It Is -- I would agree with (Michigan Gov. Gretchen) Whitmer considering the number of sucka--s running Washington at the moment. Let's not forget that Trump dressed up (via photoshop) as a pope last week, said he didn't know the Constitution of the government he is supposedly running and is running his office to increase his bank account. I have not heard from the opposition anything so far that can stop him. 

--Kate McLeod

Doesn't Matter -- Are we in a Constitutional Crisis? I’ll leave that to experts to decide.

But the actions of the Trump Administration’s actions are clear.

It has denied Due Process to immigrants, documented and not, who’ve been arrested, jailed, held, and sometimes flown out of the country without warrants, charges filed or court hearings.  This, even though the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution says that “no person shall be … deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law,” and the 14^th Amendment, ratified in 1868, reaffirms the due process clause and applies it to states.

It has ignored a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that it “facilitate” the release of 

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an El Salvadoran immigrant father of three who the Trump Administration initially acknowledged was wrongly arrested yet remains in a horrendous prison for terrorists in El Salvador, where the US sent him.

It has issued Executive Orders that in essence legislate government action, closing or significantly diminishing agencies and programs despite their prior funding allocated by Congress.

It has allowed the Department of Government Efficiency to begin compiling dossiers on all citizens, combining private information from agencies across the government.

It has cut billions of dollars in grants for research and other purposes to private universities until and unless they allow prior federal review of their curricula and hiring.

It has made masked arrests by federal agents the norm, in essence hiding the identity of those carrying them out.

It has issued an executive order saying no federal funds should be used for PBS or NPR.

And this list is just a start.

Are these normal or acceptable practicing in our constitutional democracy?

I would say definitely not.

--Jerry Lanson

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FRIDAY 5/9/25

No Crisis Here -- Fears of a constitutional crisis under a Trump administration are largely overblown, driven more by partisan rhetoric than evidence. The US Constitution is a robust framework, designed with checks and balances that have endured for over two centuries. The judiciary, Congress, and state governments remain independent, with no credible indication that Trump could dismantle these institutions. His previous term saw controversial policies and legal challenges, but the system held firm — courts blocked overreaches, and elections proceeded without disruption. Claims of an impending crisis often rely on speculative scenarios rather than concrete actions, ignoring the resilience of American governance.

Critics point to Trump’s rhetoric and past behavior, like his election fraud claims, as harbingers of authoritarianism. Yet, rhetoric is not action, and the 2020 election process demonstrated institutional strength. The Supreme Court, even with its conservative lean, has shown no appetite for undermining constitutional norms, as seen in its rejection of election-related lawsuits. Congress, too, remains a counterweight, with divided loyalties and self-interest ensuring neither branch dominates. The decentralized nature of US elections, managed by states, further limits any potential for centralized abuse. These structural realities undercut narratives of imminent collapse.

This is not to dismiss legitimate concerns about political polarization or executive overreach, which warrant vigilance. But hyperbolizing a constitutional crisis risks diluting the term’s gravity and sowing unnecessary panic. The Constitution’s endurance lies in its adaptability and the civic engagement it inspires. Citizens, media, and institutions must hold leaders accountable, as they have before. Rather than fearmongering, we should trust in the system’s proven ability to weather challenges, focusing on practical reforms to strengthen democracy rather than imagining its demise.

--Rich Corbett

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FRIDAY 5/9/25

Many liberals and never-Trumper conservatives say the US has gone down the rabbit-hole of authoritarianism, as the president defies court orders on his immigrant deportation actions and executive orders that undercut Congress’ spending authority. The only issue for politicians and pundits who argue we are in a constitutional crisis is how far in we are, and what it would take to get the US out of the authoritarian rabbit-hole. 

Last week, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, considered a frontrunner for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, drew heavy criticism from her side when she appeared with President Trump at Macomb Community College for a campaign-style rally in which the president promoted his tariff policy to a friendly crowd. Whitmer explained she appeared with Trump at that rally in support of the president’s announcement of a new fighter jet mission at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Macomb County, Michigan. 

Then last Friday, Whitmer appeared on a left-leaning podcast to warn about the condition of the Constitution.

“We are indeed in a constitutional crisis,” Whitmer said on Pod Save America. “The thought that we’ve got an administration that is just blatantly violating court orders should, I think, scare everybody … This is very serious moment.”

Beginning this Friday we are hosting a weekend debate on the question of whether we are in a constitutional crisis, and whether it matters, in the left and right columns. Enter your COMMENTS in this column or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you lean left or right (irrespective of your opinion on the question) in the subject line.

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THURSDAY 5/8/25

Actions of the Trump White House after the first 100 days of the president’s second administration have many conservative never-Trumpers as well as liberals warning of a “constitutional crisis.” Pro-MAGA populists and conservatives would disagree, even argue that Trump is saving the Constitution from the “woke” constraints imposed by Presidents Biden and Obama.

“Claims of a constitutional crisis are overblown, if not completely imaginary,” conservative Berkeley Law Prof. John Yoo wrote for the Civitas Institute of the University of Texas at Austin, where he is a visiting scholar. “Critics would have a better claim to credibility if they were not so obviously partisan. These same authority figures did not warn of a constitutional crash when President Joseph Biden, without congressional authorization, forgave an estimated $400 billion in federal student debt – a constitutional ‘power grab’ if there ever was one, and a far cry from anything Elon Musk’s efficiency drive will find in cuts.”

Beginning this Friday we are hosting a weekend debate on the question of whether we are in a constitutional crisis, and whether it matters, in the left and right columns. Enter your COMMENTS in this column or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you lean left or right (irrespective of your opinion on the question) in the subject line.

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THURSDAY 5/8/25

The Editorial We here at The Hustings are all too aware of the clunkiness and limitations of this website, especially when trying to access us on your smartphone (where the page opens on this, the left column – it’s not supposed to do that). Look for an all-new website/format designed to alleviate these issues, coming soon.

Go to about thehustings.news to see a preview of the new website.

But please do not wait for our redesign to engage with our echo chamber-free civil media. 

To comment on our summary of Kristen Welker’s interview with President Trump on Meet the Press, on Israel’s latest plan to contain Hamas in Gaza, on Trump’s Pope The Donald post on Truth Social or any other relevant news/news aggregate you’ve read here (or even political news you haven’t read here), email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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MONDAY 5/5/25

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

“Coketown, with its vast, smoke-belching mills and ceaseless clatter, stood as a monument to a system that traded fancy and feeling for raw, relentless production. Its factories loomed like giant, unfeeling engines—a world of brick, iron, and mechanical routine.”—Charles Dickens, Hard Times

One of the things that has been characteristic of Americans since the start of the republic is parents’ hope and belief that their children can do better than they did. It is always a forward striving.

But that’s not what the Trump Administration thinks should be the case.

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick says that after all of those factories come rolling back into the US there will be jobs galore for blue-collar workers.

Those jobs will be there for, well, generation upon generation. And they won’t necessarily change.

As he told CNBC:

“This is the new model, where you work in these plants for the rest of your life and your kids work here, and your grandkids work here.”

That’s right: Get a job in a factory and don’t leave.

Maybe if you’re lucky there will be barracks that you and your offspring can live in.

Perhaps you will buy all of your products at the factory store. You’ll get married at the factory chapel. Your children will be born in the factory hospital. You’ll be buried in the factory cemetery.

MAGA!

To be sure, many factory jobs of today are far superior than they were in the time of Dark Satanic Mills.

But one of the reasons why these factory jobs are better is because of the work done by government agencies including OSHA and the EPA. They established regulations that help assure the health and safety of not only the people working in the factories, but the people who live in the vicinity of factories.

OSHA. . .EPA. . .regulations. . . Bah! Who needs them?

There is another reason why factories of today are different from those of yesterday: Automation. Things like robots. Not Elon’s Optimus, the humanoid robot that he claims will revolutionize everything. . .even though in his public demonstrations the robots were operated by humans behind the scenes, sort of like those little robots rolling around in amusement parks.

No, we are talking about industrial robots that have a robust design and are built to deal with the rigors of factory work.

These robots have what is known as a “mean time between failures” measured in tens of thousands of hours. If a factory is running a three-shift/five-days-a-week schedule, this would mean 6,240 hours per year. Industrial robots are likely not going to fail in that period of time.

Sure, there is a need for preventative maintenance. And there is a need for programming.

But there will be a need for robotics technicians.

According to RoboticsCareer.org, someone who wants to be a robotics technician will “benefit from some training in mechanics. You’ll want to spend time particularly focused on hydraulics, pneumatics, and electronics, as all of these will have a role in the continuing operation of the machines.”

What’s more: “Part of this material maintenance of robots is an understanding of basic engineering principles like physics and fluid mechanics. You’ll also benefit from more electronics-focused areas like working with microprocessors, circuit boards, networking technology, and other computer technology.”

Yes, there is a non-trivial amount of training required.

Funny: You hear Team Trump talk about bringing manufacturing jobs back but not about preparing the workforce to take those jobs. Have you heard a single word about what is going to be done to get people prepared to take these jobs?

According to The National Association of Manufacturers’ Q2 2024 Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey, 67.7% of those surveyed say their biggest business challenge is “Attracting and retaining a quality workforce.” And this is right now, when it seems as though the US has little if any manufacturing.

Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers have it that there are 482,000 job openings in manufacturing occupations right now. Seems that people aren’t in a big hurry to take them.

And let’s face it: the amount of automation that will need to be deployed in all of the factories that are allegedly going to come back will be tremendous because these factories will need to be as cost effective as possible. The number of jobs created will be a fraction of what they were in an earlier age that Trump certainly thinks about.

Once upon a time, Republicans, particularly those who consider themselves “conservatives,” cited Adam Smith’s economic approaches as being those that should be followed.

Smith wrote this about mercantilism, which is what Trump is pursuing with the tariffs:

“It is thus that every system which [tries], either by extraordinary encouragements to draw towards a particular industry a greater share of the capital of the society than what would naturally go to it, or, by extraordinary restraints, force from a particular industry some share of the capital which would otherwise be employed in it, is in reality [harmful to] the great purpose which it means to promote. It retards, instead of accelerating, the progress of the society towards real wealth and greatness; and diminishes, instead of increasing, the real value of the annual produce of its land and labor.”

Trump and Lutnick certainly wouldn’t like that last sentence.

Odds are Wealth of Nations won’t be available in the company library.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings. His columns also appear in Substack in the Hustings.

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MONDAY 5/5/25

When the Commerce Department reported an 0.3% drop in Real Gross Domestic Product for the first quarter of the year, the so-called gold standard of measuring the economy, President Trump blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden. GDP under Biden was up 2.8% for all of 2024. That’s a particularly healthy number, and in fact the last time the US economy shrunk was the first quarter of 2022, the beginning of Biden’s first full year in the White House.

As any pundit and most voters will tell you, we have been in Trump’s economy since at least January 20. President Trump has even claimed the bull market on Wall Street over the last year as his stock market because of stock traders’ anticipation of his laissez-faireattitude toward government regulation (though certainly not toward free trade).

What do you think? 

We are happy to take your remarks on which parts of the current economy belong to Trump and which still belong to Biden. If, for example, you can make the argument that the Biden administration is indeed responsible for the drop in GDP, we would be happy to run your comments in the right, probably, or left column, so long as your argument is civil and adheres to the facts. 

Email your civil COMMENTS on center column news & analysis, and/or any of the commentaries and opinions expressed in the right and left columns, to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings (regardless of your opinion on the given issue) in the subject line.

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FRIDAY 5/2/25

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Remember civility?

That was the social behavior that is respectful of others. Patient. Open and engaged. Disagreeing without being disagreeable.

You know, everything Donald Trump isn’t, especially when dealing with people who aren’t likely to kiss his ring and then shave his back.

Trump sat down with ABC News’s Terry Moran, anchor and senior national correspondent.

One of the things that is always good is the truth.

Something that Trump seems to have a difficult time with.

Take, for example, his statement: “I’ve taken the trade deficit down to a number that’s very, very — starting to get really good.”

In January 2025, still considered “Biden’s economy,” the U.S. trade deficit was $131.4 billion, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Credit to him, because in February 2025 the deficit decreased to $122.7 billion.

But then there is the difficult part because the trade deficit in March 2025 — solidly in the Trump zone — was $162 billion.

It doesn’t take a degree from the Wharton School to know that 162 is a whole lot larger than 131.

And in the context of deficits, it’s not “really good.”

Or there’s the claim that sounds good to, presumably, the base that China “were making from us a trillion dollars a year. They were ripping us off like nobody’s every ripped us off.”  And according to Trump, essentially every country that the United States has trade with is “ripping us off.”

Were that claim about “trillions of dollars a year” anywhere close to the truth would get him a pass for rhetorical effect, but here’s the thing:

Assuming that “ripping us off” means that they have sold us goods that we imported, US imports from China were:

• 2018: $538.51 billion
• 2019: $449.11 billion
• 2020: $432.55 billion
• 2021: $506.29 billion
• 2022: $427.23 billion
• 2023: $438.95 billion
• 2024: $462.62 billion

No evidence of a trillion.

And while not denying that there is an imbalance in the amounts of trade between the two countries, during this period here is the value of the US exports to China, or presumably the amounts that US businesses were “ripping off” China:

• 2018: $120.28 billion
• 2019: $106.48 billion
• 2020: $124.58 billion
• 2021: $151.43 billion
• 2022: $154.12 billion
• 2023: $147.77 billion
• 2024: $143.54 billion

Trump tends to imply that trade is all one way: That the Chinese, and essentially every other country on Earth, are forcing their stuff on the US with the US being a naif among thieves.

(A digression: Here’s a way to think about trade. Let’s say you go to Starbucks and order a grande iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle and two pumps of vanilla syrup. This could set you back about $6.75. Odds are you could buy the ingredients — the espresso beans, milk, caramel syrup, vanilla syrup — and the equipment to make your own grande iced caramel macchiato with extra caramel drizzle and two pumps of vanilla syrup. But the thing is, there would be not only the cost of the equipment — an espresso maker can easily set you back $250 — and the ingredients, but there is the time necessary to make the beverage and then do all of the subsequent cleanup. It is likely that you find it more cost-effective to buy the drink from Starbucks. Is it expensive? That depends on your point of view of crafted coffee beverages. Is Starbucks “ripping you off” when you deliberately go in and buy one? In Trump’s World that is evidently the case.)

Well into the interview, Moran asked about the handling of the immigrants — illegal or otherwise — by the Administration.

Which led, among other things, for Trump to say, “Well, lemme ask you. Do they get hearings when — when Biden allowed 21 million — ‘cause I think the number’s 21, 20 million — people to flow into our country? He had 21 million people that came into our country through a stupid open border.”

That darn Biden.

But here’s something of interest: 

In October 2024 the House Committee on Homeland Security put out a press release titled “Startling Stats Factsheet: Fiscal Year 2024 Ends With Nearly 3 Million Inadmissible Encounters, 10.8 Million Total Encounters since FY2021.”

The Committee chastised the Biden Administration. The Committee Chair Mark E. Green, MD (R-TN), issued a statement saying, in part, “There are countless examples of those aliens going on to commit crimes against innocent Americans, and many of them create financial burdens for state and local governments who are already struggling to provide resources to their citizens. We simply cannot go on like this as a country. These open-borders policies have devastated our safety, security, and sovereignty. It’s time to return to policies that secured our border and our nation.”

In other words, Biden is to blame.

But here’s the curious part: It found 10.8 million. Where does Trump’s 20 million come from?

Again, the truth seems to be optional.

To return to the subject of civility.

In a spirited exchange as to whether Kilmar Abrego Garcia has “MS 13” tattoos on his fingers — Trump insists he does; Moran said it was Photoshopped — an exchange deep into the interview, 

Trump said:

“I’m giving you the big break of a lifetime. You know, you’re doing the interview, I picked you because — frankly I never heard of you, but that’s okay.”

And there you have it.

Because Trump is finding someone who is not agreeing with him, he has to push back in a way that tries to diminish his interlocutor, tries to throw him off his game.

“You, Mr. Nobody, are getting a big chance because of Me. And don’t you dare forget it.”

And, of course, after Moran politely said, “Fair enough, he did have tattoos that can be interpreted that way. I'm not an expert on them. I want to turn to Ukraine, sir,” this occurred:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: No, no. Terry --

TERRY MORAN: I -- I want to get to Ukraine --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Terry, no, no. No, no. He had MS as clear as you can be. Not "interpreted." This is why people --

TERRY MORAN: Alright.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: -- no longer believe --

TERRY MORAN: Well.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: -- the news, because it's fake news –

And it goes on and on to the point where Trump says:

“Why don’t you just say, ‘Yes, he does,’ and, you know, go on to something else.”

Of course. Because there is disagreement with what Trump thinks, it can’t be real.

And Moran should just wither under Trump’s claims and admit something that Moran politely described by saying “It’s contested.”

The interview moves on to Ukraine (“And this is Biden’s war”).

Moran asks Trump whether he trusts Putin.

And then there’s this response:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I don't trust you. I don't trust -- I don't trust a lot of people. I don't trust you. Look at you. You come in all shootin' for bear. You're so happy to do the interview.

TERRY MORAN: I am happy --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And then you start hitting me with fake questions. You start tellin' me that a guy -- whose hand is covered with a tattoo --

TERRY MORAN: Alright. We're back to that.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: -- doesn't have the tattoo, you know.

TERRY MORAN: Alright.

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I mean, you're being dishonest.

This is not the behavior of a serious man.

And as the interview nears its close:

TERRY MORAN: I'm gonna ask -- if I may, do you think the reputation of the United States has gone down under your presidency?

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: I -- no, I think it's gone way up, and I think we're a respected country again. We were laughed at all over the world. We had -- a president that couldn't walk up a flight of stairs, couldn't walk down a flight of stairs, couldn't walk across a stage without falling. We had a president that was grossly incompetent. You knew it, I knew it, and everybody knew it. But you guys didn't want to write it because you're fake news.

TERRY MORAN: Alright. Thank you --

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: And, by the way, ABC is one of the worst. I have to be honest with you …

So much for civility.

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FRIDAY 5/2/25

Commentary by Jerry Lanson

Here is how Donald Trump’s administration is “Making America Great Again.”

•By deporting a 4-year-old citizen undergoing treatment for cancer.

•By eviscerating, if not outright killing, “Meals on Wheels,” a vital program that feeds the sick and elderly.

•By unveiling plans to end the federal program that distributes life-saving Narcan, a cheap and highly effective way of preventing drug overdose deaths.

•By crippling supply chains.

•By arresting and filing felony charges against a judge for the unspeakable crime of allowing an immigrant in her court out through a side door.

•By investigating the main fundraising arm of the opposition Democratic Party.

And that’s all in just the last several days.

Perhaps you find some of these actions cruel, even inhumane. But Donald Trump’s True Believers still adore him. On Monday, Pew Research released a poll that found 72 percent of white evangelicals approve of the way Donald Trump is handling his job and 69 percent consider the ethics of his top officials to be excellent or good.

This in the same week in which a series of polls showed Trump’s overall support sagging to between 39% and 42% nationally, the lowest favorable rating after three months in office of any president in eight decades, even lower than Trump in his own first term.

The Pew Poll carries a stark warning to those who think they can sit back and wait for Trump to implode. Be forewarned. He almost certainly will plow straight ahead, disregarding the growing anger of an increasing majority of the country. Don’t be caught by surprise.

This is a cruel, callous and unlawful regime. It does not care whether it is popular. It’s more interested in keeping you – and American institutions – intimidated. That’s how dictators operate.

In a headline Monday, The Economist asked, “Who Will Stop Donald Trump’s Drive for Unchecked Power? Congress is Inert, but a Deft Supreme Court Might Contain Him.”

I, for one, am not counting on that, though judges at lower levels of the court system thus far have at times been heroic.

If the high court justices do stand up, they will need all of us – we, the people -- behind them.

Retaining at least a semblance of free speech and democracy will take unrelenting and widespread peaceful resistance in the days and months ahead. It will take all of us and test all of us.

By all means, take time to enjoy the Spring flowers. Just keep in mind that we ignore the fissures rippling across this country at our own peril.

Lanson’s Substack page, where his columns originally appear, is @fromthegrassroots.

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TUESDAY 4/29/25

Commentary by Stephen Macaulay

Before the Democrats start breaking out the “We’re Back!” signs and streamers because of the just-released Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll that shows Donald Trump’s performance solidly underwhelming, there is something they need to look in the mirror about.

There are questions 13a and 13b that they need to come to grips with:

• Do you think the Democratic Party is in touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today, or out of touch?
• Do you think the Republican Party is in touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today, or out of touch?

Turns out 69% of those surveyed think the Democrats are out of touch. While there is a notable 64% who think the Republicans are out of touch, that still fewer than those who are not impressed with the performance of the Democrats.

In fact, when it comes to 

• Do you think Trump is in touch with the concerns of most people in the United States today, or out of touch?

he does better than the Democratic Party, as “only” 60% think he is out of touch.

That in itself is damning.

The President is supposed to represent the people, and if well over half don’t think he’s in touch with their needs, that’s simply not good for the country.

Sixty-one percent disapprove of his handling of the economy. Perhaps his playing a businessman on TV is beginning to wear thin.

Sixty-four percent disapprove of the way he is handling tariffs.

Sixty-seven percent, undoubtedly realizing how much of their retirement money or funds to send the kids to college are wrapped up in the stock market, disapprove of how Trump is roiling Wall Street.

And 64% are of the opinion that all those Executive Orders he’s executing, which are expanding the power of the executive (well, quite a number of them are the subjects of lawsuits, so perhaps that expansion is not going to happen), think he is “going too far.”

That is underscored by the 60% who say that he has “gone beyond his authority as president.”

The Washington Post claims “Trump’s 100-day approval ratings in both terms are lower than any president’s since polls began.”

Trump’s approval rating in his first term was at 42%, which is five points lower than George W. Bush at or near his 100 days in office.

Trump’s current approval rating is now 39%.

Still, there are polls and there are elections. He won the 2024 election and did so handily.

Or an argument could be made — and it wouldn’t be too difficult to make it — that the Democrats lost the 2024 election.

And given what the polls say about the Democratic Party today, they still don’t have their act together.

Macaulay is pundit-at-large for The Hustings.

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TUESDAY 4/29/25