Rundown
Since last week, Trump met with President Zelensky and tried to strong arm him into a deal granting the US mineral rights in Ukraine in exchange for continued financial and military support. At one point Trump and Vance reportedly got into a shouting match with Zelensky before he left.
In response, European leaders have stepped up to fill the gap and called a summit to address Trump’s actions.
Trump also announced more tariffs set to take effect this week and the stock market tanked.
Bird Flu continues to spread and a measles outbreak in Texas has exploded to over 140 cases as of this writing. This all while the media gag order on the CDC and other health authorities continues.
In what has been the democrats’ response to the above?
Hakeem Jeffries tweeted a ten-point plan to deal with Trump and posted it to social media. However aside from the first point, which is to have House and Senate Dems refuse to vote for any legislation including the upcoming debt ceiling vote; they don’t have any teeth.
Pointing out everything Trump et al are doing wrong is pointless unless it’s paired with a plan of action to stop them and how it will affect voters in concrete terms. People need to see the Dems are actively fighting for them. That they have some fire in their bellies.
Instead, Jeffries gave us a massive nothing burger.
It’s not enough to tell people what Trump et al. Are doing. There are a million places that already do that. If the Dems are to form a true opposition party, they need to move with swiftness and urgency. And they should start by showing people exactly what Trump’s policy will mean for them.
Show Don’t Tell
Writers are often told to show not tell. As this relates to democrats, they need to lay out in full details how Trump and his policies will directly affect people.
First up, Trump’s picking RFK Jr for head of Health and Human Services and rolling back Biden-era health policies will mean the return of people buying thousands a month for insulin, and their children dying from preventable diseases like measles, Tuberculosis, and polio. And should we have another pandemic, we know the Trump administration will botch it leading to needless deaths and price gouging as the supply chain breaks down.
This isn’t to mention the millions who will go bankrupt due to medical debt should he gut Medicaid and Medicare and repeal the ACA.
Second, his immigration policy will mean higher grocery costs as migrant workers aren’t willing to risk being deported and farmers aren’t willing to pay a living wage to American workers, so crops are rotting in the field. And as some Latino Trump voters have already discovered, it will result in their undocumented friends and family being deported.
Third, Trump’s tariffs will mean higher prices across the board for everyone, but they will also mean higher food costs as the US imports most of its produce from Mexico, whose President has said she will respond with tariffs if he imposes them on Mexico.
And you think home prices are high now, just wait until Canada, from whom we get a lot of our lumber, imposes them on us. Ditto China with steel and other materials the construction industry uses, among other industries.
If that weren’t bad enough, The US gets most of its wheat from Ukraine, and since Russia invaded them in 2022, they’ve drastically decreased exports resulting in higher bread prices. Trump serving up Ukraine to Putin will only make things worse as Putin will no doubt jack up grain prices if Russia conquers Ukraine.
Fourth, Trump’s fiscal policies will lead to empty bank accounts. His proposed tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans will destroy what’s left of the middle class by siphoning billions to the one percent. You think roads are bad now, just wait until the tax cuts go through. Hell, forget any infrastructure project getting done that Trump and associates don’t get a kickback on.
Fifth, when it comes to education, Trump’s policies re: DEI, school funding, and vouchers will lead to a brain drain as foreign students no longer see the benefit of American university degrees. This anti-intellectualism will cause America to stagnant, resulting in lower job prospects for American citizens at home and abroad.
It’s not enough to just say, “Trump bad.” Dems must make their message personal and provide a clear plan how they will stand up to Trump and govern once they’re in control. Otherwise, they will continue losing.
Till next week, stay safe, mask up, and don’t let the copper tone conman grind ya down.