Donald Trump is behaving like a crabby toddler having a food fight with the world.
On April 30th Trump will have been in office for 100 days. Chaotic, immature, impatient, inept and vengeful, Trump’s governance by angry, demanding, ALL CAPS social media tweet is damaging our country in ways that will soon affect every American assuming they have not been directly affected yet.
Americans voted for a disrupter. They got that. Trump blew up world markets, world alliances and long term beliefs and expectations about whether our country could be counted on with his sudden imposition of tariffs and shifting demands. He also attacked many of our institutions.
At home the stock market, bond market, the dollar, our social safety net, regs that keep us safe, the news that should be free and fearless, our universities, all of this and more have taken a big hit thanks to Trump’s “blow it all up” chaotic approach to governance. Trump even demanded law firms bend the knee to him.
TRUMP v LEGAL FIELD
As part of his effort to break down the legal world that limits his power and control, Trump entered into protection deals with a number of large law firms in which the firms pledged millions in pro bono support for Trump’s chosen recipients to avoid being targeted by Trump for reprisal. Now those same law firms are getting letters from Democratic lawmakers asking about the terms and circumstances of those agreements with Trump and urging these firms to reconsider their deals with Trump because they may violate state and federal law.
Democratic lawmakers sent letters on Thursday to the nine law firms that have reached deals with Trump, questioning their motivations for entering into the deals and urging the firms to disavow the agreements.
Rep. Dave Min, D-California, and Rep. April Delaney, along with 14 of their Democratic colleagues, requested details from each law firm on its “motivations for entering into this agreement,” how an agreement was reached, and what specific terms or promises were made. The letters request a response by May 8.
The lawmakers said they believe the terms of the deals may violate state and federal criminal laws and may have been formed under the threat of illegal and coercive acts, making them unenforceable. [American Lawyer]
Some law firms. like Perkins Coie and Jenner and Block sued Trump rather than pay protection money. Law firm associates and some partners are also quitting these firms that “caved” to Trump and are urging others to do the same as reported by the ABA Journal. Many newly graduating attorneys are shunning these firms preferring to work for law firms that are standing up to Trump.
TRUMP’S HARD POWER APPROACH CREATES BLOW BACK
Because of Trump, many of our allies have lost faith in us as a reliable trade partner and in our country as a safe haven worth investing in. Even if Trump wants to encourage investors to come to this country to start up their innovative businesses, he is turning the business world off by being too unpredictable and by eradicating the rule of law which also creates the kind of predictability that businesses want. Many countries are looking for ways to replace the United States as a trade partner and are forming new alliances with other, more reliable nations.
When it comes to making a deal with Trump on the tariffs he has imposed, why would any country do that when Trump cannot be trusted to uphold the deal they make with him? Even though Trump claims he would get 90 deals in 90 days from countries begging him for tariff relief, so far he has NO deals. None. It’s been over 90 days. Typically, these kinds of deals can take years to negotiate anyhow.
Trump might want to believe that he can force other countries to manufacture in America with his tariff war, but he will learn otherwise and all of us will pay for Trump’s lack of understanding with higher prices and supply chain problems. The world of trade is global these days and changing our country to one that is isolated from global traffic, if it ever happens at all, would require time and patience, two character traits Trump lacks.
At home he blew up what had been a relatively well-functioning government that needed planful upgrading but instead got exploded without thoughtful assessment: regulations that protect Americans’ health care, food safety, weather predictions, air safety and much more were undermined or directly damaged by DOGE in their spree to eliminate regulations and regulators.
Trump also appointed mainly inept and incompetent people to run his administration. The only bedrock requirement for the job was loyalty to him. That left him with people to choose from who were willing to lie to him and would grovel to please him. Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, was hailed by Wall Street as a sane and knowledgeable person who would guide Trump when it came to fiscal policy. We can see how well that’s worked so far. Bessent has had to resort to bringing in outsiders to try to educate Trump so that he is the a messenger that Trump wants to shoot. Most of Trump’s cabinet picks were unqualified for their jobs.
Pete Hegseth, an example of a man who is not up to the huge job of managing our vast military, has now been caught in a second Signalgate scandal where he shared details of a pending strike on the Houthis with his wife, brother and lawyer using a chat app that he had installed in his computer to get around the rule that cell phones were not allowed inside the office. This app is easily hacked. His conversation was most likely overheard by spies- https://apnews.com/article/hegseth-signal-chat-houthis-attack-8dbf9dd6c711796438a5c1c84831c40b. We were lucky that Americans flying that mission were not harmed because of Hegseth’s terrible lack of judgement.
In short, Trump’s chaotic, erratic, performative approach to governing, his insistence on being “He Who Must Be Obeyed” (he wants to be a dictator) and his tariff driven protectionism will not only hurt global growth and our economy, it will directly injure his own voters and supporters from the owners of small businesses to the wealthy.
The true impact from his tariff war has not been felt yet. It’s like we are watching an economic tsunami heading for America. It’s coming. Cue the shark music from the movie Jaws.
EVIDENCE MOUNTS THAT TRUMP’S “BLOW IT ALL UP”APPROACH IS A DISASTER
Since Trump took office the Dow has fallen 13.8%, the S& P 500 is down 15.5 %, the Nasdaq is down 20.5%. The Wall Street Journal reports that the Dow “is headed for its worst April performance since 1932” when the country was in the midst of the Great Depression.
In an Economist/YouGov poll published today, 57 percent of American adults said Trump’s actions on the economy have hurt the country; only 24 percent said they’ve helped. Fifty-two percent said his actions on foreign policy have hurt the country; only 28 percent said they’ve helped.
Trump’s polling on the economy tumbled to his lowest ratings ever, with just 37 percent approval in a Reuters/Ipsos poll and 40 percent approval in a Pew Research Center survey, and a majority of Americans told Gallup pollsters that their own economic situation was worsening.
- 59% of Americans disapprove of the administration’s tariff increases, while 39% approve.
- 55% disapprove of the cuts the administration is making to federal departments and agencies, while 44% approve.
TRUMP GOT SCARED WHEN HE TALKED WITH CEOS WHO WARNED HIM WHAT’S COMING
Trump’s notable shift in tone toward Powell and China came a day after he met privately in the Oval Office with chief executives of four major US retail companies who conveyed concerns about rising economic fallout from Trump’s tariff policy and the uncertainty it has created for financial markets.
The CEOs of Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s, all of whom delivered a blunt message about interruptions in the supply chain and its effects on consumers, were invited to the White House as part of an ongoing internal campaign to make the case to Trump about the real-world impact of his policies, administration officials said.
Trump’s tariffs have placed significant pressure on the retail sector. The business leaders warned that store shelves across America could “soon be empty,” two people familiar with the meeting said, as they presented a dire economic picture that could come into sharper view within weeks.
After this meeting, Trump retreated at least for now in his stance on tariffs, but much of the damage has already been done. He has squandered much of the faith our allies used to have in the steadiness of our economy and reality based leadership. Trump cannot be counted on to maintain or sustain a position. He is too scattershot and too detached from real world consequences.
Trump told reporters yesterday that the very high tariffs on Chinese goods he’d imposed with great fanfare two weeks ago will soon “come down substantially.” The hashtag “Trump chickened out” went viral on China’s internet, with more than 150 million views on the social media platform Weibo.
Trump also said yesterday that he had “no intention of firing” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. This newfound state of satisfaction came after weeks of non-stop criticism of Powell. Just the day before, Trump had called Powell a “major loser.” Last Thursday, Trump had said Powell’s “termination cannot come fast enough.”
The markets hadn’t liked the high tariffs or the threats against Powell. Sure enough, they’ve rallied, at least for now, in response to Trump’s U-turns.
And speaking of markets, Tesla’s stock price have fallen precipitously.
AND….Update 4/24/25: Stock futures slipped Thursday after China said that it had no ongoing trade talks with the U.S., dashing investors’ hopes of an ease in tensions between the two nations. [CNBC]
Resistance is growing as Trump’s approval ratings plummet.
INSTITUTIONS ARE LEARNING THEY MUST UNITE TO OPPOSE HIM
Harvard filed a lawsuit against the administration which emboldened many other top universities to band together to stand up to his bullying as well. Most courts have been rewarding plaintiffs who stand up to him by issuing temporary restraining orders to stop the administration from carrying out its attacks.
American Lawyer reports that:
An association of more than 700 law firm partners has filed an amicus brief in support of Susman Godfrey’s lawsuit against the Trump administration, saying the president’s executive orders against firms have already led to a chill in the legal industry.
Most courts have been rewarding plaintiffs who stand up to Trump by issuing temporary restraining orders to stop the administration from carrying out its attacks.
EVEN ON IMMIGRATION TRUMP IS LOSING GROUND
President Donald Trump’s approval ratings on immigration, relatively strong in the early weeks of his second term, have dipped into negative territory, according to a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, a sign that his administration’s hard-line and, in some cases, legally dubious enforcement tactics are losing public support.
A majority of Americans, 53 percent, disapprove of Trump’s handling of immigration, with 46 percent approving, a reversal from February when half of the public voiced approval of his approach. Negative views have ticked up across partisan groups over the past two months, with 90 percent of Democrats, 56 percent of independents and 11 percent of Republicans now disapproving of the way the president has managed one of his core policy issues.
Immigration was one of Trump’s strongest issues with American voters. Even as his approvals slid thanks to his Liberation Day tariffs that tanked the markets, Americans still thought his actions on immigration were good. He is losing that edge now because his administration has been too vicious and cruel for Americans. And most Americans want Trump to obey the rulings of the courts.
TRUMP’S APPROVALS FALL IN ALL POLLS
Multiple polls this week showed Trump hitting new lows. His approval rating has been double-digits underwater in surveys from the Pew Research Center (minus-19), Economist-YouGov (-13), Reuters-Ipsos (-11) and now Fox News (-11).
Trump was already more unpopular at this point in his presidency than any modern president not named Trump; he’s now flirting with falling below where he was at this point in his first term.
As all of this plays out, those who oppose what Trump is doing realize that they have a very powerful ally helping them gain traction.
That ally is Donald Trump.
It is Trump’s own incompetence and lack of judgement that is empowering and will continue to empower the opposition. Trump is the force that will power a rising tide of resistance.
