TrumpThump ... Again: A New Feature On How Trump's Betraying MAGA Voters (Again)
Trump will do to the populist right what Barack Obama did to the populist left: screw ‘em over and leave them as dispirited and disillusioned as the populist left. One week in and it's already begun.
Cartoons by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
By Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy (1/19/25)
We’re heading into the second week of Donald Trump’s second term and so far it has been a runaway roller coaster launched into the air … in flames. The result has been either record low or record high approval ratings for a new presidency, depending on which source you ask. Trump’s approval numbers range from 47-54%.
Put aside the day-to-day numbers. It’s all pretty meaningless in the long-term. I expect Trump will do to the populist right what Barack Obama did to the populist left: screw ‘em over and leave them as alienated, dispirited and disillusioned as the populist left. Hell, one week in and — from H1B visas for Musk to threatened funding for meals for vulnerable kids and seniors — he’s already thumping his followers HARD.
Though a judge has ordered a temporary stay on Trump’s mission, make no mistake, it’s gonna happen.
Time to see where the real threat is
If I’m right — and we can avoid an actual Nazi putsch — maybe Americans both right and left can see they have more in common and finally understand that the enemy threatening us all is not those on the right or those on the left, but rather those obscenely wealthy SOBs ABOVE. The wealthy and all their twaddling bought-for toys in Congress and the White House, both Republicans and Democrats.
They are the threat.
They are the enemy.
They are who we must unite against.
TrumpThump
The people of this nation have been betrayed and used by both Trump and Biden, Democrats and Republicans alike. There is no difference. Both parties promise to bring relief to suffering Americans then turn around and rip us off for the wealthy, leave people without health care and decent wages, churn up more war or, as we have done many times before, gleefully sponsor genocide.
The people running this nation — both parties — are sociopathic criminals and traitors with only one loyalty: To enriching the already obscenely wealthy ruling corporate class.
It’s their only job. Period.
So, today is the first in what I trust will be a well-stuffed regular DeMOCKracy.ink feature for betrayed Republican voters: TrumpThump…Again
We’re off the starting line today with eight big betrayals.
Resist
Persist
Don’t be complicit!
YOU GET TO PAY MORE! Big Pharma Grins As Trump Kills Biden Order Lowering Prescription Drug Prices
"Trump is again proving that he lied to the American people and doesn't care about lowering costs—only what's best for himself and his ultra-rich friends."
By Jake Johnson
Common Dreams (1/21/24)
As part of a flurry of executive actions on the first day of his second White House term, President Donald Trump on Monday rescinded an order signed by his predecessor that aimed to develop programs to lower prescription drug prices in the United States—where residents pay far more for medications than people in peer countries.
News of Trump's rollback of Executive Order 14087—titled Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans—was buried amid dozens of other rescissions the president ordered shortly following his inauguration.
The decision to scrap Executive Order 14087 brings to a halt several pilot programs undertaken by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, including an experiment that involved offering generic medications for a $2 copay to Medicare Part D recipients.
[Trump’s] decision to scrap Executive Order 14087 brings to a halt several pilot programs undertaken by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, including an experiment that involved offering generic medications for a $2 copay to Medicare Part D recipients.
"This act is a good indication of how Trump will approach lower drug prices," Social Security Works, a progressive advocacy group, wrote in response to Trump's rescission of President Joe Biden's executive order.
Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, added that "the big question, which Trump hasn't addressed yet, is what he’ll do with government negotiation of drug prices under the Inflation Reduction Act."
Just days before Trump took office, the Biden administration announced a fresh slate of 15 medications set to be subject to direct price negotiations between the federal government and pharmaceutical companies, many of which have sued over the negotiation program—thus far unsuccessfully.
Reutersreported last week that the powerful pharmaceutical lobby has been pushing Trump's team to back changes to the Inflation Reduction Act that would weaken the price-negotiation provisions.
Keeping the billionaire robber barons happy!
"Donald Trump is already following through on his dangerous plans to jack up the costs of drugs to appease his billionaire backers after the Biden-Haris administration took on Big Pharma and won," Alex Floyd, rapid response director for the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement. "Trump is again proving that he lied to the American people and doesn't care about lowering costs—only what's best for himself and his ultra-rich friends."
Responding more broadly to the president's day-one wave of unilateral actions—which included attacks on immigrants and the climate—Working Families Party national director Maurice Mitchell said Tuesday that "Trump's flood of executive orders is just a cheap spectacle meant to distract us while his administration moves to gut our healthcare and SNAP benefits."
"Immigrant families aren't the reason we can't afford eggs or prescription drugs; billionaire CEOs are," Mitchell added.
Common Dreams work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
SCHOOL LUNCHES? Tell Your Bratty Punk Kid To Tighten Their Belt
'Catastrophic' cuts will hit Trump's base
[Some naive Kentucky school educators who enthusiastically voted for Trump are getting a brutal reality check. They shoulda’ done their homework— MT]
Some low-income communities that voted for Trump worry about GOP efforts to cut education funding including school lunches in poor Kentucky school districts.. CNN's Kyung Lah reports.
6-minute video
HEY, OLD FARTS, GO GET A JOB
Meals On Wheels Seniors ‘will panic’ If Trump’s Federal Aid Freeze Sticks, Spokesperson Says
By Mike Bedigan
The Independent (1/28/25)
A representative for Meals on Wheels warned that Donald Trump’s proposed pause on federal funding to the organization will cause “panic” among senior citizens who will not know where their next meals are coming from.
After Monday’s announcement from the White House that all federal grants, loans and other types of financial assistance were being frozen until a review, a spokesperson for Meals on Wheels America said uncertainty was causing “chaos” for local distributors and seniors.
A federal judge on Tuesday on Tuesday lifted the freeze until February 3, but it’s uncertain what the ultimate resolution of a court fight over the policy would be. …
OUCH! Man Votes For Trump, Wife Gets Deported
The David Packman Show (1/29/25)
8-minute video
SURVEILLANCE? OH, WE LOVE IT! Trump Revokes Biden Executive Order On Addressing AI Abuses
By David Shepardson
Reuters (1/20/25)
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday revoked a 2023 executive order signed by Joe Biden that sought to reduce the risks that artificial intelligence poses to consumers, workers and national security.
Biden's order required developers of AI systems that pose risks to U.S. national security, the economy, public health or safety to share the results of safety tests with the U.S. government, in line with the Defense Production Act, before they were released to the public.
The order also directed agencies to set standards for that testing and address related chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and cybersecurity risks. Biden's order came as U.S. lawmakers have failed to pass legislation setting guardrails for AI development. …
President Trump revoked an executive order that mandated AI developers share safety test results with the government.
The revoked order, signed by President Biden, aimed to mitigate risks AI poses to national security, the economy, and public health.
The Republican Party platform criticized the order for hindering AI innovation.
This move comes amidst growing concerns and excitement surrounding the potential impacts of AI, particularly generative AI.
ICE Detaining NATIVE AMERICANS: We're "More American Than Being American"
Status Coup News (1/27/25)
Jordan Chariton breaks down the updates on Trump's ICE raids against immigrants, which has now expanded to including Native Americans who have proper ID's. This additional action shows the motivations behind these immigration sweeps by ICE aren't for safety, but rather control over minority populaces.
12-minute video
Tearful Trump Voter HORRIFIED After Getting EXACTLY What She Voted For
The Humanist Report (1/28/25)
A Trump voter named Mayra Aluna is going viral on TikTok after uploading a video where she tearfully explains that she fears for her family’s safety now that Trump is instituting the mass deportation policy he said he would implement on the campaign trail. Mayra has expressed regret for her vote and vowed to help people impacted by his policies; however, other Trump voters–who now regret their votes–are planning to cut and run instead.
For example, a three-time Trump voter was ready to flee the country after Trump’s first day in office.
Additionally, educators in Kentucky—who voted for Trump—are hoping he doesn’t follow through on his promise of cutting education spending or abolishing the Department of Education. In this video we’ll talk about people who already regret their votes for Trump and explain why it’s important to use this opportunity to help them become class conscious.
21-minute video
FETUS COLLECTOR FREED! Trump Pardons Anti-Abortion Activist Who Had Fetuses In Her Home
In 2022 police discovered fetal remains inside her apartment. Five were “late-term” or “nearly full-term.”
Anti-abortion activists Lauren Handy speaks during a news conference in Washington, April 5, 2022. / AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta
By Pocharapon Neammanee
HuffPost (1/27/25)
…Bukovinac said she and Handy brought the remains back to Handy’s apartment. She said she believed that 110 of the fetuses were aborted during the first trimester of pregnancy, and that the five fetal remains police found were “late-term” or “nearly full-term.”
The medical waste company, Curtis Bay Medical Services, denied the women’s account in a statement to The New York Times, saying the driver delivered all of the packages to an incineration facility.
No charges were ever filed [WTF?] against Handy in connection with the fetal remains, and their discovery was not mentioned in her FACE Act case. …
The Real Threat. The Real Enemy
“Maybe Americans both right and left can see they have more in common and finally understand that the enemy threatening us all is not those on the right or those on the left, but rather those obscenely wealthy SOBs ABOVE. The wealthy and all their twaddling bought-for toys in Congress and the White House, both Republicans and Democrats. They are the threat. They are the enemy. They are who we must unite against.” — Mark Taylor
In defense of our overlords - they've tried more subtle ways to get rid of us, but we refuse to die.
So now they must actually go to great efforts to dispose of us.
Meals on wheels,just keeps old people alive.
And with well educated East Indians coming here to do our hi paying tech jobs, we need only enough education to be janitors.
Housing for thr elderly ?
Fuck them. Us old folks just are in the way.
It's a shame that we refuse to stand up and put the lot of these fat cats on a prison barge.
Maybe when we're homeless and starving we'll wake up.
Don't bet on that,though.
Why is anyone surprised? What have been the mantras for decades in our country? “That’s YOUR problem” “I don’t owe anyone anything” “I must love myself before I can love (or give damn) about anyone else” “How did that make you feel?”
So what if children in poverty and the elderly have a problem with hunger, it’s not YOUR problem (or concern), you don’t owe them anything since it doesn’t affect you, and you’re busy loving yourself and are really tired of people trying to make you feel guilty.
Idiot TV sitcoms, reality TV, self-appointed gurus doling out advice to always put yourself first and screw everyone else if they don’t like it — here’s where we are.