I Stand With Ukraine, Europe, and Freedom. I Stand Against Putin, Trump, and Authoritarianism

History and the world are watching. Will proud, American patriots stand and fight?

Morning all. Next Friday, August 15th, Trump and Putin will meet, in Alaska, in the United States of America. Press reports suggest that Trump will in essence take Putin’s side in the war against Ukraine, Europe and what was the West. It will not be “peace.” It will be appeasement, another extraordinary gift from Trump to Putin, the selling out of our allies (again) and another monumental step in Trump’s ferocious sabotaging of our great nation and the tearing down of the American-led liberal order that our party imagined and built after WWII, an order that has ushered in an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity for America and the people of the world.

It is a day, if it goes as it appears it will go, that will surely live in infamy.

This morning I want to make something as clear as it can be:

I stand with Ukraine, Europe and Freedom

I stand against Putin, Trump and Authoritarianism

We may be, in August of 2025, arriving at one of those moments in history when one must choose a side, when the pretense or illusion of a middle ground disappears. When compromise becomes appeasement. When the choice is clear, and binary. One side, or the other.

Democracy or authoritarianism. Ukraine or Russia. The West or Putin. ICE or freedom. Sabotage and oligarchy or broad-based prosperity and opportunity for all.

This week we’ve discussed how it has felt of late like our Democratic leaders had found a higher gear, a calling, a mission, a fight. Our entire Party has united around this fight against their mid-decade redistricting. It has been great to see.

Now, I believe, we must find yet another higher gear and unite around at least four clear missions this August:

• We will fight for democracy, for Ukraine, for Europe, for NATO, for our own national security and sovereignty, for maintaining American leadership of the global rules-based order built after WWII. We will oppose Putin, the selling out of Ukraine and the West, of Trump’s tearing down of the American-led rules based global order and his abandonment of the Constitutional order here in America. We will fight for freedom and democracy against Putinism and autocracy.

• We will fight to end Trump’s terrible tariffs that are raising prices on every day Americans, slowing the US and global economies, shifting the tax burden from the wealthy to all of us, harming our farmers and small businesses, angering our allies and dramatically undermining the American-led rules based global order. While doing harm these tariffs are also illegal and unconstitutional, the greatest abuse of power by an American President in our history. Together, we must roll them back.

• We will fight to block the rancid and dangerous expansion of ICE, and stand against the creation of an unaccountable domestic political police force loyal to only to our leader and his party and not to the Constitution and the American people.

• We will fight to stop the ongoing assault on science, higher education, and our public health. We will oppose the escalating attacks on our universities, the gutting of our global scientific leadership, the dangerous undermining of vaccines and preventative health, and the cutting of the ACA and Medicaid. These authoritarian attacks are making our country poorer, our companies less able to compete, are dramatically undermining the health of the American people and violate our cherished First Amendment rights.

If we are going to stand and fight we have a lot more to stand and fight for than just Trump’s outrageous and illiberal efforts to steal Congressional seats next year. You never know in politics and life when these kind of moments come. But it may be now, in August of 2025, in these United States of America that the time has come to make clear where we all stand.

Here’s where I stand:

• I stand for Ukraine, for Europe and freedom

• I stand for rolling back Trump’s dangerous and destructive tariffs

• I stand for preventing the creation of an unaccountable domestic political police force

• I stand for science, for higher education, for freedom of speech and thought and for public health

Are you with me proud American patriots? Are we going to stand and fight for America, democracy and freedom?

I think I know the answer.

A reminder of what the Intelligence Community told us in 2017 about Putin’s extraordinary and successful effort to elect Trump:

Russian efforts to influence the 2016 US presidential election represent the most recent expression of Moscow’s longstanding desire to undermine the US-led liberal democratic order but these activities demonstrated a significant escalation in directness, level of activity, and scope of effort compared to previous operations.

Now, proud, plucky, patriots of the Hopium community…..

Let’s Get To Work For Our Great Country!!!!!!!!!

Support Hopium’s Priority Candidates And Party Committees - A reminder that Election Day, 2025 is a little less than three months away and early voting starts in Virginia in less than six weeks - September 19th!

As background learn about 1) our big recommendations to the family coming out of the 2024 elections 2) the many important wins we had together last cycle 3) my latest thinking on where we are and the path forward for the Hopium community.

Donate, volunteer, learn more about our candidates and opportunities here. I consider all these options must dos for anyone serious about winning this year and next year...

• Mikie Sherrill NJ Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $48k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Rep. Sherrill

• Abigail Spanberger VA Gov (2025) - $250,000 goal, $162k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Watch my interview with Abigail Spanberger

• Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $25,000 Labor Day goal, $250,000 goal, $19,000 raised- Donate | Learn More | Volunteer

• Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $250,000 goal, $46k raised - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer

• Hopium House 7 (2026) - $250,000 goal, $179k raised - Donate | Learn More, Volunteer, Watch My Interviews With Our Great Members

Our updated fundraising goals are now for the end of the year, December 31st, except for the 2025 races, which are now for Election Day, 2025.

Our Recommended Actions - We are prioritizing three actions today. You can get our full list of recommended actions here. Let’s get to it:

1 - Call Your Senators and Member Of The House And Demand They Act Upon Our Four-Part Agenda - While it is recess we need to be loud this week, very, very loud. Make the case for our our emerging four part agenda, and demand they 1) Stand with Ukraine and work to block Trump’s selling out of the West to Putin 2) Roll back Trump’s terrible tariffs 3) Block the expansion of ICE 4) End the war on science, higher education and the public health of the American people.

2 - Bring “Resolutions Of Condemnation” To Your Community - Inspired by the tactics of our Founders learn about how Hopium members are advancing “Resolutions of Condemnation” in their communities across the country and consider bringing this initiative to your state, country or city/town.

Remarkably, members of this community are now advancing 60 (!!!!) resolutions projects in 19 states. Can we get to all 50 states by the fall election?

Our newly updated Resolutions page includes a new chat for folks to report in on their progress or seek counsel from those interested in launching a resolutions project in their community. This is one way to fight back against Trump’s unprecedented abandonment of our Constitutional order.

3 - Grow Hopium And This Wonderful Community Of Proud, Plucky, Patriots - We’ve set a goal of trying to grow the Hopium community from the 152,000 we are now to 175,000 by Election Day, 2025. 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 and fall we will hit our goal.

To encourage the growth of our community annual paid subscriptions are 10% off through Labor Day. Use that link to buy gift or group subscriptions, and join our new referral rewards program too. A further note - if you want to up your support of Hopium a powerful way to do it is to buy group or gift subscriptions for others.

Finally, please self-report your activities to our daily paid subscriber chat. These reports help inspire all of us to do more and fight harder! Been impressive to see how many of you remain involved in local, in person protests of all kinds in your communities. Keep it up!!!

Keep working hard all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you, and a fight it truly is - Simon