Sunday Hopium - After A Terrible Week Full Of Consequential Losses Trump Completely Loses It On Social Media

Our community hit an important milestone this week - $10m raised for battleground candidates and party committees - thank you all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Sunday all. Here Sundays are rest days, hit the farmer’s market and gardening days, take long walk days, recovery days to get ready for a big week ahead. So a short and airy Hopium today……

As we discussed yesterday we need to be very loud this week. Congress needs to hear from us on Ukraine, on Iran, on Trump’s corruption, their outrageous funding of ICE without reform, and whatever else is on your mind. Be aggressive this week peeps. Call your Senators and House Member and let them know you want them fighting for something better. Trump’s Congressional coalition has weakened, and we need to keep the pressure on. Be loud and proud.

Platner. These new revelations are not good. Here’s CNN’s recap. And as we’ve discussed here the reason party committees lean towards candidates who’ve run and won before is 1) they’ve shown they know how to win 2) they’ve already been vetted.

Trump. After a terrible week of racking up loss after loss our addled, aging leader has had a particularly crazy weekend, seeming intent to become known as an American Caligula. Yesterday Fox News featured a fawning and delusional North Korea/Dear Leader like walking tour of his ballroom conducted by his daughter-in-law:

He’s been mad posting all weekend:

His deranged and unhinged posting included this (via the NYT):

President Trump on Saturday called for the cancellation of a concert series celebrating the nation’s 250th birthday this summer, after a wave of musicians pulled out.

“Cancel it,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding, “We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain.”

Freedom 250, the group that is organizing the administration’s events for the birthday celebration, announced on Wednesday that a series of nine musical acts would perform during a 16-day exposition — known as the Great American State Fair — on the National Mall beginning in late June. The exposition is part of the festivities surrounding America’s 250th birthday.

But at least five musicians have since dropped out. Some of those artists said they had not been aware that the event had been part of an initiative planned by the Trump administration for the nation’s birthday.

In an earlier post on Truth Social on Saturday, Mr. Trump had suggested that, rather than canceling the concerts, he should instead headline the event.

Calling himself “the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World” and “the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime,” Mr. Trump wrote that he should “take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate ‘Artists.’”

In that post, Mr. Trump said he was ordering “my Representatives” to explore “the feasibility of doing an America Is Back rally,” where he would “give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!”

There was some confusion surrounding whether Mr. Trump was, indeed, referring to the concerts in the earlier post. There, the president referred more than once to an event “on Wednesday.” The concerts announced by Freedom 250 are currently scheduled to take place across two Thursdays and Fridays and one Saturday.

And he dropped this completely insane rant about the Kennedy Center ruling by Judge Cooper (all these links come from the great Aaron Rupar):

Trump’s dangerously unhinged weekend of posting and self-adulation are to going to do little to re-assure Congressional Republicans and their 2026 candidates that he can or even aspires to lead them into battle this November.

Finally, us. Our community. Proud, plucky patriots all. We hit a major milestone this week - we’ve now raised $10,000,000 in together since we started formally raising money for battleground candidates and party committees in October of 2023. $10 million from 93,000 donations to high leverage, high return investments. While we did not win the Presidency in 2024, this community has had a whole lot of wins together in these last three years, and we are making smart and critical investments towards us having the election we all want to have this November.

So we end today with a huge thank you from me to all of you. When called this community has continually answered. It’s been remarkable to be part of this work, be a wrangler of 150,000 of you working hard every day to defeat MAGA and ensure that freedom and democracy prevails, here and everywhere. It’s been an honor of a lifetime to be in this fight with all of you, and I look forward to keeping our heads down and working hard every day through the last day of voting on Election Day.

Thank you all!

To put a little pep in your step this weekend be sure to check out some of our latest discussions with those leading the charge:

• National leaders Governor Josh Shapiro and Senator Ruben Gallego

• Texas Democratic Party Chair Kendall Scudder

• House candidates Rebecca Bennett (NJ-7), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Jonathan Nez (AZ-02), Denise Powell (NE-02), Bobby Pulido (TX-15) and our great candidate for Governor in Ohio Amy Acton

• DCCC Deputy Executive Director Will Van Nuys

• And my latest talk If You Think Trump Is Winning You Aren’t Paying Attention

And yes, it is now time, my friends, to put our heads down and

Get To Work Everyone!!!!!!

We kicked off a campaign on Thursday to give Rebecca Bennett resources to fight off a massive $650,000 attack against her in NJ-7. Our goal is to raise $10,000 by Tuesday - we’ve almost hit $9,000 so far. Thanks to all who have contributed! Watch my new interview with one of our very best candidates of the cycle and consider donating to her campaign today!

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

Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign - $743,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal (new ambitious, audacious even, q2 goal) - Donate to all twelve of our endorsed House challengers with a single contribution split twelve ways | Get to know Jamie Ager (NC-11), Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Rebecca Cooke (WI-03), Elaine Luria (VA-02), Sean McCann (MI-04), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), Chaz Molder (TN-05), Jonathan Nez (AZ-02), Janelle Stelson (PA-10), Shannon Taylor (VA-01), and Sarah Trone Garriott (IA-03) by watching our recently recorded Hopium interviews.

Friends if these twelve win, the House will flip, no matter redistricting madness the Rs execute in the coming days. So eyes on the prize here.

Hopium’s Winning The House - Second Wave - $27,600 raised ($47,000 incl dedicated Johnny Garcia funds), $250,000 goal - We’ve launched a second House fund, one targeting candidates who’ve recently emerged from primaries or have to run in new districts. Our initial crew is Bob Brooks (PA-07), Johnny Garcia (TX-35), Bob Harvie (PA-01), Denise Powell (NE-02), and Bobby Pulido (TX-15). More on this exciting new initiative in the coming days…

Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $97,400 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more through my uplifting conversation with Mary Peltola as she fights to turn Alaska blue

James Talarico For Texas - $80,3700 raised, $250,000 - Donate | Learn more from my inspiring interview with Rep. Talarico as he fights to turn Texas blue

Winning Ohio - $151,100 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, our candidate for Governor Dr. Amy Acton, 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 - $576,100 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 - $115,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more through my new discussion with Gov. Cooper

Jon Ossoff GA Senate - $180,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn more through my uplifting conversation with Senator Ossoff

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, evolving Post-Iran Disaster Agenda:

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

• Support Ukraine and Europe, not Russia by passing HR 2913, The Ukraine Support Act, in the House this week

• 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

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

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