Sunday Hopium - Trump Begs The World For Help, Ukrainian Wartech To The Rescue, Senate Rs Getting Worried The Chamber May Flip

Trump's terrible, fascistic "Make It Really Hard For Everyone To Vote" bill comes to the Senate this week

Greetings all. I try to keep Sunday’s light and airy here but not sure can do that today…..

Our failed leader found a new pathetic and desperate path to go down yesterday - he is demanding that other nations of the world come help him fight his war now that it isn’t going so well (note he leaves off Russia here, which is actively supporting Iran in this war with the US). His claim, of course, that these nations will be sending “War Ships” is made up, delusional, Mad Kingy:

Yes, the war has gone to shit. Yesterday the State Department has told Americans living in Iraq - yes Iraq - to leave immediately:

There is no domestic option for our allies to step in and help Trump in his failed war. Look at this new data from Politico:

Historian Phillips O’Brien has a great new article looking into the way Ukraine’s wartech start ups are changing the way war is is fought in Russia-Ukraine, and now likely for the US and in Europe and the Middle East too:

I realize that I and others have been writing much more about the US bombing of Iran in the last two weeks. While that is not surprising (nor a bad thing as what is happening there is so important), it is also vital that the Russo-Ukraine War does not lose attention. Indeed, as we are still in the early phases of 2026, it is worth thinking about where things stood a year ago to understand the strategic value of Ukraine for Europe now and going forward. In a nutshell, a year ago many people were saying Ukraine was failing, that Europe had to take on Ukraine as a burden, etc. Ukraine was portrayed as facing a manpower crisis that would soon see unable to hold back the Russian steamroller and with the USA now under the leadership of Donald Trump, it was proclaimed that Ukraine faced a very bleak future.

The reality ended up being rather different. This year the focus is not so much on Ukrainian weakness but on Ukrainian attempts to fight back and whether they have a chance at success. That is remarkable with the US changing sides and the Russians hammering Ukrainian infrastructure all winter. This change in narrative is because certain key Ukrainian strengths and capabilities are now far more apparent to the media and analytical community than they were a year ago. Much of this strength is in war production and technology, strengths that have become glaringly apparent over the last two and a half weeks. They are so vital that Europe’s defense future now requires Ukraine. Ukraine is now achieving what Europe has struggled with for decades—creating new and innovative start-ups.

The West must now not only embrace the Ukrainian-led tech revolution, but we must make the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner, cheaper, and more distributed energy a national obsession now:

Finally, Politico has a remarkable bit of reporting today, Senate Republicans worry they’re losing ground in the midterms. Some excerpts:

Senate Republicans are growing anxious about the midterms.

They once felt like they had a glidepath to keep or even grow their majority in November, unlike in the House, where GOP control is razor-thin and members have become increasingly on edge about Democrats returning to power.

But the mood is shifting, according to interviews with 10 GOP senators and aides, as the U.S. engages in open-ended war in the Middle East, rising oil prices threaten to slow the economy and President Donald Trump stokes intra-party divisions over an elections overhaul bill known as the SAVE America Act.

Some GOP senators are now openly predicting a tough battle to hold onto control as their party struggles to keep the focus on affordability policies that lawmakers want to make the centerpiece of their midterm campaign. The Senate passed a major housing bill this week but it faces an uncertain future in the House. Trump himself told Republican lawmakers Monday that housing is not a top concern for voters.

“I’m glad I’m not on the ballot,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), a close Trump ally, said in an interview when asked how he was feeling about the November elections.

Republican senators are warning that the party writ large needs to hammer home cost-of-living measures — despite apparent disinterest and distractions from Trump, who they hope will lean into the housing bill fight. Recent polls have shown the Iran conflict and the resulting rise in prices are major worries for voters, even as the president downplays affordability concerns.

“Energy prices are high. Everything’s high,” said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), another Trump ally. He added that Republicans should “take some votes to lower the costs.”

It’s pretty clear now that Trump has hit the panic button. His big play to change the trajectory of an election he’s losing - Iran - has become a global fiasco. Now, his next big play - passing SAVE - also looks it is going to fail. In both cases he has ignored warnings from steady hands that he was pursuing a dangerous course and just plowed ahead. More from that Politico story:

Asked about Trump’s claim that the party will be in trouble if it doesn’t pass the SAVE America Act, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters this week that he believed the election is instead “going to be about the economy, and that’s why I think we’re focused on that.”

He also said that midterms are “always a little dicey” during the second term of a presidential administration.

But under pressure from Trump and a fervent base, Thune is teeing up what will likely be a multi-week debate on what the president calls his “No. 1 priority” — the SAVE America Act legislation that would institute tough new citizenship and photo ID requirements in order to cast a ballot. Trump wants to expand this legislation even further to prohibit gender-affirming surgery for children and restrict mail-in voting.

The bill lacks the votes for Senate passage, yet Thune and his conference are being lobbied hard by the right flank to revamp or eliminate the filibuster as a means of jamming the legislation through — a strategy that also doesn’t have the votes.

This intra-party tension is on full display in Texas, where Sen. John Cornyn is facing a May runoff against Texas Attorney General and MAGA favorite Ken Paxton. The elections bill has taken centerstage as Cornyn and Paxton vie for Trump’s endorsement, with Cornyn this week throwing his support behind scrapping the filibuster to pass the legislation.

Trump’s pressure campaign over the bill, including his decision to use the Texas race to make a play for its passage, has privately infuriated a broad swath of Senate Republicans, according to two people granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Republicans have privately conveyed to Trump that the voting measure can’t pass, while Thune has also publicly warned against linking a possible Cornyn endorsement to the bill.

Trump, however, told Fox News Radio Friday that he still intends to endorse in the race, but the “main thing I have to do is find out who’s going to get the SAVE America Act approved.” Senate Republicans are fearful that if Cornyn fails to win his runoff, the best-case scenario will cost the party hundreds of millions of dollars to defend against Democratic nominee James Talarico.

The election bill fight has spilled beyond Texas, as GOP senators are being flooded with public warnings from high-profile figures on the right that voters won’t turn out in the midterms or donate money unless the legislation passes. Trump has said passing the bill will “guarantee the midterms.”

White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement Friday that Trump “is the unequivocal leader of the Republican party, and he is committed to maintaining Republicans’ majority in Congress to continue delivering wins for the American people.”

Republicans in the Senate are right to be worried. Captain Ahab is at the helm of their ship, the ridiculous war is going to make an already weakened American economy far worse, Democrats keep winning and overperforming everywhere, and Senate Democrats have had a great recruitment cycle. Look at the Senate polling we got this week…..

Sherrod Brown is up in 2 polls (OnMessage is a GOP firm):

Collins is at 42% against both Dems in a GOP poll (42% for an incumbent is disastrous):

Talarico is competitive in Texas (as all polls have shown this year):

Paxton leads Cornyn in a new Texas poll (ugly!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!):

And using Strength in Numbers’ handy Midterm Seat Loss Calculator, a -19 Trump approval at this point in the year usually leads to a 5 Senate seat loss for the party in power - enough to cause the Senate to flip this November.

So, yes, my friends their guy is a huge fuck up. He’s wildly unpopular, his war is failing, prices are soaring, the economy is heading towards recession, and Republicans are starting to get very, very worried.

As they should be.

It’s why it is time now……..

To Get To Work Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $318,100 raised, $400,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate to all twelve of our endorsed House challengers with one click | Learn More | Enjoy our new conversations with Christina Bohannan (IA-01), Mayor Paige Cognetti (PA-08), Jo Mendoza (AZ-06), and Janelle Stelson (PA-10) and learn more about the eight candidates we just added to our campaign here.

We will be meeting the rest of our newly expanded slate of intrepid House candidates in the coming weeks. It’s a great crew! This fundraising total includes funds already raised with our friends at FridayAction for a joint event we’re doing later this month.

James Talarico For Texas - $30,300 raised, $100,000 March 31st goal - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More | Watch my recent interview with Rep. Talarico

Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $47,900 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More. | Watch my new interview with Mary Peltola

Winning Ohio - $76,400 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!

Roy Cooper for NC Senate (2026) - $87,600 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my conversation with Gov. Cooper

Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $141,500 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff

Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $413,400 raised, $500,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Join our new campaign to expand our map by investing in the Democratic Parties of Alaska, Florida, Iowa, Maine, and Texas, and catch interviews with 5 intrepid state party chairs leading us into battle this year.

Many thanks to two generous Hopium community members who have audaciously donated $10,000 to each of our five state parties.

Advocate For The Hopium Agenda/Pass Resolutions Of Condemnation In Your Community/Sign Up For No Kings on March 28th

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; sign up for a No Kings event and watch my new interview with Indivisible’s Ezra Levin, a driving force behind No Kings.

Here’s our working Hopium Post-Iran Disaster Agenda:

• Work To End This New Gulf War, And Trump’s Global Imperial Ambitions

• Make Clear We Support Ukraine and Europe, Not Russia

• Roll Back The New, Illegal Tariffs

• Rescind The Trump Tax Cuts, Claw Back The Extra ICE Funding

• Make The US A Clean Energy Superpower, Fight For True Energy Independence, And Lower Energy Prices For The American People

• Keep Fighting To Rein In ICE, End Mass Deportation

This week our calls should clearly focus on reining in the illegal war in the Middle East and ICE here at home, and on blocking the “SAVE Act.”

Keep working hard all. We are entering a dangerous place, and we need to be very, very loud now - Simon