The USMNT's Incredible Performance, "The President Has Turned Into A Clown," Meaty Pods For Your Weekend Viewing And Listening Pleasure

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Morning all. Today we start with soccer. The US Men’s National Team put in one of the greatest performances in team history last night, just destroying a very capable team from Paraguay, 4-1. Here’s The NYT this am:

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — It began with thunderous chants of “U-S-A” and climaxed with the best 45 minutes in U.S. men’s World Cup history.

It was seven years and 364 days in the making, and it was worth every day, hour, second of waiting.

U.S. soccer fans and players had, for years, dreamed of this moment, a glitzy World Cup opener on home soil, an unparalleled stage for their sport. They had dreamed of meeting it, of igniting America, of elevating soccer.

But no one could have realistically envisioned this — a rousing 4-1 win over Paraguay, patriotic glee on the field and in the stands, silky soccer and eruptions of noise.

“I mean, my whole life I feel like I’ve envisioned it,” U.S. defender Chris Richards said. “But tonight was way better than what I could’ve envisioned. It was surreal.”

In front of 70,492 fans at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles, it was more than a near-perfect start to this home World Cup.

It was, as Sebastian Berhalter said while recalling the victory lap to thank the fans, “what U.S. soccer should be.”

It was a launchpad into a new U.S. men’s national team era.

It was arguably our best performance in 100 years:

I am a big soccer guy and honestly I am still stunned this morning at what we witnessed last night. Free, open, creative play. Incredible dominance from the start. Unprecedented ambition in our passing. Remarkable goals, strong game management, encouraging depth. After recent struggles the US brought in one of the most respected coaches in the world, Argentinian Mauricio Pochettino, and last night we saw what great coaching and talented young players can do. Our boys came to play last night and it was just beautiful to see.

Our next game is this Friday in Seattle against Australia at 3pm ET. Be sure to watch and help root our boys on to victory!

Here’s the latest Substack post of prominent right-wing commentator Erick Erickson, “The Beclowning of a President”:

At least 39 times in the last 65 days, the President of the United States has declared the United States and Iran were close to a deal only to have the Iranians openly mock him and deny it.

Yesterday, the President went on Fox & Friends in the morning to declare bombings would resume and be even more ferocious. By the afternoon, he declared bombings would cease because a deal was close. He claimed buy-in from the Egyptians, the Emirates, the Saudis, the Kuwaitis, the Israelis, the Iranians, and more.

Egypt said it had no knowledge of any deal. Israel said it had no knowledge of a deal. Then FARS, the semi-official Iranian news agency that represents the voice of the Revolutionary Guard in Iran said there was no deal. Overnight, word came the Ayatollah refused a deal. Then the Iranians started firing drones at commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The President, the other days, said Iran was playing us. The only one being played is President Trump. A state of war exists between Iran and its neighbors. The ceasefire is a farce. The President has turned into a clown.

I share this post because Trump may entering a new phase where all the ridiculous and vainglorious things we see - his continued falling asleep on the job, his daily confabulations, his repeated promises of peace tomorrow, his all night posting, his pathetic cries of “rigging,” the $60m spent on his birthday party, the ongoing desecration of global symbols of our democracy:

his ballroom, his slush fund, his swollen ankles and blackened hands, his failed bluing of The Reflecting Pool:

and now perhaps the most ridiculous of them all - his comical attempt to prevent and then cover up the removal of his name from the Kennedy Center:

all of this, the unending, cascading, daily absurdity of it all, may be finally crystalizing into something truly politically dangerous for him. For he may be becoming not just be a failed President, a wildly unpopular President, but a ridiculous, old, and clownish one.

As I write this morning that tarp covering up the removal of his name was still up and he starts this weekend celebrating his 80th birthday even more diminished and clownish than he has ever been. Ridicule is a powerful tool to take down autocrats, and we need to be using ambitiously, aggressively, daily for no one has ever deserved it more than the desperate, pathetic, bloated, sundowning madman who humiliates this country in new and more perverse ways every day.

As we’ve been discussing the undeniable ridiculousness and failure of his Presidency now means he can no longer count on blind support from Congressional Republicans, a significant development in our politics. Congress keeps rebuking, repeatedly, on things that matter to him - Ukraine, Iran, the ballroom, his slush fund. While we will not win every battle we are winning far more of them, and with each win he grows weaker and we grow stronger.

I mean could anyone have imagined we would be seeing headlines or stories like this a few months ago (gift link):

Yes my friends, he is weaker and we are stronger. It’s why we need to keep our heads down and keep doing the work everybody!!!!!!!!!!!

We have terrific new conversations and presentations for you to dive into this weekend:

• Our Senate nominee in Iowa Josh Turek dropped by and inspired and impressed - what a great candidate! If you watch one thing this weekend it should be this one

• Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison updated us on the fight to create accountability for Trump’s lawless siege of Minnesota

• Stand Up For Science’s Dr. Colette Delawalla came by to urge us to join their campaign to Stop Vought and Save Science

• I had lively talks with April Ryan of The Contrarian and Stuart Stevens of Lincoln Square

• And offered my weekly take on things in a new video and post, Trump - desperate men do desperate things.

Things we should be calling and fighting for this week:

• Finish the job on the Ukraine Support Act, get it passed through the Senate to the President’s desk

• Finish the job on the Iran war powers resolutions that have passed both the Senate and House in recent weeks, and get them to the President’s desk

• No to the ballroom, the Arch, the gilded statues, the slush fund, the corruption, self-enrichment……

• hell no to Todd Blanche becoming Attorney General

• Hell hell no to the new OMB regs that will destroy government-funded science in America. Joins the new Stand Up For Science campaign to Stop Vought. Save Science today.

A big thank you to everyone who has become a paid subscriber in recent days. We’ve signed up 95 new people, well on our way to our goal of 500 by July 4th. Take 10% off a paid annual Hopium subscription today and help make our Independence Day membership sale and drive a success!

Now, Let’s Go Out And Win Some Elections People!!!!

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

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Keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save, and elections all across this great country to win, together! - Simon