show and fact check it. The audience can weigh in and guess if a statement was true or false and then see if they got it right at the end. Have some fun with these snake oil salesmen.
We stopped watching Meet the Press shortly after Kristen Welker took over -- her questions are so scripted and she misses so many opportunities for follow-ups and doesn't challenge the lies. When Trump said he didn't know if he had to uphold the Constitution I wish she had read him the Oath of office and asked him again -- hold him to it. Way too softball.
Perhaps an economist like P. M. Carny in Canada!! Imagine - having someone in charge who actually speaks at least 2 languages, and intelligence! Imagine!!
As opposed to the current WH felon - barely speaks English - or makes sense.
"It's the economy, stupid!" unfortunately carries more weight with the public than an attempted fascist takeover of this country, but if a failing economy eventually causes the demise of tRumpism, well, it is what it is, right?
MaryAnn, it might seem pedantic given Trump's history of misogyny, but he was never convicted of rape. He was accused of rape by E Jean Carroll and he publicly denied this and called her a liar. She sued for defamation (which is a tort rather than a felony) and she won. He appealed and lost and then defamed her again and she sued again and won punitive damages. Now he's appealing against the level of damages. He found that:
"...Mr. Trump used the office of the presidency — the loudest “bully pulpit” in
America and possibly the world — to issue multiple statements castigating Ms. Carroll as a politically and financially motivated liar, insinuating that she was too unattractive for him to have sexually assaulted, and threatening that she would “pay dearly” for speaking out."
I sort of feel sorry for them because everything has been taken from them by the 1%. Like making them work part time so no benefits are required, fighting against minimum wage,fighting against unions, they are desperate.
I used to feel sorry for them, assuming they were just poor, uneducated, uninformed people. That was until I recognized how full of hate many of them are. No more sympathy!
Unbelievable how ignorant these people are. The repubs have succeeded in destroying education in this country, as we can clearly see with these people.
IMO, Trump is merely a batboy, serving at the whim of the team. The "team," Project 2025, is still a mandate for people with powerful means to continue their disruption of US law and democratic institutions for the sake of maintaining their wealth. Who are these characters who brought us Christian Nationalism and continue to pull the strings of the orange puppet? They are the insidious ones because they hide behind their money and neo-religiosity. After Trump, they will find another useful idiot who will keep the authoritarian fires burning.
I have seen comments from his benighted myrmidons, praising him for lowering prices, while at the same time, blaming State officials (NYS) for the high cost of gas and groceries. I'm not sure anything will get through to those most devoted to their Idol.
@ Mike N. This is another opportunity. Ask every Congressional Republican whether Trump and they are bound by the Constitution. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
That Trump admitted he doesn't know if he has to uphold the Constitution is strong evidence for his incompetence for office, or his blatant illegality. Either way, he is building the momentum for his demise
He's actually so stupid that he truly doesn't know. He's an illiterate imbecile. I'll always remember the Gold Star father Khizr Khan pulling out his pocket a copy of the Constitution at the Democratic convention in 2016, and offering to lend it to the Orange Sadist. What an image that was. (Needless to say, the O.S. didn't borrow it, and has -- I'm 100% sure -- never read it.)
I clearly remember Khizr Khan too. I agree with you in every aspect that Voldemort has never read the Constitution and never will. I doubt his lackey, Stephen Miller, has read it either. I think both he and Elon are the nightmares behind the scene. We dump Voldemort and we can only hope those two end up in the dumpster fire of hell as well. They deserve it, all 3 of them, among all of the others who inflicted so much pain on all of us.
Actually, I think that russell vought is THE mastermind of this attempt at total destruction of our democracy. Just as stephen miller hid in the darkness in the Orange Sadist's first term, as babies were taken from their mothers' arms at the border; now russell vought is hidden in the darkness and no one talks about him. We need to BE AWARE OF HIM.
Yes, I agree! We know Trump is an imbecile and his demise can't come soon enough but those behind the scenes, starting with Vought, are propping him up i.e. Miller, Gorka, Navarro, Vance, Homan and more! Richard Nixon didn't have the craven power seekers behind him like Trump! Republicans seem to have abandoned their scruples!
Oh, I think Stephen Miller has read it. He's probably poured over every word figuring out any and every way to twist it, quibble about it and propose alternative interpretations of it... tRump is evil springing from total selfishness on a foundation of ignorance, but Miller is evil utilizing deviousness on a foundation of evil intentions.
It is too easy to point the finger at one actor. Instituting Project 2025 is an ensemble production. Karmic irony may have brought back Nazi deportation chief Adolf Eichmann as the Jewish Stephen Miller. But every Hitler needs his cadres and cohorts.
Every Stalin his apparatchiks and enforcers. Charles Koch's Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation - through Leonard Leo - have spent decades grooming the necessary opportunists and ideologues. Now Leo is behind Peter Thiel's Teneo Network - assembling a cast of elected officials, political operatives, and pop culture influencers to transform social norms. Along with the indoctrination by Christian Academies and home schoolers of the religious right.
me, too---47 is far too impulsive and unintelligent to plan out anything and then carefully perform the necessary steps.....but yes, Project 2025 was the production of many who wish to turn the government of the United States into an authoritarian theocracy...or giant theocratic tech corporation...or something, anything but what it is.
I don't agree that Trump is stupid, or illiterate. I agree that he is profoundly ignorant, and doesn't read much, mostly due to laziness and complete lack of intellectual curiosity. He is also completely dishonest and unwilling to take responsibility for any bad outcomes (and blames his predecessor or underlings instead). He is certainly unfit to be president, due to the above factors and because he has a Dark Triad personality disorder, and appoints only loyalists, because he is unable to tolerate criticism, due to his narcissism and fragile ego. Because of his Machiavellianism and the cowardice of Congressional Republicans, his demise may, unfortunately, be a long way off.
Mr. Khan's comments which ended, " You have sacrificed nothing or no one" which makes trump what he is, a zero, and the minute enough of us stand up to him, he will back off. He is a coward, just like all bullies!!
Well, he did know that the Declaration of Independence is about?...Wait a minute!...First, he said, "It's a...Declaration of ...Independence?" and then he thought a minute, and he said, "love"????
Briliant, isn't he? Think about it...our President of this Nation, in his second four-year term of office as President, doesn't have the slightest idea what the Declaration of Independence was about when this Nation was won from British rule?
Personally, I'm hoping for a REAL demise--as from a stroke or a heart attack. I know--I'm not "nice". However, when watching the 'slow-motion in real time' destruction of my country by an arrogant, incompetent, narcissistic, sadistic senile old jackass and his personal gang of loyalist white nationalist thugs (also incompetent)...I'm more than willing to take on the opprobrium of hoping the orange jackass will drop simply drop dead. Preferably in public, on stage, in front of an audience of MAGAs...but during one of his cheating golf games would be okay, too.
Trump absolutely knows he must uphold the Constitution, he just doesn't want to, so his lawyers and sycophants like Stephan Miller, who is really running the show, look for archaic laws and rationalizations for why Trump can ignore SCOTUS and the Constitution.
Join your local No Kings protest on June 14th, Trump's birthday and military parade day, where he spends more money than any President should celebrating himself. There's no government efficiency policy, only government gutting policies that hurt the 99% while favoring the 1%.
Unfortunately this has gone way past Watergate, and yet Trump supporters have turned off their consciences, their morality and apparently their gag reflex to this vile man-child. What is happening in this country is plain wrong and we will all suffer for decades to come. What country can trust the U.S. to choose a moral leader when a small % of people in a handful of states determine who is president every 4 years. Electoral College has to go.
"Is this the week where the Trump fever dream is finally going to break?"
So, honest question, what does that mean in real terms? If the Cabinet invokes the 25th Amendment we're left with Vance. Better, perhaps, but less than good. Besides that what else is there? America's is no parliamentary government, we cannot call for a no confidence vote and have national elections. I don't mean to be depressing, but exactly where could we accurately expect to wind up if the "fever dream is finally going to break?"
I sometimes wonder how he can have kompromat on so many people. Or are all of these people who do his bidding afraid of losing their jobs? Don't they have enough money to risk several months of not having a paycheck? Or maybe being a member of Congress doesn't help one's resume. I can't figure it out.
All it takes is 3-4 Republicans in the Senate and in the House to say "enough of this BS" and join with Democracts to re-assert lawful Congressional authority. That, combined with lawful judiciary actions that we are already seeing, can do a great deal to stop MAGA in its tracks. I agree that removing Trump as president through impeachment or the 25th is not going to change anything, but making just a few Republicans in Congress fear their constituents more than they fear MAGA/Trump/billionaires/Musk would do the trick.
Good point -- Vance is so cringey and appalling in personality that I wonder if the GOP Senators and Congressmen and women would find it easier to reject what he wants
Run, don't walk, to the nearest book source and get "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" and, if nothing else, start on page 136, "DJT, Alleged Incapacitated Person" by James Herb, Esq. He filed a petition to determine DT's mental incapacity in FL as a resident. It was the first legal instrument to test the waters in light of the Goldwater rule. He was an exception to the dictate that a mental professional could not diagnose someone from afar because he was not such an expert. He was an legal expert as a guardianship attorney allowing him to come to a prefiling preliminary conclusion that the person in question had a mental incapacity BEFORE filing a petition to determine incapacity in October, 2015. It cited salient evidence that Mr. Trump might have a DSM-V 301.50 (histrionic personality disorder) and DSM-V 301.81 (narcissistic personality disorder), based on 200 statements Mr. Trump made during the course of his campaign.
His petition was dismissed a day before the election. So Mr. Herb asked the court to reconsider the petition because the Electoral College had to also consider the issue of incapacity. This argument was grounded on Hamilton's Federalist No. 68. Basically, electors were to provide "wisdom and judgement (beyond that of the general public) in making the selection of the president, since they represented the people who voted and this step was supported by USSCt Justice Robert Jackson (lead American prosecutor at Nuremberg) who said that "electors would be free agents to exercise an independent and nonpartisan judgement as to the men best qualified for the Nation's highest office".
But Jackson also recognized reality in his comment in another case: "As an institution, the Electoral College suffered atrophy almost indistinguishable from rigor mortis" (Ray v. Blair, 343 U.S. 214, 232 (1952, Jackson, dissenting).
It goes on. But the point is there. Mr. Trump's mental capacity is still at issue and the task now is to find a way to use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to challenge him now. Mr. Herb in fact did file a second petition citing two "delusional beliefs" uttered by the President and issued various Executive Orders that on their face were carbon copies of the ones he has issued in 2025 (pg 142 of the tome - - concluding with the allegation/determination that he (Trump) suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, citing various factual observations of his behavior in the WH (pg 143).
I could go on but the point is reading his story is grist for the mill for us now.
(The other 26 experts have also weighed in on their versions of Trump's mental state).
Trump claims to have 'aced' a dementia test three times. There is no constitutional or legal requirement for a president to take such a test. Your 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a president voluntarily or by declaration if he's judged unable to discharge his duties, but that is not likely in these circumstances. Even if it included a power to depose a president for idiocy (the ground most likely to succeed in Trump's case in my opinion) in whom would that power vest so that it could be used now to stop the chaos he's causing?
The 25th Amendment bears reading in detail. I found that out the hard way.
I get the sensation that reading the book I cited might foster some more ideas about how to handle this situation without upsetting the national applecart altogether.
Interesting. But consider please that Trump's "condition" is not a bug but a feature. With it, Steven Miller et.al. can rule by proxy. Everyone (at the WH) is happy.
The advantage (if there is one!) is that he doesn't command the legions of loyalty from the Koolaid drinkers. I think the Congressional Republicans could possibly find their spine when it comes to dealing with Vance. One could only hope!
All the comments are interesting, but no one has yet laid out what the political meaning could be of "the fever dream breaking." What exactly could that mean? Trump becomes a lame duck before the first year of this administration is over? What political machinations would have to happen for that to occur? Who leads the country? Prior to the mid-terms we'd still have a dysfunctional Congress (at best), etc., etc., etc.
I'm all for Trump falling from grace, in every way possible. But Vance's phrase satisfies political, moral, and ethical blood lust without providing a picture of what that fall from grace would entail and what would come next.
This is not me being contrary or complaining about Vance's post. I'm simply curious and unsure what we can expect if (when?) Trump falters irrevocably, what the "fever dream breaks" would mean in real terms.
It's not that I disagree, but how does anyone propose we get rid of Trump? He's a legitimately elected president, with 3+ years to go in his term of office. Either the Cabinet invokes the 25th Amendment (not likely), he's successfully impeached (also unlikely, and not happening before the mid-terms, for sure), he has to step aside for health reasons (not in our control), or he dies in office (also not in our control). What do we have after any of those scenarios?
If he falls out of favor to such a degree that he's neutered politically – and that's a big If – what will a realistic and fact-based picture be of the scene then?
there are many things that could happen...I think the billionis can take him out because he is ruining their plans for him, or the maggots will miraculously realize they have been conned when he cuts all programs that help them and meemaw is living on their porch, having been kicked out of her medicaid paid for nursing home....
... Good point. Reading the tome I referred to above, however, tells me that, like all things in Nature, the body and mind breaks down, gets fragile, etc. over time and God can intervene when He sees fit - if it suits His Will. Just a reminder that there are SOME things we humans just do not have control over, but have to turn it over to His Will and trust in His providence. That is the motto of our country - "In God we trust".
Joyce, Thanks for the encouraging words about the delay while the opposition rallies against the tyrants. I encourage everyone to find an Indivisible or other democracy group near you and get active with it. If there isn't one, start one. Check out indivisible.org for help getting going! We can do this!
Hope everyone saw 60 Minutes this week. Our HERO Marc Elias was one of the attorneys interviewed. Scott Pelly did a great job interviewing. What was emphasized but not said specifically was these threats to attorneys were only really involving #47 only not "The Government." Yet our government is paying the bills.
I did!! He is our hero and so are the people of 60 Minutes. They are defying their corporate boss, Shari Redstone, who is the chief shareholder of Paramount +. She is facilitating the merger of Paramount with CBS and the folks at 60 Minutes are none too happy.
"Anwar Sadat's last military parade was also his final appearance, as he was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo on October 6, 1981. The parade celebrated Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War.
While security measures were in place, including multiple layers of protection, the assassination squad, led by Lieutenant Al-Islambuli, was able to carry out their attack. As Egyptian Air Force Mirage jets flew overhead, the assassination squad disguised themselves as soldiers in a truck towing artillery and approached the grandstand, where Sadat was sitting. Al-Islambuli then fired his assault rifle at Sadat, mortally wounding him. "
It’s baby steps, but we are going forward. Pretty soon all the little steps add up to bigger steps. Thank you Joyce as usual for all the hard work you do for us.
Has everyone forgotten that he was given a pass for NOT swearing the oath of office on the Bible that his wife held in place for him? The fact seems to me that he didn’t make any promise about upholding the Constitution, and nobody called him on it.
When you appear in a courtroom and swear to tell the truth, are you required to touch a Bible? I think it's very strange that the presence of a Bible is part of the inauguration ritual. Would an atheist never be permitted to serve as President? Atheists are not evil or incompetent. What a weird system.
in my view, that is a kind of sympathetic magic, mistaking the object for the moral it represents. One is bound by an oath one says, whether or not one is touching the magic/holy object. Same, even if one has one's fingers crossed.
Of course Trump was not thinking about what he was saying - he just wanted to be President, and if that was the kind of mumbo-jumbo he had to pronounce to get there, then bring it on.
As a result, one would not be able to base a lawsuit on his failure to comply with his oath of office. At worst it was perjury, but good luck proving it. (He would, ironically, swear on a stack of bibles that he was sincere when he took the oath of office.)
So get him for what he does, which is horrific and usually illegal, but don't bother chasing him on matters of form.
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
We can only hope it's very public and entirely disgusting and undeniable since his followers will embrace nearly anything and his sycophants will sane wash nearly anything and subsequently just keep him closeted so they can puppet him. As it is, they write the EOs and stick them in front of him to sign. He just sharpies away like he was signing autographs. He has already said at least once he didn't sign one - showing he hadn't done so knowingly. It's like when a relative shoves papers in front of an elderly relative to take advantage of them only it's Us who are being taken advantage of.
I will not succumb to fear or apathy. They are the hallmarks of failure. I’m out there daily, working to defend our democracy. The more I do, the more hopeful and energized I feel. I’m on our local Indivisible mobilization committee, planning, organizing and executing protests monthly. Canvassing for local school board candidates. Writing postcards to swing states. Volunteering 2 to 3 days a week in our local Democratic campaign office. Emailing each of my MOCs several times a day, plus contacting our Governor, State AG , SCOTUS and others, as circumstances dictate. Donating to a dozen non-profits like ACLU, Vote Forward, Vote Blue, Don’t Shoot Portland, Push Black, etc. Attending local town halls. Collecting petition signatures to get a measure on Oregon’s ballot in Nov ‘26 to enshrine protections for pregnancy, birth, abortion and trans healthcare in our constitution. Using Substack, FB and Blue Sky to amplify the writing of our independent, political journalists like you, Marc Elias, Glenn Kirschner, Jay Kuo, Scott Dworkin, Jess Piper, etc.
Attending a handful of different Zoom calls each week to stay informed. Donating to several dozen Substack authors and nonprofits. Everyday, I’m doing all I can to bolster the resistance to the fascism that is trying to steal our country from us. NO SURRENDER!
Thanks for the comment, Marlene. I realize that my privilege allows me to stay engaged this much. I’m 70 and comfortably retired, at least for now! I’m doing this on behalf of all the people who can’t, for whatever reasons. Families working hard just to pay the bills, people with physical or emotional constraints. I’m all in to pay back the privilege I’ve been granted and to protect the future for our children, grandchildren, and marginalized communities. It’s very disheartening to me that many folks who are capable, are not taking part in the resistance. Whether from fear or apathy, they must realize that if we don’t put it all on the table now, we are likely to lose our ability to fight back at all, or at the very least, make it much harder.
Agreed. It’s all hands on deck time, but I have to check my judgement of non participants. My history in professional groups suggests 20% of the people do 80% of the work so as long as the 80%. cooperate with small tasks and identify themselves as belonging to the group. That may be enough.
Here's why Trump won't implode (completely). 28% may be the floor.
According to a Gallup poll, in 2024 only 28% of self identified voters claimed to be Republican while an additional 18% said they leaned Republican. And The Atlantic reported that, "as Trump hits his 100th day in office an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that just 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance—the lowest ever recorded, going back to 1945, and smashing through the previous record of 42 percent, set by one Donald Trump in 2017." So, after loosing the moderates and independents that he conned, Trump's level of "Republican" support may have also dropped by around 7 points or 15%.
Polling has also shown many of Trump's supporters are less educated. “The biggest single, best predictor of how someone’s going to vote in American politics now is education level. That is now the new fault line in American politics,” according to the “CNN Political Briefing” podcast. Why do you think Trump is going after our universities?
"Trump’s rise over the past three election cycles “accelerated and completed this political realignment based on education that had been forming since the early ’70s, at the beginning of the decline in the middle class.”
And, perhaps because of this decline, I have found that MAGA proponents I know seem to be preoccupied with some form of grievance (sound familiar?).
Put another way, college graduates hold about three-quarters of the wealth in the US, but account for only about 40% of the population.
There’s a direct correlation to politics. In 2020, according to CNN’s exit polls, voters with a college degree accounted for 41% of the electorate and they supported President Joe Biden 55% to Trump’s 43%. Trump got the support of about two-thirds of White voters without a college degree, but he lost White college-educated voters. And our education system is now reeling from the "retribution.'
This MAGA grievance may well be be fueled by an intergenerational loss of status and control, which in turn is leading these folks to blame their insecurity on the improving status of others such as non-Christians, minorities and the educated instead of on their own shortcomings.
Addressing or even acknowledging racial injustice toward people of color is out;
Separating church and state is out; and
Exposing anti-Christian bias and being ‘anti-woke’ is in.
I also believe that this hostility and jealousy, one of mankind's most destructive emotions, exacerbates the prevalence of misogyny in this country.
While I personally voted for both Clinton and Harris, I have come to also believe that, on the margin, the prevalence of misogyny in this county is the the primary reason for their lost elections and that Trump would have lost then had the Democrats fielded viable male candidates! After all, Trump lost the only election he ran against a male candidate! And when he did win it was only by slim margins.
So, after the winnowing of folks like me that has already taken place in the Republican party, I fear that Trump's support among voters may not fall much further. His core level of support, especially among the religious right, does not seem to be very elastic and may be tied more to demographics than ideology. But, along the way he has securely anchored himself to his own minority whose minority status and the attendant loss of control is itself a primary source of MAGA grievance!
Perhaps the grievances of the MAGA folk are real and not wholly based on their own shortcomings but on the unconscionable hoarding of wealth by the top 1% of earners in America and their unhealthy influence on the direction of US politics. That's the thesis being advanced by people like Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and I find it quite compelling.
"...an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that just 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance—the lowest ever recorded, going back to 1945...". "Just 39 percent?" That still means 39 out of a 100 people 'APPROVE"(?!) of trump's activities = lies, falsehoods, rude comments etc.? Are these 39 out of 100 aware that he does not know what the Declaration of Independence stands for, and what's in the Constitution upon which swore an oath?
Yes, trying to boil it down I've always felt it was education, media choice, and personality. Personality may be the most immovable of the characteristics and the one that affects media choice and to some extent reaction or receptivity to education. Education can be improved if we can regain our leadership and media is already undergoing a slow evolution (our being on Substack right now is one part of that process). I believe you are right though that there is a bottom governed by things we cannot change, things that change only slowly and are generational, and things that are changing even now but our great need is right this moment.
My almost-30 year old daughter said the same. “Stop making fun of people, of the President. Give young people something concrete to work for, to vote for. Ridicule is unattractive.”
Just like satire is hard to do when it's hard to surpass the ridiculousness of reality, it's hard to report truth about someone when their behavior is so ridiculous that just honestly repeating them and showing them in action is indistinguishable from ridicule.
I would respectfully disagree however that all ridicule is unattractive and we should only engage in a serious, future oriented messaging. I believe humor is often the best way to engage those who are otherwise immune to the message. Humor is alluring and certainly draws me. I find smart ridicule to have the same effect and only an ugly ridicule to be unattractive. Like art, one knows it when one sees it although it's difficult to define. I would say different strokes for different folks but certainly leaven ridicule with plenty of positive targets to hit and a hopeful future to envision.
I still don’t think Trump’s stupidity from this weekend’s interviews are enough to tip the scales. Once his economic policy starts to hurt the right people, the blinders will come off and the emperor will then truly have no clothes.
The thought of that body unclothed is not anything any of us want to see.
We don’t even want to visualize it in our minds!
difficult to unsee, isn't it?
Yes! I need some memory and eye bleach now.
Having been a nurse for decades, I have seen plenty of bodies like his unclothed, but I will spare you descriptions.
me too !
Me three.
I realize this body shaming is meant as a jest but I SERIOUSLY wish people would refrain from it, even in jest. We should be better than that and realize how it hurts those of us with truly good political motives but suffer in reality from the body traumas that are mocked in these comments.
There is PLENTY of what Trump does substantially that can and should be mocked and mauled; I urge us all to focus on the substantive and leave the imagery on the side.
Thanks.
so, you forgot when trump mocked that disabled reporter ?
Of course not. So you think it is okay to indulge in offensive arguments just because "they do it too"? Didn't your mother teach you how disgusting that kind of crap is?
I expect that kind of BS from Trump. I do NOT expect or accept it from people who should be speaking from the honorable side of any argument.
If you think that is acceptable, to mock people for their body shape, regardless of who they are, then YOU are part of the problem, not part of the solution.
OK, so 2 things: 1. You get the respect you give
2. Nurses have a different sense of humor than everyone else, why ? Because we have to deal with everyone else
I was a little surprised when Trump replied essentially, but what about those on Wall Street that say his policies will lead to an amazing success, and Kristen Welker did not bother to ask him, who the "they" who supposedly say such things even are.
Good grief, even the right wing WSJ has called his tariffs, dumb.
She should have asked him for their names saying that she would like to interview them.
Then, like his health plan, everyone would see that the "they" do not exist.
It reminds me of when Trump says, "the best ever they say" about his term 1 economy.
They who? GDP was only average-ish or below at 2.8% average even before the pandemic hit, and this was after he nearly doubled the deficit before the pandemic, as well, with a lot of it due to his tax cuts. It was projected at 559 billion when Obama left and before the pandemic even hit in Jan 2020 the deficit was already projected at 1.015 trillion.
Why do people not challenge what he says with basic facts?
I have stopped watching Sunday morning political shows because they simply let the guests lie and even if they try to challenge them a bit, it is half hearted and lacking in enough expertise. She even seemed to go along with his claim about the long-run being good. Says who? No economist, I know of says this. Then NBC reruns this clip in ads, like they are proud of it. Clearly they need more economists on staff.
They need economists and lawyers as hosts for the Sunday morning shows - heck make it like a game show and fact check it. The audience can weigh in and guess if a statement was true or false and then see if they got it right at the end. Have some fun with these snake oil salesmen.
We stopped watching Meet the Press shortly after Kristen Welker took over -- her questions are so scripted and she misses so many opportunities for follow-ups and doesn't challenge the lies. When Trump said he didn't know if he had to uphold the Constitution I wish she had read him the Oath of office and asked him again -- hold him to it. Way too softball.
I agree, she talks to trump like she needs him to like her. It was hard to watch so we don't.
EXACTLY!! I posted exactly what you said before I saw your post, LOL. Great minds...... haha.
I still watch Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan - she does make the effort to get answers - not always successful, but she tries.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for saying this!
It should be the top priority of today's journalists: keep pressing for truth.
If everyone does it, MAGA's heads will eventually explode.
And maybe their brains will reboot and they'll realize who their true enemy is.
The "journalists" will lose their jobs, so they submit to the scripted questions the owners of those media outlets demand.
If Welker had integrity, she'd be independent and ask serious questions. she lacks it.
MAGA doesn’t watch the shows that would challenge their mistaken beliefs and their demented leader. So their so-called brains are safe.
uh, brains ?
So-called brains
got it
I want to know where gas is $1.98..........besides in 1980
do the maggots have a special card to buy cheap eggs and gas ???
It's still around $4.00 where I live!!
I paid $3.25 yesterday NW CT
$3.30 in NO VA
"Those are the people history will judge unkindly, hopefully far worse than unkindly, because they richly deserve to be consigned to its dustbin."
Forget history. What about how their descendents will view their cowardice? Their own kin will pretend they don't know them....
Perhaps an economist like P. M. Carny in Canada!! Imagine - having someone in charge who actually speaks at least 2 languages, and intelligence! Imagine!!
As opposed to the current WH felon - barely speaks English - or makes sense.
"It's the economy, stupid!" unfortunately carries more weight with the public than an attempted fascist takeover of this country, but if a failing economy eventually causes the demise of tRumpism, well, it is what it is, right?
Agree, Lance. And now, “It’s your life, stupid”.
There’s no fixing this https://youtu.be/REvUM1Xp3S8
OMG! The blinders are never coming off for these folks!
Well bearing in mind that you've just elected a convicted felon...
And a convicted rapist....and an indicted insurrectionist!!!
MaryAnn, it might seem pedantic given Trump's history of misogyny, but he was never convicted of rape. He was accused of rape by E Jean Carroll and he publicly denied this and called her a liar. She sued for defamation (which is a tort rather than a felony) and she won. He appealed and lost and then defamed her again and she sued again and won punitive damages. Now he's appealing against the level of damages. He found that:
"...Mr. Trump used the office of the presidency — the loudest “bully pulpit” in
America and possibly the world — to issue multiple statements castigating Ms. Carroll as a politically and financially motivated liar, insinuating that she was too unattractive for him to have sexually assaulted, and threatening that she would “pay dearly” for speaking out."
OMG. I shouldn't feel sorry for these folks but they are so living in their mega dream world and have completely lost touch with reality.
I sort of feel sorry for them because everything has been taken from them by the 1%. Like making them work part time so no benefits are required, fighting against minimum wage,fighting against unions, they are desperate.
I used to feel sorry for them, assuming they were just poor, uneducated, uninformed people. That was until I recognized how full of hate many of them are. No more sympathy!
Ohhhh boy…this guy is a piece of work! And he wants to be mayor? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
He IS rather thuggish--or at the least, he certainly comes across like one. Ugh.
Thanks to Fox Entertainment "News" and right-wing podcasters.
😱🤯😡
Unbelievable how ignorant these people are. The repubs have succeeded in destroying education in this country, as we can clearly see with these people.
Faux news smarts.
IMO, Trump is merely a batboy, serving at the whim of the team. The "team," Project 2025, is still a mandate for people with powerful means to continue their disruption of US law and democratic institutions for the sake of maintaining their wealth. Who are these characters who brought us Christian Nationalism and continue to pull the strings of the orange puppet? They are the insidious ones because they hide behind their money and neo-religiosity. After Trump, they will find another useful idiot who will keep the authoritarian fires burning.
unless the townspeople come for them with torches and pitchforks........
💯 We, the people, will take to the streets every day and every week until our elected officials understand that they serve us, not a wannabe dictator.
I have seen comments from his benighted myrmidons, praising him for lowering prices, while at the same time, blaming State officials (NYS) for the high cost of gas and groceries. I'm not sure anything will get through to those most devoted to their Idol.
Myrmidon= new word for me!
@ Mike N. This is another opportunity. Ask every Congressional Republican whether Trump and they are bound by the Constitution. https://jerryweiss.substack.com/
He’s had no clothes since forever
The photo of him as Pope and his comment that he didn’t post it and it didn’t offend anyone…
That Trump admitted he doesn't know if he has to uphold the Constitution is strong evidence for his incompetence for office, or his blatant illegality. Either way, he is building the momentum for his demise
He's actually so stupid that he truly doesn't know. He's an illiterate imbecile. I'll always remember the Gold Star father Khizr Khan pulling out his pocket a copy of the Constitution at the Democratic convention in 2016, and offering to lend it to the Orange Sadist. What an image that was. (Needless to say, the O.S. didn't borrow it, and has -- I'm 100% sure -- never read it.)
I clearly remember Khizr Khan too. I agree with you in every aspect that Voldemort has never read the Constitution and never will. I doubt his lackey, Stephen Miller, has read it either. I think both he and Elon are the nightmares behind the scene. We dump Voldemort and we can only hope those two end up in the dumpster fire of hell as well. They deserve it, all 3 of them, among all of the others who inflicted so much pain on all of us.
Actually, I think that russell vought is THE mastermind of this attempt at total destruction of our democracy. Just as stephen miller hid in the darkness in the Orange Sadist's first term, as babies were taken from their mothers' arms at the border; now russell vought is hidden in the darkness and no one talks about him. We need to BE AWARE OF HIM.
Yes, I agree! We know Trump is an imbecile and his demise can't come soon enough but those behind the scenes, starting with Vought, are propping him up i.e. Miller, Gorka, Navarro, Vance, Homan and more! Richard Nixon didn't have the craven power seekers behind him like Trump! Republicans seem to have abandoned their scruples!
the line of succession if Trump goes is truly horrifying.
I think a big difference now is republicans derive their power from Trump while the republicans in Nixon's era did not need him.
Oh, I think Stephen Miller has read it. He's probably poured over every word figuring out any and every way to twist it, quibble about it and propose alternative interpretations of it... tRump is evil springing from total selfishness on a foundation of ignorance, but Miller is evil utilizing deviousness on a foundation of evil intentions.
Well said, Miller is the true evil in this administration.
It is too easy to point the finger at one actor. Instituting Project 2025 is an ensemble production. Karmic irony may have brought back Nazi deportation chief Adolf Eichmann as the Jewish Stephen Miller. But every Hitler needs his cadres and cohorts.
Every Stalin his apparatchiks and enforcers. Charles Koch's Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation - through Leonard Leo - have spent decades grooming the necessary opportunists and ideologues. Now Leo is behind Peter Thiel's Teneo Network - assembling a cast of elected officials, political operatives, and pop culture influencers to transform social norms. Along with the indoctrination by Christian Academies and home schoolers of the religious right.
https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279777/gov.uscourts.dcd.279777.1.0.pdf
Closely followed by Tom Homan. Both are evil and sadistic.
Our government and Marco Rubio support Nazis.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the German intelligence agency designation of the far-right AfD party “tyranny in disguise,” after the agency classified AfD a “proven right-wing extremist organization.” https://www.nbcnews.com/world/germany/germany-hits-back-rubios-defense-far-right-afd-party-rcna204599
Please protest to Norman Braman, CANF,AIPAC and all Congressional Republicans.
I agree.
No question. miller is an extremely intelligent man -- uh, monster.
It's funny -- I always think of Stephen Miller as Voldemort!
me, too---47 is far too impulsive and unintelligent to plan out anything and then carefully perform the necessary steps.....but yes, Project 2025 was the production of many who wish to turn the government of the United States into an authoritarian theocracy...or giant theocratic tech corporation...or something, anything but what it is.
I don't agree that Trump is stupid, or illiterate. I agree that he is profoundly ignorant, and doesn't read much, mostly due to laziness and complete lack of intellectual curiosity. He is also completely dishonest and unwilling to take responsibility for any bad outcomes (and blames his predecessor or underlings instead). He is certainly unfit to be president, due to the above factors and because he has a Dark Triad personality disorder, and appoints only loyalists, because he is unable to tolerate criticism, due to his narcissism and fragile ego. Because of his Machiavellianism and the cowardice of Congressional Republicans, his demise may, unfortunately, be a long way off.
You're right. He's "smart" in the way that mob bosses are smart: how to manipulate people; the cruelest ways to get vengeance; and so forth.
Clever like a Faux Newscast.
Mr. Khan's comments which ended, " You have sacrificed nothing or no one" which makes trump what he is, a zero, and the minute enough of us stand up to him, he will back off. He is a coward, just like all bullies!!
I had forgotten that. Talk about POWERFUL!!
Well, he did know that the Declaration of Independence is about?...Wait a minute!...First, he said, "It's a...Declaration of ...Independence?" and then he thought a minute, and he said, "love"????
Briliant, isn't he? Think about it...our President of this Nation, in his second four-year term of office as President, doesn't have the slightest idea what the Declaration of Independence was about when this Nation was won from British rule?
I forgot about that evil SOB, Russell Vought, KDSherpa. You are right.
Personally, I'm hoping for a REAL demise--as from a stroke or a heart attack. I know--I'm not "nice". However, when watching the 'slow-motion in real time' destruction of my country by an arrogant, incompetent, narcissistic, sadistic senile old jackass and his personal gang of loyalist white nationalist thugs (also incompetent)...I'm more than willing to take on the opprobrium of hoping the orange jackass will drop simply drop dead. Preferably in public, on stage, in front of an audience of MAGAs...but during one of his cheating golf games would be okay, too.
I gotcha. (Re cheating: I thought it fascinating to learn that Leon the muskrat ALSO cheats on his favorite games!)
Trump absolutely knows he must uphold the Constitution, he just doesn't want to, so his lawyers and sycophants like Stephan Miller, who is really running the show, look for archaic laws and rationalizations for why Trump can ignore SCOTUS and the Constitution.
Join your local No Kings protest on June 14th, Trump's birthday and military parade day, where he spends more money than any President should celebrating himself. There's no government efficiency policy, only government gutting policies that hurt the 99% while favoring the 1%.
Unfortunately this has gone way past Watergate, and yet Trump supporters have turned off their consciences, their morality and apparently their gag reflex to this vile man-child. What is happening in this country is plain wrong and we will all suffer for decades to come. What country can trust the U.S. to choose a moral leader when a small % of people in a handful of states determine who is president every 4 years. Electoral College has to go.
So true!
"Is this the week where the Trump fever dream is finally going to break?"
So, honest question, what does that mean in real terms? If the Cabinet invokes the 25th Amendment we're left with Vance. Better, perhaps, but less than good. Besides that what else is there? America's is no parliamentary government, we cannot call for a no confidence vote and have national elections. I don't mean to be depressing, but exactly where could we accurately expect to wind up if the "fever dream is finally going to break?"
Vance is also appalling, but I don't think thatche has thr dark charisma or cult hold that Trump has over his base.
If Trump isn't there to bully the Senate perhaps somr of them will rediscover that thry can say no.
I sometimes wonder how he can have kompromat on so many people. Or are all of these people who do his bidding afraid of losing their jobs? Don't they have enough money to risk several months of not having a paycheck? Or maybe being a member of Congress doesn't help one's resume. I can't figure it out.
Several have said that they fear violence against their families. Many get several calls a day reminding them to toe the line. Here's an example of what can happen: https://www.njspotlightnews.org/video/pizzas-sent-as-threats-in-name-of-judges-murdered-son/
All it takes is 3-4 Republicans in the Senate and in the House to say "enough of this BS" and join with Democracts to re-assert lawful Congressional authority. That, combined with lawful judiciary actions that we are already seeing, can do a great deal to stop MAGA in its tracks. I agree that removing Trump as president through impeachment or the 25th is not going to change anything, but making just a few Republicans in Congress fear their constituents more than they fear MAGA/Trump/billionaires/Musk would do the trick.
Perhaps the very fact that tRump could be removed could in itself serve as a deterrent?
Good point -- Vance is so cringey and appalling in personality that I wonder if the GOP Senators and Congressmen and women would find it easier to reject what he wants
Run, don't walk, to the nearest book source and get "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump" and, if nothing else, start on page 136, "DJT, Alleged Incapacitated Person" by James Herb, Esq. He filed a petition to determine DT's mental incapacity in FL as a resident. It was the first legal instrument to test the waters in light of the Goldwater rule. He was an exception to the dictate that a mental professional could not diagnose someone from afar because he was not such an expert. He was an legal expert as a guardianship attorney allowing him to come to a prefiling preliminary conclusion that the person in question had a mental incapacity BEFORE filing a petition to determine incapacity in October, 2015. It cited salient evidence that Mr. Trump might have a DSM-V 301.50 (histrionic personality disorder) and DSM-V 301.81 (narcissistic personality disorder), based on 200 statements Mr. Trump made during the course of his campaign.
His petition was dismissed a day before the election. So Mr. Herb asked the court to reconsider the petition because the Electoral College had to also consider the issue of incapacity. This argument was grounded on Hamilton's Federalist No. 68. Basically, electors were to provide "wisdom and judgement (beyond that of the general public) in making the selection of the president, since they represented the people who voted and this step was supported by USSCt Justice Robert Jackson (lead American prosecutor at Nuremberg) who said that "electors would be free agents to exercise an independent and nonpartisan judgement as to the men best qualified for the Nation's highest office".
But Jackson also recognized reality in his comment in another case: "As an institution, the Electoral College suffered atrophy almost indistinguishable from rigor mortis" (Ray v. Blair, 343 U.S. 214, 232 (1952, Jackson, dissenting).
It goes on. But the point is there. Mr. Trump's mental capacity is still at issue and the task now is to find a way to use the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to challenge him now. Mr. Herb in fact did file a second petition citing two "delusional beliefs" uttered by the President and issued various Executive Orders that on their face were carbon copies of the ones he has issued in 2025 (pg 142 of the tome - - concluding with the allegation/determination that he (Trump) suffers from narcissistic personality disorder, citing various factual observations of his behavior in the WH (pg 143).
I could go on but the point is reading his story is grist for the mill for us now.
(The other 26 experts have also weighed in on their versions of Trump's mental state).
Comments?
Trump claims to have 'aced' a dementia test three times. There is no constitutional or legal requirement for a president to take such a test. Your 25th Amendment allows for the removal of a president voluntarily or by declaration if he's judged unable to discharge his duties, but that is not likely in these circumstances. Even if it included a power to depose a president for idiocy (the ground most likely to succeed in Trump's case in my opinion) in whom would that power vest so that it could be used now to stop the chaos he's causing?
The 25th Amendment bears reading in detail. I found that out the hard way.
I get the sensation that reading the book I cited might foster some more ideas about how to handle this situation without upsetting the national applecart altogether.
Interesting. But consider please that Trump's "condition" is not a bug but a feature. With it, Steven Miller et.al. can rule by proxy. Everyone (at the WH) is happy.
The advantage (if there is one!) is that he doesn't command the legions of loyalty from the Koolaid drinkers. I think the Congressional Republicans could possibly find their spine when it comes to dealing with Vance. One could only hope!
All the comments are interesting, but no one has yet laid out what the political meaning could be of "the fever dream breaking." What exactly could that mean? Trump becomes a lame duck before the first year of this administration is over? What political machinations would have to happen for that to occur? Who leads the country? Prior to the mid-terms we'd still have a dysfunctional Congress (at best), etc., etc., etc.
I'm all for Trump falling from grace, in every way possible. But Vance's phrase satisfies political, moral, and ethical blood lust without providing a picture of what that fall from grace would entail and what would come next.
This is not me being contrary or complaining about Vance's post. I'm simply curious and unsure what we can expect if (when?) Trump falters irrevocably, what the "fever dream breaks" would mean in real terms.
first step in retaking the country is getting rid of trump....that Ghana mess would not have been without jones
It's not that I disagree, but how does anyone propose we get rid of Trump? He's a legitimately elected president, with 3+ years to go in his term of office. Either the Cabinet invokes the 25th Amendment (not likely), he's successfully impeached (also unlikely, and not happening before the mid-terms, for sure), he has to step aside for health reasons (not in our control), or he dies in office (also not in our control). What do we have after any of those scenarios?
If he falls out of favor to such a degree that he's neutered politically – and that's a big If – what will a realistic and fact-based picture be of the scene then?
there are many things that could happen...I think the billionis can take him out because he is ruining their plans for him, or the maggots will miraculously realize they have been conned when he cuts all programs that help them and meemaw is living on their porch, having been kicked out of her medicaid paid for nursing home....
... Good point. Reading the tome I referred to above, however, tells me that, like all things in Nature, the body and mind breaks down, gets fragile, etc. over time and God can intervene when He sees fit - if it suits His Will. Just a reminder that there are SOME things we humans just do not have control over, but have to turn it over to His Will and trust in His providence. That is the motto of our country - "In God we trust".
Joyce, Thanks for the encouraging words about the delay while the opposition rallies against the tyrants. I encourage everyone to find an Indivisible or other democracy group near you and get active with it. If there isn't one, start one. Check out indivisible.org for help getting going! We can do this!
Hi Laurie! i just read a message you sent to me in late March. I couldn’t respond back for some unknown reason. Just wanted to let you know…
No worries, Marlene. March feels like a decade ago anyway. Sigh.
Yes, it sure as hell does.
Hope everyone saw 60 Minutes this week. Our HERO Marc Elias was one of the attorneys interviewed. Scott Pelly did a great job interviewing. What was emphasized but not said specifically was these threats to attorneys were only really involving #47 only not "The Government." Yet our government is paying the bills.
I did!! He is our hero and so are the people of 60 Minutes. They are defying their corporate boss, Shari Redstone, who is the chief shareholder of Paramount +. She is facilitating the merger of Paramount with CBS and the folks at 60 Minutes are none too happy.
Just like we paying for all the time/costs when he goes golfing.
I missed it -- will look for it on YouTube
We also start the week with a president who wants a military parade on his birthday! This cannot happen. If it does, our democracy will have died. 😭
I wonder if Trump knows anything about Anwar Sadat’s (last) military parade?
I would doubt it. 🤷♂️
Let’s not tell him.
I did not know this:
"Anwar Sadat's last military parade was also his final appearance, as he was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo on October 6, 1981. The parade celebrated Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War.
While security measures were in place, including multiple layers of protection, the assassination squad, led by Lieutenant Al-Islambuli, was able to carry out their attack. As Egyptian Air Force Mirage jets flew overhead, the assassination squad disguised themselves as soldiers in a truck towing artillery and approached the grandstand, where Sadat was sitting. Al-Islambuli then fired his assault rifle at Sadat, mortally wounding him. "
Thanks for explaining.
that would be a great ending !!
Sounds like an opportunity for a counter march or giant protest.
Absolutely,but it should be prohibited.
It’s baby steps, but we are going forward. Pretty soon all the little steps add up to bigger steps. Thank you Joyce as usual for all the hard work you do for us.
Has everyone forgotten that he was given a pass for NOT swearing the oath of office on the Bible that his wife held in place for him? The fact seems to me that he didn’t make any promise about upholding the Constitution, and nobody called him on it.
When you appear in a courtroom and swear to tell the truth, are you required to touch a Bible? I think it's very strange that the presence of a Bible is part of the inauguration ritual. Would an atheist never be permitted to serve as President? Atheists are not evil or incompetent. What a weird system.
an atheist could never be elected to a serious public office in the USA. Way too superstitious a country for that.
I think Jefferson was an atheist. Agnostic for sure.
Main stream media failed to point it out so Magats have no idea that he didn’t bother to even touch a Bible when swearing his oath.
Alice, so what...doubt they touch bibles either !
in my view, that is a kind of sympathetic magic, mistaking the object for the moral it represents. One is bound by an oath one says, whether or not one is touching the magic/holy object. Same, even if one has one's fingers crossed.
Of course Trump was not thinking about what he was saying - he just wanted to be President, and if that was the kind of mumbo-jumbo he had to pronounce to get there, then bring it on.
As a result, one would not be able to base a lawsuit on his failure to comply with his oath of office. At worst it was perjury, but good luck proving it. (He would, ironically, swear on a stack of bibles that he was sincere when he took the oath of office.)
So get him for what he does, which is horrific and usually illegal, but don't bother chasing him on matters of form.
Humans have many symbols and we all know what they represent. Like the flag,liberty bell, statue of liberty, etc.
besides the devil never touches the bible...except to hold it upsidedown...
Use this spreadsheet to call/email/write any of our representatives as often as possible. Not just your own state reps, reach out to those in other states. Be as loud as you can and share this. Use your voice and make some “good trouble.”
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/13lYafj0P-6owAJcH-5_xcpcRvMUZI7rkBPW-Ma9e7hw/edit
Thanks Joyce. Now I am ready to start the week.
Trump’s sociopathy is getting worse and I believe a real mix of dementia. I expect a full blown break is coming.
We can only hope it's very public and entirely disgusting and undeniable since his followers will embrace nearly anything and his sycophants will sane wash nearly anything and subsequently just keep him closeted so they can puppet him. As it is, they write the EOs and stick them in front of him to sign. He just sharpies away like he was signing autographs. He has already said at least once he didn't sign one - showing he hadn't done so knowingly. It's like when a relative shoves papers in front of an elderly relative to take advantage of them only it's Us who are being taken advantage of.
I will not succumb to fear or apathy. They are the hallmarks of failure. I’m out there daily, working to defend our democracy. The more I do, the more hopeful and energized I feel. I’m on our local Indivisible mobilization committee, planning, organizing and executing protests monthly. Canvassing for local school board candidates. Writing postcards to swing states. Volunteering 2 to 3 days a week in our local Democratic campaign office. Emailing each of my MOCs several times a day, plus contacting our Governor, State AG , SCOTUS and others, as circumstances dictate. Donating to a dozen non-profits like ACLU, Vote Forward, Vote Blue, Don’t Shoot Portland, Push Black, etc. Attending local town halls. Collecting petition signatures to get a measure on Oregon’s ballot in Nov ‘26 to enshrine protections for pregnancy, birth, abortion and trans healthcare in our constitution. Using Substack, FB and Blue Sky to amplify the writing of our independent, political journalists like you, Marc Elias, Glenn Kirschner, Jay Kuo, Scott Dworkin, Jess Piper, etc.
Attending a handful of different Zoom calls each week to stay informed. Donating to several dozen Substack authors and nonprofits. Everyday, I’m doing all I can to bolster the resistance to the fascism that is trying to steal our country from us. NO SURRENDER!
You are the model for us all
Thanks for the comment, Marlene. I realize that my privilege allows me to stay engaged this much. I’m 70 and comfortably retired, at least for now! I’m doing this on behalf of all the people who can’t, for whatever reasons. Families working hard just to pay the bills, people with physical or emotional constraints. I’m all in to pay back the privilege I’ve been granted and to protect the future for our children, grandchildren, and marginalized communities. It’s very disheartening to me that many folks who are capable, are not taking part in the resistance. Whether from fear or apathy, they must realize that if we don’t put it all on the table now, we are likely to lose our ability to fight back at all, or at the very least, make it much harder.
Agreed. It’s all hands on deck time, but I have to check my judgement of non participants. My history in professional groups suggests 20% of the people do 80% of the work so as long as the 80%. cooperate with small tasks and identify themselves as belonging to the group. That may be enough.
Here's why Trump won't implode (completely). 28% may be the floor.
According to a Gallup poll, in 2024 only 28% of self identified voters claimed to be Republican while an additional 18% said they leaned Republican. And The Atlantic reported that, "as Trump hits his 100th day in office an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that just 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance—the lowest ever recorded, going back to 1945, and smashing through the previous record of 42 percent, set by one Donald Trump in 2017." So, after loosing the moderates and independents that he conned, Trump's level of "Republican" support may have also dropped by around 7 points or 15%.
Polling has also shown many of Trump's supporters are less educated. “The biggest single, best predictor of how someone’s going to vote in American politics now is education level. That is now the new fault line in American politics,” according to the “CNN Political Briefing” podcast. Why do you think Trump is going after our universities?
"Trump’s rise over the past three election cycles “accelerated and completed this political realignment based on education that had been forming since the early ’70s, at the beginning of the decline in the middle class.”
And, perhaps because of this decline, I have found that MAGA proponents I know seem to be preoccupied with some form of grievance (sound familiar?).
Put another way, college graduates hold about three-quarters of the wealth in the US, but account for only about 40% of the population.
There’s a direct correlation to politics. In 2020, according to CNN’s exit polls, voters with a college degree accounted for 41% of the electorate and they supported President Joe Biden 55% to Trump’s 43%. Trump got the support of about two-thirds of White voters without a college degree, but he lost White college-educated voters. And our education system is now reeling from the "retribution.'
This MAGA grievance may well be be fueled by an intergenerational loss of status and control, which in turn is leading these folks to blame their insecurity on the improving status of others such as non-Christians, minorities and the educated instead of on their own shortcomings.
Addressing or even acknowledging racial injustice toward people of color is out;
Separating church and state is out; and
Exposing anti-Christian bias and being ‘anti-woke’ is in.
I also believe that this hostility and jealousy, one of mankind's most destructive emotions, exacerbates the prevalence of misogyny in this country.
While I personally voted for both Clinton and Harris, I have come to also believe that, on the margin, the prevalence of misogyny in this county is the the primary reason for their lost elections and that Trump would have lost then had the Democrats fielded viable male candidates! After all, Trump lost the only election he ran against a male candidate! And when he did win it was only by slim margins.
So, after the winnowing of folks like me that has already taken place in the Republican party, I fear that Trump's support among voters may not fall much further. His core level of support, especially among the religious right, does not seem to be very elastic and may be tied more to demographics than ideology. But, along the way he has securely anchored himself to his own minority whose minority status and the attendant loss of control is itself a primary source of MAGA grievance!
Perhaps the grievances of the MAGA folk are real and not wholly based on their own shortcomings but on the unconscionable hoarding of wealth by the top 1% of earners in America and their unhealthy influence on the direction of US politics. That's the thesis being advanced by people like Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and I find it quite compelling.
"...an ABC News/Washington Post poll found that just 39 percent of Americans approve of Trump’s performance—the lowest ever recorded, going back to 1945...". "Just 39 percent?" That still means 39 out of a 100 people 'APPROVE"(?!) of trump's activities = lies, falsehoods, rude comments etc.? Are these 39 out of 100 aware that he does not know what the Declaration of Independence stands for, and what's in the Constitution upon which swore an oath?
They probably do not. I know people who never watch anything except Fox news and you cannot imagine what they have never heard.
they don't know what it means either
Yes, trying to boil it down I've always felt it was education, media choice, and personality. Personality may be the most immovable of the characteristics and the one that affects media choice and to some extent reaction or receptivity to education. Education can be improved if we can regain our leadership and media is already undergoing a slow evolution (our being on Substack right now is one part of that process). I believe you are right though that there is a bottom governed by things we cannot change, things that change only slowly and are generational, and things that are changing even now but our great need is right this moment.
Thank you for your continued clarity.
What a mess of stupidity!
We need a Project 2029 that shows where we want to take this wonderful country!
My almost-30 year old daughter said the same. “Stop making fun of people, of the President. Give young people something concrete to work for, to vote for. Ridicule is unattractive.”
I was a young person once and I found ridicule to be very attractive. It was called Mad Magazine.
Just like satire is hard to do when it's hard to surpass the ridiculousness of reality, it's hard to report truth about someone when their behavior is so ridiculous that just honestly repeating them and showing them in action is indistinguishable from ridicule.
I would respectfully disagree however that all ridicule is unattractive and we should only engage in a serious, future oriented messaging. I believe humor is often the best way to engage those who are otherwise immune to the message. Humor is alluring and certainly draws me. I find smart ridicule to have the same effect and only an ugly ridicule to be unattractive. Like art, one knows it when one sees it although it's difficult to define. I would say different strokes for different folks but certainly leaven ridicule with plenty of positive targets to hit and a hopeful future to envision.
Sonetimes it feels like ridicule is the only thing we can use to keep from being depressed all the time. And maybe it will eventually have an impact.
Absolutely we need a document on how to put our country back together!
This is the truth all of us are looking for. Thank you for all that you do.
I keep reminding myself that it took three years for the public to turn against Nixon.
I'm amazed, also, that all of these wanna be emperors, except for a very few, don't know enough history to realize that they have very short reigns.
Thank you Joyce for all you do.
re NIxon: seven years, not three.