Tonight will be another fine example of how Trump is graded on the biggest of curves. Basically, if he doesn't say something wildly racist or drop his pants and run around screaming about pancakes, people will say he looked presidential. If he does those things, people will say it's just who he is.

The state of the union is bad, we’re at negative vibes. There. I just saved you two hours.

Since this will likely come up in the SOTU: Yes, US stock markets are up since Trump took office (14%). But in the rest of the world, markets are up WAY more. Cumulative market gains are more than triple ours (43%)

If Trump can get through his speech without falling asleep or shitting his pants, he will win the expectations game.

Holy shit. If there were any common sense in this administration, Kash Patel would be fired on the spot and shot through a rocket onto another planet. This is fucking insane.

Democrats crack open a 10 point lead in the generic ballot—largest lead of the cycle.

The Republicans are good at being the opposition party. However, the GOP can't govern. The Bush 43 and Trump 45 presidencies ended in disaster. Trump 47 will have a similar unhappy ending.

Midterm message:

I liked the Epstein scandal when I thought it would hurt Democrats. Now that it's hurting Trump, it's time to stop talking about it.

An NPR investigation finds the public database of Epstein files is missing dozens of pages related to sexual abuse accusations against President Trump. n.pr/4qTItsU

Trump cratering in new polls: CNN Approval: 36-63 Among working class: 41-58 Independents: 26-73 (!!) WAPO Approval: 39-60 On immigration: 40-58 Tariffs: 34-64 On the pod, @juliaazari.bsky.social and I dig into how his abuses of power are backfiring badly for him: newrepublic.com/article/2069...

Sort of weird that every year we make a big deal of the State of the Union and as soon as it’s over it’s immediately forgotten and has no impact on anything

Live Nation paid ZERO federal income tax last year largely due to Trump's tax cuts, despite reporting $145M in profits. It's also on the verge of scoring a sweetheart deal from Trump's DOJ to end a major antitrust investigation. Trump works on behalf of the most powerful corporations. Not you.

Trump in big trouble going into his SOTU speech. New CNN/SSRS Poll finds 68% of Americans say he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems while 61% say his policies will move the country in the wrong direction. His job approval rating: 36%. www.cnn.com/2026/02/23/p...

Trump is as weak as he’s ever been heading into tomorrow’s State of the Union — and we haven’t even hit the floor yet. Congressional Republicans are retiring in record numbers because they see what’s coming. See you in November.

Even Trump admits he's destroying the country.

The job of Democrats for years to come is to remind people how much they hated Republican immigration and economic policy. "Remember when we tried that last time? Remember how much you hated it?"

John Glenn became the 1st American to orbit the Earth on February 20, 1962. Three days later, President Kennedy awarded him the NASA Distinguished Service Medal for this achievement. https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkwhp-1962-02-23-b#?image_identifier=JFKWHP-KN-C20244

“Look, they’ve got the flag up on Mount Suribachi!” Robert L. Sherrod and the Two Flags on Iwo Jima, raised on this day in 1945 rayboomhower.blogspot.com/2019/09/robe...

To commemorate the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the United States will be invading Iran.

quelle surprise www.tmz.com/2026/02/22/m...

Sorry Savannah Guthrie, the Director of the FBI will prioritize finding your kidnapped mother as soon as he’s done flying back from taking celebratory shots with the U.S. men’s hockey team in Italy.

On February 22, 1963, JFK re-established the Medal of Freedom as the #PresidentialMedalOfFreedom, the highest civilian award of the United States, through Executive Order 11085. https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/jfkpof-102-006#?image_identifier=JFKPOF-102-006-p0086

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All these assholes who say you can’t be Catholic and support abortion rights need to understand that the same logic applies to backing Donald Trump’s brutal immigration policies, supporting the death penalty, or cheering on the endless foreign wars Republicans are always so eager to start.

Hundred of thousands of deaths have resulted across the global because we couldn’t continue funding USAID.

Trump has forced American consumers to shoulder the burden of billions in illegal tariffs over the last year. Americans will not be paid back. But instead of apologizing, Trump is imposing new tariffs worldwide for no discernible reason.

A MN protester accused of assaulting ICE officer had case dropped after vids showed no assault. LA protester accused of assaulting ICE w/ “hat” had case dropped; judge said govt acted in “bad faith” In Chicago, 92 ppl were arrested for assault/impeding ICE; 0 convicted DOJ keeps lying and losing:

A retired British primary school administrator with a British passport and a valid visa was shackled, chained and detained for six weeks by ICE www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The average household lost more than $1,000 to Trump's tariffs. Now the Court has spoken: this was unlawful all along. The President owes you an apology - and a refund.

I just got back from Whistler and overheard *so many* conversations from people all over the world about not going to the US. A Dane said “I was planning to go to Vegas this year but then the Greenland thing happened.” One Aussie said to another “I don’t want to wind up in an ICE concentration camp”

To recap: The guy who ran on lowering costs, ending foreign wars, and releasing the Epstein files has instead illegally rolled out tariffs that raise prices, brought us to the brink of war in Iran, and forced his DOJ to hide the Epstein files.

Pritzker demanding Trump give every Illinois resident a $1,700 tariff refund is what every Democrat ought to be doing. Huge move from one of my favorite 2028 contenders.

The Supreme Court rules 6–3 that Donald Trump has been illegally taxing Americans, and instead of complying with the law he immediately imposes a new 10% tax on all imported goods. It’s open defiance of the Constitution and another bill handed straight to working families.

So now he's going to abrogate *signed trade deals* to impose 10% tariffs? Awesome. Why would any country sign an agreement with the United States ever again?

The Supreme Court tried to save him from himself, but he's too stupid to grab the life preserver.

Announcing a 10% global tariff that forces a congressional vote right before the midterms is an incredibly stupid thing to do

What problem is Trump's new global 10% tariff meant to solve? If it's about leverage, ask: How much leverage do you get from a tariff that disappears in 150 days? If it's onshoring: Who builds new factories based on tariff that disappear before the factory is built? It's a tax. That's all it is.

Watching Trump’s press conference berating the court and vowing to continue to press tariffs that 70% of swing voters HATE. Trump is going to win the Gold Medal for downhill approval ratings.

It is very troubling that the insane elderly person babbling on my TV right now is in charge of this country.

In other good news, Democrats have won or overperformed in 248 out of 278 elections over the last year. It’s not hard to see why the GOP is so fixated on rigging the midterms with the SAVE Act and gerrymandering. They’re going to get creamed in November.

“The American consumer has just been made a sucker by Trump…” @phillipspobrien.bsky.social

SCOTUS attempts to save Trump from himself just in time for the midterms.

Key issue to bear in mind as you watch today's political response to the Supreme Court tariff decision: The Court didn't say that the US can't issue tariffs, simply that the President has to convince (the Republican-controlled) Congress first. If tariffs are great, that should be easy to do.

Well I’m glad we spent the last year losing jobs, making shit cost more and making everyone else hate us even more. At least he got to talk on TV about it a lot, so who’s to say whether or not it was worth it.

Trump should be forced to issue an immediate refund to every American who has suffered because of these illegal tariffs. That’s the only way to make this right.

It is pretty telling that it comes as something of a surprise that the Supreme Court sided with the Constitution over Trump.

Trump has built his entire presidency around these stupid tariffs. They’ve damaged the American economy and isolated us on the international stage. He now has zero leverage over the rest of the world, and the average American consumer will hopefully get some relief from the price hikes he created.

20 February 1968: Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr arrive in Rishikesh, India. Paul: "It was a strange little twilight experience. It was a long journey…" See more: www.beatlesbible.com/1968/02/20/p...