100 days in, 52% of Americans say Trump is a "dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy"
And, most Americans take Trump’s Canada, Greenland and third-term ideas seriously — and oppose them. Plus, Kangaroos Gone Wild and Tom Morello reminds us to decide who we are.
This week:
Half the country thinks the President is a "dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy" and Americans resoundingly reject his other batshit ideas.
Good News & Nonsense.
Recent podcasts.
In Closing: “The time is now, decide who you are.”
Half the country thinks the President is a "dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy" and Americans resoundingly reject his other batshit ideas.
Half the country thinks the President is a "dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy."
This first caught my attention Tuesday morning when Russell Contreras reported it in Axios. In a newly released Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) survey of 5,025 adults across all 50 states and Washington, DC, 52% agreed with the statement that President Donald Trump "is a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy." Over half of America, including 5% of independents, think our President is a “dangerous dictator!”
On issue after issue, the survey is a damning assessment of the President’s actions and priorities. Dig into the survey data for details; some selected highlights follow further down.
Americans resoundingly Trump’s other batshit crazy ideas.
A new Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll of 2,464 Americans finds that most Americans believe the President really wants to do the stupid things he says, and strong majorities reject his batshit crazy nonsense.
Third Term. 62% say Trump is serious about serving a third term as president, even though the Constitution prohibits him from running again; 18% support this stupid idea.
Cruel and Unusual Punishment. 71% of Americans think Trump is serious about sending American citizens convicted of crimes to prisons in other countries; 32% support this stupid idea.
Greenland. 68% think Trump is serious about the U.S. trying to take control of Greenland; 22% support this stupid idea.
Canada. 53% of the public thinks Trump is serious about trying to take control of Canada; 13% support this stupid idea.
Read more: Most take Trump’s Canada, Greenland and third-term ideas seriously — and oppose them, poll finds
The video excerpt below is so very exactly Dictator Trump.
In the video below (h/t Paul Ferguson), the President insists the interviewer agree with the idea that Kilmar Abrego Garcia has MS-13 inked on his knuckles. We know that is not true, as explained here and even Trump-friendly New York Post has a video explainer heavily casting doubt on the White House claims. But, you know, “just say yes!” It’s like a kid pleading with his mommy to agree with him. “Yes, honey, yes, you’re right sweetie. Now go to bed…”
Additional key findings from the PRRI survey.
Roughly four in ten Americans (43%) approve of the job that Trump is doing as president, while a majority (54%) disapprove.
White Americans, men, older generations, and those who do not have a four-year degree hold significantly more favorable views of Trump than non-white Americans, women, millennials, Gen Zers, and those who are college-educated.
Very few Americans endorse expanding the scope of executive power, whether that includes suspending congressional elections or allowing presidents to serve more than two terms; few Americans think that presidents should be above the law.
Just 17% of Americans agree that if Trump cannot get our country out of crisis in the next year, he should postpone the 2026 midterm elections for Congress or the U.S. Constitution should be amended to allow presidents to serve more than two terms in office, although Republicans are three times as likely as Democrats to agree with the second statement (27% vs. 8%).
Americans remain strongly committed to our system of checks and balances, strongly disagreeing that the president should ignore the actions of Congress or the Supreme Court.
Nearly eight in ten Americans (78%) disagree with the statement “When decisions by Congress or the Supreme Court hold our country back, the president should be able to ignore them,” compared with only 18% who agree; Republicans are more than three times as likely as Democrats to agree (28% vs. 9%).
Many of Trump’s early executive orders — including the implementation of tariffs — are broadly opposed by the American public, especially among Democrats. (note, the survey then goes down a list of executive actions - all of which a majority of Americans reject)
Musk’s work with the Department of Government Efficiency is very unpopular, as most Americans are concerned about his access to citizens’ private data and a majority think his efforts at combatting waste and fraud are harmful.
Most Americans generally support efforts to increase diversity in the workplace; at the same time, strong majorities of Americans are committed to a vision of America that is racially and religious diverse.
And there’s a lot more - from a rejection of political violence to support for vaccines - and a lot more detail available in “Democracy at a Crossroads: How Americans View Trump’s First 100 Days in Office.”
Good News & Nonsense
Science is Awesome: Recycling Pee Into Fertilizer is Awesome. “Loos to loaves: How the ‘nervous wees’ of London Marathon runners are being turned into fertiliser.” Euro News reports, “There are several things that most runners do before a marathon: carb-load, warm up and – perhaps most urgently – queue up for the loo to relieve pre-race jitters. This year’s TCS London Marathon is giving one part of that routine a second life. For the first time, urine from thousands of women runners will be collected and recycled into fertiliser to evaluate its ability to grow wheat. It’s the latest sustainability initiative to come from the world’s most popular marathon – and it’s making a splash in more ways than one… Instead of being sent into sewage systems, the collected urine will be treated using bacteria to extract nutrients like nitrogen, a chemical that wheat craves. The fertiliser will then be trialled on test fields to evaluate its performance.
According to NPK Recovery’s estimates, 1,000 litres of urine could eventually grow enough wheat for about 195 loaves of bread. If scaled to cover the urine from all 53,700 finishers at last year’s marathon, that could add up to more than 3,000 loaves.”
Runaway Kangaroos Can be Awesome? “Runaway kangaroo on the loose named Sheila shuts down Alabama interstate.” Kangaroos want to be free too! “A runaway kangaroo named Sheila shut down a stretch of interstate in Alabama on Tuesday before state troopers and the animal’s owner wrangled the wayward marsupial… The owner used a dart to tranquilize the animal. Brunson’s video showed the drugged kangaroo being carried to a vehicle to be returned to its home.” Wait. Wait. We can own kangaroos? Free the ‘roos! Free the ‘roos!
Saving Wildlife is Awesome. “Native lake trout success story in Lake Champlain: stocking to end this year.” The Adirondack Explorer writes, “The long-running effort to restore lake trout to Lake Champlain reached a momentous milestone (earlier this month) as officials from New York, Vermont and the federal government agreed to suspend the stocking of hatchery-raised trout after this spring. The native fish has been restored to the nation’s 13th largest lake, officials declared. The decision to end stocking comes as a growing population of lake-born wild trout have convinced scientists and fisheries managers that the lake’s top predator species can sustain itself without the help of human-reared fingerlings.” We can help save the wildlife and ecosystems we and the Earth depend on if we try. Denying climate change and refusing to collaborate with the rest of the world doesn’t help…
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New episode out today!
In Closing: “The time is now, decide who you are.”
I was working out and enjoying my Tom Morello playlist when one of my favorite tracks came on. From his 2021 album, this collaboration with Ben Harper is a powerful and relevant message.
“And the hornet’s buzzing in my head
Like fascists in the government
The powers change but we still pay the cost
And the road is always paved with shooting stars
And the time is now, decide who you are”
- Tom Morello and Ben Harper, Raising Hell, Track 9 on The Atlas Underground Flood, released 17 November 2021