Morning all. Our plucky, proud and patriotic paid subscribers got together for our most weeks gathering last night, and I share a recording and transcript of it all above. It was a lively crowd and we had lots of questions. Hope you can get to it when you can. It’s a pretty comprehensive overview of our current moment.
I am closing out this week with those two things in my mind at the same time we often talk about 1) Trump is breaking things that will be difficult if not impossible to repair and we must keep acting with great urgency 2) he is struggling, increasingly unpopular and much weaker today; we are stronger; the circle of defiance here in the US and around the world continues to widen and deepen; the Fed keeps blowing him off; the No Kings events were an inspiring affirmation of our democracy and of the patriotism of the American people; he keeps getting routed in court; nobody showed up for his birthday party; Elon was booted from the mad king’s court and was then really, really mean to little Donald; he is desperately and unsuccessfully trying to change the subject, wag any dog he can find, reboot his flagging Presidency and become STRONG again.
Here are is some of the data we discussed last night that you can take into the weekend. First, these Economist/YouGov numbers that include that 44 point drop for Trump with younger voters:
Next, these new Fox numbers that Trump has been railing about on social media these last few days. Ugly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This chart that shows how Trump and the Rs have lost the argument on their big, ugly, terrible bill (this data has been confirmed in other polls) and that passing it may actual further weaken Trump rather than give him a bump:
Finally, enjoy these Strength In Numbers generic ballot results that show Democrats with a structural advantage over the Rs right now in the midterm elections:
As I argued last night it is clear now Trump believed that because he was so STRONG and had so much STRENGTH that the world and the American people would bend the knee to the new MAGA King. That has not happened here or around the world. World leaders are openly mocking him now, virtually all are openly defying him. Here at home our democracy, while under assault, is proving to be more resilient and our people more patriotic and proud than Trump anticipated. Every successful act of defiance weakens him, grows the circle, and makes us stronger. There is no question that this thing is not working as Trump and his enablers planned, my friends, and its why just must keep working as hard as we possibly can. He is weaker today. Our work is making a difference. And we just have to keep our heads down and keep working it everyone…..
One final note - floating the idea this morning that we call the actions we take together on the streets - No Kings, Tesla Takedowns, all that is to come - peaceful celebrations of America and not protests. What we are seeing on the streets are not angry crowds but joyous and patriotic ones, and I think it is critical we communicate that sentiment in everything we do.
Upcoming Events - Our latest schedule can be always be found on Events page on the main Hopium site:
Today, 215pm ET - Tom Bonier joins us live for a look at some new data and analysis about the 2024 election and our current moment. Click here at 215pm to join. A recording of our discussion with be shared here for those who cannot make it live.
Sun, Jun 22nd, 5-7pm MT - Hopium in Santa Fe! We will gather in the Loft at Chomp Food Hall, 505 Cerrillos Rd, Suite B101, Santa Fe. Friends, family and guests are welcome. You can RSVP for the event by emailing community@Hopiumchronicles.com. Excited to see our active New Mexico crew in person!
Sat, June 28th, 10:45am ET - Hopium in Northern Virginia! Simon speaks at Network NOVA’s 9th Annual Women’s Summit in McLean, VA. More info and tickets here. This is always a great event!
Remember you can find all of my interviews/podcasts on the Hopium site under Podcast and on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
New discussions include Rep. Adam Smith on Trump and Iran, Senator Chris Van Hollen on fighting Trump from the Senate, Leon Krauze with a report on what he saw on the streets of Los Angeles and Joe Garcia on how Trump’s enforcement fanaticism is creating a humanitarian crisis in South Florida.
Hopium is also now posting on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can always find me on Bluesky too where I post frequently throughout the day.
Now, let’s get to work everybody!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Support Hopium’s Priority Candidates - June 30th Filing Deadline Is Coming Up!
Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov - $200,000 goal, $13,900 raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer
Abigail Spanberger VA Gov - $200,000 goal, $132k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch Our Interview
Jon Ossoff GA Senate - $200,000 goal, $8,300 raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer
Hopium House 7 - $200,000 goal, $132k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer, Watch Our Interviews
We also have ongoing campaigns to support the new DNC, the North Carolina Democratic Party and to thank Senator Cory Booker for his spirited leadership in a time of enormous challenge.
Stop The Reconciliation Bill - Job One for us this summer remains fighting Trump’s ruinous economic agenda. We need to keep calling every day and demand our leaders vote down the reconciliation bill and roll back Trump’s terrible tariffs. This is the big, definitional battle of the summer and we need keep working it every day. Those of you in states with Republican Senators have a particularly important role to play in the coming weeks.
Get The Military Off Our Streets, Fight Trump’s Inhumane Immigration Escalation - Contact your Rep and Senators to demand they fight Trump’s illegal use of the National Guard and Marines in California. Encourage Democrats at all levels of government to a stand with Governor Newsom and the California - for Trump is not just attacking California, he is attacking the rights and freedoms of all of us.
Own The Fourth, The Flag And Patriotism - To keep our momentum going after this weekend’s No Kings events I encourage to explore ways of Owning The Fourth and make our Independence Day an ugly one for our mad wannabe king. We heard from Hopium community member Deborah Potter last week about her work advancing “resolutions of disapproval” in New Mexico. Will have more on that for you in the coming days.
Stand Up For Science - Sign on to the critically important Bethesda Declaration and watch my interview with Stand Up For Science’s Executive Director Colette Delawalla. Signing on to the Declaration is one concrete way you can take action today.
Note that we did get a great court ruling restoring the NIH grants the Bethesda Declaration calls for. Here’s how one medical journal characterized the ruling:
District Judge William Young, a nominee of Republican President Ronald Reagan, blasted the Trump administration’s NIH cuts as discriminatory and “bearing down on people of color because of their color.”
A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump’s sweeping terminations of NIH research contracts are not only illegal, but are also a clear manifestation of the government’s “racial discrimination and discrimination against America’s LGBTQ community.”
In a speech after delivering his verdict on Monday, U.S. District Judge William Young in Massachusetts called the administration’s move to cut federal funding for certain research grants “arbitrary and capricious,” going against established government standards, as per the Associated Press. Young blasted the Trump administration, which he said was “bearing down on people of color because of their color,” NBC News reported. “The Constitution will not permit that.”
Here’s a possible script to use to fight the reconciliation bill and tariffs. Use whatever works for you:
I am calling to urge you to vote against the reconciliation bill and to roll back Trump’s terrible and illegal tariffs. Together these actions have raised taxes on all of us and will explode the deficit - things Republicans have always told us they did not believe in.
But your agenda is also causing all of us to “pay more and get less” for every day things including our health care; people to loses their jobs; and the economy to slow - all so you can give your rich donors a huge tax break. Your plans will weaken this great country and are an extraordinary betrayal of everything you promised during the campaign - which was to help people like me, not Elon Musk, get ahead.
Your plans are ones of sabotage, surrender and betrayal and I urge you to abandon them and to work with Democrats to find a better way.
Please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder!
Grow Hopium - We’ve set a goal of trying to grow the Hopium community from the 151,000 we are now to 175,000 by Labor Day. Do what you can to encourage your friends, family and colleagues to become a summer subscriber to Hopium, free or paid. If each current paid subscriber brings in just one new subscriber this summer we will hit our goal.
To encourage the growth of our community annual paid subscriptions are 10% off through Labor Day and we’ve launched a new referral awards program too. So you can earn months towards a paid subscription by bringing in new subscribers to the Hopium community!
Keep working hard all. Our work is making a difference - Simon
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