Trump Has A Week Of Retreats and Losses, And Is Far Weaker Than He Appears - We Need To Keep Working Hard All....

Hopium was launched 2 years ago today - thanks all for being part of this journey together!

Morning all. Here is something I wrote on Bluesky yesterday:

Here is how the NYT’s lead story this morning, Trump’s Policies Have Shaken A Once-Solid Policy Outlook, begins:

President Trump inherited an economy that was, by most conventional measures, firing on all cylinders. Wages, consumer spending and corporate profits were rising. Unemployment was low. The inflation rate, though higher than normal, was falling.

Just weeks into Mr. Trump’s term, the outlook is gloomier. Measures of business and consumer confidence have plunged. The stock market has been on a roller-coaster ride. Layoffs are picking up, according to some data. And forecasters are cutting their estimates for economic growth this year, with some even predicting that the U.S. gross domestic product could shrink in the first quarter.

Some commentators have gone further, arguing that the economy could be headed for a recession, a sharp rebound in inflation or even the dreaded combination of the two, “stagflation.” Most economists consider that unlikely, saying growth is more likely to slow than to give way to a decline.

Still, the sudden deterioration in the outlook is striking, especially because it is almost entirely a result of Mr. Trump’s policies and the resulting uncertainty. Tariffs, and the inevitable retaliation from trading partners, will increase prices and slow down growth. Federal job cuts will push up unemployment, and could lead government employees and contractors to pull back on spending while they wait to learn their fate. Deportations could drive up costs for industries like construction and hospitality that depend on immigrant labor.

And….

So far, however, the Trump administration’s approach to economic policy has been characterized more by chaos — tariffs that are announced and then delayed, government workers who are fired and rehired — than by careful planning.

Michael R. Strain, an economist at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, said Mr. Trump’s policies on trade and immigration, and his slash-and-burn approach to federal job cuts, would have a damaging effect.

“What President Trump has proposed will not cause a recession,” he continued. “But it will slow economic growth. It will take money out of people’s pockets. It will increase the unemployment rate. It will cost people jobs. It will make American businesses less competitive.”

Here’s the lead story in The Economist right now. Trump lighting American prosperity - and our future - on fire:

Here is the current Politico story on Trump reining in Musk:

President Donald Trump convened his Cabinet in person on Thursday to deliver a message: You’re in charge of your departments, not Elon Musk.

According to two administration officials, Trump told top members of his administration that Musk was empowered to make recommendations to the departments but not to issue unilateral decisions on staffing and policy. Musk was also in the room.

The meeting followed a series of mass firings and threats to government workers from the billionaire Tesla founder, who helms the Department of Government Efficiency, that created broad uncertainty across the federal government and its workforce.

DOGE’s actions have faced ferocious resistance in court and criticism from Democratic lawmakers and some Republicans.

The president’s message represents the first significant move to narrow Musk’s mandate. According to Trump’s new guidance, DOGE and its staff should play an advisory role — but Cabinet secretaries should make final decisions on personnel, policy and the pacing of implementation.

Let’s review these last few days. It is become clear to all Trump’s policies are tanking the incredibly strong economy he inherited. His poll numbers keep dropping. Consumer confidence has plummeted. The markets are spooked. In what was perhaps the most cowardly thing an American President has ever done he sold out America to Putin and ran screaming RETREAT from Ukraine and Europe. Yesterday he had to rein in Musk, for as we discuss in my new video and post what he (and Trump) have been doing is wildly illegal, unconstitutional, doing incredible harm to the country and is causing them to keep losing in court, again and again, even in his own servile Supreme Court this week. Yesterday Trump just backed off his Tuesday tariffs with Canada and Mexico with no deal. He just retreated. In this past week he surrendered to Putin. Retreated on Musk. Retreated on tariffs. Trump is a weak man, not a strong man. Part of our job here at Hopium is to keep pulling the curtain back on the Wizard, every day. And this week we’ve seen a bumbling, cowardly, unstable leader losing again and again and in retreat.

Friends, our work is making a difference, and we just have to keep our head down and work as hard we can. To some he is Oz. To us he is that old desperate, pathetic man behind the curtain who’ve we beaten before and will do so again. For little cracks can become big cracks. Little wins can become big ones - if keep the pressure on.

Weekend Reading And Videos - Thrown a lot at you these last few days. Some highlights for your weekend viewing, listening and reading pleasure:

• Thursday’s Big Video and Post - If you are to read or watch one thing this weekend please read/watch my new video and post, about the need for Democrats to open up a second front against Trump that goes beyond our early, appropriate focus on the economy and his plutocratic budget.

• New Videos/Interviews - Watch Senator Elissa Slotkin’s important speech; feel the passion and the power of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaking directly to the American and people and Trump; catch journalist Leon Krauze talking about what Dems here in the US must learn from Mexico’s experience with their own Trump like leader; enjoy NC Dem Chair Anderson Clayton giving us an update on their critical battle to hold onto a Supreme Court seat Republicans attempting to steal; learn from leading climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann about the extraordinary war the right and their global allies have been waging on American science.

• Appearances on Podcasts - Catch me on new podcasts with the New Republic’s Greg Sargent and another with Leigh McGowan (PoliticsGirl). Note we have a new Events page on the site that has a list of all upcoming Hopium events and my public appearances.

Hopium Turns Two Years Old Today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - So I launched this thing two years ago today, March 7th, 2023 with this post. Here’s the part that still speaks to me about this moment:

“Basically I came to understand that our politics was changing and I had to change with it. It led me to conclude that my old organization, NDN, which I founded back in 1996, was no longer the right vehicle for me. It did a lot of good over a long period of time, and we built a remarkable community there. As I discuss in my recent interview with Ron Brownstein in the Atlantic, I feel like we are entering a new political era in America, one that requires new strategies and approaches. NDN was built for a different era, and it had a different mission. I needed to do something new, organize my work in new ways. So here I am. With all of you.

I am calling it Hopium Chronicles because I want this to be a journey guided by hope and optimism, of belief in ourselves, in love of country and a clear understanding of the nature of the conflict we are in. I have become convinced that part of Greater MAGA’s strategy is to intentionally poison our discourse with negative sentiment every day. They want us to feel bad about America, our democracy, our leaders, our institutions, our success, each other, ourselves. We cannot let them do that any more. While they talk American down every day, we need to talk it up. While they spread lies, we respond with truth and data. Hopium is a rejection of the darkness they are trying to spread. It is a way of standing up for our great country and its remarkable people. It is the key to how we win.”

Two years from launch we are clearly not where we want to be, and have a lot of work ahead of us. But I am incredibly proud of the wonderful, spirited, patriotic community we’ve built together; the important wins we’ve had, and the gritty way we’ve approached these early, awful days of Trump; of the learning we’ve done together; and perhaps most of all the way so many of you have learned how to channel your love of country into real action, becoming big citizens in a time of extraordinary crisis for our nation.

I didn’t know what to expect when I launched this thing two years ago but it there is no question that it has exceeded my expectations, wildly. Simply, there is no other place I would rather be, no work that I would rather be doing than to be here in this community with all of you leaving it all on the playing field everyday for our democracy, our families and our future.

Thank you all for making it possible.

If you want to help me celebrate Hopium at 2 years old please consider taking one of two actions today: 1) commit to bring in one new Hopium subscriber at the level you are currently at this month. Help us grow this community, and bring our plucky, upbeat, hardworking spirit to more people across the US; 2) upgrade your subscription to paid or paid to Founding (10% off annual paid subscriptions through March). The resources you provide allows me to work full time at Hopium and keeps our community vibrant, growing and making all sorts of good trouble everyday.

Thank you all for a great first two years. Let’s commit together, to trying to make every day a good day. To lift each other up not put each other down. To be resolute and optimistic, and not yield to a politics of perpetual and corrosive disappointment. To keep channeling our love of country into concrete action, and together, ensure that this great country, the America of the Four Freedoms, prevails in this fight with those betraying it - and all of us - every day.

Let’s Get To Work People!!!!! - Let’s start with our current four recommended sets of actions:

1 - Fight The Trump/Musk Attack On Our Government And Our Privacy, End This Historic Crime Spree - Encourage your Senators and Representatives to let Facts be be submitted to a candid world in what I’m calling a joint Senate/House “Letter to America;” hold their own hearings; file criminal referrals for Musk and his malicious posse to DOJ/FBI and amicus briefs in the court cases regarding the usurpation of their Constitutional authorities or file suits of their own (House Dems began doing this on Friday). Encourage them to hold a daily morning press conference to more aggressively challenge Musk’s ransacking of the USG that is making America less prosperous, less healthy, less safe and far less respected in the world.

2 - Protest, Loudly, Trump’s Embrace of Russia and Abandonment of Europe - Let your electeds know you are outraged by traitorous Trump’s selling out of Zelenskyy, abandonment of Europe and embrace of Putin; and that we cannot accept this level of appeasement of someone who is a clear enemy of America and the West, and certainly not an ally. Demand that Trump not let his Saudi meeting w/Putin become our Munich; demand that he not become our Neville Chamberlain; demand that we rejoin our European allies in support of Zelenskyy and democracy here and everywhere. The country is not with Trump’s embrace of Putin and we must be very loud, very, very loud now.

3 - Organize Against The 17 Most Vulnerable Republican House Members - For those of you who live in AZ, CA, CO, IA, MI, NE, NJ, NY, PA, VA, WI please start talking to your local orgs - state and local Democratic parties, grassroots groups, traditional Dem allies - about mounting a campaign targeting the most vulnerable 17 Republican House Members to urge them to vote against whatever joint House-Senate reconciliation bill emerges in the coming weeks. We launched this new effort two weeks ago and while we should be urging all our Senators and Reps to vote against these emerging plans, those of you can work these 17 House Rs have a special role to play in this next phase of the battle over the budget. As we’ve discussed there is a lot of concern in the Republican House about the size of the Medicaid cuts required in the House outline passed last Tuesday and we need to keep working it people!

4 - Keep Calling Attorneys General In The States - Ask them to protect you and your data, tax returns and privacy, and to keep federally mandated monies flowing to your states and communities. For those in the 19 states that brought the successful Treasury suit thank them and encourage them to keep going. I still believe these 19 states should make criminal referrals of Musk/his posse to DOJ/FBI and raise the stakes.

Next, for those wanting to do more traditional political/campaign work we have four Hopium-backed efforts we're rallying behind right now:

Help Susan Crawford and Ben Wikler in Wisconsin - As a way of honoring our good friend Ben Wikler and supporting this critical April Supreme Court race in Wisconsin, I’m asking our community to donate to the Wisconsin Democratic Party today. The money raised here will make sure Ben has the resources he needs to keep his team in place so they can support this critical statewide race. I know many of you are already deeply involved here - thank you all.

Watch our new discussion with Susan and Ben and thanks to a huge surge of support in recent days we have already raised $111,000, blowing past our original $50,000 goal and now our stretch $100,000 goal. We are now upping this to a new super-stretch goal of $150,000 by March 31st. Amazing work everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Help Get Ken Martin Off To A Strong Start - In this time of extraordinary challenge we need a strong DNC. Two weeks ago we set a goal of raising $100,000 by March 31st for our new Chair. Incredibly, over 1,000 of you have donated over $96,000 so far. Watch my interview with Ken about what he wants to do with the DNC, and chip in whatever you can to help Ken and the new exciting team at the DNC get off to a strong start. We now have a new stretch goal of $150,000 by March 31st after our very strong start for this effort (note that we did have some money clawed back due to an error in the amount someone gave!)

Help Abigail Spanberger Win Virginia - Virginia will be one of the big battlegrounds of the November, 2025 elections and we have a great candidate for Governor, Abigail Spanberger. Watch my interview with Abigail, donate, volunteer, and learn more here. Given how many federal employees live in Virginia, this race is also now on the front lines of the Trump/Musk assault on the federal government. We’ve raised more than $57,000 so far towards our March 31st goal of $100,000 - thank you all. Let’s keep working it for Abigail!

Get Anderson Clayton And The NC Dems Fight The GOP’s Attempt To Steal A Supreme Court Seat - Last week we began a campaign to raise $50,000 for Anderson Clayton and the NC Dems. These funds will help the NC Dems get off to a great start in 2025 and help cover the costs of their fight to prevent the Republicans from stealing a Supreme Court seat we won together in 2024. Watch my new interview with Chair Clayton from last week to get an update on the fight over the Supreme Court seat and her plans to win elections and counter Trump this year. We’ve raised $17,000 so far - thank you all!

And remember folks, Hopium is hope with a plan. We don’t just hope America will prevail. We are doing the work to make sure we do - Simon