Republicans Have A Trump Problem

The government shutdown continues. Unlike past shutdowns, the sitting President has taken no action to resolve the stalemate and restore government operations. Instead, the official White House Twitter account has been posting childish memes, Trump is mass-firing federal employees, and his administration has terminated government-funded energy projects that were near completion at a time when electricity prices are soaring.

Trump’s entire presidency has been about trying to bully anyone who opposes him, hurting the American public in the process.

• His Secret Police force, with a budget larger than most of the world’s militaries, is terrorizing communities and ignoring constitutional rights by arresting US citizens without due cause and holding them for hours or even days before releasing them without charges.

• The military is invading cities that voted against Trump with a clear goal of intimidating his opposition.

• Tariffs were intended to bully the world, but instead, they have stalled our economy, increased inflation, eroded job opportunities, and bankrupted farms.

Although everyone in America is struggling, only farmers, who overwhelmingly voted for Trump, might see some relief. Trump wants to give farmers a $10 billion bailout of taxpayer money.

The bailout isn’t a solution. That kind of temporary relief without addressing the root problem only delays the inevitable – not the best use of money at a time when food assistance for hungry families is being cut under the guise of balancing the budget. But Trump won’t consider ending his tariffs because it would mean admitting defeat and acknowledging his mistake to the world. Something his narcissism prevents him from doing.

The real reason for cutting food benefits is the same reason behind the other, even more expensive bailout of $20 billion to Argentina: enriching US corporations and wealthy Americans. It helps that Javier Milei, the president of Argentina, is a friend of Trump and a MAGA darling.

Investors flocked to Argentina during its economic crisis because it allowed them to buy government debt cheaply. With Milei cozying up to Trump, that debt seemed less risky. America would be there to prop up Argentina if its economy took a turn for the worse, like it is now.

Meanwhile, Republicans enacted cuts to Medicaid that will cause millions of American citizens to lose their healthcare, and over 20 million more will see their premiums double next year as the GOP says we don’t have the money to continue the subsidies. But we do apparently have $20 billion for Argentina, $10 billion for farmers who voted for tariffs, and $117 billion in tax cuts for the wealthiest 1%.

To say Trump’s policies are unpopular is an understatement. Nearly 80% of Americans want the expiring ACA subsidies to be extended, and no one understands why we are sending billions to another country to improve their economy when our own is struggling.

The majority of the farmers that will receive a bailout are opposed to Trump’s tariffs, and one-third of them have healthcare through the ACA, a program used more by Republican voters than Democratic ones. When their farms go bankrupt and their healthcare becomes unaffordable, the bailout won’t be enough to buy their continued support.

Trump voters of all kinds are feeling the effects of his inept leadership. They’re watching the wealthiest Americans become the richest they’ve ever been, while houses remain unaffordable for the rest of us, healthcare costs rise, and outstanding credit card debt hits a record high of $1.2 trillion, the result of hard-working Americans desperately struggling to stay afloat.

This disconnect with voters and the damage being done to the country are leading some Republicans to distance themselves from Trump’s policies and the broader GOP positions.

• Thomas Massie has been taking heat from Trump because he refuses to do whatever Trump demands, unlike most of the Republican Party.

• Rand Paul voted against the continuing resolution, contributing to the shutdown, and also the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, a bill that has become so toxic for Republicans that they were trying to rebrand it after it had already been signed into law.

• The most recent Republican member of Congress making headlines is Marjorie Taylor Greene for saying what Trump and the rest of the GOP refuse to — America is facing a healthcare crisis that needs to be dealt with. She also pointed out that Senate Republicans can pass the continuing resolution without Democratic support by using their majority to end the filibuster on appropriations, and blamed Republican leadership for the shutdown.

Republicans continue to refuse to sit down with Democrats to discuss a way forward. But Democrats, who recently saw 64% of Americans label them as weak in a recent CBS/YouGov poll, have finally gotten the message. They’re continuing to demand that Congress deal with healthcare before it is too late.

Democrats are on the right side of this fight, and they know if they vote for the CR without a healthcare agreement in writing, then any hope of keeping costs from doubling, hospitals from shutting down, and millions from losing their coverage will be gone. Republicans refused to address the issue before now, and even actively made it worse. They won't take action once the pressure is released. The only way to deal with Trump is never to give him an inch.

Trump’s failures, his destroyed economy, the pressure from his losing trade wars, the outrage from his assault on constitutional rights, using the military to invade US cities, and secret police to terrorize communities, are finally wearing away the luster for those who have supported him over the past decade. The midterms will be rough for the GOP, and Republicans who are looking at their political futures are starting to realize that being attached to Trump is a losing proposition.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/they-roll-right-over-many-democrats-think-their-party-is-weak-ap-norc-poll-finds

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-news-poll-shutdown-trump-democrats-republicans/