Women For Democracy - National :: The Old North Church in Boston where Paul Revere looked for the lanterns on his famous ride.
Trump's ratings drop as he wreaks havoc.
I am not a big fan of polls because individual polls are subject to manipulation through priming (word choice), question order, sampling bias, timing bias, and wide margins of error created by focusing on small subsets in an otherwise statistically significant sample. But consistent trends over time that converge on a narrow set of outcomes suggest that, in the aggregate, the included polls are representative of the electorate’s opinions.
On Thursday, the latest poll continued the downward trajectory of Trump’s favorability ratings. Indeed, Trump now holds the unenviable distinction of being the most unpopular president (at this point in this tenure) in the modern era, other than Richard Nixon during the height of the Watergate scandal. See NJ.com, Poll: Trump approaches this infamous president’s all-time low in new approval ratings.
It is true that Trump’s favorability ratings among Republicans remain high, but in the closely divided American electorate, no candidate can win without substantial support from independents. The most recent Gallup poll shows that Trump’s support among Independents has plummeted to 33% (from 46% during the 2024 election).
Like all polls, the most recent Gallup poll provides ammunition for partisans on both sides of the aisle to argue that they are “winning.” But Trump’s overall favorability rating is the elephant in the room for Republicans, and the consistent decline aligns with the carnage and chaos of Trump’s lawless reign.
I describe the most recent Gallup poll not to suggest that “we are winning” or that “we will win,” but rather, to validate the reactions of tens of millions of Americans to Trump’s daily assault on the Constitution.
The muted and oblique responses of corporate media have failed to rise to the occasion of a president transforming himself into a dictator before our eyes. The media’s systemic failure can make us feel as though our reactions are not representative of how most Americans feel. Not true.
Except for Richard Nixon—who resigned in disgrace—no modern president has been as unpopular as Donald Trump at this point in his presidency.
Trump’s declining popularity should be viewed both as a validation of our reactions and an opportunity to reshape the electoral map in 2026. While Congress is viewed even more unfavorably than Trump, that metric applies to Congress as a whole, with 435 individuals lumped into a single rating.
In many congressional races in 2026, voters’ views of Trump will be the deciding factor—as Republican candidates defend every decision by Trump, including dozens that negatively impact their daily lives.
So, as we review Trump’s outrageous, unconstitutional actions on Thursday, recognize that every decision is accelerating his unfavorability ratings decline—and creating a drag on Republican prospects in 2026.
Trump suspends trade talks with Canada.
Voters are upset and angry with Trump’s ridiculous tariff-driven approach to the US economy. For example, Trump has managed to anger US beef producers by suggesting an increase in beef imports from Argentina to combat high beef prices. See ABC News, ‘Misguided’: Cattlemen’s trade group raises alarm over Trump plan to import beef from Argentina.
Per the ABC article, the CEO of the US cattle trade association said,
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association and its members cannot stand behind the President while he undercuts the future of family farmers and ranchers by importing Argentinian beef in an attempt to influence prices.
US soybean farmers are reeling from China’s decision to boycott US soybeans, replacing the US supply with imports from Brazil and Argentina.
Against that backdrop, Trump announced late Thursday evening that he is cutting off trade talks with Canada—the US’s second largest trading partner! (Mexico is ranked first, and China is ranked third.) See Axios, Trump terminates trade talks with Canada over tariffs ad featuring Reagan.
The Axios article reports that Trump cut off trade relations with Canada over an ad that quoted Ronald Reagan in a 1987 speech, but the abrupt termination also follows an announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office of “a strategy for Canada to double exports to countries outside the U.S. within a decade due to Trump’s tariffs.”
No one knows whether Trump’s petulant cancellation of trade negotiations with Canada will be reversed in a day, a week, or a month. But Trump’s erratic behavior will make life more uncertain for American farmers and consumers already struggling with the effects of Trump’s unlawful tariffs.
Trump claims he can continue the killing of civilians in international waters without declaring war.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war. In certain limited circumstances specified in the War Powers Resolution, the president can commit US troops to hostilities for a prescribed period of time before requesting authorization from Congress. See generally The War Powers Resolution: Concepts and Practice | Congress.gov | Library of Congress.
Section 1542 of the War Powers Resolution requires the president to report to Congress and engage in continuous consultation whenever the military is engaged in “hostilities.” Section 1542 provides, in part,
The President in every possible instance shall consult with Congress before introducing United States Armed Forces into hostilities . . . and after every such introduction shall consult regularly with the Congress until the United States Armed Forces are no longer engaged in hostilities or have been removed from such situations.
The War Powers Resolution requires the president to consult with Congress both before and during hostilities.
Trump has directed the US military to engage in hostilities by carrying out the unjustified killing of civilians on boats in international waters for allegedly smuggling drugs into the US. The use of the US military to kill civilians is clearly a “hostility” covered by the War Powers Resolution.
On Thursday, Trump indicated that he would not consult with Congress over the ongoing killings of civilians in international waters—a clear violation of the War Powers Resolution. Trump insists he can strike alleged drug traffickers without Congress declaring war | CNN Politics
“I’m not going to necessarily ask for a declaration of war. I think we’re just doing to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them, you know, they’re going to be like, dead.
The administration has suggested that it will seek congressional approval if it attacks Venezuelan drug cartels “on land,” but even then, the killing of civilians is murder and a war crime. See The Guardian, Colombia urges US to halt strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats: ‘It is murder’.
Trump’s claim that the civilians are engaged in drug smuggling is not a legal justification for murder.
Trump pardons crypto billionaire who facilitated public trading of Trump’s cryptocurrency
On Thursday, Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, who pleaded guilty to violating anti-money laundering protections at Binance, the world’s leading crypto exchange. Binance helped launch a cryptocurrency (a “stablecoin) issued by Trump-owned World Liberty Financial.
By providing a public exchange for Trump’s World Liberty Financial cryptocurrency, Binance helped the Trump family amass $2 billion. Shortly thereafter, Changpeng Zhao began lobbying Trump for a pardon. On Thursday, Trump granted a pardon to a man who helped Trump sell $2 billion of the Trump family crypto coin.
See Wall Street Journal, Trump Pardons Convicted Binance Founder | Pardon follows months of efforts by Changpeng Zhao to boost the Trump crypto company.
Since Trump’s election, Binance has also been a key supporter of his family’s World Liberty Financial crypto venture, a business that has driven a huge leap in the president’s personal wealth.
The Justice Department imposed a record $4.3 billion fine and burdensome oversight on Binance, which the department said had become a colossal money-laundering hub through which sanctioned groups and criminal organizations laundered billions of dollars in illicit funds.
Trump’s pardons of criminals who have been convicted or pleaded guilty to fraudulent schemes will be a campaign issue in 2026. Republican congressional candidates will be forced to excuse the pardons of the January 6 defendants, George Santos, and Changpeng Zhao.
Most of Trump’s pardons have been corrupt. The pardon on Thursday—during a shutdown—will anger tens of millions of Americans who are already determined to stop Trump’s lawless reign.
I will hold my regular Saturday morning talk with readers at 9 a.m. Pacific / Noon Eastern. Join me for a Weekly Dose of Perspective. Instructions for listening are here.
The anger of the American people over the destruction of the East Wing of the White House is palpable. Many of the momentous issues that justify impeachment and removal seem remote or complicated to voters. But they understand the rapid teardown of a significant portion of the White House. And they feel like they have been punched in the gut. Trump’s propaganda minister, Karoline Leavitt, claims that Democrats are just “jealous” that they did not think of the idea of building a monstrosity that will forever blight the stately White House grounds. See The New Republic, Trump Press Sec’s Flattery of Him Goes Awry as Ballroom Fiasco Worsens.
The photos of destruction are going to get worse, and if Trump is true to form, he will refuse to pay some contractors, which will halt construction. Just as the physical destruction of the East Wing will be a permanent scar on the White House, the demolition of a national treasure will be a permanent source of anger and resentment toward Trump.
We can’t count on Trump to defeat himself. But we should recognize that Trump and the GOP face significant headwinds that we can convert to our advantage. We aren’t guaranteed success, but neither are we doomed to failure as so many commentators and pundits have written in the last week.
We have seized the momentum and have reason to be confident. Let’s show that confidence as we head into the next round of our ongoing effort to preserve democracy!
[Robert B. Hubbell Newsletter]
