Friday Insights-April 18, 2025
Signs of hope?
The sun was shining this morning as I sat down to write this. I learned that, through courage and perseverance, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) met with Kilmar Abrego Garcia at the El Salvadoran prison where Trump sent him. Van Hollen’s meeting may not lead to the release of Garcia, but it is welcome evidence of resistance to Trump policies that violate the Constitution, human rights, and are morally wrong.
Van Hollen’s trip, like Cory Booker’s 25-hour speech, and the remarkable success of the Bernie Sanders-AOC rallies against Trumpism are evidence that the sleeping giant of true patriots—people who embrace democracy, cherish the safeguards against autocracy built into the Constitution, and believe in human rights—are not going to take Trumpism as inevitable. They are fighting back.
Trump remains oblivious to his declining popularity, even among Republicans. Many Americans now disapprove of his leadership (I would say abdication of leadership) on the economy. Many people are starting to realize that the tariffs will increase prices and that the reign of terror that is DOGE is destroying people’s ability to get services from their government, things like help with social security and, for veterans, access to the benefits and services they earned.
Will these signs of hope translate into Congress putting the brakes on Trump? I don’t see convincing evidence of that, but am encouraged by the heartfelt comments of Senator Lisa Murkowski on Thursday. She told Alaskans that her Republican Senate colleagues “are afraid to speak up” due to intimidation by Trump. She added:
You've got everyone zip-lipped. Not saying a word, because they're afraid they're going to be taken down, they're going to be primaried, they're going to be given names in the media. You know what, we cannot be cowed into not speaking up.
I hope to see at least one or two Republicans realize Trump doesn’t care what is good for them or the states they purport to represent and start saying, “no.” (I’m not holding my breath).
Also newsworthy:
A friend of mine keeps telling me “Trump is going too far,” implying that even his supporters will eventually abandon him if he continues to pursue autocratic rule aggressively. On November 5, 2025, the issue of abrogating the Constitution was not on the ballot. This week, Trump called for the “termination” of Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell.
Trump commented,” If I want him out, he’ll be out of there real fast, believe me.”
Mr. Powell responded by reiterating that Trump cannot remove him from power.
Trump wants Powell to lower interest rates, in part, I suspect, to offset increases in consumer prices that will result from the Trump tariffs.
A constitutional crisis will erupt if Trump attempts to remove Powell forcefully.
The Second Amendment.
On Thursday, April 17, a gunman killed two people and injured six others in a shooting at Florida State University. When asked about it, Trump called the shooting “a shame” and reiterated his support for the Second Amendment.
I call Trump’s response shameful.
Thank you.
That is it for today. I have noticed that Dean’s Issues & Insights readers are more engaged with my short notes attaching news articles than with Friday Insights or Sunday Issues. For that reason, I have decided to shorten my longer pieces.
I welcome comments and suggestions on what readers want to see in Dean’s Issues & Insights.