Trump 2.0 April 27 2025-

Trump’s United States of Emergency

Trump Declares Dubious Emergencies to Amass Power, Scholars Say
In disputes over protests, deportations and tariffs, the president has invoked statutes that may not provide him with the authority he claims.
(NYT) Legal scholars say the president’s actions are not authorized by the statutes he has cited and are, instead, animated by a different goal.
“He is declaring utterly bogus emergencies for the sake of trying to expand his power, undermine the Constitution and destroy civil liberties,” said Ilya Somin, a libertarian professor at Antonin Scalia Law School who represents a wine importer and other businesses challenging some of Mr. Trump’s tariffs.

Los Angeles mayor imposes curfew on downtown following increased nighttime violence
(AP) — Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday “to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting.”
She said in a news conference that she had declared a local emergency and that the curfew will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday. The curfew will be in place in a 1 square mile (2.59 square kilometer) section of downtown that includes the area where protests have occurred since Friday.
Newsom asks court to block Trump’s use of military to support LA immigration raids
Gavin Newsom is warning that Donald Trump’s use of troops where state and local officials don’t want them is actually a test, one the Republican president may seek to replicate across other American towns and cities as part of his mass deportation effort. “We’re getting word that he’s looking to operationalize that relationship and advance significantly larger-scale ICE operations in partnership and collaboration with the National Guard,” the Democratic governor said on the podcast Pod Save America. Such a move would likely be illegal for reasons similar to those Newsom has cited in litigation to stop Trump’s use of the military in Los Angeles. Legal experts have said that, as with many of Trump’s emergency declarations since he took office, there is no legal basis for the Republican’s move to take control of the California National Guard.
State and city officials have reported that protests against Trump and his immigration raids have been largely peaceful during the day with minor skirmishes at night, while limited to a few parts of a city that spreads over several hundred square miles. With no reported deaths and few injuries—some among journalists shot with plastic rounds by local police—protests have begun spreading across the country. Demonstrations have been held in New York City, San Francisco, Chicago, Texas and Washington. Meanwhile, Trump’s federalization of 4,000 members of California National Guard and his ordering of 700 active duty Marines to Los Angeles will reportedly cost $134 million for 60 days

31 May
Trump’s Promises of Easy Wins Meet Reality During a Rocky Week
(Bloomberg) President Donald Trump returned to office promising to easily fix generationally intractable problems, from quickly brokering peace in Ukraine and the Middle East to overhauling the federal government and rewriting the global trade order.
But this week showed just how far he is from solving any of them.
Ross Douthat: ‘TACO’ Is the Secret to Trump’s Resilience
The willingness to swerve and backpedal and contradict himself is a big part of what keeps the president viable, and the promise of chickening out is part of Trump’s implicit pitch to swing voters
…the acronym “TACO” — the reported Wall Street acronym for “Trump Always Chickens Out” -an assumption that makes it safe to be in the market even when the president threatens Europe and China with intensifications of his trade war- gets at something that’s crucial to Trump’s political resilience. The willingness to swerve and backpedal and contradict himself is a big part of what keeps the president viable, and the promise of chickening out is part of Trump’s implicit pitch to swing voters — reassuring them that anything extreme is also provisional, that he’s always testing limits (on policy, on power) but also generally willing to pull back.

28 May
Robert Reich: Now that Elon is on the way out, who will be Trump’s ringleader?
Ever since his spectacular flame-out in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, Elon Musk has been on the way out. Meanwhile, Trump seems to be losing interest in the job — other than getting revenge and making money.
The Trump Presidency’s World-Historical Heist
He is taking self-enrichment to a scale never seen before in America.
By David Frum
In his first term, he made improper millions. In his second term, he is reaching for billions: a $2 billion investment by a United Arab Emirates state-owned enterprise in the Binance crypto exchange using the Trump family’s stablecoin asset. An unknown number of billions placed by Qatar in a Trump-family real-estate development in that emirate, topped by the gift of a 747 luxury jet for the president’s personal use in office and afterward. Government-approved support for a Trump golf course in Vietnam while its leaders were negotiating with the United States for relief from Trump tariffs. Last week, Trump hosted more than 200 purchasers of his meme coin, many of them apparently foreign nationals, for a private dinner, with no disclosure of the names of those who had paid into his pocket for access to the president’s time and favor.

19 May
The Inside Story of Trump’s Search for a New Air Force One
Qatar had been trying to sell off a luxury jet for years, with no luck. Then President Trump’s team set its sights on it.
… After Mr. Trump looked at the plane, one thing was clear: It was love at first sight….

15 May
Frank Bruni: Nasty MAGA Infighting Means Trouble for Trump
Laura Loomer is unhappy. … She’s still professing big love. But it and she are clearly more complicated than many of us realized. And her gripes and infighting with others in the MAGA movement mean trouble for Trump.
Loomer exemplifies the danger — to Trump’s own fortunes as well as the country’s — of how he often sizes up potential allies. He looks not at the quality of their ideas but at the audacity of their provocations, not at how nicely they play with others but at how reliably they rile their followers. That’s a fine approach if you’re just owning the libs and staging a carnival. But if you mean to govern? The freak show gets in the way.

10 May
The many big things Trump ‘didn’t know’ about
Repeatedly in his second term, Trump has pleaded ignorance about major events and suggested he’s not involved in major decisions.
… On Wednesday, Trump said he “didn’t know that” when asked about a key Republican senator coming out against his controversial nominee to be U.S. attorney for D.C., Ed Martin. The comments by Sen. Thom Tillis (North Carolina) had come a full day prior and appeared to end Martin’s confirmation hopes. In the days before, Trump had promoted Martin’s candidacy and reportedly made calls to key senators.
On Sunday, Trump was asked about more than a dozen layoffs the previous Friday in a program that provides health care for 9/11 first responders and survivors. “I’m not aware of anything that may have been brought up recently,” Trump said. By Tuesday, Fox News reported, nearly all the staff had been reinstated.
Key foreign policy issues
Often, Trump says he is unfamiliar with major foreign policy and military stories taking place around him.
… The Atlantic reported around noon on March 24 that one of its journalists had been added to top administration officials’ discussion of highly sensitive military attack plans on an unclassified app. More than two hours later, Trump was asked about it and said, “I don’t know anything about it.” He asked the reporter for more information about the situation.
6 May
The growing threat to U.S. democracy will literally cost lives
Andrew C. Patterson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, MacEwan University
According to a recent survey, most political scientists agree that President Donald Trump is turning the United States government into an autocracy, all too quickly.
(The Conversation) … Even the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post describes his first 100 days as a remarkable failure across multiple fronts.
The headlines have been blistering, calling those first 100 days “horrifying” and “inept.” Nor is the American public impressed: most give his performance a grade of D or F, according to a recent poll.
… One solution may be what we sociologists refer to as a social movement. This is where as many people as possible choose to act. Small interactions — like sharing an article with friends and family — can make a big difference, according to one prominent perspective in sociology.
Other means are more direct, like joining a protest or writing to members of Congress. And then there are decisions about what not to do. Universities and law firms are encouraged not to participate in the fraying of American democracy by making a “deal” with the Trump administration.
The take-home message is that the threat to American democracy is real and it is imminent. The impact on human health and well-being will be global. If the collapse of American democracy affects all of us, inside and outside of U.S. borders, then we can all agree to do something about it
5 May
A Person in the Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger Facebook Group posted – Weekend at Bernie’s/Donnie’s
He’s not advising Trump — he’s possessing him. Every lie that Trump croaks, every grotesque culture war stunt, every fascistic fever dream about rounding up immigrants or dismantling our rights — it’s [Stephen] Miller’s handwriting etched on the inside of Trump’s skull.
(Daily Kos) … Donald Trump isn’t running the country. He’s being wheeled around like a bloated prop, a sagging orange husk made to dance on command like an undead circus bear for what’s left of the base — part nostalgia act, part cult relic, all rot.
What we’re seeing isn’t leadership. It’s a reanimation ritual and the pale, serpentine ghoul casting the spell is none other than Stephen “Gargamel” Miller….
Trump slurs through speeches like he’s gargling grave dirt. He babbles about the Declaration of Independence being a unifying love letter, can’t explain the Monroe Doctrine beyond “it was a doctrine that came from Monroe”, and insists a clearly photoshopped image of Abrego Garcia’s hands with MS-13 in Times New Roman font is a smoking gun worthy of ending due process. The man is gone. The lights have gone out. There’s nothing left behind his haunted eyes save Adderall fumes and Hannity reruns.
… His only purpose is to waltz for the crowd while his ghoulish wizard adviser yanks his rigor mortised tendons to animate him from backstage. Miller doesn’t care that the old man is mentally decomposing. That’s the point. A confused and vacant figurehead is easier to manipulate into signing off on whatever racist, Nazi-esque blueprint the American Goebbels is perpetrating.
He’s not advising Trump — he’s possessing him. Every lie that Trump croaks, every grotesque culture war stunt, every fascistic fever dream about rounding up immigrants or dismantling our rights — it’s Miller’s handwriting etched on the inside of Trump’s skull.
4 May
Trump posts AI image of himself as pope, leaving Catholics offended and unamused as conclave nears
(CNN) Trump, who days prior joked that he would “like to be pope”, posted the digitally doctored image of himself wearing a white cassock and papal headdress, with his forefinger raised, to his Truth Social platform late Friday. It was then reshared by the White House on its official X account.

Mon, Jan 20 – Wed, Apr 30, 2025 The First 100 Days

28-30 April
Trump’s loyal footsoldiers doff their Maga caps at cabinet love-in
Red and navy hats were strategically placed as Trump’s cabinet gushed over 100 presidential days like no other
(The Guardian) …the unorthodox collection of headwear, embroidered with Donald Trump’s forced new name for the centuries-old Gulf of Mexico, was far from the most bizarre aspect of an extraordinary White House gathering hosted by the president on Wednesday.
The cabinet meeting to commemorate the first 100 days of Trump’s second term was, in the view of some social media commentators, something more akin to a gathering of Kim Jong-un loyalists in North Korea, each successive speaker trying to outshine the other in heaping lavish praise on their dear leader.
There was the sight of Elon Musk, the outgoing head of the unofficial “department of government efficiency”, placing one of the red Gulf of America hats on top of the Doge one he was already wearing.
Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American April 29, 2025
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt popularized the idea that the first 100 days of a presidency established an administration’s direction. As soon as he took office on March 4, 1933, he called Congress into special session to meet on March 9 to address the emergency of the Great Depression. Congress responded to the crisis by quickly passing 15 major bills and 77 other measures first to stabilize the economy and then to rebuild it. …
Trump’s administration does parallel FDR’s in an odd way. Trump set out in his first hundred days to undo the government FDR established in his first hundred days. Trump has turned the nation away from 92 years of a government that sought to serve ordinary Americans by regulating business, providing a basic social safety net, promoting infrastructure, protecting civil rights, and stabilizing global security and trade. Instead, he is trying to recreate the nation of more than 100 years ago, in which the role of government was to protect the wealthy and enable them to make money from the country’s resources and its people.
Trump’s Astonishing 100 Days, in 8 Charts
The first 100 days of Donald J. Trump’s second presidency have been a study of extremes, especially when compared with the start of presidential terms over the last century.
(NYT) Compared with other modern presidents, he has signed the most executive orders in this period, collected the most tariffs and had the most lawsuits filed against him. Markets have slumped, as have his approval ratings. …
The early results of his policy have included a large recent spike in the amount of money the federal government is collecting in customs duties. But amid the geopolitical and economic turmoil the tariffs have caused, critics have argued that the countries targeted by Mr. Trump will not bear all of the higher costs. Instead, the penalties may largely fall on the companies and American consumers who ultimately purchase the products that enter the country.
… One hundred days into his second term, Mr. Trump’s approval rating is underwater. Polls show that he has managed to turn long-term strengths on the economy and immigration into weaknesses.
An Unsustainable Presidency – Nothing about Donald Trump’s first 100 days has been ordinary.
By Jonathan Chait
(The Atlantic) … In just a few months, Trump has smashed democratic norms, crippled the federal bureaucracy, and realigned America against its traditional friends. Because Trump’s goals are so historically aberrant, the traditional measure of presidential achievement is of hardly any use. His Carter-esque record as legislator and economic steward stands in stark contrast to his Lenin-esque record in stamping out opposition.
Trump 100 days: delusions of monarchy coupled with fundamental ineptitude
Trump has wasted no time in trying to remake the US in his image – with results that are sweeping, vengeful and chaotic
(The Guardian) In three months Trump has shoved the world’s oldest continuous democracy towards authoritarianism at a pace that tyrants overseas would envy. He has used executive power to take aim at Congress, the law, the media, culture and public health. Still aggrieved by his 2020 election defeat and 2024 criminal conviction, his regime of retribution has targeted perceived enemies and proved that no grudge is too small.
Historically such strongmen have offered the populace a grand bargain: if they will surrender some liberties, he will make the trains run on time. But Trump’s delusions of monarchy have been coupled with a fundamental ineptitude.
His trade war injected chaos into the economy, undermining a campaign promise to lower prices and raising the spectre of recession; his ally Elon Musk wreaked havoc on the federal government, threatening health and welfare benefits for millions; his foreign policy turned the world upside down, making friends of adversaries and turning allies into foes.
Trump 100 days: tariffs, egg prices, Ice arrests and approval rating – in charts
The first few months have seen record-breaking use of executive powers – here are some of the outlying trends …
Trump Marks 100 Days by Vilifying Migrants and Attacking Opponents
(NYT) President Trump traveled to Michigan for events that were meant to demonstrate his commitment to American manufacturing. But his speech at a rally was dark and filled with grievance.
Trump hails achievements of first 100 days despite polls revealing American disapproval on economy – as it happened
President touts ‘most successful 100 days of any administration’ at rally in Warren, Michigan
(The Guardian) Trump inverts actual poll numbers to make false claim that Americans say country is headed in the right direction
Trump just made the entirely false claim that, “for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction”.
“For the first time ever, in, I think, ever, that they’re saying the country is headed in the right direction”, Trump added. “Has never happened before”.
It is not clear why the president thinks this is true, or indeed if he does, but it is very clearly not true.
In the latest nationwide poll, conducted from April 17-21 for the Associated Press by National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, the overwhelming majority of Americans said that the country is headed in the wrong direction (62% vs 37%)
28 April
Ian Bremmer: My thoughts on Trump’s First 100 days (YouTube video)
President Trump’s big-picture policy ideas (ending wars, securing the border, and fair trade) are popular and sensible. The implementation, however, not so much.
(GZERO media) It is a hundred days of President Trump’s second administration. How’s he doing? And the answer is not so well, certainly not if you look at the polls. Worst numbers for first a hundred days of any president since they’ve been taking those polls. Markets, of course, down, global economy also down, so much of this self-imposed. And it’s not the big-picture policy ideas. The things that Trump says he wants to do are not only popular, but they’re also sensible policy: end wars, secure the border, and fair trade. Running on those three planks would work for pretty much anyone in the United States, the things that Trump is committed to, the things that previous administrations, including Biden and the promise of Harris, had not been particularly effective at. But the implementation has been abysmal. The lack of interest in policy specifics, lack of ability to effectively execute, and the dysfunction inside the Trump team/teams, economy, national security has been really challenging.
100 Days In, This Is How Trump Is Upending American Government
(NYT) President Trump has wielded his office as an instrument of blunt power, ignoring outrage from Democrats and daring Republicans to challenge his authority.

27 April
Trump approval sinks as Americans criticize his major policies, poll finds
After high expectations before he returned to office, most Americans say the president has made the economy worse.
(WaPo) As he nears the end of his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump is facing growing opposition to his ambitious and controversial agenda, with his approval rating in decline, majority opposition to major initiatives, and perceptions that his administration is seeking to avoid complying with federal court orders, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll.

Trump Promised ‘Big, Beautiful’ Deals. Delivering Has Been Tougher.
So far, the goals of many of President Trump’s negotiations have been unrealized, even those he said would be accomplished in a matter of days or weeks.
(NYT) He quickly opened a dizzying number of negotiations to, naming just a few of his aims, end the war in Ukraine in 24 hours, bring peace to the Middle East and usher in dozens of trade deals in record time. The war in Ukraine is still raging, and the president has floated the idea of abandoning peace talks altogether. Hamas is still holding hostages in Gaza despite Mr. Trump’s warning on social media that the terrorist group must release them all or “you are DEAD!” And while Mr. Trump insists that countries are racing to strike trade deals with the United States, the details are scant.