It isn’t just the courts–including, at least provisionally, the Supreme Court, which refused to lift a restraining order on a Trump firing. Other elements of the resistance are also emerging.
Critics of Trump’s claim to a “mandate” point out that more people voted for someone else than voted for Trump. Now, declining polls offer further evidence that his coup is massively unpopular. He took office with the lowest approval ratings of any President since polling began, and he has continued to decline.
As Heather Cox Richardson, among others, recently reported:
Only 45% approve of the “the way Donald Trump is handling his job as president,” while 53% disapprove. Forty-three percent of Americans say they support what Trump has done since he took office; 48% oppose his actions. The number of people who strongly support his actions sits at 27%; the number who strongly oppose them is twelve points higher, at 39%. Fifty-seven percent of Americans think Trump has gone beyond his authority as president.
Opinions on his “signature” actions are even more negative.
Americans especially dislike his attempts to end USAID, his tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and his firing of large numbers of government workers. Even Trump’s signature issue of deporting undocumented immigrants receives 51% approval only if respondents think those deported are “criminals.” Fifty-seven percent opposed deporting those who are not accused of crimes, 70% oppose deporting those brought to the U.S. as children, and 66% oppose deporting those who have children who are U.S. citizens. Eighty-three percent of Americans oppose Trump’s pardon of the violent offenders convicted for their behavior during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Even those who identify as Republican-leaning oppose those pardons 70 to 27 percent.
Opinions are one thing; actions are another. The media continues to report that phone calls are swamping congressional switchboards, while citizens are descending in mass on town halls, demanding that their representatives take a stand against Musk’s unconstitutional slashing of the federal government and illegal access to Americans’ personal data. In one Oregon district that Trump won by 68%, constituents shouted at their Representative, calling on Congress to “tax Elon,” “tax the wealthy,” and “tax the billionaires.” Similar protests have been reported in other deep-Red districts.
Perhaps the most positive signs have come from elected officials. Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker was eloquent in his State of the State address, reminding listeners that America doesn’t have kings, and itemizing the idiocies:
“it’s in fashion at the federal level right now to just indiscriminately slash school funding, healthcare coverage, support for farmers, and veterans’ services. They say they’re doing it to eliminate inefficiencies. But only an idiot would think we should eliminate emergency response in a natural disaster, education and healthcare for disabled children, gang crime investigations, clean air and water programs, monitoring of nursing home abuse, nuclear reactor regulation, and cancer research.”
Pritzker also reminded listeners that it had taken the Nazis “one month, three weeks, two days, eight hours and 40 minutes to dismantle a constitutional republic. All I’m saying is when the five-alarm fire starts to burn, every good person better be ready to man a post with a bucket of water if you want to stop it from raging out of control.”
And Maine’s Governor faced off with Trump personally, in a meeting between our would-be monarch and the nation’s governors. As Richardson reported,
Today, Maine governor Janet Mills took the fight against Trump’s overreach directly to him. At a meeting of the nation’s governors, in a rambling speech in which he was wandering through his false campaign stories about transgender athletes, Trump turned to his notes and suddenly appeared to remember his executive order banning transgender student athletes from playing on girls sports teams.
The body that governs sports in Maine, the Maine Principals’ Association, ruled that it would continue to allow transgender students to compete despite Trump’s executive order because the Maine state Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of gender identity.
Trump asked the governor of Maine whether she would comply with his order. “I’m complying with state and federal laws,” she said. Trump then threatened to punish Maine by withholding “all funding” from the state; the Governor responded “We’ll see you in court.”
The aftermath of Trump’s takeover of the Kennedy Center has been especially gratifying. Multiple artists have resigned from the staff and/or cancelled scheduled programs. The president’s takeover of the Kennedy Center is a pathetic effort to seize control of a respected cultural institution whose honorees have shunned him in the past. Real artists are having none of it.
The resistance is growing.
Don’t forget to stop all economic activity from midnight tonight through midnight tomorrow.
I started sending Todd Young messages pleading for him to honor his oath of office during Trump’s first term. I’m glad to learn that the resistance is rising. Keep the heat on your elected officials!
MTV (Musk, Trump, Vance, and sycophants Johnson and Roberts) uses the big lie strategy to sow chaos and consolidate power. They brag about the speed at which the President and his CEO, Musk, operate but there is another dynamic at work. They are trying to cement themselves in position before the real resistance starts, and it will. The cabinet members, approved by the fake Senate, are nothing if not loyal to the mafia. They are trying to dismantle a functional Executive Branch and replace its employees with toadies.
Of course, rebuilding a functional government will be difficult and undoubtedly come during a depression. At first, I thought we could tolerate the chaos for two years, but now I believe action is required long before then. Our actions will contribute to the downfall of everything this country has traditionally been. That’s the cost of such a course correction, and we need leadership in all fields to step up. But we must if we will pass on what was passed on to us long ago.
Pete, is this what your really meant: “Our actions will contribute to the downfall of everything this country has traditionally been.” Or did you mean our “in-actions?”
In any case, the course correction won’t be useful until something more dramatic happens. My major concerns include the economic collapse that will emulate bankrupting a casino or two as well as so-called executive orders that will prevent the next elections. If the orange monster thinks his grip on power will be removed, he will lash out like any psychopath to ban all elections.
Yes, it’s important and critical for the resistance to grow and become more physically active. Trump and his idiot cabinet are weak people who are riding a train of power association. Nothing more. If the SCOTUS can re-discover its collective spine – Thomas and Alito are lost causes for justice – there may be a chance that the re-build will not be too hard to perform.
As stated before, and confirmed by the recent polls mentioned today, it’s the 25 – 30% who create 75% of the problems. How, for example, does anyone not in a straight jacket “strongly approve” of deporting American citizens because their parents are not? MAGA insanity shows how weak minds can be.
The reports on the success rate of Musk’s actions are only supported by the fire hose of lies from him and his fan club. The DOGE is an exercise in mental masturbation by a guy with daddy issues and support from another guy with daddy issues. The senate should start impeachment and deport Musk to Russia.
VT, what MVT are doing will collapse the functional nation. So will actions against that like days without buying. It still has to be done to excise the cancer before it’s fatal.
Lawsuits, lawsuits and more lawsuits. Force SCOTUS to take a stand. Find out if the majority will or will not support the rule of law. If not, they render themselves irrelevant. Can they truly be so self destructive? We need to know.
And yes. Flat sales Friday!
Nice thinking, Daleb. A growing petition in Canada calls for Musk’s citizenship to be revoked. That would certainly get under his skin and prompt retaliation. As for Elon’s dad, he supposedly married or had an affair with his stepdaughter or Elon’s step-sister. How is that for psychological scarring?
I am still surprised our lame media isn’t going after the heart of the matter by disclosing the funders behind Project 2025 and all of Trump’s proposals. Or, at least the economic plans. The budget blueprint passed by Congress (via proxy vote) was the impetus behind getting Trump elected in the first place. Those people who still think Elon Musk’s DOGE is helping Americans save money in taxes are full-blown idiots. Indiana has way too many who fit that description.
I was hoping Indiana Capital Chronicle (ICC) might be a bright light for their state house coverage, but they are just as lame as the Indy Star. They’ve now written two or three articles about Governor Braun’s nonprofit, which helped him with his campaign and is now helping him implement his policies. I emailed ICC once to inform them that Braun’s nonprofit (HOPE) is run by a former goon at the Americans for Prosperity (AFP). AFP is a Koch-funded group. Koch doesn’t trust Braun to carry out his policies so they hired an advisor. Maybe Braun isn’t that bright. Whatever the case, the media refuses to give Americans the truth about this oligarchic coup so that the people can make effective decisions. Instead, they focus on the puppets in the box.
https://www.hoosierhope.org/team-4
Neither Young nor Banks can be shamed into action apparently. The response I got from my letter and phone call regarding Kash Patel was an email schooling me on the “process” of approving nominees and a final comment in the email that he is comfortable with Patel because he met with him and found him qualified. Did he cover Patl’s threats? Time to see Trump as Stalin, not Putin. It is a amazing the support a psychopath can engender to carry out revenge using taxpayer dollars. Let us hope that grand juries will see through the revenge. Interesting that Trump is naming the deputy director instead of letting Patel do it. Micromanaging his own appointees.
Does anyone really believe that polls showing most Americans approve or disapprove of their actions affects Republican office holders? Don’t forget that, after Sandy Hook, 96% of Americans wanted universal background checks for gun ownership. Republicans know that they can wait it out. One of the problems we face today, that nobody talks about, is our short attention span. Today, we’re all excited about the unconstitutional and illegal moves being made by OJ and the Muskrats. If they simply retreat for two weeks, the outrage will be muted. Out of sight, out of mind won’t get us anywhere.
Linda Robb:
That’s the same letter I received from Todd Young when I wrote him 3 weeks ago. Mine was written after he came out supporting Hegseth for DOD. Proving they’re out of ideas and have no answer to the questions we ask. We ask for commitment, we get a form letter.
The numbers are falling, the resistance is growing, but MTV do not give a hoot. They will continue to push their sick agenda at all costs to the country, and its children. SCOTUS will do didlysquat to help the country, and will go down in shame, as will this congress, with, or without McConnell.
Once again, McConnell is responsible for the development of the situation in the first place.
SCOTUS is like the Berlin Wall between democracy and dictatorship; no longer available as being open to facts and preserving our Constitutional civil and human rights. Trump’s aim in responding to the courts strong enough to file to stop his Fascist actions is to force these cases before HIS personal SCOTUS to uphold his full immunity from all charges.
Peggy – write on!
As for billionaire Pritzker…he is running in 2028 for President and getting started.
Guardian,today, court agrees with USAID slash and burn. and seems spineless people called republicans are affraid of trumps mass of maggots instead of running this nation. what mass media has become is the bullhorn of now direct threats. make your choice in the midterms. and get some jelly to the trash.
few if any seem to see a meet of tech and human nature.
AI is designed by those who found some sort of treasure in tech. but AI has to be taught what to say,do etc. whos doing that? musk made a comment about buying open AI for X amount,but not if it doesnt make a profit. soon tech and banks are probably going to answer your most needed questions now by who fed its AI machine. its credit,you dont have a choice.whatsnext? if musks “takeover” of the gov records,any. will he be allowed to subject them into his buddies,zuck,bezos,etc (if your thinking thos hasnt started,better wake up,whos asking that question in a flood zone) AI in mainstream gov to so called cut waste? or musk just sells it back to the gov for profit and make the American public dance to its given tune,or get? (see guardian today about trumps maggots of death)you ask the questions,and theres the distinct flood of info that really doesnt mean squat. trumps blabber is that. its has taken full force against any dissent.
any mass media needs to be condemmed. turn it off. read the news from selected real news networks. donate to non profit left side news. get the influencers of left wing news,on the mainstream. sit in town halls and be informed. ask the questions. tell your party to step aside( DNC anyone? )
for some spine to come back.. seems fridays boycott didnt even make a noise here in NoDak,, none,nodda. that flood, yea, its over your head here in a state that has 4 walls higher than the sky..best wishes..
Pritzker is a billionaire. left or right he wont be a president,he’ll dance as told by others of his title,billiinaire. maybe with less force..
I’m sorry, but I’m just not seeing much buyer’s remorse, unfortunately. New polling from CBS shows people approve! https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-approval-opinion-poll-2025-2-9/
As resistance mounts and takes many forms, Trump’s zeal for revenge appears to intensify and manifest in actions that range from unwise to cruel, not to mention nauseatingly out of step with American values and consistent policy positions (e.g of the reverse: UN vote for Putin, aligning our nation with North Korea, Belarus, among others, against 93 or so nations that voted to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine; even China abstained! and threatening President Zelensky as only a mob boss would). Surely, as the polls show, Americans did not vote for this! And what they voted for–and that Trump said he would fix–is being ignored so we see farmers suing the government, citizens in Detroit who voted for Trump to show their contempt for Biden’s excessive, in their judgment, support for Israel and the savage attacks on the citizens of Gaza, and, of course, in the belief that Trump would bring peace to the Middle East, as he said he would, and a future for Palestinians in Gaza….they now regret it….
But, ahem, Congress? Paying attention to what is going on across the nation? Any action there that reflects what constituents are demanding? Not so much. I am thinking of that cartoon challenge where folks look for Waldo. Where in that House of Republicans is a Waldo? All that is required is a spine and a spirit and an understanding that your nation is threatened and your president is being played by a ruthless tyrant.
Sorry for the rant, but, Sheila, you (and Heather) deserve abundant praise–and much gratitude–for the daily messaging that, however grim the content has to be, is nonetheless uplifting, because you have the spine and the spirit and the conviction and the talent to bring it all together for those of us trying, desperately, to cling to sanity and to fight the good fight. Thank you.
The loud sigh y’all heard from Westfield was me after reading that “Justice” Roberts paused the order to pay $2B in frozen funds for USAID by midnight last night. Lawyers for the republican made a “emergency” appeal that last night’s deadline didn’t give enough time to forward the money. (Maybe if they hadn’t frozen it in the first place…
) Roberts, who apparently acted solo, gave no explanation for his decision; he did say that both sides have until Friday to respond before the whole court. SCOTUS just keeps losing all credibility.
Jack,
Trump/Musk’s next possible targets are the Pentagon, the Fort Knox vault, and the Federal Reserve. No president has ever audited the FED and maybe even Fort Knox. The Pentagon has never passed an audit, so Musk should have started with that low-hanging fruit, but Musk, Thiel, and Bezos have massive contracts with the Pentagon. That will cause lots of moaning and bitching in Washington and New York.
Looks like trump was going to ignore the lower court ruling to release the impounded money for USAID and the Supremes have paused the ruling until Friday to study both sides. In the meantime, the Appeals court upheld the lower court ruling against trump’s withholding of Congresses appropriated funds. Will the Supreme Court uphold the power of Congress and Balance of power, or will they give a pass to trump to continue his destruction of US Government?