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July 26, 2025
ICE is about to go on a hiring spree
Former ICE officials think the Trump administration will have to lower standards and hire private contractors
By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published July 26, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) Former Department of Homeland Security officials and employees are raising the alarm that the Trump administration’s plan to hire 10,000 more immigration enforcement officers could result in lower hiring standards, as expansions have in the past, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers’ current behavior could attract prospective agents for the wrong reasons.
As part of its campaign to hire new ICE personnel, the Trump administration has presented a smattering of offers, including a $10,000 yearly bonus for agents over the next four years, a $50,000 signing bonus to former ICE agents who decide to return to the agency and a starting salary of up to $89,528 for new officers.
Combined with the fact that ICE agents are not required to take any pre-employment exams, have no educational requirements and are only required to pass a background check and a physical exam (which includes a “kneel/stand test,” five minutes of cardio and performing 15 pushups in two minutes), the job offers a better salary and benefits than many, especially considering it doesn’t even require a high school education.
John Sandweg, who served as the acting director of ICE from 2013 to 2014, told Salon that he’s concerned that the current conduct of the agency under Trump could also attract candidates for the “wrong reasons.” .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/26/ice-is-about-to-go-on-a-hiring-spree/
ICE is about to go on a hiring spree
ICE is about to go on a hiring spree
Former ICE officials think the Trump administration will have to lower standards and hire private contractors
By Russell Payne
Staff Reporter
Published July 26, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) Former Department of Homeland Security officials and employees are raising the alarm that the Trump administration’s plan to hire 10,000 more immigration enforcement officers could result in lower hiring standards, as expansions have in the past, and that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers’ current behavior could attract prospective agents for the wrong reasons.
As part of its campaign to hire new ICE personnel, the Trump administration has presented a smattering of offers, including a $10,000 yearly bonus for agents over the next four years, a $50,000 signing bonus to former ICE agents who decide to return to the agency and a starting salary of up to $89,528 for new officers.
Combined with the fact that ICE agents are not required to take any pre-employment exams, have no educational requirements and are only required to pass a background check and a physical exam (which includes a “kneel/stand test,” five minutes of cardio and performing 15 pushups in two minutes), the job offers a better salary and benefits than many, especially considering it doesn’t even require a high school education.
John Sandweg, who served as the acting director of ICE from 2013 to 2014, told Salon that he’s concerned that the current conduct of the agency under Trump could also attract candidates for the “wrong reasons.” .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/26/ice-is-about-to-go-on-a-hiring-spree/
July 26, 2025
David Brooks faces the truth of US history — and runs away
NY Times' pet conservative offers a lengthy apologia for America — and gets pretty much everything wrong
By Mike Lofgren
Contributing Writer
Published July 26, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) America’s so-called sane conservatives have had a lot of explaining to do since 2016, and even more since January of this year. How do they dissociate themselves from Donald Trump and still justify their own continuing belief in a conservative ideological project that is supposed to be good for America, but in practice has brought chaos, misery and poisonous social strife?
....(more)....
This form of rationalization and denial is embarrassingly evident in a recent apologia by David Brooks, the New York Times’ notion of an ideal conservative. Writing in The Atlantic, Brooks says that the conservatism he enthusiastically discovered in the early 1980s was a movement bursting with ideas. There was a minority within the movement, he admits, who were not real conservatives, but reactionaries. At the beginning, they were barely worthy of notice.
....(snip)....
Brooks’ labored apologia is a history — his history — of recent American conservatism, a Manichaean fable of civilized, conscientious conservatives full of marvelous ideas and déclassé, knuckle-dragging right-wingers. But beyond its heroes-and-villains simplicity, the piece reminds us of a characteristic habit of conservatives.
Brooks distorts not only his own past, and that of the conservative movement, but the American past as well, since much of his piece is a Parson Weems-style potted history of our country, apparently written to vindicate his optimism that everything will come out right in the end. I have already written about right-wingers’ longstanding taste for distorting the record of the past to conform to their ideology. That kind of historical mythology is now the law in many Republican states. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/26/david-brooks-faces-the-truth-of-us-history-and-runs-away/
David Brooks faces the truth of US history -- and runs away
David Brooks faces the truth of US history — and runs away
NY Times' pet conservative offers a lengthy apologia for America — and gets pretty much everything wrong
By Mike Lofgren
Contributing Writer
Published July 26, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) America’s so-called sane conservatives have had a lot of explaining to do since 2016, and even more since January of this year. How do they dissociate themselves from Donald Trump and still justify their own continuing belief in a conservative ideological project that is supposed to be good for America, but in practice has brought chaos, misery and poisonous social strife?
....(more)....
This form of rationalization and denial is embarrassingly evident in a recent apologia by David Brooks, the New York Times’ notion of an ideal conservative. Writing in The Atlantic, Brooks says that the conservatism he enthusiastically discovered in the early 1980s was a movement bursting with ideas. There was a minority within the movement, he admits, who were not real conservatives, but reactionaries. At the beginning, they were barely worthy of notice.
....(snip)....
Brooks’ labored apologia is a history — his history — of recent American conservatism, a Manichaean fable of civilized, conscientious conservatives full of marvelous ideas and déclassé, knuckle-dragging right-wingers. But beyond its heroes-and-villains simplicity, the piece reminds us of a characteristic habit of conservatives.
Brooks distorts not only his own past, and that of the conservative movement, but the American past as well, since much of his piece is a Parson Weems-style potted history of our country, apparently written to vindicate his optimism that everything will come out right in the end. I have already written about right-wingers’ longstanding taste for distorting the record of the past to conform to their ideology. That kind of historical mythology is now the law in many Republican states. .................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/26/david-brooks-faces-the-truth-of-us-history-and-runs-away/
July 26, 2025
Tri-Rail is facing a financial emergency that could put it out of business by the end of next year, and officials are scrambling to convince the state to restore funding before it’s too late.
Tri-Ral carries 4.4 million commuters a year to and from locations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. While it pales in comparison to the public transit systems of major metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Washington D.C., it represents an irreplaceable lifeline for its users in South Florida.
“It’s extremely important to those who don’t have cars and who rely totally on Tri-Rail to go their jobs, to go to the store, to those who can’t afford any other type of transportation,” said Broward County Commissioner Lamar Fisher, who sits on the governing board of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail.
In the budget passed last month by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s share of funding for Tri-Rail plummeted from $42 million a year to $15 million. Earlier this year, David Dech, the executive director for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, warned the three county governments that they will need to contribute $10 million a year each to offset a looming budget shortfall caused by the expiration of federal stimulus payments that have helped keep Tri-Rail afloat. ............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/55305551/fl-florida-budget-cuts-threaten-tri-rails-future
Florida budget cuts threaten Tri-Rail's future
Tri-Rail is facing a financial emergency that could put it out of business by the end of next year, and officials are scrambling to convince the state to restore funding before it’s too late.
Tri-Ral carries 4.4 million commuters a year to and from locations in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties. While it pales in comparison to the public transit systems of major metropolitan areas like New York, Chicago and Washington D.C., it represents an irreplaceable lifeline for its users in South Florida.
“It’s extremely important to those who don’t have cars and who rely totally on Tri-Rail to go their jobs, to go to the store, to those who can’t afford any other type of transportation,” said Broward County Commissioner Lamar Fisher, who sits on the governing board of the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, which operates Tri-Rail.
In the budget passed last month by the Florida Legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s share of funding for Tri-Rail plummeted from $42 million a year to $15 million. Earlier this year, David Dech, the executive director for the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority, warned the three county governments that they will need to contribute $10 million a year each to offset a looming budget shortfall caused by the expiration of federal stimulus payments that have helped keep Tri-Rail afloat. ............(more)
https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/55305551/fl-florida-budget-cuts-threaten-tri-rails-future
July 26, 2025
Hospital warns staff not to defend chaplain detained by ICE
Cincinnati hospital fired two chaplains for speaking out after colleague detained during routine check-in
By Tatyana Tandanpolie
Staff Reporter
Published July 25, 2025 2:52PM (EDT)
(Salon) The Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital that once employed an interfaith chaplain now detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has warned employees that speaking out on his behalf could violate its policies, according to a message shared with staff this week and obtained by Salon.
In an internal letter to staff, sent Thursday, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital CEO and President Steve Davis addressed the detention of Imam Ayman Soliman earlier this month, informing staff that the hospital does not “publicly comment on personnel or legal matters.” He also reminded employees of the hospital’s expectation that staff “live our values and follow our policies, every day and in every interaction” despite the “divisiveness outside of our walls.”
“As a Nonprofit Charitable Organization, Cincinnati Children’s has strict rules it must follow when engaging in activities that could be characterized as political,” the letter reads. “Our organization is politically agnostic, not favoring one party over the other; we advocate for policies that improve pediatric health.”
The letter comes after the hospital fired two chaplains over recent social media posts, including ones that noted an employee’s participation in a recent protest, and another’s interview with a local media outlet about her recent visit with Soliman at a county jail. Soliman worked as an interfaith chaplain at the hospital until June, when his asylum status and work authorization were revoked. ICE detained Soliman during a routine check-in earlier this month and he remains in custody as the Cleveland Immigration Court weighs whether to release him on bond. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/25/hospital-warns-staff-not-to-defend-chaplain-detained-by-ice/
Hospital warns staff not to defend chaplain detained by ICE
Hospital warns staff not to defend chaplain detained by ICE
Cincinnati hospital fired two chaplains for speaking out after colleague detained during routine check-in
By Tatyana Tandanpolie
Staff Reporter
Published July 25, 2025 2:52PM (EDT)
(Salon) The Cincinnati, Ohio, hospital that once employed an interfaith chaplain now detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement has warned employees that speaking out on his behalf could violate its policies, according to a message shared with staff this week and obtained by Salon.
In an internal letter to staff, sent Thursday, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital CEO and President Steve Davis addressed the detention of Imam Ayman Soliman earlier this month, informing staff that the hospital does not “publicly comment on personnel or legal matters.” He also reminded employees of the hospital’s expectation that staff “live our values and follow our policies, every day and in every interaction” despite the “divisiveness outside of our walls.”
“As a Nonprofit Charitable Organization, Cincinnati Children’s has strict rules it must follow when engaging in activities that could be characterized as political,” the letter reads. “Our organization is politically agnostic, not favoring one party over the other; we advocate for policies that improve pediatric health.”
The letter comes after the hospital fired two chaplains over recent social media posts, including ones that noted an employee’s participation in a recent protest, and another’s interview with a local media outlet about her recent visit with Soliman at a county jail. Soliman worked as an interfaith chaplain at the hospital until June, when his asylum status and work authorization were revoked. ICE detained Soliman during a routine check-in earlier this month and he remains in custody as the Cleveland Immigration Court weighs whether to release him on bond. ...................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/25/hospital-warns-staff-not-to-defend-chaplain-detained-by-ice/
July 25, 2025
(WTOP) Drivers in the D.C. region spend more time dealing with traffic than any other city in the nation, according to a new ranking from Consumer Affairs which looked at traffic data from the 50 biggest metropolitan areas in the nation.
The D.C. region knocked Los Angeles off its throne to claim the top spot, and did that with an average commute of 33.4 minutes and traffic congestion in the region which lasts 6 hours and 35 minutes.
“D.C. drivers have a tougher experience overall, and that is the combination of brutal commute times and daily gridlock,” said Lauren Jobe with Consumer Affairs. “When you add that up over the year, that’s about 71 days worth of just sitting in traffic.”
Now, Los Angeles still takes the checkered flag for the most congestion, with almost eight hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic each day, but the average commute time in the City of Angels is just over 30 minutes. ................(more)
https://wtop.com/dc/2025/07/dc-regions-brutal-commute-ranks-it-1-for-the-worst-traffic/
DC region's 'brutal commute' ranks No. 1 for the country's worst traffic
(WTOP) Drivers in the D.C. region spend more time dealing with traffic than any other city in the nation, according to a new ranking from Consumer Affairs which looked at traffic data from the 50 biggest metropolitan areas in the nation.
The D.C. region knocked Los Angeles off its throne to claim the top spot, and did that with an average commute of 33.4 minutes and traffic congestion in the region which lasts 6 hours and 35 minutes.
“D.C. drivers have a tougher experience overall, and that is the combination of brutal commute times and daily gridlock,” said Lauren Jobe with Consumer Affairs. “When you add that up over the year, that’s about 71 days worth of just sitting in traffic.”
Now, Los Angeles still takes the checkered flag for the most congestion, with almost eight hours of bumper-to-bumper traffic each day, but the average commute time in the City of Angels is just over 30 minutes. ................(more)
https://wtop.com/dc/2025/07/dc-regions-brutal-commute-ranks-it-1-for-the-worst-traffic/
July 25, 2025
Trump’s superpower is no longer working
Distracting the media and the public is not making the Epstein scandal go away
By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published July 24, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) Fifty-six years ago this week, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the moon.
Today, millions believe that trip never happened. Instead, they are content in the belief that it was all created on a Hollywood soundstage. “Our science wasn’t advanced enough to go to the moon,” is one conspiratorial argument. Many of those same people think our science is currently advanced enough to create vaccines to cause diseases, pollute the skies with chemtrails and seed clouds to cause life-ending flash floods — even though climate change can’t possibly be caused by humans, because we’re not advanced enough to influence the weather.
....(snip)....
Trump is apparently racing toward dementia at breakneck speed. He’s Jesus’ best friend. He’s admired as a genius. He’s derided as a charlatan. He’s lied about bone spurs, where Obama was born, his university and his charities. He’s lied about clearing rubble at Ground Zero, lied to his wives, lied about the perfect phone call, inauguration crowds, classified documents, the insurrection and losing an election.
Yet many still believe the president. Imagine, then, what it must be like to deal with his administration as a reporter, and to hear him and his staff repeat easily discoverable and previously documented lies with impunity every day. The words “communists,” “socialists,” “evil Democrats,” “witch hunt” and “fake news” spew forth, not only with vigor, but as if nothing more needs to be said about any subject other than a catchy headline. On Tuesday, Trump even got it down to a simple sentence: “It’s time to go after people.”
....(snip)....
Never mind. That explains Donald Trump’s continued, recent presence in the hot, glaring light of public attention. He has already tried to deflect this by going after Obama, accusing him of treason. But Trump’s distractions aren’t working this time.
For the first time, maybe, in his life, Trump can’t convince his crowd that man didn’t land on the moon. ......................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/24/trumps-superpower-is-no-longer-working/
Trump's superpower is no longer working
Trump’s superpower is no longer working
Distracting the media and the public is not making the Epstein scandal go away
By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published July 24, 2025 9:00AM (EDT)
(Salon) Fifty-six years ago this week, U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed and walked on the moon.
Today, millions believe that trip never happened. Instead, they are content in the belief that it was all created on a Hollywood soundstage. “Our science wasn’t advanced enough to go to the moon,” is one conspiratorial argument. Many of those same people think our science is currently advanced enough to create vaccines to cause diseases, pollute the skies with chemtrails and seed clouds to cause life-ending flash floods — even though climate change can’t possibly be caused by humans, because we’re not advanced enough to influence the weather.
....(snip)....
Trump is apparently racing toward dementia at breakneck speed. He’s Jesus’ best friend. He’s admired as a genius. He’s derided as a charlatan. He’s lied about bone spurs, where Obama was born, his university and his charities. He’s lied about clearing rubble at Ground Zero, lied to his wives, lied about the perfect phone call, inauguration crowds, classified documents, the insurrection and losing an election.
Yet many still believe the president. Imagine, then, what it must be like to deal with his administration as a reporter, and to hear him and his staff repeat easily discoverable and previously documented lies with impunity every day. The words “communists,” “socialists,” “evil Democrats,” “witch hunt” and “fake news” spew forth, not only with vigor, but as if nothing more needs to be said about any subject other than a catchy headline. On Tuesday, Trump even got it down to a simple sentence: “It’s time to go after people.”
....(snip)....
Never mind. That explains Donald Trump’s continued, recent presence in the hot, glaring light of public attention. He has already tried to deflect this by going after Obama, accusing him of treason. But Trump’s distractions aren’t working this time.
For the first time, maybe, in his life, Trump can’t convince his crowd that man didn’t land on the moon. ......................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/24/trumps-superpower-is-no-longer-working/
July 25, 2025
(Michigan Advance) In a fiery press conference in Lansing, state Rep. Betsy Coffia unveiled Thursday new legislation aimed at banning the use of face masks and requiring clear identification for all law enforcement officers interacting with the public in Michigan.
The “Justice Needs No Mask” bill comes in response to growing public concern over masked, unidentified federal agents conducting immigration raids and detentions across the country.
Coffia, who represents a largely rural district in Northern Michigan with a strong agricultural presence, said that the fear among migrant farmworkers and their families was just one factor behind the legislation, which is expected to be introduced Thursday.
“They are living in fear today. They are living in fear of being targeted by masked, unidentified armed men in unmarked vans,” said Coffia (D-Traverse City). “If we want safe communities in Michigan, this bill is a key piece of the conversation because justice needs to wear no mask, not in a free society, not in America.” ..................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/24/michigan-house-democrats-introduce-bill-to-ban-masked-unidentified-law-enforcement-officers/
Michigan House Democrats introduce bill to ban masked, unidentified law enforcement officers
(Michigan Advance) In a fiery press conference in Lansing, state Rep. Betsy Coffia unveiled Thursday new legislation aimed at banning the use of face masks and requiring clear identification for all law enforcement officers interacting with the public in Michigan.
The “Justice Needs No Mask” bill comes in response to growing public concern over masked, unidentified federal agents conducting immigration raids and detentions across the country.
Coffia, who represents a largely rural district in Northern Michigan with a strong agricultural presence, said that the fear among migrant farmworkers and their families was just one factor behind the legislation, which is expected to be introduced Thursday.
“They are living in fear today. They are living in fear of being targeted by masked, unidentified armed men in unmarked vans,” said Coffia (D-Traverse City). “If we want safe communities in Michigan, this bill is a key piece of the conversation because justice needs to wear no mask, not in a free society, not in America.” ..................(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/24/michigan-house-democrats-introduce-bill-to-ban-masked-unidentified-law-enforcement-officers/
July 24, 2025
Trump admin claimed CECOT held worst “terrorists.” Then they just let them go
The administration, by its own logic, freed the world’s most dangerous terrorists at a 25-to-1 exchange rate
By Charles R. Davis
News Editor
Published July 24, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) They were, beyond a doubt, the “worst of the worst.” Torture, rape, murder — you name it, that’s the sort of thing that an immigrant probably did to deserve being sent to CECOT, El Salvador’s infamous detention center, which up until recently held more than 250 Venezuelans accused of being some of the most violent criminals on planet Earth. They were so bad, it was said, better viewed as an invading army than as individual humans with inalienable rights, that one could skip the whole trial-and-jury thing and jump straight to a sentence of life behind bars in a foreign prison.
“I’ve talked to the highest level at ICE,” U.S. border czar Tom Homan said in April, “and they’ve reassured me several times: Everyone that was removed under the Alien Enemies Act was a gang member and a terrorist.”
....(snip)....
In a July 18 post on social media, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that the Venezuelans held in his country were headed to South America in return for 10 Americans being held by the government in Caracas. In the end, the Trump administration decided to release — by its own logic — some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists, back to the criminal organization that directed their actions, at a 25-to-1 exchange rate.
It’s less confounding when one considers that the Trump administration had access to the same information as the general public. Despite its outward-facing rhetoric, the administration knew that the majority of those sent to CECOT had never been convicted of a crime of any nature, in the U.S. or elsewhere. Many were not even “illegal immigrants,” having entered the country only after scheduling an asylum interview; more than 60 had pending asylum claims at the time they were shoved onto a plane headed to El Salvador, in defiance of a court order. And U.S. intelligence had already determined that the claim of a Venezuelan-directed gang invasion was bogus (Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, attacked her own analysts as “deep state actors”).
Victims of this propaganda campaign — an effort to parade brown bodies before Fox News’ prime-time audience — included Andry José Hernández Romero, a gay man, hairstylist and asylum-seeker who was determined to be a vicious gang member based solely on a pair of tattoos dedicated to his mother and father. For more than 120 days, his family and attorneys were denied any information about him; they did not know whether he was dead or alive, and they only knew he was ever at CECOT because he was brutalized upon arrival, and that brutalization was captured on video. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/24/trump-admin-claimed-cecot-held-worst-terrorists-then-they-just-let-them-go/
Trump admin claimed CECOT held worst "terrorists." Then they just let them go
Trump admin claimed CECOT held worst “terrorists.” Then they just let them go
The administration, by its own logic, freed the world’s most dangerous terrorists at a 25-to-1 exchange rate
By Charles R. Davis
News Editor
Published July 24, 2025 6:30AM (EDT)
(Salon) They were, beyond a doubt, the “worst of the worst.” Torture, rape, murder — you name it, that’s the sort of thing that an immigrant probably did to deserve being sent to CECOT, El Salvador’s infamous detention center, which up until recently held more than 250 Venezuelans accused of being some of the most violent criminals on planet Earth. They were so bad, it was said, better viewed as an invading army than as individual humans with inalienable rights, that one could skip the whole trial-and-jury thing and jump straight to a sentence of life behind bars in a foreign prison.
“I’ve talked to the highest level at ICE,” U.S. border czar Tom Homan said in April, “and they’ve reassured me several times: Everyone that was removed under the Alien Enemies Act was a gang member and a terrorist.”
....(snip)....
In a July 18 post on social media, El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced that the Venezuelans held in his country were headed to South America in return for 10 Americans being held by the government in Caracas. In the end, the Trump administration decided to release — by its own logic — some of the world’s most dangerous terrorists, back to the criminal organization that directed their actions, at a 25-to-1 exchange rate.
It’s less confounding when one considers that the Trump administration had access to the same information as the general public. Despite its outward-facing rhetoric, the administration knew that the majority of those sent to CECOT had never been convicted of a crime of any nature, in the U.S. or elsewhere. Many were not even “illegal immigrants,” having entered the country only after scheduling an asylum interview; more than 60 had pending asylum claims at the time they were shoved onto a plane headed to El Salvador, in defiance of a court order. And U.S. intelligence had already determined that the claim of a Venezuelan-directed gang invasion was bogus (Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, attacked her own analysts as “deep state actors”).
Victims of this propaganda campaign — an effort to parade brown bodies before Fox News’ prime-time audience — included Andry José Hernández Romero, a gay man, hairstylist and asylum-seeker who was determined to be a vicious gang member based solely on a pair of tattoos dedicated to his mother and father. For more than 120 days, his family and attorneys were denied any information about him; they did not know whether he was dead or alive, and they only knew he was ever at CECOT because he was brutalized upon arrival, and that brutalization was captured on video. ................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/24/trump-admin-claimed-cecot-held-worst-terrorists-then-they-just-let-them-go/
July 24, 2025
Trump’s poll numbers are cratering. Why won’t he change course?
Six months into his second term, the president refuses to change his policies and behavior
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published July 24, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) In a healthy democracy, public opinion can be understood as a type of barometer that elected officials use to calibrate their agendas and behaviors. When policies or actions are unpopular, presidents often pivot and change. If their agenda proves popular, those “single-minded seekers of reelection” will likely do more of it.
And then there’s Donald Trump.
Six months into his second term, recent polls have shown a significant drop in the president’s numbers. The latest Economist/YouGov poll, released on Tuesday and covering the period of July 18-21, finds that just 41% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office, while 55% disapprove. With a difference of minus 14%, his net approval is deeply underwater, marking “a record low for his second term, and is also lower than approval of Trump for most of his first term.” The survey also shows widespread levels of net disapproval over a range of issues, including inflation and prices (-29%), jobs and the economy (-12%), foreign policy (-11%) and immigration (-6%).
....(snip)....
Donald Trump is a different character altogether. Instead of modifying his course like his predecessors, Trump is continuing — and in some cases even escalating — his unpopular policies. This is the man who proclaimed “I alone can fix it,” a claim he continues to believe. His view of himself, at least in public settings, is that of an infallible, almost deific, figure. Following last year’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., he has come to believe he was “saved by God” for a divine purpose: “I’d like to think God thinks I’m going to straighten out our country.”
Trump’s refusal to change course in response to public opinion does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects a much larger autocratic trend by the American right, whose anti-majoritarian strategy and ideology includes voter suppression and nullification, gerrymandering and the repeal of birthright citizenship, as well as using the courts and “dark money” to ignore the public will on a range of issues such as women’s reproductive rights, separation of church and state, health, education, science and gun violence. As we recently saw in what was allegedly a politically-motivated shooting in Minnesota that killed a Democratic lawmaker, her husband and dog, and injured two others, it appears some MAGA supporters even support political violence to achieve their political goals. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/24/trumps-poll-numbers-are-cratering-why-wont-he-change-course/
Trump's poll numbers are cratering. Why won't he change course?
Trump’s poll numbers are cratering. Why won’t he change course?
Six months into his second term, the president refuses to change his policies and behavior
By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published July 24, 2025 6:45AM (EDT)
(Salon) In a healthy democracy, public opinion can be understood as a type of barometer that elected officials use to calibrate their agendas and behaviors. When policies or actions are unpopular, presidents often pivot and change. If their agenda proves popular, those “single-minded seekers of reelection” will likely do more of it.
And then there’s Donald Trump.
Six months into his second term, recent polls have shown a significant drop in the president’s numbers. The latest Economist/YouGov poll, released on Tuesday and covering the period of July 18-21, finds that just 41% of Americans approve of Trump’s performance in office, while 55% disapprove. With a difference of minus 14%, his net approval is deeply underwater, marking “a record low for his second term, and is also lower than approval of Trump for most of his first term.” The survey also shows widespread levels of net disapproval over a range of issues, including inflation and prices (-29%), jobs and the economy (-12%), foreign policy (-11%) and immigration (-6%).
....(snip)....
Donald Trump is a different character altogether. Instead of modifying his course like his predecessors, Trump is continuing — and in some cases even escalating — his unpopular policies. This is the man who proclaimed “I alone can fix it,” a claim he continues to believe. His view of himself, at least in public settings, is that of an infallible, almost deific, figure. Following last year’s assassination attempt in Butler, Pa., he has come to believe he was “saved by God” for a divine purpose: “I’d like to think God thinks I’m going to straighten out our country.”
Trump’s refusal to change course in response to public opinion does not exist in a vacuum. It reflects a much larger autocratic trend by the American right, whose anti-majoritarian strategy and ideology includes voter suppression and nullification, gerrymandering and the repeal of birthright citizenship, as well as using the courts and “dark money” to ignore the public will on a range of issues such as women’s reproductive rights, separation of church and state, health, education, science and gun violence. As we recently saw in what was allegedly a politically-motivated shooting in Minnesota that killed a Democratic lawmaker, her husband and dog, and injured two others, it appears some MAGA supporters even support political violence to achieve their political goals. ..................(more)
https://www.salon.com/2025/07/24/trumps-poll-numbers-are-cratering-why-wont-he-change-course/
July 24, 2025
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration official running the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified Wednesday the response to flash flooding in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend served as an “outstanding” model for the rest of the country.
His conclusions about the catastrophic flooding, which had a death toll of 135 and included extensive search and rescue operations, were questioned by several members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee holding the hearing.
David Richardson, the senior official performing the duties of FEMA administrator, told the panel that he “can’t see anything that we did wrong.”
“The response in Texas, which was community-led, state managed and federally supported, brought the maximum amount of capability to bear in Texas at the right time and the right place,” Richardson said. “We made that happen and that is a model of how response should be done.” ..............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/23/repub/fema-acting-chief-defends-response-to-texas-flood-catastrophe-as-outstanding/
FEMA acting chief defends response to Texas flood catastrophe as 'outstanding'
WASHINGTON — The Trump administration official running the Federal Emergency Management Agency testified Wednesday the response to flash flooding in Texas over the Fourth of July weekend served as an “outstanding” model for the rest of the country.
His conclusions about the catastrophic flooding, which had a death toll of 135 and included extensive search and rescue operations, were questioned by several members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee holding the hearing.
David Richardson, the senior official performing the duties of FEMA administrator, told the panel that he “can’t see anything that we did wrong.”
“The response in Texas, which was community-led, state managed and federally supported, brought the maximum amount of capability to bear in Texas at the right time and the right place,” Richardson said. “We made that happen and that is a model of how response should be done.” ..............(more)
https://michiganadvance.com/2025/07/23/repub/fema-acting-chief-defends-response-to-texas-flood-catastrophe-as-outstanding/
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