Friday Talking Points -- 100 Daze
Donald Trump hit two milestones this past week: his first 100 days in office, and his first quarter of negative G.D.P. growth. True to form, he celebrated the first of these with a rally, while blaming the second on Joe Biden. He even tried to front-load any bad economic news in the second quarter as Biden's fault too. Oh, and for good measure, Trump expressed a desire to become the next pope. Which would probably be fine with plenty of Americans -- as long as he quits his current job in order to do so.
Of course, nobody's really buying Trump's economic blame-shifting, since it's pretty obvious that he is the sole reason why the American economy is stumbling. The trade war he started with the entire rest of the world (except Russia, of course) continues to be a big drag on the economy, and the fallout has really only just begun. Trump had to walk back part of his tariffs on automobiles (which he announced at his Michigan rally this week), but he shows no signs of backing down in his pissing match with China.
Red flags are popping up all over the place, but Trump is not concerned. Consumer confidence has dropped by 32 percent since January, in "the sharpest three-month decline since the U.S. was rocked by a recession in 1990." Prices are going up sharply, in response to the 145 percent tariff on goods from China. China shows no sign of backing down either, and is in fact using Trump's trade war to make propaganda for the rest of the world (where they promise to "never kneel down" because "bowing to a bully is like drinking poison to quench thirst").
The trans-Pacific supply chain is grinding to a halt. American ports are already feeling the impact of fewer ships arriving, and this is only going to spread throughout the rest of the economy in the coming weeks. Experts are predicting empty shelves in American stores in the very near future, but Trump doesn't care (at least so far). His answer to the looming crisis was to channel his inner Marie Antoinette (or, perhaps more fittingly, his inner Grinch), in one of the most tone-deaf things we've ever heard a politician say:
You know, somebody said, "Oh the shelves are going to be open." Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.
[insert a chorus of: "You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"]
It's only the start of May, and already Donald Trump may be ruining Christmas -- that's a pretty stunning thing to contemplate, really. But while toys have gotten a lot of media focus (since virtually all of them sold in America are made in China), the shelves are going to be bare of a whole lot of other (and more serious) products as well. Sooner or later Trump is going to have to face this reality, unless he backs down in record time (which doesn't seem likely, at this point). If hardware and drugstore shelves across the country are either empty or filled with products now selling for more than twice what they used to, Trump won't be able to dismissively laugh it off as costing "a couple of bucks more than they would normally." Consumers won't be laughing at all, of course.
It's going to be tough to blame nightly news stories showing empty shelves on Joe Biden, but it's a pretty safe bet Trump will somehow try to find a way to do so (since he never accepts a shred of blame himself, for anything). There was a flurry of polling released for Trump's 100 day milestone, and it all told exactly the same story: Trump is unpopular, and his trade war is really unpopular. And those polls happened before seeing empty store shelves -- which will be monumentally unpopular with the public. Trump can try to pin the blame on Biden all he wants, but the public isn't buying it.
The bad economic news (the G.D.P. shrinking by 0.3 percent in the first quarter) didn't even take into account the trade war, since Trump's "Liberation Day" tariffs weren't announced until the start of April -- the first month of the second quarter. The White House tried to spin the numbers as somehow being positive, which fooled precisely no one. To put it bluntly, Trump broke the economy, and now he owns it. This is the Trump Slump. A Trumpcession. And it looks like it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better, that much seems obvious.
Of course, singlehandedly turning the economy from good to bad isn't the only thing Trump has been up to. We wrote a two-part review of Trump's first 100 days this week, but the most scathing review we read was from Salon. Here's just the opening of it (emphasis in original):
[Donald Trump] said he would end the war in Ukraine on the day after he was elected. It rages worse than ever with Trump openly selling out Ukraine. He has produced a ludicrous tariff policy which every economist, hedge fund manager, CEO, small businessman and stock trader knows is virtually designed to cause inflation, if not stagflation and recession. (He's saying that gas and grocery prices have come way down, but he's lying.)
His immigration policy, driven by the increasingly unhinged Stephen Miller, is far more draconian than he even said it would be, randomly hitting foreign students, tourists, scientists and business people and the brutal deportations to a Salvadoran gulag have brought shame and dishonor on America around the world.
And then there's Elon Musk, the wealthy weirdo nobody in America voted for, to whom Trump gave the keys to the federal government and told him he could fire anyone he wanted to. That resulted in pandemonium in the U.S. and all over the globe as life-saving services have been abruptly ended, people have been fired and programs that Americans depend on are no longer functioning. All of that in the name of saving money which doesn't appear to be materializing.
Meanwhile, weirdo #2, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has taken another wrecking ball to the American health care system, ending decades of medical research, firing the scientists who know what they're doing and replacing them with cranks determined to chase conspiracy theories down the rabbit hole. Following up that demolition of the medical system, Trump himself has decided to destroy the education system including some of the most prestigious universities in the country by dictating they change their policies and curriculum or lose the funding that has made the United States the leading nation in the world for scientific research.
Throughout it all, Trump has continued to lie his face off. He gave an interview to Terry Moran of ABC News this week where he insisted (repeatedly and quite cringeworthily) that an image which had been altered was actually real -- a stunning reminder of just how dense Trump truly is. Trump also completely undermined his administration's legal argument by agreeing that he could in fact just call up the leader of El Salvador and get any prisoner he wanted sent back to America. Can't wait for that clip to be used in court filings against the administration!
Speaking of courtroom immigration fights, a federal judge in Texas -- one appointed by Trump himself, mind you -- issued a permanent injunction on the government not to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport anyone in his district, period. The judge rightly noted that America is not currently at war with Venezuela, therefore the provisions of the act simply do not apply. This was the largest legal setback to Trump's deportation plans to date, although it certainly won't be the last.
Trump hit one more milestone this week, by firing his first aide. He booted Mike Waltz from his position as national security advisor, but then appointed Waltz to be the U.N. ambassador as a booby prize -- which will require Senate confirmation, where Democrats will doubtlessly grill him over the addition of a journalist to a group chat where national security information was discussed on a nonsecure phone app. So there's that to look forward to!
Half of the civil rights division at the Department of Justice (more than 100 lawyers) have now walked off the job, since under Trump they won't be allowed to investigate or prosecute actual civil rights cases any more. The department is being remolded to (you can't make this stuff up) focus on "anti-Christian bias."
As immigration cases are now actually appearing before judges, some of the higher profile prisoners are being released -- since the Trump administration cannot prove any of their wild allegations in an actual court of law. Meanwhile, American citizens are being deported.
The Trump administration is apparently trying to make big lists of everyone in the country who is autistic and is sending out emails to university professors asking if they are a Jew or not. What they intend to do with these lists is anyone's guess.
And finally, Donald Trump pardoned a woman this week who is obviously a kindred spirit. Here's the disgraceful story:
President Donald Trump has pardoned a former Republican Las Vegas City Council member convicted last year of using money meant to honor a slain police officer for plastic surgery, rent and her daughter's wedding -- one of several pardons the president has granted to his supporters since the start of his second term in office.
She had been found guilty of six counts of wire fraud and faced up to 140 years in prison. But hey, who hasn't embezzled money donated to a fallen police officer and used it for plastic surgery, right? Nothin' wrong with that! Not in Trump's eyes, at any rate.
Slowly, a few Democratic leaders are beginning to speak out against Trump. J.B. Pritzker gave a fiery speech in New Hampshire this week, and Kamala Harris spoke to a group in California. Al Gore showed some real fire of his own recently, which was heartening to see.
Both Pritzker and Harris are, of course, eyeing a 2028 bid for president, but the first Democrat who openly spoke of jumping into the race was Gina Raimondo (perhaps to boost her name recognition, since few know who she is).
A representative from Michigan introduced articles of impeachment against Trump this week, but it was really nothing more than a performative stunt to boost his chances of re-election after Justice Democrats announced they would be backing a much younger challenger in his district.
Instead of any of these, however, we're going to give a rather unusual award, since it isn't technically for any Democrat and it isn't even in this country.
Canada held an election this week, and the Liberal Party pulled off a stunning upset. Mark Carney, only a few months ago, looked like he was heading for a stunning defeat, which wouldn't be all that unusual since his party had held power for three straight terms. But Carney tapped into the deep anti-Trump feelings Canadians have been having, ever since Trump started talking about subsuming their entire country as America's "51st state." Carney explicitly ran on this as a platform, and it worked wonders for him at the ballot box:
A key pitch to Canadians that worked in [Mark] Carney's favor at the ballot box was that he was exactly the right leader to navigate the reordering of global trade and security prompted by [Donald] Trump.
. . .
Mr. Carney's framing of his campaign around Mr. Trump's threats to Canada has elevated him to a global anti-Trump figure. He is the first major leader to be elected on an explicitly anti-Trump campaign since Mr. Trump's re-election.
"As I've been warning for months, America wants our land, our resources, our water," Mr. Carney told supporters gathered in Ottawa, Canada's capital, in the early hours Tuesday to celebrate his victory. "President Trump is trying to break us so he can own us. That will never happen," he added as the crowd booed.
But the best quote to emerge came from a Canadian voter-on-the-street, interviewed during the election. Here's what she had to say about why she voted the way she did:
I think who I voted for would be the best to take care of Trump. Because Trump is, I'm sorry to say, an asshole, and he shouldn't even be president of the United States. But because he is, we need a strong person so that we can stand strong.
So to both Mark Carney and to everyone in Canada who voted for him, we hereby award a special Most Impressive Liberal Of The Week award, for sending a clear and unmistakable message about how the rest of the world now sees America.
[Due to the foreign nature of our special award, we decided not to provide contact information. If you know any Canadians, however, be sure to thank them for electing the most anti-Trump leader they could.]
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer once again appeared with Donald Trump this week, as he travelled to Michigan for his "first 100 days" rally. She did so to thank him for providing money for an Air National Guard base near Detroit.
And she didn't even hide her face behind a binder, this time.
That's really all that needs be said, we think. For helping Trump celebrate his first 100 days in office, Gretchen Whitmer was the obvious choice for Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week.
[Contact Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on her official contact page, to let her know what you think of her actions.]
Volume 794 (5/2/25)
Here is our "100 daze" edition of talking points for the week. It's a mixed bag this time around, with a fun one at the end (just because).
Promises unkept
Remind everyone exactly how disappointing those first 100 days were.
"Donald Trump made a whole bunch of promises in order to get elected. After 100 days, he's now got a string of broken promises to his record. He did not end the war in Ukraine on Day One, and he was no closer to doing so on Day One Hundred. He did not tame inflation and bring prices down for everybody on everything, instead he voluntarily started a trade war which is going to hike prices for all Americans. He is singlehandedly making America look weak and dangerous to the rest of the world, to the point where tourists don't want to visit and students are afraid to attend universities here. He has undermined medical research to a jaw-dropping degree, further diminishing America's standing. In fact, everything he has done, contrary to his biggest promise of all, has made America less great, both here at home and abroad."
Downturn, thy name is Trump
Hang it like an albatross around his neck, since he certainly deserves it.
"The economic argument shifted this week from: 'Is a recession imminent?' to: 'Are we already in a recession?' Donald Trump took a growing economy and made it shrink. And you know how he loves to slap his name on everything, so let's all be sure to do so when we discuss how the Trump Trade War and Trumponomics in general has led us all into a Trump Slump, if not an outright Trumpcession. He owns this one in a big way."
It's not just toys
Use that quote every chance you get.
"Donald Trump isn't going to care if store shelves will soon be empty. He thinks you and me and everyone else should just suck it up and pay 'a couple of bucks more' for everything, and if there isn't anything even on the shelf to buy, then that's just tough cookies for you. The irony of Donald Trump and his billionaire buddies preaching austerity to America is pretty thick, you've got to admit. But that's exactly what he's telling us all. But you know what? If there are any products left on the shelves, they won't be going for just 'a couple of bucks' more, their prices will be sky-high due to the Trump Tariffs. And Trump won't care one bit."
Trump's gotta blink
This is the real problem, so point it out.
"Donald Trump expected China to come crawling to him begging to end the trade war, but he has finally met his match. Trump keeps lying that the Chinese leader has called him up, but in fact there are no discussions or negotiations taking place. China has time on its side, and is simply not going to blink in this standoff. The more it all affects the American economy, the more pressure there's going to be until it becomes too much and Trump will be the one who has to blink. There's just no other way out of this -- Trump has to realize what a gigantic mistake he has made and he has to put out the fire he lit. The only question at this point is how much pain Trump is going to put average Americans through before he backs down."
We're not at war with Venezuela
Doesn't matter if Trump says so or not....
"A federal judge -- one that Donald Trump himself appointed -- just permanently barred the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act in his district to deport anyone they feel like for any reason under the sun. Trump insisted that Venezuela was at war with America, but the judge strongly disagreed. There is no Venezuelan army invading us or trying to take over America. There just isn't. We are not at war with Venezuela, no matter how many times Trump says we are. Since the Alien Enemies Act only applies during wartime, it cannot be used to deport people willy-nilly without any judicial hearing (or any justifiable reason, for that matter). Period. Because we just aren't at war with Venezuela."
Stop deporting citizens!
Yet another illegal thing Trump and his henchmen are doing.
"Can we all agree that deporting an American citizen to a foreign country where they've never lived is a monstrously bad idea? Not to mention the fact that it is illegal and unconstitutional. Donald Trump and Marco Rubio seem to think they can just kick anyone out of the country they feel like. But American citizens have rights, and one of them is the right to exist in America without Trump's thugs kicking them out for no reason. So stop deporting American citizens! I mean, it's disgraceful that I even have to say something like this, but this is the point we've gotten to under the Trump regime."
Your brain is full of spiders...
We know it's the wrong season, but it still seems like a good idea to review the lyrics now anyway.
You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch,
You really are a heel,
You're as cuddly as a cactus, you're as charming as an eel, Mr. Grinch,
You're a bad banana with a greasy black peel!You're a monster, Mr. Grinch,
Your heart's an empty hole,
Your brain is full of spiders, you have garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch,
I wouldn't touch you with a thirty-nine-and-a-half-foot pole!
-- Chris Weigant
Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant
Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground
Excellent re-casting and formatting of your two back-to-back '100 Daze' columns earlier this week. Nice to see the Talking Points so obviously pointlike.
But most of all, YAY! for the "Most Impressive Democrat - sorry, Liberal - of the Week" going to our defiantly non-American friend to the North, PM Carney. And, of course, all the brave and worthy Canadians who voted for him entirely out of spite and hatred for our incompetent and criminal president.
Some of us - I hope I can say most of us - are on your side, Canada!
He even tried to front-load any bad economic news in the second quarter as Biden's fault too. Oh, and for good measure, Trump expressed a desire to become the next pope.
Self-described "Christian" blames everything he's trashing on a man of Catholic faith yet expresses a desire to be the next pope.
Just when you thought Dopey Donald couldn't be more imbecilic...
Elizabeth Miller
Thank you and your fellow Canadians for electing the most anti-Trump leader you could. :)
Yes [3]
Elizabeth, we're thinking of you! Go, Canada, sovereign nation of the North.
Yeah, Baby! I’m proud of our buddy Canada and since I probably have more kin in Ontario and Saskatchewan than here in the states I’d like to think they voted the right way. The Trump-lite guy even lost his own Riding.
I no longer worry about Murica invading Canadia as Trump et alia have not only overreached but done so in an inept manner. Poor #MoscowMitch must be frustrated at all this.
I hate Mitch McConnell. Him and Rush Limbaugh and Newt and Rupert. These bleepidy bleeps have done more damage to Murica than anyone else, even Saint Ronnie.
John M from Ct. [1], I mostly agree with you. This week's talking points included some good sloganeering (which is what I assume they should be).
* Promises unkept (though I would have preferred NOT in ALL CAPS)
* It's not just toys
* We're not at war with Venezuela (I would have added, "... nor Canada, nor Mexico, nor Europe")
* Stop deporting citizens!
I'm mystified by 'Downturn, thy name is Trump' - why sound Biblical? The two labels in the text, "Trump Slump" and "Trumpcession" are eye-catching alternatives for the TP.
While I won't begrudge this week's MIDOW - we all need any good news we can - it is a bit of a cheat.
So, in that vein, here's "Breaking News" for next week's honor:
'Australia’s centre-left prime minister Anthony Albanese has won a second term with a crushing victory over the opposition, whose leader, Peter Dutton, lost his own seat in the Brisbane suburbs.
Albanese’s Labor party scored an unexpectedly comfortable win on Saturday, after a five-week election campaign that was dominated by the cost of living and the Donald Trump factor, which appeared to damage Dutton.'
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/may/03/australia-election-anthony-albanese-labor-party-peter-dutton
Maybe we should start cheering "Making Democracies Great Again" when "the Donald Trump factor" torpedoes a vile "populist".
All of which supports my experience that no matter how bad a situation is there is almost always some kind of silver lining in there. Granted, one might have to dig for it…
…or dig for multiple silver linings.
I just found out Ruth Buzzi died..
Ya'all are too young to remember how much laughter Buzzi brought into our lives...
She'll be missed...
Laugh-In, Dude. Friday nights.
MtnCaddy | italyrusty
5|8
Yeah, Baby! I’m proud of our buddy Canada and since I probably have more kin in Ontario and Saskatchewan than here in the states I’d like to think they voted the right way. The Trump-lite guy even lost his own Riding.
I know, right!? How awesome is Canada!? Thank our Canadian kin for us, please, brother.
To fully appreciate what just happened in Canada, consider the fact that Canada's 45-year-old career politician Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre, didn't just lose the election... oh, no; he simultaneously lost his own seat in the House of Commons, Carleton electoral district (that he had held for 20 years since the age of 25, the youngest MP in Canadian history) to Bruce Fanjoy (Liberal) who flipped the riding which Poilievre had held for seven consecutive elections. For a time and until recently, Poilievre had held as much as a 25-point lead and was expected to become Canada's next prime minister, but alas, it was not to be because... along came Donald Dumpsterfire Trump and shit all over the globe, and Poilievre now resembles burnt toast on all sides, including the crusty outer layer.
I no longer worry about Murica invading Canadia as Trump et alia have not only overreached but done so in an inept manner.
How do you know you've overreached on a scale "like no one's ever seen before"? You know you've overreached massively when history rhymes in rapid succession and it's demonstrably directly in response to your lawless chaotic ignorance. Case in point:
'Australia’s centre-left prime minister Anthony Albanese has won a second term with a crushing victory over the opposition, whose leader, Peter Dutton, lost his own seat in the Brisbane suburbs.
Albanese’s Labor party scored an unexpectedly comfortable win on Saturday, after a five-week election campaign that was dominated by the cost of living and the Donald Trump factor, which appeared to damage Dutton.'
Poor 54-year-old veteran politician Peter Dutton goes down by the head via the Trumptanic effect. Poor Peter didn't just lose his election to become Australian Prime Minister... oh, no; Peter also lost the the parliamentary seat that he had held for twenty-four (count them) 24 years to his opponent's Labor Party.
You see, Peter was a politician that most saw as "Australia's Trump." Poor Peter was a champion of hard-line conservatism, offshoring immigrants to detention centers, and he railed relentlessly on China like a Trumpian echo chamber. Poor Peter had promised that he'd gut public sector jobs by 41,000 layoffs in Musk/DOGE fashion, but alas, after the Elon crash-and-burn Trumpian Dumpsterfire double-digit DOGE loss in the Wisconsin USA supreme court election, Peter admitted he had made a mistake and attempted to walk all that back... to no avail. I guess Peter's shadow "minister for government efficiency" and her husband wearing MAGA hats and her campaigning saying "make Australia great again" and then blaming the press for noticing was just too much for them all to overcome.
Well, let's look ahead to the 2026 Midterms, eh?? :D
Woke progressive Democrats are poised for a crushing defeat in the 2026 midterms, blinded by their complete and utter refusal to give an honest assessment of their huge and decimating 2024’s loss.
PRESIDENT Trump’s first 100 days have set the stage. 2026 will be a referendum election, where voters will judge his record of which border security triumphs, economic reforms will rate the highest possible ratings.
Compare that against woke progressive Democrats’ completely dismal disarray and ya'all just HAVE to see that it's not going to be any kind of favorable contest for woke progressive Democrats.
Despite PRESIDENT Trump’s approval dip and an economy still not at it's best, woke progressive Democrats are failing to seize the “choice” election opportunity, as Rep. Tom Suozzi urges, by focusing on jobs, wages, and the middle class.
Instead, woke progressive Democrats are doubling down on their PTDS and Trump/America hate and other divisive stances. Think Cory Booker’s marathon speech that accomplished NOTHING but wasted some 24 hours, Occasional Cortex’s radical tours with Bernie aboard a 15,000 dollar an hour party (little 'p') plane and Chris Van Hollen’s El Salvador mercy run on behalf of a wife-beating, human trafficking, druggie gangbanging illegal immigrant terrorist.. All these virtue signaling stunts and many many more are doing NOTHING but alienating American voters.
All we have to do is look at a woke progressive Democrat Water Carrier WaPoop poll reveals 69% see Democrats as out of touch, worse than Trump (60%) or Republicans (64%).
Another woke progressive Democrat Water Carrier (NBC) poll shows 38% of Americans, including progressives, feel neither party fights for them, with only 23% trusting Democrats.
PRESIDENT Trump outpaces congressional Democrats 37% to 30% on major issues.
Generic ballot advantages won’t save them.
22% of Democrats view their party unfavorably.
With a brutal Senate map, only ONE GOP seat in a Harris-won state, and just three GOP House districts Harris carried, woke progressive Democrats are facing steep odds.
Their obsession with Trump/America hate and PTDS resistance over a unifying vision will cost them dearly.
Voters want results, not rhetoric, and PRESIDENT Trump is delivering the goods while woke progressive Democrats flounder and wallow in their malaise of Trump/America hate, bigotry and intolerance...
Of course ya'all will say, "That won't happen!! Woke progressive Democrats are going to kill Trump and the GOP!!!"
But then, again.. THAT is what ya'all said about the 2024 election and Headboard Harris, eh???
Remind me again, how THAT worked out for ya'all?? :D
I got called in for some OT at work today.. But, when I get back.......
Ya'all have been harping and harping on all the BS woke progressive Democrats spew about how "bad" PRESIDENT Trump's first 100 days have been. Even though, the vast majority of Americans LOVE PRESIDENT Trump's first 100 days...
So, what we are going to do is take a stroll down Woke Progressive Democrats First 100 Days Lane.. :D
It's gonna be a blast, so don't miss it!!! :D
Donald is very good at campaigning as a challenger, not so good as an incumbent. why? because his salesmanship is excellent bordering on preternatural, but every time he's been forced to actually govern, the results have been very, very bad. Donald sells dreams, which are seductive when they can't be observed or measured. however, Americans have sometimes been known to believe their eyes, ears, grocery receipts and bank accounts.
certainly Democrats have not crafted any sort of coherent message in support of their policies, and the policies themselves have been weak sauce considering the problems we face. but they do in fact have real policies, which do sometimes benefit middle and working class families. compared with the easily observabledeath and depression brought about by Donald's repeated failures, such mediocrity becomes much more appealing.
JL
The Dems campaigned against Trump and Project 2025 so I’m mystified that they didn’t have plans in place to blunt and defeat Trump’s assault on our way of life. WTF?
Just dropped in to the political forum and discovered you don't even have to read the contents to see the spam, spam, spam, and spam and repetitive trolling of the forum with the wholly unnecessary capitalized and boldified comments and fake quoting invented spewage verbal diarrhea. #SSDD
what's spammy about 19?
Better question: What isn't "spammy" about an intentionally cut-and-pasted comment posted three times in four minutes?
nypoet22
17
Donald is very good at campaigning as a challenger, not so good as an incumbent. why?
I can answer that question in 15 words or less:
Trump is a con artist, and America is chock-full of uneducated misogynist racist rubes.
Donald sells dreams, which are seductive when they can't be observed or measured. however, Americans have sometimes been known to believe their eyes, ears, grocery receipts and bank accounts.
Then again, Americans have sometimes been known to whine hysterically and hypocritically about inflation until it's their Orange Crush directly causing it.
certainly Democrats have not crafted any sort of coherent message in support of their policies, and the policies themselves have been weak sauce considering the problems we face. but they do in fact have real policies, which do sometimes benefit middle and working class families. compared with the easily observable death and depression brought about by Donald's repeated failures, such mediocrity becomes much more appealing.
I personally think it's a little premature to claim that Democrats have no message when the midterms aren't even close. At this point in time: "We will not screw over veterans, public sector employees and America's poor and working class via Trump Tariff Taxes in order to provide another handout to the rich," ought to suffice in the interim we're living in.
MtnCaddy
18
The Dems campaigned against Trump and Project 2025 so I’m mystified that they didn’t have plans in place to blunt and defeat Trump’s assault on our way of life. WTF?
Of course they did... litigation.
Tracking the Lawsuits Against Trump’s Agenda
Trump is losing the vast majority of cases, including losing 9-0 in the Supreme Court regarding the issue of deportation without due process in direct violation of the United States Constitution.
Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz prison
Someone on BlueSky alleges a Palm Beach TV station played "Escape from Alcatraz" on Saturday...Dude has lost it.
The condition of Alcatraz would make me think it would take till long after he is out of office until it could be reconstructed enough to hold prisoners and staff.
none of this is about serious policy, it's just about clicks and eyeballs.
BashiBazouk
22
Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz prison
Trump (and the White House) also circulated a picture of himself in formal papal attire as if he ever could be "Vicarius Christi" or the Vicar of Christ on Earth.
Alcatraz is an already open and staffed tourist attraction and a popular National Historic Landmark with over one million visitors per year. Trump claiming he will reopen Alcatraz is about as plausible as him becoming Pope... how he does so covet to be worshiped.
The condition of Alcatraz would make me think it would take till long after he is out of office until it could be reconstructed enough to hold prisoners and staff.
Bashi is right. Trump reopening Alcatraz as a prison to house felons would be akin to him digging his own grave; although, he would definitely make a suitable first prisoner.
As promised, the Democrat Party's 100 days of epic failure! :D
Woke progressive Democrats have utterly squandered the first 100 days of PRESIDENT Trump’s second term, achieving a grand total of NOTHING while PRESIDENT Trump surges forward with his transformative agenda.
The woke progressive Democrat Party's lethargic response, marked by whining, not winning, has left them in disarray, as constituents like those at Sen. Michael Bennet’s March 2025 town hall vented, “I’m not seeing any action!”
Chuck Schumer’s spineless vote for a Republican funding bill, dodging a shutdown fight, drew fire from Nancy Pelosi and Occasional Cortex, who saw a missed chance to challenge PRESIDENT Trump’s complete and utter PWNage of woke progressive Democrats.
With Republicans controlling Congress, woke progressive Democrats had leverage to force negotiations but lacked the testicular fortitude or vision, as Time’s Philip Elliott noted, to even sell a shutdown as GOP’s fault.
Instead of crafting a unified plan, woke progressive Democrats indulged in performative stunts...
shadow hearings by Jamie Raskin
Occasional Cortex’s and Bernie Sanders’ jet-setting in a 15K per hour private jet to attend rallies
Cory Booker’s 25-hour Senate filibuster which was like a 24+ hr Seinfeld episode. It was completely about nothing
Meanwhile woke progressive Democrat Party polling is plummeting to new and historic lows. A March 2025 NBC poll shows only 27% view Democrats positively, their lowest in 35 years, with 69% calling them out of touch per WaPoop. Their 29% favorability, per March data, is a historic low. Ya'all just HAVE to know how bad things are when their own Water Carrier polls show the woke progressive Democrat Party utterly sinking into the morass... :D
Even their donors are bailing, fed up with the party’s ineffective opposition. By fixating on divisive causes like wife beating, human trafficking gang banging Democrat hero Kilmar Abrego Garcia or anti-Semitic protesters, woke progressive Democrats alienate voters who back PRESIDENT Trump’s border security and economic reforms. It's utterly ironic that Garcia is EVERYTHING ya'all accused George Zimmerman of being, yet still hold up Garcia as a woke progressive Democrat hero... :eyeroll:
This rudderless, visionless mess ensures a 2026 midterm rout, as PRESIDENT Trump’s actions and getting results that are good for America is completely and utterly BURYING the woke progressive Democrat Party's clueless and empty rhetoric.
"SILENCE GIVES ASSENT"
-Weigantians and woke progressive Democrats
Bla bla bla. Why don't you ask your AI what Trump did for the Canadian conservatives...
Trump announces 100% tariffs on movies ‘produced in foreign lands’
President calls films ‘national security threat’ and claims he called on commerce department to immediately enact tariff
"national security threat"? Films? Either he's senile or abusing power. Or both...
Hollywood makes a lot of money exporting their product. It seems like retaliation will be costly for them. That may be the point. The orange snowflake doesn't like them.
I think it's more Hollywood saves a lot of money filming out of country.
There does seem to be a lot of distraction this weekend and today. He even pulled out the "take Greenland by force" chestnut. I wonder what bad economic news is about to come down the pipeline?
Oil prices drop as OPEC+ accelerates output hikes, surplus looms
Interesting move. Could really screw over Russia but also slow down oil exploration domestically. A double thwart...
@bashi[26],
it wasn't AI, it was Kellyanne Conway
JL
Six of one, one half dozen of the other...
The Presidential Oath of Office is prescribed by the Constitution (Article II, Section 1, Clause 8):
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
On Sunday, Meet the Press ran the interview with President Trump conducted by NBC's Kristen Welker. When she asked whether he needed to "uphold the Constitution of the United States as president," Trump replied, "I don't know."
” I DON’T KNOW???”
The question is not a difficult one. Grade school children know that the President’s job requires them to “uphold the Constitution”. Why would Trump claim that he does not know the answer? Does he remember taking the Presidential Oath of Office just a few months ago? Or did Trump just not understand the words used in the oath?
Trump has always tried to play up in the public media the notion that he is NOT the idiot he appears to be. But when Trump is questioned on legal matters where his answers could have a real effect in court, Trump always plays up the fact that he should be viewed as the idiot he appears to be.
Trump’s answer of “I don’t know " means one of two things. Either 1) Trump is choosing to violate his Oath of Office and doesn’t want to admit to it, or 2) Trump does not recall taking the Oath of Office due to his dementia. Trump should be removed from office regardless of which answer he gives… and while I am throwing out wishes that have no chance of occurring, I want the ability to fly like Superman.
BashiBazouk
26
There does seem to be a lot of distraction this weekend and today.
Trump appears to be desperately and hysterically attempting to change the headlines wherein he responded, "I don't know" when he was asked an infinitely easy question that pondered whether or not he was required to uphold the Constitution (you know, because he's not), the very oath he swore to God.
He even pulled out the "take Greenland by force" chestnut.
If I was a betting man, I actually might wager he pulled out that one straight from his backside... depends.
nypoet22
31
it wasn't AI, it was Kellyanne Conway
Yes, sir... the regurgitated opinion of the former biggest leaker in the White House.
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/2025/05/02/democrats_disastrous_first_100_days_645910.html
ListenWhenYouHear
33
Hey! Very well said, sir!
I posted mine before I refreshed and saw yours... zinx.
OMG that train wreck... I mean, interview:
Pay no attention to that ginormous Trump Tariff liberation from your money day announcement that tanked the stock market or that cratering drop in the Dow when Trump repeatedly threatened to sack J Powell... that was all Joe Biden. Duh.
Seriously, though, Trump illustrates daily in vivid detail how gullible you have to be to believe this pathological lying sack of total laughable fiction.
Love you, Russ! :)
On behalf of the never-to-be 51st state...You're welcome, y'all!
:-)