Donald Trump is targeting a massive Democratic fundraising tool in an upcoming presidential memorandum banning foreign donations in U.S. elections, according to reporting from Politico.
Donations platform ActBlue, which almost all Democratic candidates use in both primary and general elections, has often been criticized by Republicans—without evidence—for what they see as fraudulent donations from foreign actors. Republican Representative Bryan Steil ordered ActBlue to turn over its records in October and found nothing of the sort. There was actually evidence of ActBlue’s new program for automatic rejections of donations from foreign nationals.
ActBlue raised $400 million in the first three months of 2025, and Trump’s order would effectively choke off donations to the Democratic Party.
That’s the idea.
It’s a real “I know you are but what am I” charge that they are taking foreign donations considering all the Republicans who’ve been caught doing that but that’s how they roll. The right has always been jealous of the success of Act Blue (which is simply a pass through program for small donors) because they were never able to replicate it. So they must destroy it.
I have no idea if this gambit will work. But I always knew they’d try.
Americans are quickly souring on Donald Trump’s handling of his job as president
54% strongly or somewhat disapprove and 41% approve
As recently as one month ago, more Americans approved than disapproved of Trump’s job performance
In that time, the share approving of Trump’s job handling has fallen from 93% to 86% among Republicans, from 40% to 30% among Independents, and from 10% to 7% among Democrats
Trump’s approval is underwater among 18- to 29-year-olds (33% approve vs. 57% disapprove), 30- to 44-year-olds (35% vs. 58%), 45- to 64-year-olds (47% vs. 50%) and adults 65 and older (47% vs. 52%)
More Americans disapprove than approve of Trump’s job managing the economy
41% approve and 53% disapprove
His net approval of -12 on jobs and the economy is the worst Americans have ever rated Trump’s handling of these issues as president; Americans were more likely to approve than disapprove of it throughout Trump’s first term
While Americans have been growing more critical of Trump’s handling of the economy for weeks now, this week’s poll also shows Trump underwater on an issue where he was previously popular: immigration
45% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling immigration, while 50% disapprove, a net approval of -5
That’s down from 50% approval and 44% disapproval — a net approval of +6 — on Trump’s handling of immigration when it was last asked about two weeks ago
49% of Americans say Trump’s approach to immigration has been too harsh, while 38% say it’s been about right and just 5% say it’s been too soft
Americans overwhelmingly say the government should “try to solve problems carefully… even if that means they might solve the problem more slowly” (81%) than that government “should try to solve problems as quickly as possible, even if that means they make more mistakes” (19%)
The negative views about Trump’s handling of immigration come among a populace that views immigration’s effects more positively than Americans did during Joe Biden’s term
40% of Americans say immigration makes the U.S. better off, while 29% say it makes the U.S. worse off and 19% say it doesn’t make much difference
Before Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Americans for years were more likely to say immigration made the U.S. worse off than better off
He’s actually managing to make Americans feel more sympathetic to immigrants with this draconian nonsense. I guess we can call that a silver lining?
In a completely unhinged interview, Steven Miller suggests the Supreme Court is made up of “rogue radical communist left-wing” judges and demands America sides with Trump “to remove these terrorists from our communities.”
I don’t think this is actually very smart. Maybe Alito and Thomas (and their equally unhinged spouses) are applauding but I kind of doubt the rest of them are amused.
This is the man who is in charge of Trump’s immigration policy.
Margaret Sullivan made a super important point in her newsletter the other day. The way the press is reporting on these Executive Orders, which is the only thing he’s actually doing,
Immediately after retaking the presidency in January, Donald Trump began signing executive orders with lightning speed. Wielding his fancy pen like a wrecking ball, he acted like he was autographing new copies of “The Art of the Deal” for his fans.
[….]
In his first three months in office, Trump has signed more than 120 executive orders — not only a record number for any president in that short time but closing in on what some former presidents have signed in their entire terms.
And the media — particularly in credulous headlines and news alerts — has too often covered them as if they’re settled law, accepting Trump’s inflated sense of his own power. A few examples:
“Trump Signs Order Barring Transgender Student-Athletes From Women’s Sports,” said a New York Times headline .
“Trump signs executive order to dismantle the Education Department,” according to NBC News.
“Trump Signs Order Requiring Citizenship Proof to Vote in Federal Elections,” blared another Times headline.
Deeper in the stories, journalists often pointed out serious legal or constitutional issues, but you’d never know it from the headlines…
But as I’ve noted before, many people never get very far into a news story. They scan a headline or a social media post, and come away with a conclusion that’s incorrect. And while it’s true that it’s difficult to get much nuance or context into a six- or eight-word news alert, it’s the media’s responsibility not to leave the public with a false impression.
To put it bluntly, these orders aren’t the law. Legally, executive orders essentially are memos to Trump’s subordinates to act within their existing powers. Those powers are authorized by laws enacted by this organization you might have heard of? It’s called Congress. (And, after all, Congress gets top billing in Article I of the Constitution as the body that gets all legislative powers. The president, says Article II, is supposed to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.)
Obviously, Trump doesn’t understand that his Executive Orders aren’t laws. He thinks he’s signing legislation. But the rest of us should be very clear that these are not laws and do not have the same authority.
It will be up to courts to decide just how much power Trump actually has to enact his own imperial orders (let’s hope not much) but a lot of what he’s doing is in contravention of laws passed by congress and signed into law which should force the courts to order that they not be followed. We’ll have to see. But none of us should ever think that this flurry of presidential decrees have the force of law in and of themselves. They do not.
The media should make that clear every time he signs one.
I’d never heard of this guy Andrew Shultz and his podcast. I understand he’s a significant manosphere influencer. Buttigieg did what people insist Democrats need to do by going into those alternate media spaces that lean right to make his case and I think he was effective:
Some more highlights:
I love to hear him talk about reclaiming values & democracy, but Pete Buttigieg talking about *belonging* in politics is still my favorite thing.
This clip is right at the end of him telling a story of not correcting an older woman who told him she’d met his wonderful “friend”. pic.twitter.com/UGFsXVKotI
Amazing. In *two* minutes, Pete Buttigieg got Andrew Shulz to see why government research is necessary.
That is why these conversations matter. A lot of the hosts & audience would never hear a message like this one. But when they do, it makes sense. pic.twitter.com/GKtV3lYicw
Pete Buttigieg on DOGE. He started this segment making the distinction that if DOGE was about efficiency he’d be all for it because the layers of process in government make stuff hard to achieve & it’s what he worked on as mayor. But it’s not, it’s about consolidating power. pic.twitter.com/gQKJBH5FVn
I’m not entirely convinced that this is the silver bullet to get young men into the Democratic party but it sure can’t hurt. Just showing another side to the arguments, especially when wielded by someone as good at this as Buttigieg is worth trying.
Gavin Newsom bringing Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon on his podcast to tell them how wonderful they are is something else. That’s sane washing the worst of the worst. He’s behaving like a patsy in front of his own audience and persuading the wingnuts that their fringe dwellers owned him. If he did what Buttigieg just did, which he used to be good at, he might make some strides with the influencers who aren’t 100% in the tank, like this guy and Joe Rogan.
US President Donald Trump is moving too fast, alienating allies, making Americans poorer, and tarnishing the sterling reputation of US assets, Citadel CEO and founder Ken Griffin said Wednesday.
Though the president may have identified real problems, his methods to solve them don’t appear to be working, and are unlikely to revive American manufacturing, Griffin told Semafor’s Gina Chon at the World Economy Summit in Washington, DC.
Previously, Griffin said, “no brand compared” to US Treasurys, the strength of the US dollar, or the nation’s creditworthiness. But Trump’s tactics have “eroded” that reputation. “We put that brand at risk,” the billionaire hedge fund manager said. “It can be a lifetime to repair the damage that has been done.”
Investors have dumped US stocks and Treasurys in recent weeks in response to Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs on imports to the US. While most countries have been granted a 90-day reprieve, Trump has increased duties on China and suggested he might fire Jerome Powell, the respected governor of the US Federal Reserve. (Trump walked back those comments, saying he has no plans to remove Powell.)
Using the euro as a reference, the US “has become 20% poorer in four weeks,” Griffin said, an environment that produces no winners or bright spots. “There’s no great opportunity when the pie is rapidly shrinking,” Griffin said. “All you’re trying to do is tread water and not drown.”
Griffin said his “gravest concern” is whether officials can conduct themselves so that they don’t “diminish the stature” of the US. “How does Canada feel about our country today versus two months ago? How does Europe feel about the United States today versus two months ago?” Griffin said.
He was signaling that he was going to get his revenge on his enemies, which included Canada and Europe, all during the campaign. I know I was expecting it and anyone who watched him carefully should have expected it too.
Griffin spent over $100 million on Republicans including Donald Trump[ in the last campaign. And now he’s whining because he’s getting exactly what he paid for. It’s maddening.
Griffin is one of the Republican Party’s biggest donors and has previously downplayed the threat of trade duties.
Still, the tariffs have been a major focus for Citadel, at a time when Griffin had expected a breather from the pressures of new regulations under the Biden administration.
Griffin had been relishing “the idea that I have four years to focus on my business.” But thanks to tariff turmoil, the country “has devolved into a nonsensical place” where business leaders are distracted by concerns such as supply chain disruptions.
Pete Buttigieg is comfortable in his own skin. Unlike Democrats who walk into a public space on the defensive or ready to do battle (fewer), Buttigieg’s affect is, “This is who I am. Take it or leave it.” It’s not only refreshing, but his openness allows some potential adversaries to lower their guards and listen.
On Wednesday, Buttigieg appeared on Andrew Schulz’s Flagrant podcast. “A Democrat has entered the manosphere,” declared The Verge:
According to co-host Akaash Singh, Flagrant, which has drawn controversy for its hosts’ willingness to engage with racist content, was unable to get Democrats to agree to come on the show, prompting Buttigieg to call them out for turning down the invitation. “We have to be encountering people who don’t think like us and who don’t view the world the way we do, both in order to become smarter and better and make better choices and take better positions, and also to persuade,” he said.
Piercing the bubbles
Coverage of the appearance is more about the novelty of it than the substance. Daily Beast presented a couple of quotes and described it as “the latest in a string of media hits for the former transportation secretary, popular Democratic surrogate, and potential 2028 presidential nominee who has urged the party to improve its anti-Trump attacks.”
In a nearly three-hour appearance on Flagrant—the bro-y, wildly popular podcast hosted by comedians Andrew Schulz, Akaash Singh, and crew—Buttigieg showed that a Harvard grad, Rhodes Scholar, former mayor, and former presidential candidate can chop it up with some of YouTube’s biggest comedy bros without sounding rehearsed, robotic, or condescending.
Amid rising concern within the Democratic Party about its growing disconnect with male voters — particularly younger men — the conversation doubled as a political case study: What does it look like when a high-profile Democrat engages the “manosphere” not with disdain, but on its own turf, and its own terms?
Buttigieg described the learning curve he’s climbing in how to care for his Black daughter’s hair. He spoke to the threat posed by growing economic inequality, competition with China, and the risks of unchecked corporate consolidation. And about coming out to his parents.
Openness breeds trust
Hillary Clinton in 2016 was perhaps the most qualified candidate Democrats had ever run for president. Except after decades of relentless right-wing attacks, her public affect was a woman looking at you over the top of a shield. Even if it was Wonder Woman’s, it didn’t make her feel open and approachable to many voters. She was a highly skilled public servant. Not so skilled as a candidate. Buttigieg has skills.
The conversation turned to Democrat’s ability to speak to voters’ concerns. Or lack of it. Republicans know better how to reach voters on an emotional level, Schulz noted (Daily Beast):
“If you want to help them, say the thing that you think they need help with out loud directly and say that you’re going to do it and then endeavor to do it,” Schulz said. “We already expect you guys not to do it so the least you could do is f—ing lie to me. You don’t even lie to me!”
In the clip above, Buttigieg replies by laying out the kind of country he wants, Democrats want, even if they are ineffective at expressing it. [start at timestamp 1:38:55]
“I want you to have good public transit to get to where you’re going, and then when you get to that job, I want you to be paid well,” Buttigieg said. “If you’re about to have a kid, I want you to know that you’re going to have parental leave when you have that kid and if you don’t want to have a kid I want you to have the the right to choose whether to have a kid.”
Schulz said he agreed with Buttigieg’s ideals, but he felt that Democrats’ lack of action plans and emotional appeals contributed more to a Trump victory than Trump himself.
“Give me the solution to the feeling that I have,” Schulz continued. “I think that there’s a lot of Americans who are at the end of their hope.”
“It seems you know exactly what we’re feeling because that was beautiful,” Schulz added. “But I need the statements that are going to satisfy those feelings because that’s what gets people to sway over and that’s what [Republicans are] f—ing good at.
All of us should be so comfortable in our own skins and beliefs. The left is fighting an asymmetrical messaging war funded by right-wing billionaires. We need to turn their weapons to our advantage.
🚨 An Empty Chair Town Hall…In JD Vance’s Hometown A 🧵 Boy, was American democracy on display last night in JD Vance’s hometown—Middletown, Ohio.Patriotism at its best.1/
Rep. Warren Davidson (R) missed a chance to show up for his constituents. So the sponsors added a new twist to old “empty chair” routine.
But even though he was invited in numerous ways—including certified mail, so we know he got the invite—Warren Davidson, the House member for the community and the (highly gerrymandered) Eighth Congressional district, didn’t show up. He missed out.2/
So sponsors asked “ChatGOP” AI to improvise answers based on Davidson’s public statements.
And even though he wasn’t there, we asked AI—as we called it, “ChatGOP”—to draw from Warren Davidson’s public statements to approximate the answer he might provide if he’d bothered to show up here, or at any town hall.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently ordered modifications to a room next to the Pentagon press briefing room to retrofit it with a makeup studio that can be used to prepare for television appearances, multiple sources told CBS News.
The price tag for the project was several thousand dollars, according to two of the sources, at a time when the administration is searching for cost-cutting measures.
“Changes and upgrades to the Pentagon Briefing Room are nothing new and routinely happen during changes in an administration,” a Defense Department spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News.
The renovation that was initially planned was estimated to cost more than $40,000, but the ideas were scaled back, sources said.
Every one of these Trumpers, starting with the man himself, really wants to be a drag queen. It’s obviously why they are so obsessed with transgender people. Their presence in the world makes them feel all confused down there.
*None of this is to say there’s anything wrong with wearing make-up or being transgender, of course. I’m just pointing out that these allegedly manly, pussy grabbing rapist types who love to insult everyone else’s looks and degrade LGBTQ people as deviant seem to have an unusual affinity for traditionally feminine grooming habits.
Philip Bump has a fascinating look today at American public opinion. It starts with this:
Perhaps the best analogy for the first three months of Donald Trump’s second presidentialterm comes not from American history but from Looney Tunes.
“We’re in the Wile E. Coyote Moment where actually all the key changes have already happened,” writer Julian Sanchez offered this month, “and we’re just waiting for folks to look down.”
That seems right. Trump and his allies have ripped through any number of systems that constitute and bolster the United States, but the full extent of damage hasn’t yet become apparent to most Americans — and may not for years. We’re still jogging straight ahead, unaware that there’s no more cliff underneath us.
Yowza. He notes that there is one group that seems to see that we’ve gone over: the markets. It’s a wild ride as they try to grab on to something on the way down, screaming for a lifeline. But Americans are only now beginning to see just how bad it really is. Bump does graphs and charts and they’re all interesting so I’ve included a gift link for you to look at all of them. They’re not good if you are a person who participates in the economy — which means all of us.
I’ll just highlight this one that shows maybe people are starting to understand what’s happening:
That slide may be in part because the discussion about Trump and immigration is no longer about his reversal ofBiden’s immigration approach (an approach that the Biden administration itself had to some extent revised before the 2024 election). Instead, it’s about Trump’s worrisome overreach.
Trump’s election last year was heavily centered on the idea that he would be a better steward for the economy than his opponent. His approval on jobs and the economy, though, has dropped quickly.
Has reality finally bitten? Time will tell. But those of us who have been running around with our hair on fire were sadly under-reacting. Hopefully, people are finally catching up but all that means is that they now realize what’s happening as we all go down together.
