Obviously I'm thrilled about the social security offices staying open, but how will people know it was our pushback that did it? We need to break through to the public- not our blue bubble- and make sure everyone knows what happened and why. Otherwise we are going to have repeats of 2017-2021 where people think the administration is okay because nothing really bad happened. The only reason the offices are staying open is because we fought like hell. Everyday Americans are going to think it was a false alarm and that Social Security was never really in danger in the first place.
Trumpers voted for this. They are allegedly even celebrating the collapse of their retirement accounts. I’m calling these MAGA zombies what they are: a Cult.
In a cult, members don't think for themselves and certainly can't use their own words to defend their position. They use the words of their master.
Do you remember when Trump on the campaign trail said: “I care about your vote, I don’t care about you, I care about your vote” and they CHEERED?? 🤦♀️
I will be wearing this "Don't blame me, I voted for Harris" shirt the next four years 👇
Ya think those illiterate drumpers think that drumpf is going to cover that 401(k) loss? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
It can be a problem if WE don’t keep mentioning it. Also if we don’t fully see the big-picture-power-makes-strange-bedfellows scheming going on. Dave Troy of America2.0 has a good piece on the context to the chaos and the opportunities we need to seize : https://america2.news/tariffs-expose-rifts-in-fragile-maga-coalition/
Regarding the MAGAT’s cult following of Trump. What would they do if/when Trump dies? Say, he drops dead from a massive heart attack tomorrow? (A girl can dream.)—would the MAGATs immediately switch their impassioned allegiance to . . . JD Vance? Mike Johnson? Would they go into perpetual mourning, wear black armbands and lower their Trump flags to half staff? Would they “drink the kool aid” and follow their Dear Leader into the afterlife? And would all the Republican legislators rejoice like the flying monkeys when Dorothy threw a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch and melted her? I think about this often.
So do I - very interesting and entertaining musing, thank you. We might get a chance to see who is really behind the curtains of the Trump thing for just a moment while they look for a replacement. ....and hope there is enough time for everyone to get a good glimpse while their backside is briefly revealed. (hehe) I also wonder who is being groomed for his replacement. They are not stupid, there must be someone. It was obvious he was going for progeny the first time but not as clear this time. JD and Mike can't make the grade.....
Let’s hear more about exactly what the numbers are of people that turned out for the protest!! This protest was huge we cannot build on it unless people believe it made a difference.
I tried to include that information but could not find anything that agreed so I will wait until the news settles on something. I’ve heard everything from several hundred thousand to 5 million. Very hard to get fact checked information out there. If anyone else has seen something please let me know.
Over 5 Million People Protested yesterday…We are being heard and making a difference, not just in the U.S but around the world. Today the work continues. So inspired, motivated and filled with hope by all who showed up yesterday. 💖🙏🏻✨
We attended a HandsOff protest in Lisbon, Portugal on April 5. Maybe 250-300 very angry American expats, and others. There were also protests in some of the smaller cities. When we were walking back to the car with our signs, a young German man rushed out of a restaurant, thanked us and shook our hands! April 5th was our 50th wedding anniversary!
And (drum roll please) 5 million people hit the streets peacefully to protest and say yes to democracy and speaking out loud, and no to fascism and no to gaslighting. 5 million making good trouble! 5 million calls to our reps tomorrow!
I think to call it “good trouble” is disingenuous. It was largely white people (of which I am one) who were never going to get in any trouble because the state doesn’t see us as a threat. If it had been 5 million Black people, there would be very different news stories today.
What needs to happen next isn’t biweekly protests but things like peacefully occupying a federal building on a workday, people striking on a Friday to march down an expressway en masse, etc. Not everyone can take those kinds of personal risks, but what happened yesterday wasn’t “trouble” – it was expression of solidarity to show people they were not alone. Both are important, but one is performance and the other is action.
Yes, let's not make too much of the Hand Off demonstrations, but let's not make too little of them either. Across the country, people are getting in the habit of turning out, making their voices heard, and being with people who share their values.
Tim Snyder tells us that tyrants want to make us feel alone and scared. So the feel good of the demonstrations IS a good thing. It will be hard to get a good number but an aggregate list of estimations of crowd size would be helpful. I don't know where the number 5 million is coming from, but if Indivisible can use their network to post a rough total that will be useful and a closer estimation than the forces of tyranny have give on any crowd in two hundred years.
Here in South Bend, several independent estimates and counts of crowd size agreed that there were 2,000 demonstrating. And most people won't even see the demonstrations in towns and villages, but they mount up. The Sunday NYTimes buried the story on p. 19 and made the protests all about Trump and electoral politics. Their headline read "'Hands Off!' Anti-Trump Protests Aim at Reaching the Newly Alarmed." Think of what they could have done if they plastered shots of the 100,000 people who purportedly gathered at the Washington Monument and others around the country with a headline that read "Millions rally in pro-democracy protests Against Trump and Musk" -- almost exactly the same character count. Rachel Maddow, I am sure will give us photos on Monday night.
Also we need to show everyone that these demonstrations are growing. Our first demonstration in South Bend after the election brought out maybe 100 people. Now just weeks later we brought out 2,000. I get the "walk down the expressway" model, but that strategy is best when their is a clear flash point...we tried to do it in Iowa City when Nixon invaded Cambodia. That will only be possible if we give people the sense of community and courage to wave a sign at passing cars.
As a community-building effort it was amazing. As someone whose day job is directly involved with the attacks the administration is making on the role of law (and therefore is exhausted), I left feeling energized and recharged. I’m not denying that it was remarkable. (Garrett Bucks has a lovely post he wrote about it that encapsulates how I felt about the experience.)
What I’m taking issue with is the idea that it was anything approaching “good trouble” — and anyone with passing knowledge of John Lewis would have a problem with that as well. A lot of the narrative coming out of the white community right now is reminiscent of the post-election blue bracelet movement, and the language being used isn’t sitting very well in some corners of the Black community. That needs to be acknowledged.
Alt National Park Service says "The official count is in — 5.2 million people ... Estimates were based on reports from over 1,600 events nationwide. More than 21,000 coalition members traveled across the country to volunteer and help monitor safety at each location. These volunteers worked closely with local authorities to assess crowd sizes. Their reports were compiled and added together to arrive at the overall participation estimate."
I read it on the 50501 entries as well as a few other places on Substack and Bluesky. Sorry, nothing official but it feels hopeful to me! Thank you again!
Trump's professor at Penn's prestigious Wharton School, William T. Kelley, stated "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had."
Trump traded in a formal education and even the development of a vocabulary beyond the 4th grade for the life of a morally dissolute playboy after his father arranged for him to evade the draft to join the family's real estate firm.
Over the years, Trump hungered for more and more publicity and constantly appeared in the tabloids surrounded by fawning women. We now know that along the route, he bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, one of whom successfully sued him for sexual molestation and defamation, cheating on his wives and cooking his company's books to "catch and kill" the revelation of his sexual forays with a porn star.
He also managed to set up a self-glorifying university which turned out to be a fraud on its students, as did his applications to numerous creditors whom he swindled out of hundreds of millions of dollars by vastly overvaluing his assets.
So how did Donald Trump get to go from being a rich dissolute playboy with the morals of an alley cat to being a rich dissolute President with the morals of an alley cat?
The closest explanation I can think of is by means of a riff on a comment made by Samuel Johnson to his biographer James Boswell about an acquaintance: " Sir, he was repugnant in his company, he was repugnant in his style, he was repugnant everywhere. He was repugnant in a new way and that made many people think him great."
Yes. He was repugnant in a new way. Paying a ghostwriter to write "The Art of the Deal" in Trump's name and with his wealth, swagger, ego and bluster, this blowhard and clown came to be the perfect sitcom attraction for prime-time t.v. And the more he growled, grated, gloated, grimaced and glamorized himself on t.v., the greater his audience swelled to be entertained by his bloated ego, bombast and put-downs.
In short. No one had even seen such a pompous, obnoxious and egotistical blowhard before, with the possible exception of Don Rickles's onstage persona. He was novel and refreshing, and offered a new face and style to enter the political arena with the support of right-wing conservatives, along with wealthy and influential friends, domestic and foreign, who learned how to manipulate his insecurities through flattery, money and promises of power.
During his first term in office, the dark side of him palpably emerged, in which he revealed his insecurity and desperation and lust for power and admiration, relying on lies and self-delusions to sustain his mental equilibrium. Over time, even his staff openly admitted that he relied on conjuring "alternate truths " and "alternate facts" to hold his world of illusions together. Even his niece, a psychologist with a Ph. D. in psychology, has openly referred to his serious mental unbalance and delusions of grandeur.
As we all too painfully know, his unwillingness to accept reality and to accept defeat in the 2020 election led to his desperate lies to his gullible cult followers that he actually won the election, though he was unable to convince a single court among the 80+ law suits he filed that his election was stolen. To this day, he is mentally incapable of letting go of his delusion that he won the 2020 election.
And while his victory in 2024 was more a repudiation of Joe Biden than a vote of confidence in him, he still cannot let go of the fact that he was a loser and that most people know he was and may still be.
I believe that it this obsession to crush his perceived enemies and non-believers through promises, threats, manipulations and extortion, and blackmail that drives his every waking hour.
And though Donald Trump now believes that he is on the verge of dominating every facet of life in the United States, it is not enough to satiate his unquenchable ego.
It is the entire world to which he now looks to become the Master of the Universe by turning upside down every country's economy and evoking the fear and admiration of every human being on this planet, all of whose lips will now be talking about the mighty and powerful Donald Trump.
So at what price to all of us does Trump aspire to be top of the world?
It conjures up visions of Jimmy Cagney's movie character's self-immolation shouting:
Jessica, Thank you for your commitment to keeping us informed. This was an amazingly rich newsletter filled with hopeful actions by so many committed people. I am grateful for you!
Barbara Epperson, PhD
To: Christine Davis -- Call your local Field Office and see if they'll put a sign on the door. Mine would -- they're Americans, too...
The 5.2 million who came out for the Hands Off Protests should be front and center and they're getting next to no coverage in main stream media.
I don't know if semi weekly protests will happen--I was thrilled to be at my unexpectedly large local rally, but having it kind of disappear and then the expectation that it becomes a biweekly event feels unrealistic.
Yes, little coverage. I searched and searched internet to find coverage. Never did see a 5.2 million number. In our town of Charlottesville, Virginia (about 50,000 population), we had around 4,000.
I've only recently started following you, but I found your suggested actions very helpful. And loved your listing of ALL the successes.
I have one minute suggestion regarding wording. When you talked about the mega prison bill in Arkansas being rejected, you said "8 Republicans broke ranks". I think its important not to make them sound like they were some kind of traitors to their party. How about something like "8 Republicans joined with "x" Democrats to...". E need to rebuild a working relationship between the two parties. And when members of the two parties do work together, that should be normalized.
Hey folks - I am seeing a problem with communicating to people of all ages. I went to the protest march in Boston yesterday which was great. However, when I spoke to two of my adult children they had not heard about it anywhere (except from me), and they are both politically aware and involved. They said that no one they knew was aware of the event. How did I know about it? Well, from this newsletter, Meidas Touch, Robert Hubbell, etc. Millennials aren't reading newsletters like this. Anybody have any ideas about how to reach out? I will send a similar post to Indivisible and Swing Left.
The event is attended in Issaquah, Washington, was definitely the senior set (including myself). A spirited crowd, but we need young people. My own son seems filled with malaise, thinking I'm a little hysterical, and that all this will pass, all politicians are the same, and nothing he does matters in the national realm.
I think the younger generations are in that state you describe because we grew up in the ultra-unequal, post-9/11 US, where we’ve never seen resistance succeed (in this country), and we’re also the most atomised generations (in several ways). In pretty much every area of life, average prospects have gotten worse. We’re the most online, including in the senses of jaded and exposed to defeatist narratives. For the most part, we haven’t seen the power of groups *in real life* firsthand. It’s a lot of pressure; it’s no wonder many collapse.
I think any young person who thinks you’re being hysterical is a) reacting to vibes (as in aesthetic preferences) and/or b) is being a nihilist and/or tuning out because numbing oneself is easier than reckoning with the enormity and powerlessness, on an individual level.
The most important tactic, in my opinion, is to warmly (and without pressure) invite younger generations to give action a try and invite their friends, and remind them that solidarity is buoying, and that none of these steps will single-handedly change anything, so don’t worry about it and just do it; systems change is the mysterious synthesis of the work of millions of people over years. We need more interweaving of generations and doing this work together.
Medias touch has a podcast. If your children are on social media tell them to follow @50501 @indivisible @moveon most are collaborating on getting these huge rallies together. I’m hearing the next rally is April 19th.
Adam Schiff announced he was placing a hold on the Ed Martin nomination to be D.C.’s U.S Attorney. Sen. Durbin and other Democrats called for Martin to face questions under oath. SO WHAT? Why didn’t Dems do this for EVERY awful, unqualified nomination, who are now RUINING our country.
It’s a little (LOT) late, bros. I’m not impressed. You’re so late coming to the party. LOVE what Cory Booker did, but why didn’t he do it 2 months ago. Maybe such efforts would have prevented the autocracy we are already in.
All Dems knew in Nov. and long before (had Project 2025 over a year) what was likely to happen. During the election, Harris and Biden warned of fascism. Why weren’t Dems prepared? Didn’t even question the suspicious election. Had no plan. No coordination. Just rolled over and played dead. Many Dems, like Tim Kaine, even voted yes for 8 (maybe more) of the HORRIBLE nominees.
While I still consider myself a Democrat, with some individual exceptions, the Democratic Party has been an enormous disappointment, starting with insipid leadership at the top and the lack of a vision and action plan to achieve that vision on behalf of the membership. Given how extraordinarily abusive and oppressive Trump and his menagerie of extremist misfits, incompetents and clowns have been, it should be a slam-dunk for a bright Democratic politician to galvanize support to mount an effective opposition. With the recent exceptions of Senator Corey Booker and Governor Pritzker, either that person hasn’t stepped forward yet or that person just doesn’t exist. Success is achievable if the party is willing to listen to the electorate, and especially those in the middle of the political spectrum, and devise a strategy to appeal to their needs. Hanging on to ultra liberal goals is a formula for disaster.
Thanks for your interesting response. I consider myself a Dem.and will vote for them, despite my disappointments. Always, lesser of 2 evils. As has been said, maybe someday we can vote for the “greater of 2 goods.”
I’m not convinced by your comment, “Hanging on to ultra liberal goals is a formula for disaster.” I would strongly support Medicare for All, living wage, etc. Look at the recent crowds Bernie and AOC have gotten. And how young people respond to them. I think we should lean more left.
I don't consider Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Union Collective Bargaining, Obama Care and such other mainstream entitlements to be "ultra liberal goals". An example of what I was referring to was the advocacy of trans men being entitled to join female intercollegiate swimming teams. If the Democrats want to win in 2026 and 2028, they have to appeal to the more moderate segment of the electorate . Or they can stick to far left positions and be big losers again.
Oh, good. Then we agree. Yes, while I agree with trans rights, I can understand concerns about trans men joining women’s sports. I’ve not seen any science that indicates a trans man who trans to a woman loses the advantage he had before becoming a she. That certainly should not be the hill to die on, especially when trans people represent such a small minority of our population.
Same with Defunding the Police. That is a poison term even if I agree with some of the concepts. Even (and I whisper saying this) Black Lives Matter. While I agree very much with their issues, I still think it was an unfortunate name. I consider a name “unfortunate” when it has to be explained. We have to keep explaining, “yes, all lives matter, but it’s…”. I think they did themselves irreparable harm by choosing that name. If only it had been, “Black Lives Also Matter.”
I think Medicare for All has been considered by some as an ultra liberal goal.
Then we're mostly on the same page. I think I view the slogan "Black Lives Matter" in a different context than you do. As I recall, it arose out of a police officer callously suffocating to death a black man who presented no serious threat to him. All too often police brutality leading to the deaths of black people, especially in the deep south, was viewed with little concern given that they were only blacks whose lives didn't matter. So here was a blatantly reckless death and the whole world reacted with outrage that black lives really do matter. And that's the way I think the slogan arose, and rightfully so.
Yes, that’s my understanding how the name came about. Definitely true, but my concern is how it’s been scorned by those who say, “But don’t all lives matter.” Maybe those people would scorn anything to do with equality or recognizing the grave injustices done to people of color.
Obviously I'm thrilled about the social security offices staying open, but how will people know it was our pushback that did it? We need to break through to the public- not our blue bubble- and make sure everyone knows what happened and why. Otherwise we are going to have repeats of 2017-2021 where people think the administration is okay because nothing really bad happened. The only reason the offices are staying open is because we fought like hell. Everyday Americans are going to think it was a false alarm and that Social Security was never really in danger in the first place.
Yes, it is a problem. I agree. But for now we’re just gonna take the win
Trumpers voted for this. They are allegedly even celebrating the collapse of their retirement accounts. I’m calling these MAGA zombies what they are: a Cult.
In a cult, members don't think for themselves and certainly can't use their own words to defend their position. They use the words of their master.
Do you remember when Trump on the campaign trail said: “I care about your vote, I don’t care about you, I care about your vote” and they CHEERED?? 🤦♀️
I will be wearing this "Don't blame me, I voted for Harris" shirt the next four years 👇
https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/74030236-dont-blame-me-i-voted-for-harris
We all MUST stand up to Trump, he is the one doing all destruction of the United States of America and Constitution.
I pinned my "I'm with her" Kamala pin to my floppy sun hat that I wore yesterday to the Charlotte NC Rally.
In case anyone is interested, here is a nice write up of our rally:
https://tinyurl.com/HandsOffCLT
Ya think those illiterate drumpers think that drumpf is going to cover that 401(k) loss? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahah
Sorry, not sorry. 🤯
They are sick, sad, brainwashed bastards! It boggles the mind.
Well I said everyday Americans, not the cult. They are too far gone, I agree.
I agree ! They are just going to say that was a myth!
It can be a problem if WE don’t keep mentioning it. Also if we don’t fully see the big-picture-power-makes-strange-bedfellows scheming going on. Dave Troy of America2.0 has a good piece on the context to the chaos and the opportunities we need to seize : https://america2.news/tariffs-expose-rifts-in-fragile-maga-coalition/
Regarding the MAGAT’s cult following of Trump. What would they do if/when Trump dies? Say, he drops dead from a massive heart attack tomorrow? (A girl can dream.)—would the MAGATs immediately switch their impassioned allegiance to . . . JD Vance? Mike Johnson? Would they go into perpetual mourning, wear black armbands and lower their Trump flags to half staff? Would they “drink the kool aid” and follow their Dear Leader into the afterlife? And would all the Republican legislators rejoice like the flying monkeys when Dorothy threw a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch and melted her? I think about this often.
So do I - very interesting and entertaining musing, thank you. We might get a chance to see who is really behind the curtains of the Trump thing for just a moment while they look for a replacement. ....and hope there is enough time for everyone to get a good glimpse while their backside is briefly revealed. (hehe) I also wonder who is being groomed for his replacement. They are not stupid, there must be someone. It was obvious he was going for progeny the first time but not as clear this time. JD and Mike can't make the grade.....
Let’s hear more about exactly what the numbers are of people that turned out for the protest!! This protest was huge we cannot build on it unless people believe it made a difference.
I tried to include that information but could not find anything that agreed so I will wait until the news settles on something. I’ve heard everything from several hundred thousand to 5 million. Very hard to get fact checked information out there. If anyone else has seen something please let me know.
Yes please follow up we need inspiration!
Over 5 Million People Protested yesterday…We are being heard and making a difference, not just in the U.S but around the world. Today the work continues. So inspired, motivated and filled with hope by all who showed up yesterday. 💖🙏🏻✨
We attended a HandsOff protest in Lisbon, Portugal on April 5. Maybe 250-300 very angry American expats, and others. There were also protests in some of the smaller cities. When we were walking back to the car with our signs, a young German man rushed out of a restaurant, thanked us and shook our hands! April 5th was our 50th wedding anniversary!
💃I am sure there will be different reports on numbers but I really do want to know.
This is a great list, thank you!
And (drum roll please) 5 million people hit the streets peacefully to protest and say yes to democracy and speaking out loud, and no to fascism and no to gaslighting. 5 million making good trouble! 5 million calls to our reps tomorrow!
I think to call it “good trouble” is disingenuous. It was largely white people (of which I am one) who were never going to get in any trouble because the state doesn’t see us as a threat. If it had been 5 million Black people, there would be very different news stories today.
What needs to happen next isn’t biweekly protests but things like peacefully occupying a federal building on a workday, people striking on a Friday to march down an expressway en masse, etc. Not everyone can take those kinds of personal risks, but what happened yesterday wasn’t “trouble” – it was expression of solidarity to show people they were not alone. Both are important, but one is performance and the other is action.
Yes, let's not make too much of the Hand Off demonstrations, but let's not make too little of them either. Across the country, people are getting in the habit of turning out, making their voices heard, and being with people who share their values.
Tim Snyder tells us that tyrants want to make us feel alone and scared. So the feel good of the demonstrations IS a good thing. It will be hard to get a good number but an aggregate list of estimations of crowd size would be helpful. I don't know where the number 5 million is coming from, but if Indivisible can use their network to post a rough total that will be useful and a closer estimation than the forces of tyranny have give on any crowd in two hundred years.
Here in South Bend, several independent estimates and counts of crowd size agreed that there were 2,000 demonstrating. And most people won't even see the demonstrations in towns and villages, but they mount up. The Sunday NYTimes buried the story on p. 19 and made the protests all about Trump and electoral politics. Their headline read "'Hands Off!' Anti-Trump Protests Aim at Reaching the Newly Alarmed." Think of what they could have done if they plastered shots of the 100,000 people who purportedly gathered at the Washington Monument and others around the country with a headline that read "Millions rally in pro-democracy protests Against Trump and Musk" -- almost exactly the same character count. Rachel Maddow, I am sure will give us photos on Monday night.
Also we need to show everyone that these demonstrations are growing. Our first demonstration in South Bend after the election brought out maybe 100 people. Now just weeks later we brought out 2,000. I get the "walk down the expressway" model, but that strategy is best when their is a clear flash point...we tried to do it in Iowa City when Nixon invaded Cambodia. That will only be possible if we give people the sense of community and courage to wave a sign at passing cars.
As a community-building effort it was amazing. As someone whose day job is directly involved with the attacks the administration is making on the role of law (and therefore is exhausted), I left feeling energized and recharged. I’m not denying that it was remarkable. (Garrett Bucks has a lovely post he wrote about it that encapsulates how I felt about the experience.)
What I’m taking issue with is the idea that it was anything approaching “good trouble” — and anyone with passing knowledge of John Lewis would have a problem with that as well. A lot of the narrative coming out of the white community right now is reminiscent of the post-election blue bracelet movement, and the language being used isn’t sitting very well in some corners of the Black community. That needs to be acknowledged.
Thank you I had heard that number as well, but didn’t include it because I couldn’t find a verified source for it. Where did you see it?
Alt National Park Service says "The official count is in — 5.2 million people ... Estimates were based on reports from over 1,600 events nationwide. More than 21,000 coalition members traveled across the country to volunteer and help monitor safety at each location. These volunteers worked closely with local authorities to assess crowd sizes. Their reports were compiled and added together to arrive at the overall participation estimate."
I read it on the 50501 entries as well as a few other places on Substack and Bluesky. Sorry, nothing official but it feels hopeful to me! Thank you again!
" MADE IT MA! TOP OF THE WORLD!"
Trump's professor at Penn's prestigious Wharton School, William T. Kelley, stated "Donald Trump was the dumbest goddamn student I ever had."
Trump traded in a formal education and even the development of a vocabulary beyond the 4th grade for the life of a morally dissolute playboy after his father arranged for him to evade the draft to join the family's real estate firm.
Over the years, Trump hungered for more and more publicity and constantly appeared in the tabloids surrounded by fawning women. We now know that along the route, he bragged about grabbing women by their genitals, one of whom successfully sued him for sexual molestation and defamation, cheating on his wives and cooking his company's books to "catch and kill" the revelation of his sexual forays with a porn star.
He also managed to set up a self-glorifying university which turned out to be a fraud on its students, as did his applications to numerous creditors whom he swindled out of hundreds of millions of dollars by vastly overvaluing his assets.
So how did Donald Trump get to go from being a rich dissolute playboy with the morals of an alley cat to being a rich dissolute President with the morals of an alley cat?
The closest explanation I can think of is by means of a riff on a comment made by Samuel Johnson to his biographer James Boswell about an acquaintance: " Sir, he was repugnant in his company, he was repugnant in his style, he was repugnant everywhere. He was repugnant in a new way and that made many people think him great."
Yes. He was repugnant in a new way. Paying a ghostwriter to write "The Art of the Deal" in Trump's name and with his wealth, swagger, ego and bluster, this blowhard and clown came to be the perfect sitcom attraction for prime-time t.v. And the more he growled, grated, gloated, grimaced and glamorized himself on t.v., the greater his audience swelled to be entertained by his bloated ego, bombast and put-downs.
In short. No one had even seen such a pompous, obnoxious and egotistical blowhard before, with the possible exception of Don Rickles's onstage persona. He was novel and refreshing, and offered a new face and style to enter the political arena with the support of right-wing conservatives, along with wealthy and influential friends, domestic and foreign, who learned how to manipulate his insecurities through flattery, money and promises of power.
During his first term in office, the dark side of him palpably emerged, in which he revealed his insecurity and desperation and lust for power and admiration, relying on lies and self-delusions to sustain his mental equilibrium. Over time, even his staff openly admitted that he relied on conjuring "alternate truths " and "alternate facts" to hold his world of illusions together. Even his niece, a psychologist with a Ph. D. in psychology, has openly referred to his serious mental unbalance and delusions of grandeur.
As we all too painfully know, his unwillingness to accept reality and to accept defeat in the 2020 election led to his desperate lies to his gullible cult followers that he actually won the election, though he was unable to convince a single court among the 80+ law suits he filed that his election was stolen. To this day, he is mentally incapable of letting go of his delusion that he won the 2020 election.
And while his victory in 2024 was more a repudiation of Joe Biden than a vote of confidence in him, he still cannot let go of the fact that he was a loser and that most people know he was and may still be.
I believe that it this obsession to crush his perceived enemies and non-believers through promises, threats, manipulations and extortion, and blackmail that drives his every waking hour.
And though Donald Trump now believes that he is on the verge of dominating every facet of life in the United States, it is not enough to satiate his unquenchable ego.
It is the entire world to which he now looks to become the Master of the Universe by turning upside down every country's economy and evoking the fear and admiration of every human being on this planet, all of whose lips will now be talking about the mighty and powerful Donald Trump.
So at what price to all of us does Trump aspire to be top of the world?
It conjures up visions of Jimmy Cagney's movie character's self-immolation shouting:
"Made It Ma !Top of the World!"
Jessica, Thank you for your commitment to keeping us informed. This was an amazingly rich newsletter filled with hopeful actions by so many committed people. I am grateful for you!
Barbara Epperson, PhD
To: Christine Davis -- Call your local Field Office and see if they'll put a sign on the door. Mine would -- they're Americans, too...
Great work Jessica! A lot I didn’t know about.
This is a great list of advances and victories for The Resistance. Thanks!
This was my favorite post, and I can't wait to see what additional positive movements will come as a result of our rallies.
The 5.2 million who came out for the Hands Off Protests should be front and center and they're getting next to no coverage in main stream media.
I don't know if semi weekly protests will happen--I was thrilled to be at my unexpectedly large local rally, but having it kind of disappear and then the expectation that it becomes a biweekly event feels unrealistic.
Yes, little coverage. I searched and searched internet to find coverage. Never did see a 5.2 million number. In our town of Charlottesville, Virginia (about 50,000 population), we had around 4,000.
I got the 5.2 million number from a Bluesky account of alt national park service
Thanks. The few articles I saw said “thousands” None said millions. Very disappointing!
The news coverage has been horrible— minimizing and barely covering it
I've only recently started following you, but I found your suggested actions very helpful. And loved your listing of ALL the successes.
I have one minute suggestion regarding wording. When you talked about the mega prison bill in Arkansas being rejected, you said "8 Republicans broke ranks". I think its important not to make them sound like they were some kind of traitors to their party. How about something like "8 Republicans joined with "x" Democrats to...". E need to rebuild a working relationship between the two parties. And when members of the two parties do work together, that should be normalized.
Democrats announced The People’s Cabinet, which they likely hope sounds more friendly than “shadow cabinet”. https://democrats.org/news/dnc-chair-ken-martin-launches-peoples-cabinet-to-fiercely-counter-trump-administration-chaos-and-lies/
And they sure as hell better be begging Buttigieg to step up.
There’s light at the end of the tunnel. Many thanks, Jessica for spreading the word
Wonderful post. Thank you! I can’t find the hyperlink to share though.
Go up to the window of your browser and copy it there
Thanks, Jessica. Let’s just keep standing strong and marching together against this bunch of weirdos.
Hey folks - I am seeing a problem with communicating to people of all ages. I went to the protest march in Boston yesterday which was great. However, when I spoke to two of my adult children they had not heard about it anywhere (except from me), and they are both politically aware and involved. They said that no one they knew was aware of the event. How did I know about it? Well, from this newsletter, Meidas Touch, Robert Hubbell, etc. Millennials aren't reading newsletters like this. Anybody have any ideas about how to reach out? I will send a similar post to Indivisible and Swing Left.
The event is attended in Issaquah, Washington, was definitely the senior set (including myself). A spirited crowd, but we need young people. My own son seems filled with malaise, thinking I'm a little hysterical, and that all this will pass, all politicians are the same, and nothing he does matters in the national realm.
I think the younger generations are in that state you describe because we grew up in the ultra-unequal, post-9/11 US, where we’ve never seen resistance succeed (in this country), and we’re also the most atomised generations (in several ways). In pretty much every area of life, average prospects have gotten worse. We’re the most online, including in the senses of jaded and exposed to defeatist narratives. For the most part, we haven’t seen the power of groups *in real life* firsthand. It’s a lot of pressure; it’s no wonder many collapse.
I think any young person who thinks you’re being hysterical is a) reacting to vibes (as in aesthetic preferences) and/or b) is being a nihilist and/or tuning out because numbing oneself is easier than reckoning with the enormity and powerlessness, on an individual level.
The most important tactic, in my opinion, is to warmly (and without pressure) invite younger generations to give action a try and invite their friends, and remind them that solidarity is buoying, and that none of these steps will single-handedly change anything, so don’t worry about it and just do it; systems change is the mysterious synthesis of the work of millions of people over years. We need more interweaving of generations and doing this work together.
TikTok? Jess is there often. And I have an adult child who gets news from YouTube.
Youngers also use Reddit.
Oh and of course any social media platform Jessica is on, have them follow her.,
Medias touch has a podcast. If your children are on social media tell them to follow @50501 @indivisible @moveon most are collaborating on getting these huge rallies together. I’m hearing the next rally is April 19th.
Adam Schiff announced he was placing a hold on the Ed Martin nomination to be D.C.’s U.S Attorney. Sen. Durbin and other Democrats called for Martin to face questions under oath. SO WHAT? Why didn’t Dems do this for EVERY awful, unqualified nomination, who are now RUINING our country.
It’s a little (LOT) late, bros. I’m not impressed. You’re so late coming to the party. LOVE what Cory Booker did, but why didn’t he do it 2 months ago. Maybe such efforts would have prevented the autocracy we are already in.
All Dems knew in Nov. and long before (had Project 2025 over a year) what was likely to happen. During the election, Harris and Biden warned of fascism. Why weren’t Dems prepared? Didn’t even question the suspicious election. Had no plan. No coordination. Just rolled over and played dead. Many Dems, like Tim Kaine, even voted yes for 8 (maybe more) of the HORRIBLE nominees.
No wonder Dems are so unpopular.
While I still consider myself a Democrat, with some individual exceptions, the Democratic Party has been an enormous disappointment, starting with insipid leadership at the top and the lack of a vision and action plan to achieve that vision on behalf of the membership. Given how extraordinarily abusive and oppressive Trump and his menagerie of extremist misfits, incompetents and clowns have been, it should be a slam-dunk for a bright Democratic politician to galvanize support to mount an effective opposition. With the recent exceptions of Senator Corey Booker and Governor Pritzker, either that person hasn’t stepped forward yet or that person just doesn’t exist. Success is achievable if the party is willing to listen to the electorate, and especially those in the middle of the political spectrum, and devise a strategy to appeal to their needs. Hanging on to ultra liberal goals is a formula for disaster.
Thanks for your interesting response. I consider myself a Dem.and will vote for them, despite my disappointments. Always, lesser of 2 evils. As has been said, maybe someday we can vote for the “greater of 2 goods.”
I’m not convinced by your comment, “Hanging on to ultra liberal goals is a formula for disaster.” I would strongly support Medicare for All, living wage, etc. Look at the recent crowds Bernie and AOC have gotten. And how young people respond to them. I think we should lean more left.
I don't consider Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Unemployment Compensation, Union Collective Bargaining, Obama Care and such other mainstream entitlements to be "ultra liberal goals". An example of what I was referring to was the advocacy of trans men being entitled to join female intercollegiate swimming teams. If the Democrats want to win in 2026 and 2028, they have to appeal to the more moderate segment of the electorate . Or they can stick to far left positions and be big losers again.
Oh, good. Then we agree. Yes, while I agree with trans rights, I can understand concerns about trans men joining women’s sports. I’ve not seen any science that indicates a trans man who trans to a woman loses the advantage he had before becoming a she. That certainly should not be the hill to die on, especially when trans people represent such a small minority of our population.
Same with Defunding the Police. That is a poison term even if I agree with some of the concepts. Even (and I whisper saying this) Black Lives Matter. While I agree very much with their issues, I still think it was an unfortunate name. I consider a name “unfortunate” when it has to be explained. We have to keep explaining, “yes, all lives matter, but it’s…”. I think they did themselves irreparable harm by choosing that name. If only it had been, “Black Lives Also Matter.”
I think Medicare for All has been considered by some as an ultra liberal goal.
Then we're mostly on the same page. I think I view the slogan "Black Lives Matter" in a different context than you do. As I recall, it arose out of a police officer callously suffocating to death a black man who presented no serious threat to him. All too often police brutality leading to the deaths of black people, especially in the deep south, was viewed with little concern given that they were only blacks whose lives didn't matter. So here was a blatantly reckless death and the whole world reacted with outrage that black lives really do matter. And that's the way I think the slogan arose, and rightfully so.
Yes, that’s my understanding how the name came about. Definitely true, but my concern is how it’s been scorned by those who say, “But don’t all lives matter.” Maybe those people would scorn anything to do with equality or recognizing the grave injustices done to people of color.