Stay Ready: Trump's Support Is Collapsing

What tyrants do when they lose popular support

A Quinnipiac Poll (1265 registered voters) conducted 6/5-6/9:

Trump: approve 38; disapprove 54
economy: 40-56
trade: 38-57
universities: 37-54
Israel-Hamas: 35-52
immigration: 43-54
deportations: 40-56 

On Medicaid spending

should increase: 47
stay the same: 40
decrease: 10

Big Beautiful Bill

Support: 27
Oppose: 53

Trump’s military parade is a good use of money (AP/NORC)

Yes: 35
No:  60

Why does this matter? After all, we’re 17 long months away from the midterm elections.

It matters a lot. Congressional Republicans and governors have tied themselves to Trump despite his long train of abuses. They have done so because:

1. They are unprincipled 
2. Trump has been very popular with the GOP base and popular enough nationally to be twice elected president and nearly a third time.
3. Trump is not a Republican loyalist. He will support a MAGA primary opponent against any Congressional Republican who fails to be sufficiently loyal (to Trump, not the Constitution or the American people) and that primary opponent is a greater risk than a Democratic opponent in a general election.

But what if a dozen, or several dozen Republican incumbents start to feel the wind blowing against Trump? They have to recalculate the risks. In purple states or districts, or maybe even slightly red ones, they may face a greater risk from a Democrat in November than from a primary opponent earlier in campaign season. And these men and women are focused above all else on their political careers.

That’s why it is so important to turn out for protests against Trump and his administration of fascist half-wits.

This Saturday, June 14th, there will be No Kings demonstrations all across the country. You can find the one closest to you here: nokings.org (click attend tab). I will be in Monument Square, Concord, Massachusetts. We have a history here of effective resistance to tyrants. Please join me if you live nearby, and let’s see if we can create an affinity group for future actions.

Some folks have said to me recently that protests can’t matter. Au contraire! The size of protests, the demographics of participants, and growth of a decentralized movement grabs the attention of the press, the American people, and leaders of other countries, as well as Congressional Republicans who will be more and more unlikely to go along with Trump on every issue.

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Marines in the streets of Los Angeles. Yesterday, in LA, Sen. Alex Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants, was handcuffed and thrown to the ground by ICE agents at a press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Why? He interrupted Noem to ask a question.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth won’t commit to following court orders to remove troops from the streets.

Trump, who pardoned the Jan 6 insurrectionists, calls protesters “really bad people.” No “good people on both sides.”

The use of troops and declarations of national emergency are trial runs. Trump and his cabinet members will not hesitate to bend and break the law to expand their power. Trump will stop at nothing unless popular movements stop him.

As Edmund Burke wrote long ago, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” So, let’s all do something - protest on Saturday, contribute to Democratic congressional candidates, write letters to the press or to your reps.

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Since the beginning of Joyful Resistance, I have alternated political and cultural analysis with birth month celebrations of progressive heroes.

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