Grateful No One Was Seriously Injured Last Night

Our country desperately needs a new and better path

Greetings everyone. I am grateful that no one was seriously injured at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night. While I have attended the dinner in years’ past thankfully I was not there last night. As we will learn more about what happened and the gunman in the coming days I’m going slow today - while acknowledging that we won’t be able to trust any of the information we'll be getting from the White House and the ridiculous people people Trump has put in charge of the Department of Justice and the FBI.

In fact this is what people heading to the dinner last night were reading about FBI Director Kash Patel:

Here’s an actual headline on The New York Times website right now:

Here are the two best things I’ve read about last night:

• So far, it appears the system worked as intended - Garrett Graff

• I’ve covered Trump for a decade. At the White House correspondents’ dinner, darkness came viscerally close - David Smith, The Guardian

Here are a few other things I’m tracking today on this cold and dreary morning in Washington, DC….

Yesterday Trump was once again forced to acknowledge that his war is a monumental failure, and that he no plan to get the world out of the extraordinary crisis he has created:

On Friday the University of Michigan’s gauge of consumer sentiment recorded it’s lowest reading in its 65 year history:

FiftyPlusOne’s Trump approval tracker clocked in at 36.9%-59.2 (-22.3) after the worst week of polling Trump has seen in his second term:

Some other things of note:

• “Iran caused more extensive damage to U.S. military bases than publicly known” - NBC News

• “Trump officials consider sending 1,100 Afghans who aided US forces to Congo” - The Guardian

• “Trump outs National Science board members” - The Washington Post

• “The Trump Regime’s Heinous Attack on a Legendary Civil Rights Organization” - Norm Eisen, The Contrarian

As I wrap up this Sunday post my overarching sense of things this morning, after a terrible night in Washington, is that our great nation desperately needs a new and better path…….

Yes, We Need To Keep Working Hard Everyone

Winning The Midterms, Competing In Red States and Red Places, Expanding The Map

Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $618,200 raised, $1,000,000 goal (new ambitious, audacious even, q2 goal) - Donate to all twelve of our endorsed House challengers with one click | Get to know Jamie Ager (NC-11), Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Rebecca Cooke (WI-03), Sean McCann (MI-04), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), Chaz Molder (TN-05), Janelle Stelson (PA-10), Shannon Taylor (VA-01), and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-03) by watching our recently recorded Hopium interviews. Interviews with Jonathan Nez and Elaine Luria coming soon!

If you are looking for inspiration watch a few of these interviews - I promise these great candidates will get you excited about our opportunities this November! For it is simple - if we win these twelve races the House flips. Period.

James Talarico For Texas - $62,400 raised, $250,000 - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More | Enjoy my inspiring interview with Rep. Talarico as he fights to turn Texas blue

Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $86,500 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More | Enjoy my uplifting conversation with Mary Peltola as she fights to turn Alaska blue

Winning Ohio - $128,300 raised, $250,000 goal - Our new campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton/Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party | Donate today and help us turn this critical 2026 battleground blue | Watch my new discussions with US Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Lt. Gov candidate David Pepper, and Ohio Dem Chair Kathleen Clyde

This total includes $21,000 sent by a Hopium community member directly to each of our three Buckeye State partners!

Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $531,400 raised, $1,000,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Join our campaign that has helped expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas, all now central battlegrounds in the 2026 election | Catch interviews with the five intrepid state chairs leading their troops into battle this year - will get you fired up! | Contribute to all five state parties with one contribution split evenly among these five new battlegrounds

Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $20,000 to each of our five state parties over the past two years.

Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $107,500 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my new discussion with Gov. Cooper as he fights to turn North Carolina blue

Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $170,200 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff

Remember you can find all of our interviews with our inspiring 2026 candidates under the Podcast tab on the main Hopium site and on our channels on YouTube, Apple Podcasts and Spotify too.

Advocate For The Hopium Agenda/Pass Resolutions Of Condemnation In Your Community/Winning In An Evolving Battlefield

There are a few more ways to go to work in the coming days - call your leaders and advocate for elements of our working, ever evolving Hopium Agenda; bring resolutions that condemn our Mad King and lets facts be spoken to a candid world to your state or local government; and learn how you can help us win in evolving political and electoral battlefield this year.

Here’s our working Hopium Post-Iran Disaster Agenda:

• Work to end this new gulf war and Trump’s Imperial global ambitions

• Support Ukraine and Europe, not Russia

• Roll back the new, illegal tariffs

• Rescind the Trump tax cuts, claw back the extra ICE funding, fund the IRS so it can collect the taxes the rich are hiding from us

• Launch a major anti-corruption, renewing democracy campaign, one that ensures accountability for the crimes and treason committed, limits the political power of our emerging oligarchy, and strengthens democracy here and everywhere

• Make the US a clean energy superpower, fight for true energy independence, and lower utility and energy prices for the American people

• Rein in ICE, end Mass Deportation

• End Trump’s destructive war on science, research, our health scare system and our public Health

• Make clear to American farmers that we want to end the failed war, repeal the terrible tariffs, find legal pathways for farm workers, and make health care and energy more affordable

This week our calls should clearly focus on reining in the illegal war in the Middle East and ICE here at home, and rescinding the tariffs that are doing so much damage to our economy.

And please use the paid subscriber chat to self-report the good trouble you make each day.

Keep working hard all. We have a country to save and an election to win, together! - Simon