Capitol Hill Blue Forums Political Issues Politics In General Trump 2.0

A little early to be singing hosannas ... especially since no one is coming, much less a non-MAGA savior from Trump. His approval is still within the MOE. While it is true his disapproval is more significant, it is still just above 50%.

What amazes me about this is everyone saw this coming (if they had their eyes open) and yet act as if they were surprised. Since everyone knew about the impending chaos and economic maelstrom, why is his approval so high? Well the answer is Trump is the savior of America, regardless if you are a MAGA or serious Trump voter. The expectation is high, which suggests to me that these same folks are poised to willingly bear the brunt of higher inflation based on promises of a better future. Bottom line ... don't expect his approval to go down much.

I do expect Trump’s approval to go down given time. I’d say around July/August, somewhere in that time frame Trump’s approval will be down to around 40%. I don’t expect any sudden drop. It took 5 months from 1 June through 1 Nov 2021 for Biden’s overall job approval to drop from 54% down to 41%. These things take time.

Chaos wasn’t on everybody’s mind, but a lot of their minds were focused on their financial situation and the drop in their standard of living. The problem wasn’t those who voted, it was with those who didn’t. With previous democratic voters. Among those who actually voted, democrats made up 36% in 2016, 37% in 2020, but only 31% in 2024. Why the 6-point drop? Why did so many previous democratic voters stay home? This is something that has all the experts and political pundits flummoxed, baffled. Numerous theories abound, but none of them explains to my satisfaction why those previous democratic voters didn’t get out and vote last year. If just a quarter of those previous democratic voters who didn’t vote, voted. Harris would be sitting in the Oval Office today.

On a whim, I decided to go back and check out voter enthusiasm for voting for the presidency last year. Enthusiastic, democrats 62%, not enthusiastic 19%. Republicans, enthusiastic 69%, not enthusiastic 14%. Why were the democrats, previous democratic voters much less enthusiastic to go vote last year than the republicans? I don’t know, only a few theories.

It seems to me that there is more and more TV thinkers have thoughts about Republicans in the senate having problems with the Mr. Trump activities. It makes some sense given the amount of dislike the voters of Republican politicians are getting these days. If true, perhaps there is a chance to slow him down a bit.

I am also wondering about Mr. Trump and his activities. Every time he does something stocks go up and down with vigor. The vigor increases depending on just how much he is changing this and that. Now, we are dealing here with Mr. Trump, must not forget that. I wonder, what if he was playing the market when he was doing this. Say, taking a million dollars, to begin, and when it goes waaay down he buys and when it gets up he sells. Ifs true, I would think that he may be gettings very, very wealthy. Not saying its happening but its a thought?

I know, its a mean thing to suggest - I apologize!

Its kinda interesting. I used to play, when I was younger and had some money, with stocks a bit. Learned quickly that if you could time it right you might do OK. Also learned that gambling is not a real good idea. I gave it all up.

Trump's authoritarianism gets more entrenched by the day.

Today we have the real possibility members of Trump's closest allies may have been tipped off of the coming trade war and it's reversal. Corruption at it's finest. So here;s the problem ... there is no one to investigate. Every agency which could have investigated is run by Trump sycophants, who are so loyal they would lie, cheat, and steal for him. Congress .... LOL .... I had to laugh at the very thought ... will never investigate through the Constitutional prerogative of oversight. Does anyone knows what that means? Of course it was a rhetorical question. Trump has now firmly enveloped himself in the trappings of a dictator. For he is lord and savior of America ... let the Lord Trump be praised and definitely no one say anything to impugn God Lord and Master of America

Looks like the House has passed a resolution to strip Federal judges of their Constitutional abilities to stop Trump as he tramples on the Constitution. I suspect the Senate will sustain the resolution as they have become as feckless as the House in standing up to a dictator. So if you had any thoughts there would be another free and fair election ... hit your head against the wall and wake up

It wouldn’t surprise me if Trump and a bunch within his inner circle are using the ups and downs of the stock market to enrich themselves. However, jgw, it’s the democratic party and democrats in congress that are more disliked, seen more unfavorably than the republican party and republicans in congress. There’s a reason for this.

Question 11A and 11B on congressional parties favorable/unfavorable, 12A and 12B on how both major are view favorably/unfavorably. There a ton of other information in this poll if one is interested.

Congressional parties, democrats 31% favorable/60% unfavorable, republicans 39% favorable/52% unfavorable. Political parties, democratic party 32% favorable/60% unfavorable, republican party 41% favorable/52% unfavorable.

https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/econTabReport_Uo7FRzc.pdf

The reason is democrats themselves now view their party negatively and congressional party much more negatively than when Trump first entered office. This negativity of their congress critters has risen from 10% when Trump first took office up to 23% today along with their negative view of their own party from 9% up to 19%. How republicans view their own party and congressional delegation along with how independents view both are roughly the same. This I would say is a result of the democrats, both in congress and in their party still being leaderless and rudderless with no idea how to battle Trump and win. Is there no one within the democratic party that could step up and take charge? I think what these disaffected democrats who now view their party negatively want active resistance to Trump. They’re not getting that. Perhaps the democrats are still in denial over their loss last year. I don’t know. If so, the democrats need to get out of their funk, face the reality Trump won, begin a very public active resistance to him.

What I see is the democrats sitting back on their butts hoping Trump will do something so outrageous that it turns most of Americans against him. Which probably will happen, sometime. When that sometime is, who knows. Then the question becomes, when that happens will the democrats be there to take advantage of it, to be an acceptable alternative or will it be a ho hum moment without the democrats stepping up to take advantage of it due to the fact they are still leaderless and rudderless.

And if there is still any doubt about the next free and fair election, Tryp just signed an EO which illegally orders the Election Assistance Commission to set new voting machine standards, check ID's and count only ballots received by election day. The EAC is a non-partisan agency founded by Congress. So Paul Rosenzweig a journalist reporting on the EO it “is nothing less than an attempt to disenfranchise his opponents and forestall electoral defeat.” Further he says “[Trump] is asserting an executive-branch role in governing the mechanics of a federal election that has never before been claimed by a president. The legal theory undergirding this assertion—that the president’s authority to enforce federal law enables him to control state election activity—is as capacious as it is frightening.” And even further “This is an attempt to completely rework the constitutional rules that structure the American election system… In short, the theoretical legal underpinnings of Trump’s executive order portend a near-limitless authority to use federal resources to ensure that Trump and other MAGA Republicans never lose another election.”

Repeat that last phrase out loud .... "to ensure Trump and other MAGA Republicans never lose another election." Does any of that sound like free and fair???

I am not convinced any single person can turn it around. Spitballing a progressive cult leader???? I'm not seeing the left as disenfranchised and aggrieved they would be enamored by a cult. To compound the situation is the fact Democrats have NO power in government and Trump has almost cemented his authoritarian regime in place. Trump is in control and surrounded by loyalist toadies. He has Congress in his pocket. And despite recent SC opinions and rulings, it is also firmly in his court. (Lower federal courts have become an irrelevant nuisance).

So what exactly would a Democrat leader, if one should exist, be able to do? Use harsh language against Trump? So what. Next, allow Trump to be his own worst enemy and what? Again the Trump propaganda networks are winning the messaging, because they are in control. Trump's assault against the Constitution is winning. The DoJ just intimidated an attorney representing a person detained for deportation. If you can't find representation for alleged crimes, or even worse Kafkaesque trials, how does one protect themselves from tyranny?

So I ask .... P what exactly would your mythical and yet heroic Democrat be able to do to combat Trump?

You may be right rporter. That no single person can turn it around. Perhaps it’s Trump that may turn around the democrat’s fortunes. But the democrats need someone in charge to recognize when that door opens that will let them turn it around and pounce on it. Legislative wise, the democrats are behind the eight ball with the GOP in full control. But a face that Americans can recognize as the leader and spokesman for the democratic party needs to step forward. Who is the opposition’s leader? They need someone not only to unite the party, but who can elegantly explain the opposition to Trump in a comprehensive way, perhaps down to earth way why they’re opposing Trump. That spokesman needs to be able to add what they would do differently and how that difference would be more helpful to all Americans than what Trump and the GOP are doing. Don’t take anything for granted.

Gingrich stepped up for the republicans in the early 90’s which he led the republican party taking over the House for the first time in 40 years. Pelosi stepped up in 2006 leading the democrats to take back full control of congress. Neither was presidential material, but both were there when their party needed them. Both are hated by the other party, but both were able to get the opposition party’s message out to the people. Even with a party completely out of power, the people still need a recognized face to attach to that out of power party.

That person will need to forget trying to convince any republican and concentrate on winning over independents. Republicans aren’t going to desert Trump just like democrats weren’t going to desert Biden during his presidency or Obama etc. That person needs to recognize which issues Trump is weak on and which he is strong on. Forget those he’s strong on or most Americans approve on how Trump is handling them. Concentrate on those issues he’s weak on. Today Trump is weak on the economy, foreign policy, education, health care, inflation, these issues a majority of Americans disapprove on how Trump is handling them. Trump’s strong issues are immigration, crime, Israel/Hamas war, these issues a major of Americans approve of how Trump is handling them. The trick is to exploit the issues Trump is weak on while staying away from his strong suit of issues. That is if one is interested in winning elections. Remember, one can’t govern if one loses an election.

I don't see any ONE person who has the charisma to galvanize a party with many competing agendas. I see several people who may have to ability to forge some kind of messaging ... possible leaders, but none have je ne sais quoi to confront Trump at the cerebral level necessary to change minds nor visceral level to move hearts. In normal times any one would be competent to take on the opposition leader, but in Trump times they would have to present as God, with halo and angels, to overshadow Trump's faux pale imitation of a wannabe. Is there someone like that on Linkedin?

see above

I think there is one salient difference. But first, we have to recognize there is no Republican Party. It is the Trump Party or as they would have it MAGA Party. The difference is none in MAGA would ever abandon Trump (a person) and therefore MAGA, and even though, as you say there are strict party line voters/supporters, for the Democrat Party, there are people who would abandon it in favor of another choice. We saw it in the late 60's and early 70's when rabid Democrat segregationists abandoned the party to become the new base of the late Republican Party. Even now we have seen Democrat voters (think blue collar) voting for Trump.

You are right about recognizing the viable issues. So the segue from convincing independents they backed a candidate for all the wrong reasons to what happens should they be convinced.

In normal times you have booked a winner, but we are in Trump times. If I were to now list all the anti-democratic actions taken by this administration and add all the actions of state and local MAGA's, this would be the greatest impediment of all ... a completely rigged election and a SC which would probably back Trump.

So we have your messiah ... he has spread the word and people believe ... but they can't vote ... or worse their vote gets thrown out. So how is one to win an election which can not be won???