Trump Gets A Brutal New CBS Poll, WHO Declares Global Health Emergency, New Intvs W/Gov. Shapiro and Ohio's Amy Acton
Two big things to work on this week - flipping 2 GA Supreme Court seats and passing HR 2913, The Ukraine Support Act
Morning everyone. Happy Sunday. Got a few things for you today….
We got fresh confirmation of Trump’s extraordinary political decline this morning from a MAGA friendly source, CBS News:
This data from the CBS poll should worry every Republican candidate running this November:
For more on how we can win in what has become a year of opportunity for the pro-democracy movement catch my weekly strategy talk and these new discussions with inspiring Democratic leaders:
Within hours of Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy finishing third in his primary re-election last night the WHO declared a global health emergency over an outbreak of an un-treatable Ebola strain in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda:
The World Health Organization declared late Saturday that the spread of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda was a global health emergency, a day after Africa’s leading public health authority first announced an outbreak in a province in northeastern Congo linked to dozens of suspected deaths.
By Saturday, cases had also been confirmed in Kinshasa, Congo, and in Kampala, Uganda, the capital cities of each country, the W.H.O. said. In Congo’s Ituri Province, where the outbreak was first identified, 246 suspected cases and 80 deaths attributed to the virus had been reported, although only eight cases had been definitively linked to the virus through laboratory testing.
The scale of the outbreak could be far larger than currently detected and reported, the W.H.O. said in declaring a “public health emergency of international concern.” Eight of 13 samples collected in various areas tested positive, the agency said.
……..
The risk of the outbreak spreading was being exacerbated by a humanitarian crisis, high population mobility and a large network of informal health care facilities in the area of the outbreak, the agency said. There is no approved vaccine or therapeutics for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola behind the outbreak, according to the W.H.O.
As a way of endearing himself to Trump, angry over Cassidy’s vote to Impeach him in 2021, Senator Cassidy, a doctor and Chair of the Senate committee that oversees our health care system, shepherded Bobby Jr and his band of anti-science, anti-vaxx grifters into power at HHS/CDC/NIH. Cassidy’s rancid betrayal of our public health was rewarded with him losing his primary last night against two other Republicans and the emergence of two separate outbreaks of deadly viruses that are exposing the extraordinary recklessness of what the soon to be former Senator enabled.
Here’s The NYT:
Some global health experts said they were alarmed that the first reports of the outbreak emerged so late in its development.
“It’s pretty stunning to have first notice of an outbreak in D.R.C., which is very experienced, and have it be so large,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at the Brown University School of Public Health.
Outbreaks are typically picked up much earlier by the World Health Organization, by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or by news reports, she said.
……..
American officials have said that aid cuts by the Trump administration hampered the ability of the authorities in Uganda to curtail an Ebola outbreak in that country early last year.
“It’s possible that we’re starting to see the consequences of severe and sudden cuts to global health programs that have eroded surveillance and allowed deadly viruses to spread undetected,” Dr. Nuzzo said.
In the coming days we will need to use these deadly outbreaks to force a debate about the reckless intentional dismantling of our global and domestic public health care systems. Here’s The Guardian’s home page right now:
Perhaps a newly liberated Senator Cassidy will lead the charge.
Over the last two days we’ve focused (here, here) on another Trumpian disaster - his ridiculous performance at the China Summit. Look at this headline from the Washington Post this morning. No hiding what a disastrous stretch this has been for Trump, and for America:
We have two ways to fight Trump in the coming days. The first is to flip those two Supreme Court seats in Georgia on Tuesday. The early vote has been very encouraging. We’ve hit our $50,000 fundraising target - thank you all. But we need to keep pushing for defeating two Federalist Society judges will be a powerful symbolic response to the GOP’s evisceration of the Voting Rights Act and its ongoing attempt to rig the midterms. You can get links to our recent conversations with our two intrepid candidates, Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, and info on how to donate/help below.
The second thing we can do this week is to build support for HR 2913, The Ukraine Support Act. In Friday’s post we detailed what’s in this bill and why it is so important we pass it when it comes up for a vote in early June. I am asking every member of this community to call their House Rep every day until it passes, and your Senators too, asking them to work to pass something similar in the Upper Chamber.
On a related note in the last twenty-four hours Ukraine has struck deep into the heavily fortified Moscow region, as Zelenskyy works to keep taking the war to Putin:
Yes, my friends, it is now……
Time To Get To Work Everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Winning The Midterms, Competing In Red States and Red Places, Expanding The Map
Rallying For Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin For Georgia Supreme Court - This is our next big opportunity to make good trouble all. The Election is May 19th, early voting has begun, and we have 2 great candidates, Jen Jordan and Miracle Rankin, who have a serious shot at flipping two GOP-held Supreme Court seats. Watch our new interview with Jordan and Rankin, donate to their campaign, hear about the race from the great GA Dem Party Chair Charlie Bailey, and volunteer no matter where you are!
We’ve now raised $48,500 towards our $50,000 goal. Amazing work everyone!!!!!!!!!
Hopium’s Winning The House Campaign (2026) - $689,100 raised, $1,000,000 goal (new ambitious, audacious even, q2 goal) - Donate to all twelve of our endorsed House challengers with one click | 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), 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.
Mary Peltola For Alaska Senate - $93,700 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More | Enjoy my uplifting conversation with Mary Peltola as she fights to turn Alaska blue.
James Talarico For Texas - $70,500 raised, $250,000 - Donate | Volunteer and Learn More | Enjoy my inspiring interview with Rep. Talarico as he fights to turn Texas blue.
Winning Ohio - $145,100 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 - $565,100 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 (2026) - $112,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my new discussion with Gov. Cooper as he fights to turn North Carolina blue.
Jon Ossoff GA Senate (2026) - $175,100 raised, $250,000 goal - Donate | Learn More | Volunteer | Enjoy my inspiring conversation with Senator Ossoff.
Keep working hard everyone. We have a country to save, and elections to win, together! - Simon
In a terrifying way, the defeat of Senator Bill Cassidy in Louisiana’s Republican primary underscores Trump’s iron-grip control of the MAGA-Fascist party that the Republican Party has transmogrified into. His dwindling base of voters continue to do his bidding. No dissent is tolerated – and Mad King Donald can be relied on to never forget a grudge.
It’s quite frightening, really, and it underscores how absolutely critical it is to build a massive Blue Tsunami in November’s Midterm Elections. As Simon underscores, we need to continue ensuring Democratic victories also in every special election / ordinary election between now and November!
Georgia on my mind!
Yes Simon, great post today!!!
And let's all keep hammering them on their odious corruption as well. This news about the ridiculous number of stock trades Trump has made this year is gold dust on that front. Low hanging fruit that Dems can easily call out every chance they get.