All of this is true. But weak? Trump still controls the MAGA-Republican party. (Yes, I would like be a fly-on-the-wall when threats are uttered against Republican lawmakers and their family members, something I suspect happens not infrequently.)
Trump has a fund of at least half a billion dollars that he can use for political purposes. (Whether he’ll actually come to the aid of any Republican candidates remains to be seen.) He has arm-twisted numerous law firms to work pro bono for him. He continues to extort American universities or ideologically bend them to his will. And he’s making a killing on his own crypto. He’s pushing foreign governments to pave the way for lucrative deals by the Trump Organization. And he just forced two of the top people at the BBC to resign.
Corrupt as hell? Definitely. But I am not yet convinced he can be described as "weak". Trump is obviously losing a lot of political support from voters, but that is not the only kind of power. Seems to me that Trump has amassed more powered than any American president during my lifetime.
The tragedy is that American voters allowed this amoral child-rapist and felon a second term. To me, that remains utterly unfathomable!
A/S - he just lost the single most vote important vote of his second term when the discharge petition passed, days after the Senate to repeal most of his tariffs. His control over the GOP is loosening, and we need to keep working to turn those little cracks into much bigger ones.
That memo from Cygnal, the top House GOP pollster, was a shocker. Something like that would never would happened even two months ago. I see all this as an opportunity not as something pre-ordained.
May it be so! Yes, that is the job we have to do: turn little cracks into bigger cracks, until the whole Trumpian edifice comes crumbling down.
And, yes, that Cygnal poll and the other polls you mention are stunning. Hopefully more and more Republican politicians will recognize that this is a four-alarm fire, find their spine, and cast votes that break with Mad King Donald.
I especially appreciate the growing list of specifics to throw in his face. Like Putin, through his “policies “, Trump is now a mass mis a murderer, as well as a rapist. Not a good look unless you’re a sociopath.
If the House votes to release the Epstein files, will it go to the Senate? And will there ever be a vote on this? or will the Senate GOP refuse to put it up for a vote?
I think they’ll vote yes, Trump vetoes. If they override it, the DOJ says nope, there is an active investigation so we can’t release them. I don’t know if courts weigh in then or not. Still politically damaging and it never goes away.
Things have a way of percolating out as we’ve seen though just this week. Maybe there’s a Ellsberg or Felt somewhere too.
Just an observation. I think Biden was a historically good President. The economy had managed the elusive soft landing, we were supporting Ukraihe, he'd gotten the Infrastructure bill passed etc. The fact that Trump is only "tied" in unpopularity with Biden after the destructive dumpster fire DJT has unleashed, is not a compliment to the electorate or public education. But, I know we gotta work with what we got!
I don't see it that way at all. After Biden's debate performance it was over. Trump is now more unpopular than Biden was AFTER THE DEBATE performance and almost 20 percent of his voters regret their vote. This is an incredibly fast and comprehensive decline. There is no version of this that is not good for us.
After Trump’s debate performance against Kamala Harris, it *should* have been over for Trump!
Granted, that’s all water under the bridge… I am so encouraged by the massive Democratic victories up and down the ballot this November, and in the special elections.
To the extent America has fair elections in 2026, I think it’s going to be a Blue Tsunami!
Yes, and part of what I am writing about today is that in the ways things work here it is clear they are starting to come to terms with what a fucking disaster Trump has become. This shifts in these red wave polls, the warning from Cygnal, that NC memo. Fires are now burning everywhere, and I think it is going to take awhile for them to really accept that this is all real, and superman is a huge fuck up.
This is my greatest desire - to bring this monster down. Friends, the first step to achieving a goal is wanting that goal, being determined to achieve it. I know you all loathe Trump. The point is not to look for reasons for failure but strategies for success and refuse to take no for an answer.
Sometimes, determination and courage are more important than strategy. You can demolish a 90 thousand square foot ballroom with a sledgehammer if you hit it enough times.
Yes, maybe this is indeed the beginning of the end. Let's hope so. AND let's not forget that there is much also to be fixed in the Democratic Party. It is riddled with legislators who owe their elections to big money and NOT to the electorate. their loyalties are to the status quo and not to fixing the economy so that it serves everyone. Successive Democratic regimes have failed to eliminate the wealth gap because consistently legislators such as Sinema have prevented it. One feasible way to fix this is to ban Independent Expenditures in Democratic primaries. Such expenditures by monied donors and corporations skew leadership towards corporate interests and away from economic justice. This will be a heavy lift as there are so many vested interests in the status quo but I would argue that now is the time to start the process.
The first is about to happen. The second is a longterm solution unavailable to us until SCOTUS is reformed. There are interim measures (see comments below)
To your point, the Montana Plan is a constitutional ballot initiative to end corporate and dark money in Montana politics. It uses the authority our state has always held - the authority to decide what powers our corporations have - to stop them all, even those based out of state, from spending to influence Montana's local, state and federal politics. Corporations are created by state law, and states can change their corporate laws at any time. If Montana doesn't grant political spending power to its corporations, the 'right' to spend never attaches, making Citizens' United irrelevant. This proposal is undergoing legal review by our MAGA Attorney General and there will be challenges ahead. But, if and when legal hurdles are cleared there will be a signature drive to get the measure on the Nov. 2026 ballot. Passage seems likely in today's political climate.
Note: this effort can be replicated in other states.
Great idea. This is off topic, but do you happen to know a good person to talk to at the Montana Free Press in Helena? One of my colleagues at Seniors Taking Action was in need of a contract person to work with. 🙏
Undo Citizens United is the true fix. Limit campaign spending or have public funding of elections for national office. Until then, we rely on integrity of candidates to resist dark money, and that is never going to be 100% satisfactory
True but fixing Citizens United is a longterm strategy. While it won't be easy, getting state Democratic Parties to forbid primary candidates taking PAC money would be a good start towards creating at least ONE of our parties that serves "we the people". And I love the Montana idea as well.
I don't think Dem Party will do it because it will "unlevel the playing field" even further than it already is. Certain Dems rely on that money, and as Simon has pointed out in the past, their are all sorts of PACs, including pro-environment, pro-women's health, etc, etc. It is not easy to parse, and there will be work arounds.
The State approach like Bison Doc is speaking of, seems more promising, but still it will need to be done on a state by state basis.
I agree it is complex but my understanding is that the DNC has already recommended this approach. At the primary level (we are just talking primaries here) it will level, not unlevel, the playing field. That's the point. At present the playing field favours monied candidates -- though as we have just seen in NYC, money doesn't always win!
No matter where Trump has been, it has always been time for him to be gone. New Yorkers don’t want him. The Scots don’t want him. Australians are signing a petition to prevent members of the Trump family from visiting Australia.
As for his ‘job’ performance, whether it is real estate or governing (?) , the only ‘work’ he has ever accomplished is taking money out of someone else’s pocket and putting it in his own.
Once again... GREAT concise summary and kick ass statement of WHAT IS SO RIGHT NOW. This is so helpful. I am going to use pieces of this post on my FB AND I'm going to write my congresspeople AND call them. I'm in Colorado right now and have a way I can even call my old congressional office. Thanks Simon. I hope you can have a Sunday. SO much to digest. What a mess. It's still hard to tolerate all the suffering. I am just praying the states hold on and help ameliorate what they can. I feel for the people in all the red districts who are going to feel worse and worse til we fix this. Thanks all! Happy Sunday! PS. What's up with Venezuela. Can we stop the murders?
I have been reading Joyce Vance’s book, Giving Up is Unforgivable, all week and finished it this morning. It works like a tonic on flagging spirits. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Such a great post, and I love the idea of "visualizing and socializing". The media has beclowned themselves spectacularly on this issue. I've been curious why this isn't a bigger conversation among prominent Democrats in a serious way. (yes, Newson has been ragging on him for it, but we also need people to give the conversation the gravity it deserves.) Any thoughts?
Yeah. I guess I keep forgetting the seismic impact of "the debate." But I wasn't implying Trump was popular. At all. I'm just saying the magnitude lof Biden's unpopularity was unjustified, IMHO.
I agree. I miss Biden for many reasons, not the least of which is that he never grabbed the spotlight and, like Obama, always gave others credit for their hard work.
the vitriol against him is unreal, with a lot of dems also blaming him for not stepping down and so on. i'm tired of hearing it; the voters chose him in the primaries. what the hell were we supposed to do; he was doing a good job and we had full employment with good wage increases; as someone said this morning, i think on molly jong fast's show, a lot of dem initiatives take time to work; voters want action now, and that's why they have turned on trump. i don't think they are really surprised he's a sex offender; hell they've known that for a decade.
Hi Simon! I could not agree with you more. The writing on the wall has been there since day one of his first candidacy back in 2015. It's taken almost a decade but it seems some in the GOP are starting to sober up and see the reality of the situation, if not for the country than for their electoral prospects.
If we are asking if it is time for Trump to go than should we not also be asking if it is time to consider impeachment? An affirmation of not only the disaster he has been as well as all of his illegal acts, but an affirmation that we can once again have a Republic with checks and balances and a legislative branch that doesn't act like a lapdog?
I ask this for two reasons: one, I firmly believe in it; and, two, I am one of the organizers, from 50501dc, of a three-day event in DC this upcoming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Thursday, we plan to have the largest day of Congressional visits in history as people petition their representatives and senators to impeach President Trump.
On Friday, we will have a day of education: teaching folks how to organize back in their own districts and have a Veteran's rally.
On Saturday, we will have a massive rally and march on the national mall.
I firmly believe that if we are serious about it being time for Trump to go and restoring our Republic and its system of checks and balances, we must treat impeachment as a legitimate option. Two birds with one stone so to speak.
More information is available at removalcoalition.org if you are interested. We would love to talk with you in anyway about not only the event itself, but making that writing on the wall clear as day to everyone. Our's is a government that ia supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. If it is time for Trump to go then the responsibility to make that happen starts with us, the people.
Florida Dem here in a blue urban area. David Jolly is the best candidate we've had in decades for governor. His messaging is affordability and Florida is not only in culture wars he'll but also not affordable for everyone but the very rich. Does Jolly have a chance? We've donated but Florida Dems are financially stretched and every MAGA politician is for sale here.
I woke up this morning with this thought. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The Republicans have betrayed America for a worthless piece of shit.
It is past time for him to go. The damage he is doing to our country, and our relationships around the world is incalculable. He was never, and now is less so, fit to serve. His health is failing, his party is starting to desert him. Perhaps it is time for those around him to whisper in his ear that the rest of his life would be better if he simply resigned. He could live comfortably on his grifted $$billions, and Vance could issue a preemptive pardon re Epstein and any other potential federal criminal investigations.
Trump at about 20 seconds in that video of him in the post: "I had an MRI. The doctor said it was the best result he has ever seen as a doctor!" The last part of that delivered in the way a guy who's been in the bar all afternoon would deliver it -- more than a little crazed, leaning into it. He shouldn't be in charge of anything.
I think it's really smart and timely to start this "socializing" of the need for him to step down. I may spend some time learning more about Nixon's last months, and the pressure that ultimately led him to resign. Maybe there are parts of that which could be replicated. Suggest someone knowledgeable about that who could point out parallels might make a good Hopium guest.
The list of reasons Trump should step down is compelling, and of course any one of those should be reason enough. I think next week's Epstein vote will be huge, and if dozens of Republicans vote for it as has been reported, it will show that they can disobey him and not be politically destroyed. His weakness has to be becoming apparent to them. Lauren Boebert faced as much pressure as any congressperson ever as and stood up to him.
"Trump knew about the girls". And it's not just his likely crimes with those girls but, as put separately on the list of reasons for him to go, the cover up for all of the powerful people who did the same.
For me the biggest Epstein news is that he reached out to the Kremlin to provide the compromat that now explains Trump's secret meetings and support of Russia. That should be screaming from the headlines, but those were the old days...
The GOP needs to step up in Veto proof numbers in the House. It takes 290 for a veto so that adds up to needing at least 76 GOP to vote for releasing the files.
Regarding the MRI, I recall that Dr. Ronnie Jackson - now TX Congressman - told us Trump had the genetics to live to 200, or some similar outrageous claim. I'm not a physician (though I have stayed in a few Holiday Inns) but I don't think an MRI is a routine part of an annual physical.
Good point. I just had a physical a few months ago. Blood tests yes, MRI no. I don’t like to brag, but my doctor said it was the best Creatinine level she’s ever seen
The beginning should have never happened, so if we’re actually approaching the end I’ll embrace it as great news.
I see 2 essential developments for 2026:
Sherrill, Spanberger and Mamdani must prove the voters chose wisely by governing and messaging well at the local level. While I am deeply partisan, elections are won at the margins by people who are not.
The GOP must break from Trump, as they did with Nixon. While they shoulder so much of the blame for this national nightmare, I have no illusions they will break for no reason other than self preservation and opportunism. Patriots they are not.
Yes he needs to go. Someplace.
If he sends us all $2,000 checks, I suggest we call it Epstein/Trump Hush Money.
I'll add that to where I put my DOGE check.
All of this is true. But weak? Trump still controls the MAGA-Republican party. (Yes, I would like be a fly-on-the-wall when threats are uttered against Republican lawmakers and their family members, something I suspect happens not infrequently.)
Trump has a fund of at least half a billion dollars that he can use for political purposes. (Whether he’ll actually come to the aid of any Republican candidates remains to be seen.) He has arm-twisted numerous law firms to work pro bono for him. He continues to extort American universities or ideologically bend them to his will. And he’s making a killing on his own crypto. He’s pushing foreign governments to pave the way for lucrative deals by the Trump Organization. And he just forced two of the top people at the BBC to resign.
Corrupt as hell? Definitely. But I am not yet convinced he can be described as "weak". Trump is obviously losing a lot of political support from voters, but that is not the only kind of power. Seems to me that Trump has amassed more powered than any American president during my lifetime.
The tragedy is that American voters allowed this amoral child-rapist and felon a second term. To me, that remains utterly unfathomable!
weakening at least
A/S - he just lost the single most vote important vote of his second term when the discharge petition passed, days after the Senate to repeal most of his tariffs. His control over the GOP is loosening, and we need to keep working to turn those little cracks into much bigger ones.
That memo from Cygnal, the top House GOP pollster, was a shocker. Something like that would never would happened even two months ago. I see all this as an opportunity not as something pre-ordained.
May it be so! Yes, that is the job we have to do: turn little cracks into bigger cracks, until the whole Trumpian edifice comes crumbling down.
And, yes, that Cygnal poll and the other polls you mention are stunning. Hopefully more and more Republican politicians will recognize that this is a four-alarm fire, find their spine, and cast votes that break with Mad King Donald.
I especially appreciate the growing list of specifics to throw in his face. Like Putin, through his “policies “, Trump is now a mass mis a murderer, as well as a rapist. Not a good look unless you’re a sociopath.
A-greed. The gold tie says it all.
Maybe third time will be a charm for impeachment. What say you, Mitch McConnell? You through selling out America?
I don’t think sellouts ever retire.
If the House votes to release the Epstein files, will it go to the Senate? And will there ever be a vote on this? or will the Senate GOP refuse to put it up for a vote?
I think they’ll vote yes, Trump vetoes. If they override it, the DOJ says nope, there is an active investigation so we can’t release them. I don’t know if courts weigh in then or not. Still politically damaging and it never goes away.
Things have a way of percolating out as we’ve seen though just this week. Maybe there’s a Ellsberg or Felt somewhere too.
Just an observation. I think Biden was a historically good President. The economy had managed the elusive soft landing, we were supporting Ukraihe, he'd gotten the Infrastructure bill passed etc. The fact that Trump is only "tied" in unpopularity with Biden after the destructive dumpster fire DJT has unleashed, is not a compliment to the electorate or public education. But, I know we gotta work with what we got!
I don't see it that way at all. After Biden's debate performance it was over. Trump is now more unpopular than Biden was AFTER THE DEBATE performance and almost 20 percent of his voters regret their vote. This is an incredibly fast and comprehensive decline. There is no version of this that is not good for us.
After Trump’s debate performance against Kamala Harris, it *should* have been over for Trump!
Granted, that’s all water under the bridge… I am so encouraged by the massive Democratic victories up and down the ballot this November, and in the special elections.
To the extent America has fair elections in 2026, I think it’s going to be a Blue Tsunami!
Yes, and part of what I am writing about today is that in the ways things work here it is clear they are starting to come to terms with what a fucking disaster Trump has become. This shifts in these red wave polls, the warning from Cygnal, that NC memo. Fires are now burning everywhere, and I think it is going to take awhile for them to really accept that this is all real, and superman is a huge fuck up.
What I will never understand is why it took them so long.
Well, if you are threatened with death threats or primarying on the right, a coward's way is going to be denial, denial, denial.
This is my greatest desire - to bring this monster down. Friends, the first step to achieving a goal is wanting that goal, being determined to achieve it. I know you all loathe Trump. The point is not to look for reasons for failure but strategies for success and refuse to take no for an answer.
Sometimes, determination and courage are more important than strategy. You can demolish a 90 thousand square foot ballroom with a sledgehammer if you hit it enough times.
Let's go!
Let’s make it so.
Stuart Stevens summed it up : “Trump is a sleazebag.”
Yes, maybe this is indeed the beginning of the end. Let's hope so. AND let's not forget that there is much also to be fixed in the Democratic Party. It is riddled with legislators who owe their elections to big money and NOT to the electorate. their loyalties are to the status quo and not to fixing the economy so that it serves everyone. Successive Democratic regimes have failed to eliminate the wealth gap because consistently legislators such as Sinema have prevented it. One feasible way to fix this is to ban Independent Expenditures in Democratic primaries. Such expenditures by monied donors and corporations skew leadership towards corporate interests and away from economic justice. This will be a heavy lift as there are so many vested interests in the status quo but I would argue that now is the time to start the process.
Release the Epstein files and repeal Citizens United.
The first is about to happen. The second is a longterm solution unavailable to us until SCOTUS is reformed. There are interim measures (see comments below)
To your point, the Montana Plan is a constitutional ballot initiative to end corporate and dark money in Montana politics. It uses the authority our state has always held - the authority to decide what powers our corporations have - to stop them all, even those based out of state, from spending to influence Montana's local, state and federal politics. Corporations are created by state law, and states can change their corporate laws at any time. If Montana doesn't grant political spending power to its corporations, the 'right' to spend never attaches, making Citizens' United irrelevant. This proposal is undergoing legal review by our MAGA Attorney General and there will be challenges ahead. But, if and when legal hurdles are cleared there will be a signature drive to get the measure on the Nov. 2026 ballot. Passage seems likely in today's political climate.
Note: this effort can be replicated in other states.
https://transparentelection.org
Great idea. This is off topic, but do you happen to know a good person to talk to at the Montana Free Press in Helena? One of my colleagues at Seniors Taking Action was in need of a contract person to work with. 🙏
Undo Citizens United is the true fix. Limit campaign spending or have public funding of elections for national office. Until then, we rely on integrity of candidates to resist dark money, and that is never going to be 100% satisfactory
True but fixing Citizens United is a longterm strategy. While it won't be easy, getting state Democratic Parties to forbid primary candidates taking PAC money would be a good start towards creating at least ONE of our parties that serves "we the people". And I love the Montana idea as well.
I don't think Dem Party will do it because it will "unlevel the playing field" even further than it already is. Certain Dems rely on that money, and as Simon has pointed out in the past, their are all sorts of PACs, including pro-environment, pro-women's health, etc, etc. It is not easy to parse, and there will be work arounds.
The State approach like Bison Doc is speaking of, seems more promising, but still it will need to be done on a state by state basis.
I agree it is complex but my understanding is that the DNC has already recommended this approach. At the primary level (we are just talking primaries here) it will level, not unlevel, the playing field. That's the point. At present the playing field favours monied candidates -- though as we have just seen in NYC, money doesn't always win!
No matter where Trump has been, it has always been time for him to be gone. New Yorkers don’t want him. The Scots don’t want him. Australians are signing a petition to prevent members of the Trump family from visiting Australia.
As for his ‘job’ performance, whether it is real estate or governing (?) , the only ‘work’ he has ever accomplished is taking money out of someone else’s pocket and putting it in his own.
Once again... GREAT concise summary and kick ass statement of WHAT IS SO RIGHT NOW. This is so helpful. I am going to use pieces of this post on my FB AND I'm going to write my congresspeople AND call them. I'm in Colorado right now and have a way I can even call my old congressional office. Thanks Simon. I hope you can have a Sunday. SO much to digest. What a mess. It's still hard to tolerate all the suffering. I am just praying the states hold on and help ameliorate what they can. I feel for the people in all the red districts who are going to feel worse and worse til we fix this. Thanks all! Happy Sunday! PS. What's up with Venezuela. Can we stop the murders?
I have been reading Joyce Vance’s book, Giving Up is Unforgivable, all week and finished it this morning. It works like a tonic on flagging spirits. I can’t recommend it highly enough.
Thanks for sharing this book title. I need all the hope I can get.
It’s short. Intelligent. And it really helps on many levels 😊💪
Such a great post, and I love the idea of "visualizing and socializing". The media has beclowned themselves spectacularly on this issue. I've been curious why this isn't a bigger conversation among prominent Democrats in a serious way. (yes, Newson has been ragging on him for it, but we also need people to give the conversation the gravity it deserves.) Any thoughts?
Yeah. I guess I keep forgetting the seismic impact of "the debate." But I wasn't implying Trump was popular. At all. I'm just saying the magnitude lof Biden's unpopularity was unjustified, IMHO.
Completely agree with you. He was a very good president.
I agree. I miss Biden for many reasons, not the least of which is that he never grabbed the spotlight and, like Obama, always gave others credit for their hard work.
the vitriol against him is unreal, with a lot of dems also blaming him for not stepping down and so on. i'm tired of hearing it; the voters chose him in the primaries. what the hell were we supposed to do; he was doing a good job and we had full employment with good wage increases; as someone said this morning, i think on molly jong fast's show, a lot of dem initiatives take time to work; voters want action now, and that's why they have turned on trump. i don't think they are really surprised he's a sex offender; hell they've known that for a decade.
Just think where we were under Biden, just 10 months ago. We were a different country. We were the USA. Now?
Hi Simon! I could not agree with you more. The writing on the wall has been there since day one of his first candidacy back in 2015. It's taken almost a decade but it seems some in the GOP are starting to sober up and see the reality of the situation, if not for the country than for their electoral prospects.
If we are asking if it is time for Trump to go than should we not also be asking if it is time to consider impeachment? An affirmation of not only the disaster he has been as well as all of his illegal acts, but an affirmation that we can once again have a Republic with checks and balances and a legislative branch that doesn't act like a lapdog?
I ask this for two reasons: one, I firmly believe in it; and, two, I am one of the organizers, from 50501dc, of a three-day event in DC this upcoming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. On Thursday, we plan to have the largest day of Congressional visits in history as people petition their representatives and senators to impeach President Trump.
On Friday, we will have a day of education: teaching folks how to organize back in their own districts and have a Veteran's rally.
On Saturday, we will have a massive rally and march on the national mall.
I firmly believe that if we are serious about it being time for Trump to go and restoring our Republic and its system of checks and balances, we must treat impeachment as a legitimate option. Two birds with one stone so to speak.
More information is available at removalcoalition.org if you are interested. We would love to talk with you in anyway about not only the event itself, but making that writing on the wall clear as day to everyone. Our's is a government that ia supposed to be of the people, by the people, and for the people. If it is time for Trump to go then the responsibility to make that happen starts with us, the people.
Florida Dem here in a blue urban area. David Jolly is the best candidate we've had in decades for governor. His messaging is affordability and Florida is not only in culture wars he'll but also not affordable for everyone but the very rich. Does Jolly have a chance? We've donated but Florida Dems are financially stretched and every MAGA politician is for sale here.
Hi Susan. Simon interviewed David Jolly a while ago. I think the upshot at that time was that David Jolly has as good a chance as anyone, and if anything a good campaign by him will help build a strong state party. Here's the interview. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/putting-florida-back-in-play-my-conversation?utm_source=publication-search
Also here's the recent interview with Nikki Fried the FL state party chair, and FL is part of the Hopium Audacious Expansion fund. https://www.hopiumchronicles.com/p/launching-hopiums-audacious-expansion?utm_source=publication-search
Thank you.
I woke up this morning with this thought. Judas betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. The Republicans have betrayed America for a worthless piece of shit.
Very smart and succinct! I think I may use this in calls to my federal MAGA delegation.
Please do. 😊💪🙏
It is past time for him to go. The damage he is doing to our country, and our relationships around the world is incalculable. He was never, and now is less so, fit to serve. His health is failing, his party is starting to desert him. Perhaps it is time for those around him to whisper in his ear that the rest of his life would be better if he simply resigned. He could live comfortably on his grifted $$billions, and Vance could issue a preemptive pardon re Epstein and any other potential federal criminal investigations.
Trump at about 20 seconds in that video of him in the post: "I had an MRI. The doctor said it was the best result he has ever seen as a doctor!" The last part of that delivered in the way a guy who's been in the bar all afternoon would deliver it -- more than a little crazed, leaning into it. He shouldn't be in charge of anything.
I think it's really smart and timely to start this "socializing" of the need for him to step down. I may spend some time learning more about Nixon's last months, and the pressure that ultimately led him to resign. Maybe there are parts of that which could be replicated. Suggest someone knowledgeable about that who could point out parallels might make a good Hopium guest.
The list of reasons Trump should step down is compelling, and of course any one of those should be reason enough. I think next week's Epstein vote will be huge, and if dozens of Republicans vote for it as has been reported, it will show that they can disobey him and not be politically destroyed. His weakness has to be becoming apparent to them. Lauren Boebert faced as much pressure as any congressperson ever as and stood up to him.
"Trump knew about the girls". And it's not just his likely crimes with those girls but, as put separately on the list of reasons for him to go, the cover up for all of the powerful people who did the same.
For me the biggest Epstein news is that he reached out to the Kremlin to provide the compromat that now explains Trump's secret meetings and support of Russia. That should be screaming from the headlines, but those were the old days...
The GOP needs to step up in Veto proof numbers in the House. It takes 290 for a veto so that adds up to needing at least 76 GOP to vote for releasing the files.
Regarding the MRI, I recall that Dr. Ronnie Jackson - now TX Congressman - told us Trump had the genetics to live to 200, or some similar outrageous claim. I'm not a physician (though I have stayed in a few Holiday Inns) but I don't think an MRI is a routine part of an annual physical.
Good point. I just had a physical a few months ago. Blood tests yes, MRI no. I don’t like to brag, but my doctor said it was the best Creatinine level she’s ever seen
The beginning should have never happened, so if we’re actually approaching the end I’ll embrace it as great news.
I see 2 essential developments for 2026:
Sherrill, Spanberger and Mamdani must prove the voters chose wisely by governing and messaging well at the local level. While I am deeply partisan, elections are won at the margins by people who are not.
The GOP must break from Trump, as they did with Nixon. While they shoulder so much of the blame for this national nightmare, I have no illusions they will break for no reason other than self preservation and opportunism. Patriots they are not.