Friday, January 23, 2026
Americans Say The Trump Economy Is Bad - And Getting Worse
The charts above reflect the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 16th and 19th of a nationwide sample of 1,722 adults (including 1,549 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.2 points for adults and 3 points for registered voters.
They Finally Stood Up To The Bully - And He Backed Down
Most reasonable people understand that appeasement does not work with a bully. It just encourages the bully to continue (and even expand) his bullying.
For far too long, nations, law firms, media organizations, and too many people have tried to appease the bully currently living in our White House. It has not worked. It just encouraged him to continue the bullying and make even crazier demands.
But he went too far. When he demanded that Denmark (and NATO) give him Greenland or he would take it by force, that was a demand that could not be appeased - and the world finally stood up to the bully.
The NATO nations together said NO and stood up.
The stock market, with a huge sell-off, said NO.
The Congress said NO, and even Republican members made it clear there was enough support pass a veto-proof war powers resolution to stop him - and maybe even impeach him.
The people of Greenland said NO and demonstrated against a U.S. takeover.
And the American people said NO. Poll after poll showed that overwhelming majorities of Americans (including even majorities of Republicans) opposed the taking or buying of Greenland.
He tried one last time at Davos to bully the world into giving him Greenland, but it didn't work. It just made him look crazy in front of the entire world.
SO HE BACKED DOWN!
He said he had reached the "concept" of an agreement with the NATO commander. But there was no agreement - or even a concept of an agreement. It was simply a face-saving attempt by Trump to say that.
Unfortunately, even though Trump backed down, all is not well. Trump ridiculous demand and threats has convinced other nations (once our reliable allies) that he cannot be trusted - and the American people can't be trusted not to elect an insane leader. It will be a long time before we can again earn that trust - if ever.
In short, Trump has made the world a much more dangerous place for everyone.
Thursday, January 22, 2026
Trump's Job Approval Continues To Drop
The chart above reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 16th and 19th of a nationwide sample of 1,722 adults (including 1,549 registered voters). The margin of error is 3.2 points for adults and 3 points for registered voters.
The chart above reflects the results of the American Research Group Poll -- done last between January 16th and 20th of a nationwide sample of 1,100 adults, with a 3 point margin of error.
Trump Is Giving Putin Everything He Wanted
The following is part of a post by Thom Hartmann at The Hartmann Report:
Trump went to Davos this morning and gave the speech that Vladimir Putin wanted him to, lying and pissing off Europe and shaking the North Atlantic alliance to its core.
Our president has refused to help out Ukraine in any meaningful way for a year now, giving Russia the room to destroy much of that country’s electric and heat infrastructure so badly that President Zelenskyy had to cancel his trip to Davos to deal with the crisis.
Trump’s now invaded Venezuela and is threatening the same with Greenland, legitimizing Putin’s land-grabs in Georgia and Ukraine.
Trump’s ICE goons are destroying the rule of law in America, running amok in Minneapolis, punishing — and killing — the residents of that city for having elected politicians who’d dare advocate democracy over autocracy.
Russian media is proudly proclaiming that their own internal crackdowns on immigrants, dissidents, and people of color aren’t so bad because Trump’s doing the same thing in America. We’ve legitimized Putin’s racist police state.
Trump’s destroyed much of America’s “soft power,” our friendly relations with resource-rich developing nations, by killing off John F. Kennedy’s USAID program, directly causing the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people with more to come.
Many of the countries we’ve abandoned are now re-aligning themselves with Russia and China, to Putin’s delight.
Trump’s duplicating Putin’s “enemy within” rhetoric to amplify the Russian-promoted “Great Replacement Theory” meme that claims wealthy Jews are paying to have Black and brown people “replace” white men in their jobs and lives.
It’s become the operating system for ICE and is tearing America apart, pitting friends, neighbors, and relatives against each other while Russian media celebrates.
The biggest thorn in Putin’s side has been NATO, all the way back to his days as a murderous KGB intelligence officer, and Trump is now shaking that organization all the way down to its foundations by threatening to seize Greenland and trash-talking alliance member states.
Early on as Putin was rolling out his dictatorship, having destroyed Russia’s brief experiment with democracy, he put himself above the law by simply refusing to enforce rights the Russian constitution and laws gave to average citizens.
Trump’s today doing the same thing, simply defying the Epstein Transparency Act and other laws while approving as his ICE goons routinely violate Americans’ civil rights.
From Russia’s point of view, America’s biggest historic strength hasn’t been our formidable military (they have just as many nukes) but was our rock-solid multi-century relationships with allies.
Today, Canada is — for the first time in over a century — preparing to fight back against an American invasion, while the European Union is trying to figure out how to disentangle itself from our economy in the event we start a war with them.
Wednesday, January 21, 2026
Donald Trump's First Year Report Card
The chart above is from the Navigator Poll -- done between January 8th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 1,000 registered voters, with a 3.1 point margin of error.
"It Could Be A Monty Python Skit From 40 Years Ago"
From former Labor Secretary Robert Reich:
It could be a Monty Python skit from 40 years ago: A demented U.S. president demands that Norway award him the Nobel Peace Prize (which he initially spells “Noble,” and which isn’t Norway’s to give anyway), after converting the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War, sending troops into American cities, threatening Canada, and abducting the president of a Latin American country by force.
When he doesn’t get the peace prize, he says he’s no longer interested in peace and decides to take over Greenland. When Greenland refuses him, and Denmark and the rest of Europe make a fuss, he goes into a rage, raises tariffs on Europe (which cost Americans dearly), and threatens war on NATO. The president of Russia is delighted.
Can’t you see it? Eric Idle plays the American president — full of himself and utterly off his rocker. John Cleese is the vicious and hapless Latin American president who’s abducted. Terry Gilliam is the baffled, incredulous head of Greenland. Terry Jones plays the righteous leader of Denmark, Graham Chapman a perplexed NATO dignitary, and Michael Palin the wacky but triumphant president of Russia.
The Monty Python team was so funny because they came up with completely absurd situations, handled them with deadpan seriousness, and stretched them to the limits.
But this particular absurd situation isn’t funny. It’s actually happening. And Trump is truly, tragically, frighteningly out of his mind.
"Conceding Greenland Will Not Mollify Trump - He Will Simply Come Back For More"
Over the weekend, Donald Trump announced that he would be imposing a 10 percent tariff on February 1 on eight European countries that had agreed to send forces to Greenland, and that tariffs would be increased to 25 percent by June 1 if they did not agree to support the sale of the island to the United States. Over the past couple of months, there has been a debate over whether Trump was serious about claiming Greenland for himself or just trolling the Europeans. It appears that he is indeed deadly serious.
I want to say this straight out: as an American, I have one thing to say to my many European friends—do not back down in this confrontation. Up to now, both the EU and the major European powers have sought to appease Trump by offering him concessions, flattery, personal gifts, and other forms of tribute. This strategy has not worked and should be abandoned immediately. Donald Trump is fundamentally a bully who wants to dominate everyone around him.
Trying to placate him with concessions is a fool’s errand. He despises weakness and those who display it. Last spring, the EU cut a trade deal with him that accepted a 15% tariff on all European goods with no retaliation against American products. This was a bad decision. The EU, which in terms of population and wealth is on a par with the United States, should have taken a common position and retaliated. What makes any European think that conceding Greenland will mollify Trump? He will simply come back for more later.
The arguments that Europeans have used for a concessionary policy is that they are still dependent on the United States for security and need help in dealing with Russia. They also argue that they don’t want to provoke a mutually destructive trade war. But at this point, Trump’s America has amply demonstrated that it will not be a reliable ally when push comes to shove.
It has already abandoned Ukraine and stated in its national security strategy document that Europe has fallen behind the Western Hemisphere in terms of American priorities. Europeans should keep in mind that those countries that stood up to Trump’s threats in 2025, which include Brazil, India, and China, have actually done well for themselves. They’ve increased domestic support, and in the case of China, they forced America to back down.
My European friends need to keep in mind that Donald Trump is not the United States. A majority of Americans are dismayed and outraged by his policies, and they will likely vote against him and the Republican Party in the coming November election. It may be the case that the world will have to suffer a global recession as more countries stand up to Trump and retaliate against his policies. But a U.S. politician who wants to weaponize trade and use it as an instrument for territorial aggrandizement really needs to be stopped.
Tuesday, January 20, 2026
58% Say Trump's First Year Of His Second Term Was A Failure
The chart above reflects the results of the CNN / SSRS Poll -- done between January 9th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 1,209 adults, with a 3.1 point margin of error.
Seizing Greenland Would Be Trump's Stupidest Move
Donald Trump has done a lot of stupid things since starting his second term, but they would all pale in comparison to seizing Greenland - the territory of a NATO ally.
I can't understand what he thinks would be accomplished by doing that. Does he believe we need more bases or troops in Greenland to enhance U.S. security? We don't have to seize Greenland to do that. The 1951 accord between Denmark and the United States would already allow us to do that.
Does he want to mine Greenland's minerals (especially rare earth minerals? Both Greenland and Denmark have already said they are open to allowing that to happen.
Does he really think Russia or China would try to take Greenland? If they did, they would face the militaries of all of the NATO nations - which would be more formidable than the United States alone.
The truth is that seizing Greenland would be of no benefit to the United States (except to feed the ego of the narcissist currently living in the White House) - but it would have a huge negative effect.
It would amount to an attack on a NATO ally, and that very likely would destroy NATO. The NATO nations have backed the United States when it needed them (like in Afghanistan). But they would no longer be able to trust the United States if it attacked a fellow member. And an alliance without mutual trust is not an alliance at all.
Trump thinks taking Greenland would demonstrate American strength. But it would actually make the United States weaker, because it would then be alone without any allies to help it. And it wouldn't just be our European allies - how could our Asian and African allies trust that we would have their backs after seeing us attack an ally?
The United States is the strongest economic and military force of any nation, but alone it is much weaker.
Monday, January 19, 2026
Today We Honor A Real American Hero
Today is Martin Luther King Day - the day we honor a true American hero. As we do that, let us also remember and honor the thousands of others who put their lives and freedom on the line to insure equal rights for all Americans.
Trump Acolytes Are As Unpopular As He Is
This chart reflects the results of the Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between January 9th and 12th of a nationwide sample of 1,602 adults, with a 3.3 point margin of error.
Is Trump Trying To Create A Rival To The United Nations?
Donald Trump has long been critical of the United Nations. Now it looks like he is trying to create an alternative to it - a rival organization that he would control.
The following is from Bloomberg News:
The Trump administration is asking countries that want a permanent spot on his new Board of Peace to contribute at least $1 billion.
According to a draft charter for the proposed group seen by Bloomberg, President Donald Trump would serve as its inaugural chairman and would decide on who is invited to be members. Decisions would be taken by a majority, with each member state present getting one vote, but all would be subject to the chairman’s approval.
“Each Member State shall serve a term of no more than three years from this Charter’s entry into force, subject to renewal by the Chairman. The three-year membership term shall not apply to Member States that contribute more than USD $1,000,000,000 in cash funds to the Board of Peace within the first year of the Charter’s entry into force,” the draft says.
Critics are worried that Trump is trying to build an alternative, or rival, to the United Nations, which he has long criticized.
The board is described in the charter as “an international organization that seeks to promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.” It would become official once three member states agree to the charter. . . .
Trump has invited a number of world leaders, including Argentina’s Javier Milei and Canada’s Mark Carney, to be part of a Board of Peace for Gaza, which would be formed under the broader umbrella of his new Board of Peace. . . .
Several European nations have been invited to join the peace board, according to people familiar with the matter. The draft appears to suggest Trump himself would control the money, something that would be considered unacceptable to most countries who could have potentially joined the board, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
Several nations strongly oppose the draft of Trump’s charter and are working on collectively pushing back against the proposals, the people added. . . .
The Board of Peace would convene voting meetings at least annually and “at such additional times and locations as the Chairman deems appropriate,” the draft charter says. The agenda would be subject to approval by the chairman. The peace board would hold regular non-voting meetings with its executive board. Such meetings would be convened on at least a quarterly basis.
Trump would also have the power to remove a member, subject to a veto by a two-thirds majority of member states. “The Chairman shall at all times designate a successor for the role of Chairman,” the charter says.
On Friday, the White House announced a first executive panel that would include Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair before the formation of the overall board.
Sunday, January 18, 2026
The Things Americans Believe Are Driving Political Violence
The chart above is from the Public Religion Research Institute survey -- done between November 21st and December 8th of a nationwide sample of 5,735 adults, with a 1.58 point margin of error.
53% Of Americans Say Ice Agent That Shot Ms. Good Should Be Charged With A Crime
The charts above are from the YouGov Poll -- done between January 9th and 11th of a nationwide sample of 1,129 adults, with a 3.9 point margin of error.
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