Third Estate Sunday Review: Chump's report card

Tuesday, April 29, 2025

Chump's report card

Reposting from THE COMMON ILLS:

Who's going to be the adult to sign Donald Chump's report card?

Dan Balz, Scott Clement, and Emily Guskin (WASHINGTON POST) note, "As he nears the end of his first 100 days in office, President Donald Trump is facing growing opposition to his ambitious and controversial agenda, with his approval rating in decline, majority opposition to major initiatives, and perceptions that his administration is seeking to avoid complying with federal court orders, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll." Yes, we're almost at the end of the 100 days. America's pulse is still beating but let's not pretend we aren't all bruised and bloodied as a result of the Convicted Felon's return to the White House.

Filip Timotija (THE HILL) notes:

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) said that President Trump’s recent executive actions “should chill us to the bone” and claimed that his “authoritarian impulses” are a danger to American democracy.

“I think it’s clear. We have never seen a president try to wield the federal government to crush his critics and political adversaries. That’s something new in American history, and it is, in my view, un-American. And it’s something that should chill us to the bone, no matter our politics, no matter our policy preferences,” Ossoff said in an interview with The Associated Press (AP) that was published Saturday.

Ossoff is dead on correct. Take comfort in the fact that Tuesday will be the end of the 100 days and then we'll 'only' have to suffer through 1360 more days.

Fortunately, there are only 556 more days until the 2026 mid-terms. After that election, Chump will be in the lame duck position.

With a little luck, a lot of hope, prayer and activism, America might yet survive him.

Should we be so fortunate, we need to remember that many weren't. As he attacks this program and that program for medical funding, for medical research, a lot of people will die that shouldn't have. As he tries to deregulate safety standards, people will die from that as well. And don't forget all the people -- including many Americans -- that he's deporting.

For example, Charisma Madarang (ROLLING STONE) reports:

As part of Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, three U.S. citizen children were deported with their mothers by the New Orleans Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Friday morning. One of the children was undergoing cancer treatment and one of the mothers is pregnant.

Both families had lived in the country for years and had ties to their communities, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Louisiana, which warns that the circumstances of their sudden deportations raises grave due process concerns. The civil rights organization says that the first family was detained on Tuesday and the second family on Thursday, and that one of the mothers was given less than one minute on the phone before the call was abruptly dropped, after her spouse attempted to provide a phone number to legal counsel.

He's destroying our country.

And disgracing us on the world stage. Today was Pope Francis' funeral. The dress code for men? Black suits. Leave it to the trashy rich-for-TV Donald Chump to violate the dress code by wearing a blue suit. Leave it to trashy Chump to not only wear the wrong color but to wear one of his Sears Roebuck suits that looked like it was wadded up at the bottom of back pack before he put it on. Apparently, the only thing Musk and DOGE cut in the White House was access to irons.

There he was in the wrong color suit, the suit all wrinkled and not fitted, in need of a bra and foundation garments to try to pull all that jiggly fat in, face smeared with orange foundation and that awful, awful hair that either needs to a real cut or else a pink barrette to hold that long lock back off his forehead.

He's a joke.

Katie-Ann Gupwell (IRISH STAR) reports:

World leaders have gathered in Rome for the funeral of Pope Francis, but some people have spotted an issue with President Donald Trump, but it's not his terribly bruised hands this time. Mourners said he made a "disrespectful blunder" during the service.

Many prominent figures attended the Vatican's St Peter's Square on Saturday morning alongside Trump, who was branded "disgusting" for his behavior at the service, including Prince William, Joe Biden, Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron.

[. . .]

As he approached the coffin, with his wife Melania by his side, people spotted what they thought looked like a major blunder. Attendees were able to approach the late Pope's coffin for a moment of prayer and reflection.

One person wrote on X: "Trump and Melania - the only two stepping over the rug where Pope Francis coffin sits when paying respect, jeeeezzz!"

Another added: "OK, so I'm not the only person who noticed Trump and Melania stepping on the rug. I'm sure they were given instructions to stay off the rug. But, nooooo!"

Other attendees, such as Prince William and Prime Minister Keir Starmer were seen remaining a distance away from the rug. According to The Art Newspaper, attendees should not step on the carpet beneath the coffin.

This is because the carpet symbolizes holy ground, and marks a sanctified space. It is used to separate the pontiff from other people, and the tradition is said to also be shown in paintings of the period where carpets are used to symbolize a sacred space.

Althea Legaspi, Asawin Suebsaeng and Ryan Bort (ROLLING STONE) note:

President Donald Trump's approval rating has dipped below 40 percent, according to a new survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

The survey also found that about four in 10 Americans say Trump has been a "terrible" president during his second term, with about one in 10 describing his performance as "poor," and two in 10 saying he has been "average." Only three in 10 Americans rated Trump's performance as "great" or "good."

Connor McCrory (IRISH STAR) reports, "The U.S. economy is showing signs of major strain as a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, according to Fox Business senior correspondent Charlie Gasparino." FAFO. Tony Owusu (THE STREET) notes, "Despite Trump making it no secret that tariffs are a key part of his administration's economic policy, many in the business community endorsed him over his opponent, Kamala Harris, in last November's presidential election. " And he's destroyed the economy. His tariff notions were never based in sound economic theory; however, what was worse was the constant stop-start and lack of message discipline. In "Dirty Day," U2 sang, "Throw a rock in the air, you'll hit someone guilty." These days, throw a rock in the air and you're bound to hit an American business struggling to stay afloat due to Chump's actions. Adam Lynch informs, "The New York Times reports American businesses like Ramper Innovations, a manufacturer of airplane equipment, are paralyzed under President Donald Trump’s self-inflicted economic disruptions." His erratic nature has impacted the markets. Americans stand a very real chance of encountering empty shelves in stores shortly after his 100 first day period ends. After tearing everything up, he's negotiated nothing. And trade treaties don't appear on the window panes overnight like frost. Instead of delivering on trade treaties, Chump elected to lie repeatedly this week that he was in negotiations with the leader of China. Pablo R. Suanzes (EL MUNDO) reports:

The president claims Xi called him, and Beijing demands that he "stop creating confusion" with "baseless rumors".

Donald Trump likes to boast and exaggerate. Every day he claims to have broken all kinds of historical records, surpassed unprecedented marks, achieved feats more than successes. This not only involves inflating macroeconomic figures or saying things that are obviously false, such as having already reached 200 trade agreements in recent days, but also putting leaders of other countries in a more than uncomfortable position, torn between correcting inaccuracies or blatant lies, unleashing the wrath of the White House, or avoiding problems by ignoring or dodging questions.

I wonder if even MAGA can get all their required nutrients in a breakfast, lunch and dinner diet of lies?

Adam Gabbatt (GUARDIAN) explains:

Americans, including some Republicans, are losing faith in Donald Trump across a range of key issues, according to polling released this week. One survey found a majority describing the president’s second stint in the White House so far as “scary”.

Along with poor ratings on the economy and Trump’s immigration policy, a survey released on Saturday found that only 24% of Americans believe Trump has focussed on the right priorities as president.

That poll comes as Trump’s popularity is historically low for a leader this early in a term. More than half of voters disapprove of Trump’s performance as president, and majorities oppose his tariff policies and slashing of the federal workforce.

He's wrecked the economy, he's attacking citizens and non-citizens and then there's 'works well others' section of the report card. He doesn't work well with others and, when he selects playmates, he chooses so poorly.

If I were Tulsi Gabbard or Robert Kennedy Junior or, honestly, any of the inept members of his Cabinet, I would wake up each day thrilled that Chump hadn't yet fired Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth because he takes the heat off the rest of them with his never ending screw ups. Simon Druker (UPI) reminds, "Last month, Hegseth made headlines after accidentally leaking confidential military plans related to a then-pending military strike by accidentally including The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg in a Signal group chat." And then we all learned of another nonsecure group chat -- this one also on Signal but on his personal phone -- not his government issued phone -- where he shared details of impending strikes with his wife, his brother, his attorney and, who knows, possibly his butcher. Tom Bowman and Quil Lawrence (NPR) reported Friday:

Normally the names of senior staff at the Pentagon don't make the news, but the precarious position of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth means that every move is drawing scrutiny. NPR reported this week that the White House is looking for possible replacements with Hegseth under fire for putting sensitive military attack plans into at least two insecure group chats.

In-fighting over alleged leaks from the secretary's office have now resulted in five senior advisers resigning or being fired. On Friday the Pentagon announced four new senior advisers had been promoted; they include Col. Ricky Buria, a former junior military assistant; Justin Fulcher, a member of the DOGE team embedded at the Pentagon, and Patrick Weaver, formerly a Department of Defense "special assistant."

He has betrayed the country and he risked national security. Not once. And Chump deserves to be impeached for not removing Hegseth from office. John Stoehr notes:

Last weekend, in an opinion piece for Politico, a former Pentagon spokesman warned that “there are very likely more shoes to drop in short order, with even bigger bombshell stories coming this week.”

And lo, a voice came:

・Wall Street Journal: “Polygraph Threats, Leaks and Infighting: The Chaos Inside Hegseth’s Pentagon”;

・Associated Press: “Hegseth had an unsecured internet line set up in his office to connect to Signal”;

・Times: “Hegseth’s Personal Phone Use Created Vulnerabilities”;

・National Public Radio: “Former Pentagon official on Hegseth turmoil: ‘It looks like they actually broke the law’”;

・CBS: “Hegseth orders makeup studio installed at Pentagon.”

Unfortunately, we are where we were at the beginning of the week. Hegseth isn’t going anywhere. Yes, he is “embattled,” as we say in the news, but every story about him says that Donald Trump has his back.

Tom Vanden Brook and Michael Loria (USA TODAY) remind, "Hegseth has denied releasing sensitive information. But several current and former military officials have told USA TODAY that the information Hegseth disclosed, the timing of attacks, is among the most closely guarded national security information." And former National Secuirty Advisor (2013 to 2017) Susan Rice explained to Brian Tyler Cohen, "Military operation details are by definition classified. Deliberations about whether to conduct a military strike on an adversary are inherently classified. So here they are engaging recklessly in classified discussions over unsecure commercial applications."

Instead of owning his mistake, Hegseth blames others which is par for the course in the Chump administration. Héctor Ríos Morales' report for THE LATIN TIMES captures this attitude in its headline, "DHS Says It's Not To Be Legally Accountable For Court-Barred Deportations Because They Were Carried Out By DoD." When he was president, Harry S. Truman said, "The buck stops here." Chump not only chooses bitcoin over dollars, he also chooses dishonesty over accountability which is why his report card for his first 100 days is a solid F.

The following sites updated: