Sunday Hopium - Six Months In The Country Is Not Buying What Trump Is Selling
New CBS News poll closes out a terrible week of polling for Trump
Morning all. Before we get into the meat of things a reminder to check out my new interview with DNC Chair Ken Martin. It’s an important and uplifting window into what he and the new team at the DNC are doing now and plan to do in the years ahead……
We have now experienced six months of Trump the sequel. Here are my three main takeaways:
1 - He is doing incredible harm to the country and we must continue to act with great urgency to mitigate the damage and win back power
2 - We should not concede that his extremist government is producing “wins” - they should only be considered “wins” if they are good for the country and the American people. And by this definition America and all of us are losing, badly. America is clearly not winning under Trump.
3 - Simply, the country is not buying what Trump is selling. He and his agenda have been rejected - quickly, comprehensively - by the American people. He is a very weakened and diminished figure with no clear way to revive is flagging project and two potentially very ugly events ahead - the doubling and tripling of his destructive tariffs on August 1st; and months debating and passing a fiscal year 2026 budget that is loaded up with deeply unpopular things.
I went deep into this week’s polls in my Thursday post and video, “Trump” as strongman brand was failing - but as a big new CBS News poll is getting a lot of attention this morning let’s do a quick review of the most important things we learned this week…..
Trump has become remarkably unpopular. In the new CBS poll Trump has dropped from 53%-47% (+6) in early February to 42%-58% (-16) today. That’s a 22 point drop!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Most major independent polls show a similar crash:
41% - 54% (-13) Quinnipiac
41% - 54% (-13) Ipsos/Reuters
41% - 55% (-14) Civiqs
41% - 55% (-14) Econ/YouGov
42%- 58% (-16) CNN
42%- 58% (-16) CBS
40%- 58% (-18) AP/NORC
The coalition that got him elected has unraveled:
Every part of his agenda is unpopular (from Strength in Numbers):
The public has rejected his insane immigration escalation. From Ipsos/Reuters:
More from CBS (and some smart commentary):
Only 25% of the country believes the big, ugly bill will help them (this is a stunning bit of data):
Only 27% believe Trump’s Presidency has helped them:
Dems have been overperforming in special and local elections all across the country this year and have substantial leads in the most recent independent polls in NJ and VA, states Harris won by 6 points:
Sherrill 51% - Ciattarelli 31% (+20)
Spanberger 49% - Earle-Sears 37% (+12)
The new CNN poll had what may be the most significant data of the week - Dems have open up a huge enthusiasm advantage (something with DNC Chair Ken Martin and I touch on in our discussion):
Trump’s public performance this week has been among the most wild, unhinged and just ugly since he came down that escalator ten years ago. The Epstein scandal has caused a huge rebellion among his most important supporters, one which he has handled terribly.
The White House also acknowledged that Trump, the oldest man to ever be elected President, has a debilitating illness, one which may help explain images like this as it becomes harder to hide his clear physical decline:
Remember:
Trump is weak, not strong. He’s failing, not succeeding. The country is losing under him, not winning. He is a villain, not a hero.
How he is handling the growing perception of the failure of his political project and his rejection by the American people? LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Six months in 1) the country is not winning 2) "Trump” - that strongman brand is failing and he is in political trouble 3) we have to keep working as hard as we can to mitigate the damage and win back power.
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Happy Sunday all. Proud to be in this fight with all of you, and a fight it surely is - Simon
For those in or near Boston on Monday (tomorrow), two Harvard cases are being heard in Judge Burroughs' courtroom at Moakley Courthouse on the harbor (Northern Ave & Courthouse Way) at noon, so Crimson Courage (the alum association trying to help Harvard stay strong) is holding a rally and press conference from 12 noon - 2:30, same building. If you're not nearby, maybe help on social media.
I really appreciate those hopeful statistics but marvel they are not yet in the 30s. The other hopeful note is his physical deterioration… it’s hard to ignore even by the most ardent cult members.