Public Comment
Trump has Failed: Now What?
Happy May Day. Get to work.
After 100 days, it’s obvious that the second coming of Donald Trump is an abysmal failure. A recent AP/NORC poll revealed that Trump’s approval rating has dropped to 39%, the lowest of any president in 80 years.
Those of us who voted for Kamala Harris can take some slight solace in Trump’s failings, but the reality is that Donald Trump is in the oval office, ruining the United States of America. It’s not enough to celebrate Trump’s calamity, we need to act.
1.The economy: Candidate Trump promised to “fix” the economy. In 100 days, he has wreaked economic havoc. The US economy is sliding into recession, and Trump doesn’t seem to care. This decline is the product of Trump’s tariffs and other actions.
Of course, we can protest Trump’s misguided economic policies by joining protest marches and we can work to take back control of Congress in 2026. But the best way to change the economic outlook is to work with Democratic members of Congress to block the Trump “big, beautiful budget” and entice Congress to take back tariff power from the president.
At the end of September, the federal government runs out of money. The Republican-controlled congress is working on Trump’s new budget, Although this budget proposal contains items such as more money for the Defense and Homeland Security Departments, the issue that most Democrats are concerned about is making the “Trump tax cuts” permanent; paying for these tax cuts (that primarily benefit the rich and powerful) requires massive cuts to social-safety-net programs such as Medicaid. (Republicans need to find $2 trillion to offset the tax cuts.)
Theoretically, congressional Republicans have enough votes to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill;” they have a three-vote margin in both the House and Senate. Most observers assume that all Democratic members of Congress will vote against the Trump tax cuts. In the Senate, six Republican Senators are “shaky” yes votes: Collins (Maine), Hawley (MO), McConnell (KY), Murkowski (AK), Paul (KY), and Tillis (NC). We should pressure these senators to vote no.
Regarding the House, most every state has at least one Republican who is either in a swing district or has a large percentage of constituents who receive Medicaid. For example, David Valadao in California Congressional district 22 is in a swing district – Republican +1 – and 67 precent of his recipients receive Medicaid. Activists are pressuring Valadao to vote no.
After the “big, beautiful budget” is blocked, Democrats can pressure Congress to take back tariff authority from Trump. We must block Trump’s budget.
2.National Security: We should do everything we can to defeat the Trump budget, but we cannot ignore the threat to national security represented by the incompetents that Trump has installed in his cabinet. Foremost among these is Pete Hegseth, the most incompetent Secretary of Defense in history. There’s not a lot we can do about Hegseth except complain to our representatives and point out that Hegseth is a grave threat to national security.
3. Immigration: One of the ironies of Trump 2.0 is the fact that he has made immigration the number one priority of his administration and yet, despite all the headlines, Trump’s results are no better than Biden’s. “Even as the number of immigration arrests is up significantly, the current pace of deportations suggests the administration will fall well short of its stated goal of 1 million deportations annually. While the government has not released official data in comprehensive fashion, based on Federal Register notices and selective information shared with news organizations it appears on track to deport roughly half a million people this year—fewer than the 685,000 deportations recorded in fiscal year (FY) 2024 under President Joe Biden.” ( https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trump-2-immigration-first-100-days )
Trump has declared a state of emergency and shut down all immigration (except for white Afrikaners). This has dramatically curtailed legal immigration. To make his deportation effort look good, Trump has begun relying on media stunts, such as transporting some targeted individuals to the US military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
On March 15th, Trump signed an order using the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 as the legal basis for his deportation of alleged “Tren de Aragua” (TdA) gang members. This obscure law can be used only if there is “declared war between the United States and any foreign nation or government, or any invasion or predatory incursion is perpetrated, attempted, or threatened against the territory of the United States.” Trump declared TdA as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization” that is “perpetrating an invasion” of the US. Trump uses the Alien Enemies Act because he wants to deport suspected gang members with no due process.
ICE raids are happening all over the country. As a result, there are local opportunities for action. Nonetheless, most of the immigration battle is being fought in the courts.
4. Destruction of Federal Government: Trump’s first 100 days has been augmented by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Although Trump/Musk promised that DOGE would find billions in waste, fraud, and abuse the results to date have been underwhelming. Many US households have been disrupted by DOGE activities and Musk’s image has soured. Many citizens now believe that the true function of DOGE is to enrich Trump and his billionaire friends.
More than 100,000 federal employees accepted Trump’s initial buyout offer. Trump followed this by laying off thousands who had not completed their probationary period – the Washington Post estimated this affected 200,000 employees. Among the agencies affected are the Center for Disease Control, Energy Department, IRS, National Park Service, and the Veteran’s Administration.
On April 26th, Democracy Forward, a coalition of unions, non-profits, and governmental groups, filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration:
“The case seeks a court’s intervention to stop the implementation of the President’s unlawful Executive Order 14210 (Implementing the President’s ‘‘Department of Government Efficiency’’ Workforce Optimization Initiative), which violates the Constitution’s fundamental separation of powers principles. Federal agencies were required to submit for approval Agency Reductions in Force and Reorganization Plans on April 14. Although the President’s Executive Order seeks to radically reorganize and deconstruct federal agencies through massive reductions in force, the groups make clear in the filing that only Congress has the power to change the federal government in the ways the President has directed. “
This battle will be fought in the courts.
SUMMARY: If you read this column, chances are you’re protesting Trump 2.0 in some fashion. You understand how dangerous Trump is. Your question is: What’s the most effective action I can take now?
The answer is: take action to block Trump’s budget.
