• pjwestin@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    I really want to stress how deeply unpopular this is in the U.S. The MAGA movement is about 30% of the electorate, so you can generally expect that even the dumbest, most insane Trump decisions have a floor of 30% approval. 9% of Americans support this, 86% oppose it. At minimum, two-thirds of Trump’s most rabid, loyal followers are against this.

    • Threeskittiesinatrenchcoat@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      Something I’ve learned in the last decade, no matter how unpopular a position, MAGA supporters will fall in line with the party rather than risk threatening the parties authority.

      • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Maybe. MAGA is fracturing right now. Withholding the Epstien files really was too much for some of them, and Marjorie Taylor Greene’s defection gave a lot of them permission to question and criticize him. Invading an ally for no reason might actually break through to good chunk of the average red hats.

        • btsax@reddthat.com
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          1 day ago

          False hope. Come election time Republicans will rally around some insane thing like “Democrats are eating babies” and they’ll pull the lever for whoever has an R by their name. Even non-crazy people will tell themselves some half-baked story that starts with “Well, I don’t like Trump but…” and do the same thing.

          • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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            1 day ago

            That’s not what the special elections are showing. In last years special elections, Democrats have gained, on average, 14 points in districts that Trump won. Miami elected a Democratic mayor for the first time in 30 years. At the beginning of 2025, people were wondering if Republicans could hold on to the House. In 2026, they’re speculating on whether or not Democrats will retake the Senate.

            And this is all happening while Democrats have hit historically low approval ratings. Only 18% of voters approve of the job they’re doing in Congress, including -6% approval in their own party. And still, voters want Democrats in charge of Congress, 47% to 43%. People hate Democrats more than they have ever hated Democrats in the history of Democrats, and they are still hate Trump more.

    • kent_eh@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      I hope those numbers can be turned into actions to stop Trump.

      The elected officials need to be reminded what the vast majority of their voters want them to do.

      • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        Well, I hate to throw cold water on that comfort, but I’m not sure the numbers matter. Trump is increasingly unresponsive to polling, even within his base, and it seems like the Pentagon really is planning an invasion. It would fracture his own MAGA movement, completely destroy NATO, make America a global pariah, and potentially start WWIII, but it seems he is seriously considering it.

        • dustycups@aussie.zone
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          2 days ago

          I have nothing to base this on but some guy on the internet said that he is demanding invasion & the top brass keeps trying to talk him out of it.

          • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            I read an article that claimed some top Generals are trying to distract him with an invasion of Iran (which is also really, really bad). Traditional neocons certainly don’t want this, though; they don’t want to throw away 80 years of military alliances. Still, if the president tells the Pentagon, “make me a Greenland invasion plan,” they’re gonna do it.

        • khannie@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Ah I’m sure he’s considering it and the planning is a given. I’m glad the bulk of Americans have some sense in this matter at least.

          • Cybersteel@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Probably as retribution to the American people for not voting for him in 2021. Such a lust for revenge

    • azuth@sh.itjust.works
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      1 day ago

      So what? He will invade Greenland, get voted out and everything will turn back to normal? Because you disapproved of said actions?

      • pjwestin@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        LOL, no. As I already said in this thread:

        Trump is increasingly unresponsive to polling, even within his base, and it seems like the Pentagon really is planning an invasion. It would fracture his own MAGA movement, completely destroy NATO, make America a global pariah, and potentially start WWIII, but it seems he is seriously considering it.

        Approval isn’t changing Trump’s actions, and he’s actively talking about canceling the midterms (though using his ICE for voter suppression is more likely). The only hope is that enough neocons tell him that they’ll support impeachment if he fucks up NATO.

    • mvlad88@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      As long as that idiot is in power those numbers mean nothing. Impeach him, vote in a new guy and then we’ll talk.

    • stylusmobilus@aussie.zone
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      2 days ago

      how deeply unpopular

      He was elected twice. On both occasions those that didn’t care won.

      30% isn’t deeply unpopular btw. That’s about 5-10%.

      It’s bad enough that we’re reminded we have to stop and think about the Americans, let alone having to accept bullshit.