mtutiger

To be clear as well, I'm absolutely concerned about what the Post-Trump world looks like. But if Trump is trying to truly consolidate power in a way similar to other authoritarian regimes, I don't think he's succeeding just based on the totality of the evidence (including the things mentioned in my above post). That doesn't mean we are out of the woods whenever he goes away... it will take a lot of work to prevent it from happening, and I'll be honest, I question whether the Democrats have the stomach for it. 1. Donating and protesting are all we can do, we all control what we control. 2. I'll amend to say that they won the battle and perhaps not the overall war, but if nothing else, they did beat back the federal government from their gross overreach and, in the process, demonstrated that this government does not have the capability to control the 25th largest metro area in the country (let alone LA or Chicago or NY) and likely never will. 3. We can maybe question whether the degree of the shift is bigger or smaller than what is shown by some of the polling, but directionally, it's all pointing in one direction since November 2024... he (and his party) are in much worse shape than they were in 2024, and they matter both politically and even in terms of the authoritarian consoldation project, as it is much much harder to consolidate when upwards of 60-65% of the public disapproves versus approves.

https://www.arlnow.com/2026/04/24/gop-bill-to-return-arlington-alexandria-to-d-c-condemned-as-unconstitutional-by-rep-beyer/ Unsurprisingly, this seems to be more of a long, extended temper tantrum rather than a serious proposal.

To be clear, I understand the risk that this administration has posed and continues to pose on the public. And certainly that requires vigilance going forward. But I think you mischaracterize my position... I don't think we should "wait these guys out", people absolutely should do what they can to donate to candidates or to attend protests or do whatever they think moves the ball down the field. But I am going to continue to call things like I see them. And they are incompetent and they are weird, they are wildly out of touch with the median American with regards to things that they are most concerned about (cost of living; if anything, because of the war and tariffs, he proudly advertises making things even more expensive for everyone). Through their terror campaign up in the Twin Cities (which the people of the Twin Cities *won* in the end BTW), they have managed to burn bridges with the types of voters who helped him win in 2024 (ie. Hispanics / young voters). The President himself looks old and senile, increasingly does not command the sort of stature or the ability to command events or public opinion that he did earlier in his career. And the President, for his part, is now getting poll numbers that are approaching Bush Iraq levels. I don't think that acknowledging these realities automatically means you don't consider the administration dangerous. That's where you and I differ IMO.

Worth noting that, similar to Texas, the success of this map in 2026 (at least) hinges pretty heavily on the gains Trump made with Hispanic voters in 2024 being realized going forward. And that's absolutely not a guarantee in this environment.

They know who this guy is and how he's always been. They are in bed with him because they like him, warts and all.

Sure, they'd still be heavy hitters under another administration (at least Amazon and Apple anyway)... but that doesn't mean they don't have a *clear* preference. They clearly do, and they clearly do *care* about it given all the money they have spent on this administration. Your eyes and ears tell you something different perhaps, but I saw Tim Apple go into the The White House and give him that stupid plaque with a 24 karat gold base to appeal to his vanity and ego. And to get policy concessions they wanted. So again, my point stands.

Congress has been disapproved of more than every President in every year that I've been alive. My point still stands. He's widely despised in the broader public, and The Big Club that you speak of, the guys like Bezos and Cook and Musk, would all prefer that he weren't. They would all prefer that we all hold our tongues, withhold any donations, not volunteer, not engage in any political activism, and not vote.

I think the public takes it more seriously than you think (he's getting -25 to -30 polls for a reason). But The Big Club wields a big stick in his favor, and they would prefer that all the people who disapprove of this President would all just shut up about it.

Given the fact that people are increasingly pointing fingers at them and are identifying them with Trump and his administration, my point stands.

1000%. Tired of having to pretend that the behavior observed out of both sides of the political spectrum with my own eyes and ears are the same. It just isn't.

I think The Big Club would much more prefer it if those who disapproved of Donald Trump would just shut up about it.

I'm sorry, but treating the current breakdown in American political culture and the violent undertones of it as being completely symmetrical is a bunch of hooey. There is one party that is led by a leader that sicced a mob on the capitol, there is one party that is led by a leader that blanket pardoned all of the people involved, has legitimized groups like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, etc. I understand the tendency to want to see things from both sides and all.... but on this particular subject, it's wildly asymmetrical and oughtta be treated as such. And the fact that we treat "both sides" as if they are "the same" on this only emboldens more bad behavior.

Your point is... what exactly? Ridiculing these guys as a bunch of weirdos isn't a downplay of a threat that they present. But they're also deeply despised right now in the broader culture, much more than they were in November 2024. And they oughtta be treated accordingly.

They've been saying variations of this **** for 10 years now.... and they still sound like a bunch of weirdos every time they say it.

Maybe Dana Bash can ask Senator Scott to "tone down the rhetoric"

It's crazy that any of this even has to be said.... but when you have a media and political ecosystem built around treating this guy as if he's a normal President and not an aging 80 year old narcissist who is increasingly losing his fastball, this is what you get.

Again, think there's this tendency to view these guys as all being evil geniuses, but they really aren't... it's a party built on feeding the ego of an aging 80 year old narcissist. There's no other logic to it than that.

Old enough to remember when they hounded Biden for not going out in public enough...

Genuinely astounding at a time of higher gas prices and Americans feeling as anxious as ever about their own personal finances, *this* is something that vulnerable Rs are running with.

Wow

Almost 24 hours on and it's wild how the main response has centered around getting the Ballroom built. Just an incredible like when Americans are paying $1.50 more per gallon for gasoline than they were eight weeks ago

Setting aside that he's under contract, while the Boston name has a lot of prestige, the organization itself looks like a dumpster fire right now. This is a better team and a better job at this point in time. He'd be crazy to leave for that job

Don't know if it should be held either, but in terms of the impact it makes outside the Beltway chattering class, it's a non entity Tangentially, this tweet from Dylan Byers kinda makes the point better than I ever could... For the President and these journalists, this event (both the dinner and the shooting) was a big deal. To average people? WGAF, playoff hockey is on.

But even if this were the case, to what end? This will likely be forgotten in a week or two, just as Charlie Kirk was forgotten within a week or two for the vast majority of people. As Viktor Orban learned a few weeks ago, the playbook starts to lose its effectiveness when people are pissed about their material conditions

I don't buy the conspiracies surrounding this and continue to believe this administration is too incompetent to actually execute anything elaborate that is often attributed to them in times like these. Having said that, hard not to find a bit of dark amusement that all these people who have worked diligently to lower trust throughout greater society and exploited it gleefully while campaigning for power now find themselves distrusted by many people now that they themselves have power.