Temperature today:  90C   I didn’t think  the temperature was going down after the handcuffing of Senator Padilla, but it is even with the arrest of the New York City comptroller, Brad Lander.  This is a big part of the takeaways from the weekend.

There are several independent developments:  No Kings Day was a huge success, Trump’s birthday parade was pathetic, threats of violence were not a deterrent, Trump is drowning politically, and there are increasing rumors about his decline.  As a result of all of these, the Resistance needs to keep growing and to focus its efforts, and it is time to get proactive and to plan the future.

No Kings Day saw protests across the country, with conservative estimates of five million participants and some estimates running much higher.  It was at worst the second largest protest in US history, with only the 2017 Women’s March possibly being larger.  My sense from our local event, which seemed to be matched everywhere else, was a combination of joy, at joining up with others and seeing how many turned out for this event, and rage at the administration.  And for many, “rage” may be too mild a word.  Of special note were the very large protests in Minneapolis, which were officially discouraged because Vance Boelter was on the loose, and in DC where most people wanted to avoid the parade and where Trump had threatened a violent response; there were very large crowds and the violence never materialized.

The parade was a dud.  Attendance was estimated at around 10,000, and many interviewed said they were there to support the armed services and not Trump, and almost no one stuck around to hear Trump and Vance speak.  Trump appeared to fall asleep.  There was no projection of power here.  Opinions on the army participants vary:  there may have been some malicious compliance in the form of not marching in unison; at least it seemed that the soldiers did not want to be there.  There was certainly malicious compliance in the repeated playing of CCR’s “Fortunate Son”, a protest song about rich people who evade the draft.

After embarrassing himself up, down and sideways at the G7 summit, Trump left early.  This was supposedly to attend to national security stuff like the Israel-Iran conflict, but it was more likely because no one was paying attention to him, until he shot off his mouth  and undercut whatever influence we might have with Israel and Iran.

He also may have left in part because his health may be in steep decline; this is mostly rumor at this point but it is something to keep an eye on.  “The pattern is hard to ignore – a sharp drop-off in Trump’s once-ubiquitous public appearances, hints of mobility and continence issues, and conspicuous adjustments in how he engages with the press and peers.”

This leaves us with a growing and accelerating resistance and a greatly weakened White House.  Numerous news figures and pundits are calling for a national conversation about next steps for the resistance, and about what we want the government and country to be post-Trump.  

That is where I will follow up tomorrow.