The Trump train -- and its conductor -- are losing steam

[marmar]

The Trump train — and its conductor — are losing steam
Americans are growing weary of the president's cruel policies and stagnant economy

By Heather Digby Parton
Columnist
Published November 28, 2025 6:30AM (EST)


(Salon) Thanksgiving 2024 was one of the most dreary holidays we’ve had for many a year. It may have even been worse than the 2016 holiday, when half the country was in a state of stunned disbelief that Donald Trump had won the presidency. This time, though, we knew what we were in for — and that made it even worse.

....(snip)....

The good news is that after three seasons of remorse and penance, over the past month or so Democrats have broken out of their funk and are coming to grips with the reality of another three years of Trump.

Like the president himself, the Trump train, which looked like high-speed rail during the first few months of his second term, is slowing down. And it’s a much more rickety machine than it first appeared.

....(snip)....

For months, the media was mesmerized by Trump’s theatricality. Democrats in Washington, obsessed as they were with their compulsive navel gazing, were paralyzed. But that seems to be over now — and it’s largely due to ordinary Americans seeing the threats posed by Trump more clearly than the party’s leadership and successfully pushing back.

The latest polling breaks down along typical lines, with Republicans mostly backing Trump and Democrats pretty much unanimously rejecting him. But instead of the similar breakdown you usually find among Independents, who generally lean 50-50, a substantial majority of them are now siding with the Democrats. A recent CBS/YouGov poll found that a whopping 76% disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 24% approve. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2025/11/28/the-trump-train-and-its-conductor-are-losing-steam/

[mdbl]

1. I'll bet the 24% of those who approve of his handling the economy couldn't even give a reason

At least not a reason that makes sense in reality.

[NotHardly]

2. Absolutely THIS

[iluvtennis]

3. Yep, they approve of his HATE of others (e.g., black/brown people, immigrants, LGBTQ, etc, etc. ) n/t

[Ol Janx Spirit]

4. Stocks. That 24% of independents represents probably about 18 million people, or roughly 5% of the total...

...population.* They could be more heavily invested in the stock market than most.

Despite the rollercoaster of the last month, the S&P 500 is still up around 16% this year. Nvidia alone is up over 43% this year--one of the big drivers of the stock market this year since many other sectors are basically flat.

So if you own stock and investment funds you probably feel a lot more positive about the Administration's handling of the economy than if you are working for what you have and struggling to make ends meet.

And the stock market is a funny thing: it doesn't actually exhibit what would appear to be logical behavior. It often sees opportunity in your pain and celebrates the things ordinary workers decry. Until something comes along to truly disrupt things those same people will probably continue to feel positive about the economy.

* This is just a quick estimate based on:
Registered voters in 2024: 174 million
People that identify as independent voters: 43-44%
Rough number of independents: 76,560,000
24% of the rough number of independents: 18,374,400
18,374,400 represents approximately 5.3% of the current United States population of 348 million.

[mdbl]

5. I wonder how long the stock market will fool everyone into thinking we have a good economy.

Can it run forever on a whim by big traders?

[Ol Janx Spirit]

7. It's kind of the other way around. The stock market will tell us how the economy is doing overall regardless...

...of how individual sectors of the economy are doing or how we perceive it to be doing.

Consumer spending has remained fairly strong which seems to belie the idea that the economy is actually faltering yet, but other indicators like credit card debt and car loan defaults portend some possible trouble on the horizon.

A lot of that spending has been buoyed by the top 50% of earners which indicates that they are still feeling positive about their personal economies--possibly in part because of their stock market gains.

Still, "[t]he National Retail Federation (NRF) forecasts total holiday sales (November and December, excluding auto, gas, and restaurant sales) to increase between 3.7% and 4.2% over last year, reaching over $1 trillion."
https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-expects-holiday-sales-to-surpass-1-trillion-for-the-first-time-in-2025

Those kind of sales numbers are sure to make the markets at least temporarily happy if they pan out.

In addition, the current damage to the U.S. economy is totally self-inflicted. Just imagine what will happen in both the economy and the markets if tariffs are struck-down or simply removed.

Then again, we have a maniac at the helm of the ship right now--and he fired all of the watchmen. It will be sheer luck if we don't hit an iceberg at this point.

[mdbl]

8. I don't know who's spending, but it's certainly not me this year.

[Jack Valentino]

6. Too many "independent voters" never saw a Trump rally before they voted--

&list=RDtMDFv5m18Pw&start_radio=1

(posted for the chorus line only---
Ozzie even sang "learn how to love, and forget how to hate"
but Trump and his fellow nazis missed that line)


He's definitely off the rails, but was before the 24 election....