Living in the USA

There’s trouble in Trump world: Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, is launching a Third Party to challenge Trump’s Republicans in the midterms and maybe in 2028. Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, explains why Musk will fail - and how Mamdani succeeded at winning the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City. Also: How does a movement build support when large p...

A federal court in LA has ordered ICE to stop arresting people because they look Latino—because that's racial discrimination, and it's unconstitutional. Mark Rosenbaum of Public Counsel explains. Also, MAGA has accepted every one of Trump's lies, until the Jeffrey Epstein files—what makes this one different? Harold Meyerson explains. Plus: Trump’s executive order abolishing birthright citizenship—...

Trump’s ICE is attacking undocumented people in LA County because there are a lot of them -- maybe a million, out of a total of almost 5 million Latinos, and also because LA is one of the most Democratic counties in the country. And LA has a big and militant alliance of immigrants rights groups that are fighting Trump. Harold Meyerson will explain the deportation battle in Southern California at t...

Now that Republicans have done immense damage to working class and poor people, the Democrats are mobilizing to win the House next year and possibly also the Senate - Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: The surprise victory of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s Democratic mayor primary over a well-funded establishment candidate shows that progressive politics, when pursued with dis...

The Supreme Court has issued a major victory for Trump, ending the ability of judges to issue nationwide injunctions – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Donald Trump, found guilty of sexual assault and defamation, owes E. Jean Carroll $88 million. She explains how she beat him in court, twice, proving that he attacked her in a Bergdorf dressing room and then lied about it. Her new book is...

Trump's deportation plans have always faced a contradiction: he couldn't deport millions of immigrants without crippling essential industries and Republican business whose owners supported him. So Trump started granting exceptions; but that was before Saturday, the biggest one-day political protest in American history, protesting against him. On that same day, nobody came to his birthday parade, a...

With tanks rolling down the street in DC on Saturday and troops being deployed to LA, it’s never been more important to come together in nonviolent action to exercise our First Amendment right to peaceful protest. That’s what the organization Indivisible says about Saturday’s National Day of Defiance – the nationwide “No Kings” protests – go to nokings.org to find one near you. Ezra Levin wil...

The Musk Report: The world's richest man and donor of the largest amount of money in the history of the world ever spent by one person on a US presidency. What will the Trump-Musk feud mean for Congress and the future of the GOP? Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Forget the midterms next year, at least for now. The fight against Trump runs through the elections this November—starting with Virginia a...

Trump claimed that he could bypass Congress to impose tariffs under IEEPA due to a trade deficit emergency over the last 40 years; but, a federal panel blocked him from imposing those tariffs on China, Mexico, Canada and 50 other countries. Now it's on its way to the Supreme Court – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Rural America is Trump country. Last November Trump carried 93 percent of rural coun...

Harold Meyerson comments on the GOP's "grotesquely cruel" budget – starting with the impossible work requirements for Medicaid, and then Trump's broken campaign promise NOT to cut Medicare. Also: “A rally a day keeps the fascists away” – that’s what Jamie Raskin says. He’s the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, and he talks about Trump’s “world historical grift,” and why we s...

What obligations do colleges and universities have to protect students from anti-Semitism and Islamophobia? What obligations do they have to let students speak freely about issues they care about? David Cole just testified before Congress about that—he’s the former National Legal Director of the ACLU, and The Nation’s legal affairs correspondent.​  Also: Trump’s partnership in Washington with...

So much good news in the last few days – first up: in North Carolina, a Trump-appointed federal judge ruled on the contested state supreme court race that "you don't change voter qualifications AFTER the election" and so, the winner of the state supreme court race, a Democrat, must be certified – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Dahlia Lithwick explains three key court cases where Trump suffered ma...

This May Day, there were big demonstrations everywhere – more than 900 cities and towns – participants included Bernie Sanders and many notable unions; and the banner for this organized national protest targeted not just Trump: "For the workers, not the billionaires" – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: Donald Trump is "the greatest threat to American universities since the Red Scare of the 1950s"—th...

At 100 days, Trump's approval ratings are his worst yet – starting with Pew Research poll 40% approve 59% disapprove. And Trump has the worst ratings of any other president approaching the 100 day mark in history – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: J D Vance said it most clearly: for the Trump people, “The universities are the enemy.” That’s why Trump is cutting billions of federal funding and...

The Fighting Oligarchy tour of Bernie Sanders and AOC has had amazing turnouts: 36,000 people in Los Angeles, 100,000 people in Coachella, and huge crowds in red districts across the country; followed by big campaign donations as Bernie and AOC become "the personification of the resistance" against the Trump administration. Also, Trump continues to defy court orders, including those issued after t...

Trump is weaker after caving on tariffs - Harold Meyerson analyzes the new political landscape - and assesses the economic damage. Also: Trump’s tariffs are not really about trade, they’re a form of blackmail – but the alternative is not a return to the free trade policies introduced by Clinton and Obama. Lori Wallach of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project exp...

Last Tuesday, the Democrats made striking gains in districts that were solid red – and Wisconsin's State Supreme Court maintained its liberal majority. Meanwhile, Trump claims that his sweeping tariffs are to restore US manufacturing; but Paul Krugman says it's all based on ridiculous, totally false statistics – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: The Wisconsin Supreme Court election tested the politi...

Thursday night, Trump signed an Executive order abolishing union rights at more than two dozen federal agencies – part of his campaign to destroy the government. Harold Meyerson comments on this "ultimate form of union busting". Also: Bernie Sanders and AOC are on their “fighting oligarchy” tour, and in Denver last weekend they had the biggest political event there since Obama in 2008. I...

A key source of opposition to authoritarian regimes in recent history has come from universities and colleges. Trump has been attacking the independence of American universities, demanding they submit to his requirements and using massive funding cuts as his weapon. David Cole, formerly National Legal Director of the ACLU, has our analysis.  Also: Mahmoud Khalil is the Palestin...

As the Senate prepares to vote on the Republican budget, Harold Meyerson talks about what's at stake for Democrats who join Chuck Schumer in voting with Republicans, and the great majority in the opposition. Plus: unions take Trump to court over firings. Also: The Supreme Court ruled against Trump last week in the first test of his refusal to release money appropriated by Congress, and more than a...

Trump's forgettable State of the Union speech shows he remains in campaign mode, rather than governing: Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: Trump suffered a big loss at The Supreme Court in the first challenge to his unconstitutional seizure of power: an order to release USAID funding appropriated by Congress. The suit was brought by Public Citizen; their co-president, Robert Weissman, will expla...

"The Coup Has Failed" writes David Dayen in The American Prospect; no president has been less popular than Trump after his first month in office, and "the thing about populism is you have to be popular" – Harold Meyerson comments. Also: House Progressive leader Ro Khanna says “economic empowerment” for the working class should become the Democrats’ “defining cause.” And he comments on th...

The House budget plan could see deep cuts to Medicaid but, "the political basis for cutting Medicaid because 'this can only hurt the Democrats' is really no longer the case;" also, on Kash Patel's confirmation as the new director of the FBI: "there's nothing like reconfiguring the FBI so it carries out whatever Donald Trump wants, which is what Kash Patel would do" – Harold Meyerson has...

Churches are coming together to fight Trump – the lawsuit filed challenges ICE raids in places of worship on First Amendment Freedom of Religion grounds. Also, what does it tell us that both Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted 'Yes' for two terrible Trump nominees (Tulsi Gabbard and RFK Jr.) when they didn't have to? Harold Meyerson comments. Plus: Trump has lost a series of major legal battles...

The Democrats have become more active in trying to stop the worst of Trump - and Musk - Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect comments on Senate and House leaders - and on the recent administration attacks on the NLRB. Also: Trump’s strategy of flooding the zone with executive actions is intended to paralyze the opposition. But there’s lots of grassroots mobilization underway right now, and one...