Trump's Failed, Fanatical Presidency Has Left America Less Safe, More Vulnerable. We Must Fight Very Hard Now For A Better Path

Hackers attacked the critical infrastructure of seven US states this week. Trump blamed Tim Walz and the state of Minnesota.....

Morning all. First up, Trump has completely melted down over the Senate’s refusal to enable his unprecedented corruption and green light his venal AG choice. This post came a few hours ago:

On Monday we must keep calling and demand the Senate block Todd Blanche. We have to be loud about it, especially Hopium community members in North Carolina and Texas. Keeping calling everyone!

Perhaps our addled, ailing leader was still smarting this morning from this incredible humiliation that happened last night:

On weekends I try to keep things simple here so consider today’s post an early sketch of something we will develop together in the coming weeks.

Before we begin we cannot forget for one moment that politically this has been a very good week for us and a very, very bad one for them.

I think Democrats should consider using the current negotiations over a temporary budget extension for the coming fiscal year, something we call a Continuing Resolution, to force changes in Trump’s foreign and national security policy. We need to now force him to accept his defeat in his illegal war against Iran and work to forge a new rough regional peace; fully back Europe and Ukraine as Congress has sought to do; and compel him to protect the homeland, as he swore an oath to do. Things are getting sufficiently dangerous that Democrats cannot afford to wait until we gain power in January. We should be engaging, and attempting to shape our foreign policy now. For it is clear Trump is no longer capable - if he ever was - of acting in America’s national interest. His approach has failed, is doing material harm to America and democracy globally, and we must find a new and better way as soon as possible.

Let’s review what we’ve learned in recent days…..

Iran Has Attacked The American Homeland. Trump Is Cheering Them On - The Iranian government has apparently hacked into the critical infrastructure, including drinking systems, of seven American states. Rather than accepting responsibility and coming up with a joint response, yesterday Trump blamed Tim Walz and the government of Minnesota for these attacks, an act that of course will be read in Tehran as a green light to expand and deepen the attacks.

From the NYT:

The New York Times reported Thursday that U.S. and Minnesota state officials believed Iran was likely responsible for the cyberattacks on water systems. The F.B.I. said late Thursday the hackers had targeted water facilities in at least seven states.

Mr. Trump dismissed that assessment in a freewheeling cabinet meeting on Friday, saying: “I don’t think so. I think Minnesota is behind it,” adding, “I think the governor’s behind it. I don’t think there was an Iranian cyberattack.”

The president’s baseless claim, contradicted by investigators’ statements that other states had been targeted and their water systems were “degraded” by the attack, appeared aimed at downplaying the threat of the increasingly unpopular war with Iran inside America’s borders. Mr. Trump instead shifted blame to Mr. Walz, Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024, and his state government, continuing a pattern of trying to punish Minnesota and its Democratic leadership, particularly over the issue of immigration.

Trump Has Lost The War. Escalation Will Be Disastrous. We Must Negotiate A Rough, Regional Peace - Here’s a front page story in NYT today:

An excerpt:

To America’s allies, President Trump’s war in Iran, now in its sixth month, seems headed for a strategic defeat.

They worry that the inability of the United States to turn military superiority into a sustainably changed Iran has displayed a vulnerability that Russia and China will welcome. In addition, Mr. Trump’s goals remain unmet, and the U.S. military is running short on key armaments that it needs for global reach.

For the moment, Iran is seemingly resolute under a more radical government, its nuclear and ballistic missile programs are degraded but not destroyed, and the Strait of Hormuz is effectively under its control. The war has left both the United States and Israel in weaker positions — and blaming each other for the mess.

Iranian missiles and drones not only restrict traffic through the strait and damage the economic infrastructure of allied energy production, but they also continue to threaten American bases across the Middle East and have killed or injured American service members.

With Mr. Trump’s aims shifting, Washington is losing credibility both militarily and diplomatically, analysts said. Its conduct in the war underscores the impression that the United States is an unpredictable instrument of global disorder, they said.

The war may evolve, but so far the result has been “a strategic loss and an embarrassment,” said Robin Niblett, a former director of Chatham House, a think tank in London. “For U.S. allies and those who rely on the U.S. for security, this is confirmation that you can’t trust the United States.”

In a new post on his terrific Substack, Dr. Phillips O’Brien writes about China’s apparent stepped support for Iran in a new post, Is China Going For The Kill?Some excerpts:

Another reason we might be seeing the death throes of this ludicrous war is that the Chinese, if reports are to be believed, might be going in for the kill. They certainly seem to understand the weakness of the US, the sad state of the US military under Trump, and the (regrettable) resilience of the Iranian state. The upshot is that to a large degree they hold America’s military fate in their hands, and they seem to be about to use that terrible leverage.

……..

Another reason such a move could be devastating is that it would reinforce the reality of US weakness to states in the region. Over the last few months—as China (and Russia) have provided aid to Iran in its campaign which has not only killed and wounded a large number of US soldiers but also regularly resulted in effective attacks on US allies in the Gulf—Trump has tried to pretend this aid was no big deal or even deny that it was happening at all. Just five days ago, he tweeted out the latter, denying that China and Russia were doing anything at all—or in his words not “participating” in helping Iran.

………

I was trying to think about the last time the US was so weak and vulnerable. I settled on 1861, the first year of the US Civil War. At that point, outside powers were willing to directly threaten the US in ways that the Chinese are doing now—and the USA had to take it.

Trump Has Taken Dramatic Steps To Help Putin, Weaken Ukraine/Europe - Despite the clear intent of Congress to put America on the side of Ukraine in the Russian-Ukrainian war in recent days Trump has taken a series of actions that help Putin and weaken Ukraine (more on this in the days ahead):

In this post the Vice President of the United States directly echoes documented Russian disinfo efforts to destabilize Spain and the EU this week, further aligning the US with Russia against Europe in a moment of crisis for the continent:

While Democrats are running on costs, care, and corruption we cannot lose sight of our ultimate goal as a pro-democracy movement - to bring about a new birth of freedom, here and everywhere. It is not only the right thing for proud American patriots to do it is something voters want us focused on.

Trump has proven he in incapable of acting in America’s national interest - only his own. His dereliction of duty, his idiocy/fanaticism/vainglory, and ongoing betrayal of the country is leaving America far less safe. We must act as patriots now and use all the tools we have to force a better path here in the Middle East, in Europe/Ukraine, and here at home too. I think the gravity of what’s happening suggests Democrats cannot wait until next year to forcefully fight for a better path and a more coherent and effective national security strategy. We have tools and we should use them now…..

And Yes, We Have Elections To Go Win, Too!!!!!!!!!!!!

Winning The House and Senate In 2026

Special Fund To Rush Troy Jackson $100,000 By August 10th - Donate Today! | $72,600 raised, $50,000 original goal, $100,000 new stretch goal | Friends we hit our original $50,000 goal in the first 24 hours of this new campaign to get Troy Jackson the resources to staff up, build out his campaign, and beat Susan Collins. Amazing - thank you all!

We aren’t stopping here - this early money really matters, and I want to now try to get to $100,000 by Friday, August 7th. We can do this people, and be sure watch our new interview with Troy.

Our Winning The House Campaign - $1,027,500 raised, $1,250,000 goal (new stretch goal) - Donate | Donate to all twelve of our initial wave of 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 courageous candidates win, the House will flip, even with Callais and their rancid mid-decade redistricting. So eyes on the prize here everyone!

Winning The House - The Second Wave Fund (Newly Expanded) - $231,400 raised, $500,000 goal - Donate | We’ve launched a second House fund, one supporting candidates who’ve emerged from recent primaries and need a bit more help. Our newly expanded list now features Rebecca Bennett (NJ-07), Bob Brooks (PA-07), Cait Conley (NY-17), Johnny Garcia (TX-35), Bob Harvie (PA-01), Dr. Richard Pan (CA-06), Denise Powell (NE-02), Bobby Pulido (TX-15), Manny Rutinel (CO-8), Dr. Amish Shah (AZ-01), Randy Villegas (CA-22), and Marni von Wilpert (CA-48).

A donation to the Second Wave Fund is split evenly among these twelve, and more as other worthy candidates emerge from their primaries. Our total above includes money we’ve raised for directly for each candidate. You can watch interviews with those who’ve interviewed so far here. We are off to a great start here everyone!

Winning The Senate - $609,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a single donation to our six candidates must likely to flip a Senate seat this November - Sherrod Brown (OH), Roy Cooper (NC), Troy Jackson (ME), Mary Peltola (AK), James Talarico (TX), and Josh Turek (IA). Our working total includes what we’ve raised for these six so far through direct donations to their campaigns. You can watch our interviews with each of these great candidates and/or contribute directly to any of them directly here.

Expanding The Map - Investing And Winning In Key Battleground And Expansion States

Winning Georgia - $28,800 raised, $300,000 goal - Donate | This new fund splits a contribution three ways among Senator Jon Ossoff, gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, and the Georgia Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with Georgia Dem Chair Charlie Bailey to get a terrific overview of the opportunities we have in Georgia this cycle

Winning Iowa - $30,400 raised, $300,000 goal - Donate | Our Winning Iowa fund splits a contribution three ways - to Josh Turek for Senate, to our gubernatorial candidate Rob Sand, and to the Iowa Democratic Party | Watch my new interview with the great Chair of the Iowa Democratic Party Rita Hart to get an overview of why this is a year of such opportunity in Iowa

Winning Maine - $79,400 raised, $75,000 goal - Donate | We set up this fund to help the Maine Dems get through our nominating process. With this community’s strong response we put up almost a third of the resources needed for what became a very successful process to pick a nominee. We had a big return on this investment - thank you all! | Watch our interview with the inspiring Executive Director of the Maine Dems Devon Murphy-Anderson | We are keeping this fund up for we’re behind in Maine and need to keep building our momentum there

Winning Ohio - $185,100 raised, $300,000 goal - Donate | Our campaign splits contributions evenly among Sherrod Brown, the Acton-Pepper ticket, and the Ohio Democratic Party and its terrific Chair, Kathleen Clyde

Hopium’s Audacious Expansion Fund - $641,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal - Donate | 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 | Contribute to all five state parties with one contribution split evenly among these five critical battlegrounds | Catch interviews with the five intrepid state chairs leading their troops into battle this year - will get you fired up!

A Few More Things To Do

Let’s work to make sure everyone you know is Voting Early this year. Learn more about how we can best protect our elections this November and ensure a peaceful transfer of power in January. Bring our Resolutions Project to your community. Fight for Hopium’s Agenda and let’s also embrace Leader Jeffries’ new agenda, “Fighting For An Affordable America.” Become a paid subscriber to Hopium to help us grow this community of proud, plucky patriots.

Many are asking about the news coming from the DNC these days. Strong recommending reading Chair Ken Martin’s new memo, The DNC Is Building a Democratic Party That Can Win the Moment and Win the Future. While the DNC has done important things under his tenure, including the adoption of a new Presidential primary calendar, I think Chair Martin would be wise now to shake up his team and make big changes there. For things simply must get better at the DNC.

I’ve set up a new page to help us learn more about the Democratic Socialists Of America (DSA). Check it out and let me know what you think, offer other articles or resources you think I should include.

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 elections to win, together! - Simon