Sunday Hopium - 100 Days Of Failure, Lawlessness, Buffoonery and Betrayal
New polls confirm Trump is the most unpopular President at 100 days since polling was invented. We The People are really f-ing unhappy and want something better.
Happy Sunday all. Sundays here at Hopium are easy days, rest and reboot days. Days to be with family, do some gardening, read that book in the pile by your bed, take long walks and naps outside in the early spring sun. I’m excited to be heading to Nats Park today as the spunky young Nationals take on the team I rooted for growing up, the New York Mets. It’s going to be a pretty day and I am excited for some baseball!
The flood of “100 Days” polls we’ve seen this week kept rolling as we got three new polls since yesterday’s Hopium post. They are all very bad for Trump, and include the first two showing him in the 30s:
AP-NORC 39%-59% (-20)
ABC/WaPo 39%-55% (-16)
CNN 41%-58% (-17)
Yes, the polls have been bad for Trump. Today’s headlines are even worse:
And yes we cannot forget this incredible Fox graphic from earlier in the week:
This flood of terrible polling Trump has received this week has left him a far weaker and degraded figure in Washington. It’s clear now that this early Trump 2.0 thing is failing. The American people are not buying what they are selling, and want something else, something better. As I argued in my Thursday video it is our job now to keep enlarging that circle of defiance, keep pushing our leaders to do more to challenge this terrible man and his destructive government. Friends, minds are changing. We are growing stronger, and he is getting weaker, much weaker and we just need to keep our heads down and keep working as hard as we can to further weaken his traitorous political project.
Some new Hopium conversations for your Sunday viewing and listening pleasure. Note that these Hopium conversations are also available on YouTube and Spotify, and will be soon on Apple Podcasts too.
On rolling back Trump’s tariffs and defending America - Senators Chris Coons and Tim Kaine
On the states as vital bulwarks against Trump’s authoritarian fantasies - Dem AGs Keith Ellison of MN and Kris Mayes of AZ
On fighting for academic freedom, our 1st Amendment rights and the right to due process - Amy Spitalnick, Anna Bower, David Leopold, Dr. Michael Mann
Remember that as Trump is raising prices on just about everything, here we are cutting them and offering 10% off an annual Hopium paid subscription. Take advantage of this offer, and find how to give give gift subscriptions, here. Your financial support keeps Hopium coming at you with vim, vigor and a whole lot of love of country 7 days a week!
Here are my 8 recommendations for things you can do this week. Let’s hit the ground running tomorrow, together:
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.
Another way to fight to get these tariffs rolled back is by checking to see if you state is one of the 13 who have sued to end the tariffs - Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Vermont - and if your state is not among them call your Governor, Attorney General and state Senators and Reps and demand they join these legal challenges today.
To learn more about we need to fight these tariffs watch/listen to my interviews with Senators Tim Kaine and Chris Coons, MN AG Keith Ellison and economist Rob Shapiro. I remain convinced that fighting Trump on these terrible tariffs is our area of greatest opportunity in the coming weeks.
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
We also should keep calling to demand the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others who have been wrongly imprisoned in Trump’s Salvadoran Gulag.
It is vital that all those fighting it out in the Courts - from the Judges to the plaintiffs - see that half of Congress has their backs and is fighting just as hard to uphold America’s Constitutional order as they are. It is time now for Congress to open up that Second Front we’ve discussed here, and be loud and proud and purposefully in upholding this oath:
I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.
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.
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. As I wrote yesterday, Trump may be waking to how badly Putin has played him on Ukraine, and just about everything else. So we need to keep the pressure on here everyone.
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.
1 - 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 $84,000 so far towards our June 30th goal of $250,000 - thank you all. Let’s keep working it for Abigail!
2- 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!
3 - 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 $44,000 so far towards our June 30th goal of $50,000 - thank you everyone!
4 - 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. Trump is stumbling, struggling, flailing and failing and we just need to keep working as hard as we possibly can - Simon
Unrelated, but this was nice to read with my Sunday morning coffee:
The final honor guard for Pope Francis included migrants, prisoners, transgender people, the homeless and others selected by the Vicariate of Rome as a symbol of the late pope’s mission of inclusion and outreach.
The pope’s unadorned tomb, marked by a single Latin word – Franciscus – reflects a life of “simplicity and essential things.”
https://bsky.app/profile/1gregtodd.bsky.social/post/3lnqx5e7kas2t
Self report. Making my 3 daily phone calls /or emails depending. And I’m on a campaign to educate my neighbors through a series of letters to the editor. Along the lines of Letter to Americans, as I think we all need to be reeducated on our Constitutional Democracy, how it works, how we benefit, how it made America prosperous and stable. How it’s being sabotaged. I’m also working on storytelling. So people read it and understand. My latest.
Congress keep your promise
My dad, a G.I. went to law school on the G.I. bill and benefited from a G.I. mortgage. His favorite job was public defender, giving a voice to those who needed one most.
He saw our U.S. Constitution as a living promise, giving our country great stability and reliability. He liked to tell us that in rejecting monarchy for democracy, we became a model for the world. He said the Constitution protected freedoms — speech, religion, assembly, and due process — while limiting government power through the separation of legislative, executive, and judicial branches, each able to check the others.
The rule of law, he said, made prosperity possible. It built trust, encouraged fairness in business, investment, and gave everyday Americans a real shot at a better life. He lived to see a stronger, more respected nation and the dollar become the international standard
My dad passed away at 65, a lifelong contributor to Social Security which had helped his WWI veteran father. Since the age of 17, I too have paid into this earned benefit. Like my dad, I made this investment in good faith, for the dignity and security for all Americans. We voted for Social Security and kept our part of the promise.
Now Congress, keep yours.