GOOD NEWS

Trump hits a new low—that’s actually good

Donald Trump is making history on his (second) 100th day in office.

• According to a new poll from ABC News and Washington Post, Trump has the lowest approval rating of any president at this point—in at least 80 years.

Only 39% of Americans approve of Trump’s job as president right now—great news for anybody who hates fascism.

SOME BACKGROUND: Political scientists say Trump was largely elected on two key issues: immigration and the economy.

• By small margins, voters felt Trump could handle both issues better than Harris.

But now, the new poll found a majority of Americans disapprove of Trump’s handling of both, while 60% of voters think he’s out of touch with their everyday concerns.

Going even further, most Americans think Trump is going too far on expanding the power of the presidency, closing federal agencies and laying off workers, and even deporting poor, migrant workers.

And these numbers are BEFORE Americans really start seeing prices go up from Trump’s trade war.

• Imagine where these numbers will be when we start paying $50 to $100 more for a pair of shoes, for example.

WHY THIS POLLING IS GOOD NEWS: A popular dictator is much more dangerous in the long run than an unpopular one—and Trump is very unpopular.

• Scholars say popular autocrats can more easily implement authoritarian measures with public backing, making their regimes more resilient and harder to challenge.

For example, both Hitler and Mussolini were incredibly popular at the start of their reigns.

• In fact, historians believe that when Hitler combined the roles of president and chancellor in 1934—the moment he became dictator—some 65-75% of Germans truly supported the move.

Donald Trump couldn’t get 65% of Americans to agree with anything—except maybe how poorly he’s handling the stock market.

GO DEEPER: In 100 days, Trump has invented something new—clown-show fascism.

🗳️ Question of the day

On Thursday we asked: Given Trump’s idiotic handling of the economy, do you think Trump's stupidity will save American Democracy?

It was an absolute blowout.

READERS WRITE: Lili really hit the nail on the head, saying, “The idiot has no idea what he's doing And cares nothing about the US! It's all about HIM!... Sickening!!”

Curtis agrees: “He is as sharp as a marble. He has got by his entire life by lying stealing cheating and has no business being in the White House. He’s a fake.”

A few others expressed concerns. Audgen voted no and said, “I think his stupid ideas are cover for what he and his egomaniacal billionaires are plotting. I pray I’m wrong!”

TODAY’S QUESTION: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who’s accepted millions of dollars from corporate America, says Democrats shouldn’t use the word “oligarchy.” Do you think Americans know what an oligarchy is? Tell us why after you vote!

GO DEEPER: Bernie had the perfect response to Slotkin 😂

📰 Most important stories

There’s a lot of BS out there. Here’s what’s actually important—and why.

White House refuses to rule out arresting Supreme Court justices

Why it matters: The Trump administration is now waging an open war on the judicial branch. Its recent arrest of a local judge shows they have no scruples, and with these comments, the White House is signaling they have no limit. Full story from The New Republic.

Trump upends race in Canada, hands election to Liberals in dramatic turnaround

Why it matters: Trump’s idiocy did last night to Canada what it will do to his own party in 2026: hand the progressive opposition a massive, turnaround victory. It even cost the Conservative Party’s leader—who modeled himself after Trump—his own seat in parliament. Full story from the CBC.

Israel is using starvation as a “weapon of war”

Why it matters: Palestinians are begging anyone who will listen—most recently, the International Court of Justice—to step in and do something about Israel’s genocidal campaign in the Gaza Strip. Israel has killed hundreds of aid workers, including nearly 300 UN staffers and dozens of paramedics. Full story from Common Dreams.

LESSONS OF HISTORY

Vietnam, 50 years later

Tomorrow marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Fall of Saigon—and the end of nearly 20 years of U.S. aggression in Vietnam.

• On April 30, 1975, communist forces captured Ho Chi Minh City (then Saigon), officially ending the Vietnam War and exposing the colossal human cost of America's imperial ambitions.

Fifty years later, responsible citizens must ask: Was it worth it?

BY THE NUMBERS: Officially, some 58,220 American military personnel died in the war—which is usually the only number cited in American remembrance of the conflict.

• But when we measure the loss of life to include native people of color, the death toll rises astronomically.

An estimated 250,000 Vietnamese died fighting for the South, while anywhere from 400k to 1 million died fighting for the North.

• And that’s to say nothing of the 2 to 4 million Vietnamese civilians who perished, or the 30k to 250k who died in Cambodia from American bombing there.

American aggression in Vietnam also paved the way for the Cambodian Civil War and Pol Pot’s genocide, leading to the deaths of at least 3 million more.

• That puts the total death toll somewhere between 5.7 million and 8.6 million.

That staggering loss of life doesn’t even come close to the number of actual lives ruined—through lost homes, family members, and entire cultures.

YES, AND: None of the reasons the U.S. supposedly went to war in Vietnam—what the government told us would happen if we lost—actually happened when we lost.

• The domino theory was proven to be a lie: no other country in Southeast Asia converted to communism, and the U.S. defeat in Vietnam did not lead to a global communist revolution.

In addition to the millions dead, the war in Vietnam also led to economic problems at home, a total collapse in the public’s trust of government, and U.S. troops committing unthinkable war crimes.

• Short answer? No—the Vietnam “War” was not worth it.

WHY IT MATTERS: As the British philosopher George Santayana once said, those who fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat them.

• Today, leaders from both parties are hyping up another alleged “threat” in Asia that’s really only a threat to the interests of America’s ruling class: China.

Only a clear-eyed view of what’s at stake—and mass mobilization of the working class—can prevent another imperial disaster like Vietnam, Iraq, or Afghanistan.

• If we don't remember the true lessons of Vietnam, we are already on the road to repeating them.

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👀 Under the Radar

Here are some stories the algorithm may have kept out of your feed.

• The federal minimum wage has crossed an important line

• Here’s who will suffer the most from Trump’s trade war

• Kamala Harris is set to make her first public remarks since the election. Here’s what she’ll say

• Michelle Obama reveals her biggest fear of Trump’s second term

• Another 2028 contender for the Democratic nomination is (rightly) slamming the party

• The short term and long term problems of Social Security, explained simply

• Trump is undoing a change Biden made to a federal holiday

• Elon Musk is now taking aim at a beloved American institution started by JFK

• Thanks to Trump’s incompetence, a newly red state may swing back to purple

• Here’s what the movie Conclave got right, and what it got wrong

• A city where 1 in 5 live in extreme poverty is getting a new NFL stadium—and it’s going to cost taxpayers there over a billion dollars

• John Oliver calls for a Trump official’s worm-riddled head