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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Figuring out that reality really does bite [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-29
John Harwood/zeteo:
When Will MAGA Voters Realize That the Objects of Trump’s Retribution Include Them? Trump's supporters are loving his revenge tour, but they may not be so enthusiastic when his tariffs worsen inflation and he comes for their benefits. To open his second presidency, Donald Trump has taunted and tortured political adversaries and destroyed parts of the government he leads. MAGA voters love it. No surprise there. Those angry Americans view Trump’s declared enemies – the “deep state,” “woke” college professors, the media, transgender people, Blacks, immigrants – as their enemies, too. Savoring “liberal tears” may be all the MAGA rank-and-file need. But if they instead want Trump to improve their lives in more tangible ways, they’ll likely end up disappointed. There’s no sign yet that their messiah aims to bring them anything significant at al
x Incredible level of incompetence to roll out a protectionist set of policies for the auto industry that are so poorly designed that they crush the stock of the companies you are trying to protect.
https://t.co/JrhOMLzMsl — Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 28, 2025
Dan Diamond/Washington Post:
Trump promised scientific breakthroughs. Researchers say he’s breaking science. NIH funding for biomedical research has abruptly fallen by billions of dollars, with many grant decisions on hold. Trump officials say they’re reviewing the agency. In his presidential campaign last year, Donald Trump vowed to supercharge U.S. scientific research efforts, pledging to “unleash the power of American innovation” to combat cancer, Alzheimer’s and other diseases. But Trump has instead unleashed cuts and chaos that are paralyzing ongoing research, prompting layoffs and threatening America’s perch as a global scientific leader, researchers and scientists warn. The brunt of the pain stems from changes at the National Institutes of Health, which provides the bulk of biomedical research funding in the United States and supports more than 300,000 researchers across the country. Since Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20, NIH funding has dropped by more than $3 billion compared with grants issued during the same period last year, according to a review of publicly available grant data. The slowdown represents a nearly 60 percent decline in NIH funding, touching all corners of the American science establishment — and going far beyond areas that the White House has targeted for cuts, such as transgender health.
x When you see a quote like this from the White House, it's a clear indication that Medicaid cuts have become a big political issue.@MarcACaputo @Neil_Irwin pic.twitter.com/6Ho1rhqZcs — Larry Levitt (@larry_levitt) March 28, 2025
The quote is from Axios in a story about how Trump WH will manage taxes:
"If we renew tax cuts for the rich paid for by throwing people off Medicaid, we're gonna get f--king slaughtered," the White House official said.
Julia Ioffe/Puck:
The Vance Doctrine Depending on whom you talk to, J.D. Vance is either a foreign policy naif or an embittered War on Terror vet driven by fear that the West’s foundational civilization is being washed away. The truth may be somewhere in between. Vance has become the most acerbic messenger of Trump’s view that Europe has taken advantage of American taxpayers by not investing enough in its own defense. But if the president loathes what he perceives as the Europeans’ almost effeminate weakness—especially compared to Putin’s machismo—Vance’s contempt for the continent’s leadership seems deeper, and more ideological. In February, the vice president shocked Europeans at the Munich Security Conference when he scolded them for not spending money on their own defense, and for preaching about democracy while, in Vance’s view, censoring far-right speech and dismissing voters’ concerns about unchecked migration. It wasn’t just public posturing. It was, as the group chat seems to confirm, the real Vance. Even when national security advisor and group chat administrator Mike Waltz gently corrected the vice president—“the trade figures we have are 15% of global and 30% of container,” he wrote, arguing that it’s “difficult to break that down to U.S.” trade—Vance wouldn’t let it go. “@Pete Hegseth if you think we should do it let’s go,” he said. “I just hate bailing out Europe again.” (“I fully share your loathing of European free-loading,” Hegseth conceded. “It’s PATHETIC.”)
Alexander Shur/Votebeat Wisconsin:
How Wisconsin’s Washington County helped its municipalities expand early-voting hours The Republican-majority county covers the added costs for localities, and turnout has improved. Absentee voting didn’t used to be popular in Addison, a rural town of 3,300 in southeast Wisconsin. A few days before the last Supreme Court election in 2023, only about 60 residents had cast absentee ballots in person. This year, at the same point in the election cycle, that number was over 300. The sharp increase is due partly to Republicans’ recent embrace of absentee voting, especially in the nearly two-week period before Election Day when voters can cast absentee ballots in person. Washington County, where Addison is located, is one of the state’s most Republican counties, and one of many Republican-dominated areas across Wisconsin where early voting rates have surged. But perhaps a bigger reason is a recent Washington County initiative aimed at making early voting more accessible for voters, and more feasible for municipalities. The program compensates municipalities for the costs of extending their hours during the state’s early in-person voting period. It makes up for the gaps in municipal budgets that previously limited early voting opportunities.
x One thing that I've really gotten wrong is that I thought we'd see a jump in "the vibes" at least early on in the administration.
Now, some of the decline in measured sentiment can be chalked up to partisanship/Dems.
But econ sentiment among just GOP. Way lower than Trump 1.0 pic.twitter.com/DyeWYrsSF1 — Joe Weisenthal (@TheStalwart) March 28, 2025
AP:
Consumer confidence is sliding as Americans’ view of their financial futures slumps to a 12-year low U.S. consumer confidence continued its sharp 2025 decline as Americans’ views about their financial futures slumped to a 12-year low, driven by rising anxiety over tariffs and inflation. The Conference Board reported Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points in March to 92.9, the fourth straight monthly decline and its lowest reading since January of 2021. The reading was short of analysts expectations for a reading of 94.5, according to a survey by FactSet. The business group found that the measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the job market fell 9.6 points to 65.2. That’s the lowest reading in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80, which the Conference Board says can signal a potential recession in the near future. The proportion of U.S. consumers anticipating a recession remains at a nine-month high, the board reported.
x Just 6% of Greenlanders want to join the United States. There are more people who think we faked the moon landing (~10%).
85% of Greenlanders are opposed.
Meanwhile, less than 30% of Americans want Greenland to join the U.S.
I've rarely seen anything so unpopular. pic.twitter.com/03LdNLS5aP — (((Harry Enten))) (@ForecasterEnten) March 28, 2025
Cliff Schecter on Pete Hegseth and SignalGate:
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