Morning all. We had one of our regular gatherings of our plucky and patriotic paid subscribers last night. I kicked off our get together with some thoughts about our current moment and then took questions for the rest of the hour. A video and audio recording is above, as is a rough Substack generated transcript. We had a good crowd and hope you will get to it when you can.
Last night I reviewed some of the themes from my writing this week (here, here, here). Let’s start this morning with our daily reminder:
We are stronger, he is weaker
We have to keep acting with great urgency as Trump is breaking things that will be hard if not impossible to repair
The Dem grassroots - all of you - is working incredibly hard right now and moving the needle
As I explore in my talk I think the big news of the last few weeks is that the circle of defiance and dissent against Trump is growing, and that a vicious cycle has begun to kick in for our “strongman” leader. His insane policy agenda is doing direct, material harm to the country. Voters have figured this out, his poll numbers have plummeted and he looks weaker today, far more like a failed leader than a successful one. That weakness is encouraging defiance, and we are now seeing ongoing, structural defiance come from new and important places - Harvard and other Universities; Fed Chair Powell and the global financial community; Senators Booker and Van Hollen; Zelenskyy, Europe, Xi and other leaders across the world; leading Jewish organizations; the Wall Street Journal and the Economist; from long time Trump staffers in the Pentagon; and the Courts are defying him everyday and now even his own Supreme Court has openly bucked him twice, including in an extraordinary 1am emergency ruling.
This ongoing, structural - and inspiring - defiance and dissent signals even greater weakness which then encourages even more defiance and dissent. The circle of defiance grows, his support shrinks and his hold over the Capital and our culture wanes. I go into depth about this new, vicious dynamic in my new video and also in a just released discussion with Greg Sargent for his TNR Daily Blast podcast, Trump in retreat on many fronts.
Yesterday I wrote about a flurry of new polls showing Trump truly plummeting, with a majority of Americans now against him on just about everything including immigration. Well, we got two more polls late yesterday. First, the highly respected Pew Research poll was released, and it’s the worst poll Trump has seen yet. His job approval is 40%-59% (-19). Remember when Biden got out of the race last summer his disapproval rating, a rating that was considered terminal, averaged about 55%.
It also had this finding, one that is consistent across all polling now:
Then came a new Fox poll. And it’s brutal. Deeply negative territory on virtually everything. 55% disapproval!!!!! Even underwater on immigration.
Look at this on-air graphic Fox used last night. Trump lower than everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Old crazy man ain’t winning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Economist/YouGov released this amazing graph yesterday. Another sign of how Trump has lost his grip on the country and our discourse.
Yesterday 12 states joined California in defying and suing Trump to roll back his unconstitutional and destructive tariffs:
A dozen states sued the Trump administration in the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York on Wednesday to stop its tariff policy, saying it is unlawful and has brought chaos to the American economy.
The lawsuit said the policy put in place by President Donald Trump has been subject to his “whims rather than the sound exercise of lawful authority.”
It challenged Trump’s claim that he could arbitrarily impose tariffs based on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The suit asks the court to declare the tariffs to be illegal, and to block government agencies and its officers from enforcing them.
The states listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit were Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York and Vermont.
Over the past few days Putin has openly and repeatedly defied Trump, despite Trump doing everything he can to advance Russia’s interests. Putin has made Trump look like a global chump, a fool, a weak and failed leader. And here is how the ridiculous, lost and destructive man in the White House just responded. It’s beyond pathetic:
This morning the Chinese government also publically mocked Trump and called him a liar to boot:
China demanded that the US revoke all unilateral tariffs and denied there were talks on reaching a trade deal, maintaining a defiant stance despite President Donald Trump’s recent easing of criticism of the country.
“The US should respond to rational voices in the international community and within its own borders and thoroughly remove all unilateral tariffs imposed on China, if it really wants to solve the problem,” Commerce Ministry spokesman He Yadong said at a regular briefing on Thursday in Beijing.
He also dismissed speculation that progress has been made in bilateral communications, saying “any reports on development in talks are groundless,” and urging the US to “show sincerity” if it wants to make a deal.
As Senator Chris Coons told us in our discussion Tuesday Trump’s foreign policy “is the dumbest, most self-destructive, most foolish thing I can imagine.”
In this new video listen to Governor Walz defying Trump, exploring the kind of language and sentiment about our ridiculous leader so necessary now:
As we discuss in my video, and as I wrote to you yesterday:
The bottom line - minds are changing. Trump is falling. More people are speaking out and defying him. His greatest strengths - the economy, immigration, competence - are becoming liabilities for him. Our work together matters my friends. It matters. We are making progress but cannot let up for one minute.
Now, my friends, let’s get to work….
Recommended Hopium Actions and Campaigns - Let’s focus on four current actions to channel our love of country and our frustrations into even more progress today:
1 - Demand Congress Rescind Trump’s Terrible Tariffs - Call/contact your Senators and House Members today and demand roll back these incredibly dangerous and unconstitutional tariffs immediately. Insist they sign on and advocate for the new bi-partisan resolution that would be repeal the tariffs just introduced by Senator Kaine, Paul, Wyden, Shaheen, Welch, Warren and Schumer. It will be coming to a Senate vote in the coming days.
Watch my new interview with Senator Time Kaine to learn more, applaud the critically important law suit brought by Governor Gavin Newsom and the State of California suit challenging the Constitutionality of the these terrible tariffs, and be pleased that 12 other states now have now joined California. These tariffs are without question the greatest abuse of power by an American leader in our history and we must fight with everything we got to roll them back.
2 - Fight The Trump-Musk Attack On Our Government, Our Privacy And Our Constitutional Order - We must continue to encourage our Senators and Representatives to let Facts be be submitted to a candid world by:
Penning a joint Senate and House Letter to America, inspired by our Declaration Of Independence
Following Senator Booker’s lead in creating good trouble on the House and Senate floors, holding more aggressive and strategic daily press conferences and keep the Shadow Hearings coming
Hitting the trail like Bernie, AOC, Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Maxwell Frost, and leading with courage like Senator Chris Van Hollen
To file law suits, amicus briefs and criminal referrals against the unconstitutional ransacking of the government of the United States of America
Call to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
3 - The Growing Power Of Protests and Rallies, Rallying The States, The Spring Offensive - So much has happened since we called we called on our community members to organize in the 17 most vulnerable Republican House seats a few months ago. Rallies and protests have exploded across the country. The “Hands Off” events and the Bernie-AOC tour have drawn extraordinary crowds. The DNC/House Dems/State Parties have kicked off People’s Town Halls in all 50 states. I hope that people who attended some of the many Town Halls this week can self-report their experience today.
I have also come to believe that we should be calling on our state and local electeds to introduce, debate and pass “articles of condemnations” of the Trump regime and the clear harms they are bringing to community and every person in the country. Federalism can become a much bigger bulwark against Trump if our state and local electeds rally to the moment. For more on the critical role of the states now watch my new interview with Arizona AG Kris Mayes.
Let’s also start talking now about what we are going to do on July 4th, a day with all of a sudden much greater importance.
4 - Loudly Protest Trump’s Embrace of Russia and Abandonment of NATO and Europe - Let your electeds know you are outraged by traitorous Trump’s selling out of Zelenskyy, abandonment of Europe and embrace of Putin; and that we cannot accept this level of appeasement of someone who is a clear enemy of America and the West, and certainly not an ally. See my recent essay on the need to support our allies and not surrender to Putin, and my interview with Rep. Adam Smith, the Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, one of the most important foreign policy voices in our party.
Paid subscribers should self-report their actions today in our daily chat. So inspired by how hard so many of you are working. I want to make a special plea to all Hopium readers in states with Republican Senators - please make your calls, every day. Even 50 to 100 people calling every day can make a difference. We have hundreds of Hopium subscribers in every state in the country and it’s critical that we all do our part now.
For those wanting to do more traditional campaign work, we have the following four Hopium-backed efforts we're rallying behind. I also want to note that this community raised $142,000 for Susan Crawford in our great WI win, and over $100,000 to get Ken Martin off to a strong start at the DNC. When the Hopium community is called, you answer again and again.
Help Abigail Spanberger Win Virginia - Virginia will be one of the big battlegrounds of the November, 2025 elections and we have a great candidate for Governor, Abigail Spanberger. Watch my interview with Abigail, donate, volunteer, and learn more here. Given how many federal employees live in Virginia, this race is also now on the front linesof the Trump/Musk assault on the federal government.
We’ve raised more than $83,000 so far towards our June 30th goal of $250,000 - thank you all. Let’s keep working it for Abigail!
Support The Hopium House 7 - We’ve begun our work to help flip the House next year by supporting and shoring up the 7 newly-elected battleground House Dems we helped elect last year. Catch our interviews with Reps Derek Tran and Janelle Bynum and give to all 7 through a single donation on our new ActBlue page. Learn more about this important effort here.
We’ve already raised over $66,000 towards our $200,000 June 30th goal - thank you all!
Help Allison Riggs, Anderson Clayton And The NC Dems Stop The GOP From Stealing A State Supreme Court Seat - A few weeks ago we began a campaign to raise $50,000 for Justice Allison Riggs, Anderson Clayton and the NC Dems. These funds will help the NC Dems get off to a great start in 2025 and help cover the costs of their fight to prevent the Republicans from stealing a Supreme Court seat we won together in 2024.
If you want to go deeper into the GOP’s rancid effort to steal a Supreme Court seat watch my new interviews with Justice Riggs and Anderson Clayton, the inspiring Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.
We’ve raised $43,000 so far towards our June 30th goal of $50,000 - thank you everyone!
Thank Senator Booker For Standing Up For America - Senator Booker is up for re-election next year and many of you asked if they could channel their support and appreciation for him through Hopium. So I’ve set up an ActBlue fundraising page for him with a goal of raising $100,000 by June 30th. We’ve already raised $26,000 - thank you all. Let’s be there for Senator Booker as he been there for us at this critical time.
Keep working hard all. He is stumbling, struggling, flailing and failing and we just need to keep working as hard as we possibly can - Simon
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