Bible-Driven Administration
April 28, 2025
1. In an interview with The Atlantic that was published today, Trump was asked to describe the difference in his two terms. His response? “The first time, I had two things to do — run the country and survive; I had all these crooked guys. And the second time, I run the country and the world.” First, he was the one who picked all of the "crooked guys" who surrounded him the first time around. Second . . . yikes.
2. Greg Locke, my friendly neighborhood pastor who has burned books on his church property and attacked a Barbie house with a baseball bat that had a Bible tied to it and said that kids with autism are possessed by demons and refused to let people wear masks to services during the pandemic and proudly marched in DC on January 6 and once called me a witch, was at the White House this past week for Trump's faith advisory board. That tracks. After the meeting, Locke said, "God has given us the most spiritual administration, Jesus-driven, Bible-driven administration in the history of America. God has come back to the White House in big ways. God is using a Cyrus of our generation with Donald Trump. We have the most pro-Jesus, pro-Bible, pro-freedom of speech, pro-Israel, pro-church president. White House is becoming a church house." This makes me really sad. Nothing going on in the White House reflects the Jesus I know.
3. Happy 267th birthday to James Monroe, our 5th president and the last of the Founding Fathers to be president. He once defended himself with fire tongs during an argument with his secretary of the treasury. The early 19th century was wild. Monroe died on July 4, 1831. He was the third president to die on July 4, as John Adams and Thomas Jefferson both died on July 4, 1826. Pretty crazy that 60% of our first five presidents died on Independence Day.
4. "We have a Secretary of Education who hates teachers and schools. We have a Secretary of Transportation who hates public transit. We have an Attorney General who hates the Constitution. We have a Secretary of State - the son of naturalized citizens, a family of refugees - on a crusade to expel both from the country. And we have a president who claims to love America but hates our military so much that he can't be bothered to delay his golf game to greet the bodies of four fallen U.S. soldiers . . . It’s time to fight everywhere and all at once. Never before in my life have I called for mass protests, for mobilization, for disruption. But I am now.” - Governor JB Pritzker (D-IL) last night. More of this, please.
5. Stephen Miller, Trump's trusted advisor and all around creep, was not a fan of what Pritzker had to say. Miller told reporters, "His comments . . . could be construed as inciting violence. This is secessionist behavior." This is Miller threatening criminal charges against someone advocating for a constitutionally protected right to protest. Cool.
6. Tomorrow marks 100 days in office for Trump and several polls published in the last few days show he's not super popular. In fact, he has the lowest approval rating at this point in a presidency in 80 years. Most polls have him at around 44% approval (which is still way too high). This support is coming largely from his fellow Republicans at 88%, as 68% of Independents and 93% of Democrats do not approve of his performance. That 68% number is not going to work for Trump and the Republican Congress in the midterms. If independents stay unhappy and actually come out to vote (always a big if), Republicans are in trouble.
7. Of course, Trump isn't worried because he knows the numbers aren't real. He tweeted this morning, "We don't have a Free and Fair 'Press' in our country anymore. We have a press that writes BAD STORIES, and CHEATS, BIG, ON POLLS. IT IS COMPROMISED AND CORRUPT. SAD!"
8. Over the weekend, Trump announced that he is "bringing Columbus Day back from the ashes." He wrote that the Democrats "did everything possible to destroy Christopher Columbus, his reputation, and all of the Italians that love him so much." He continued with "Christopher is going to make a major comeback. I am hereby reinstating Columbus Day under the same rules, dates, and locations, as it has had for all of the many decades before!" A few things here. Democrats tried to destroy Italians?? I missed that news flash. Also, I like that Trump is on a first-name basis with the guy. And what are the rules for Columbus Day? I want to be sure to know them they are being reinstated! Do we all have to go somewhere and then call a friend and tell them we are somewhere else? Get real close to members of a vulnerable population and cough on them? And what are the exact "locations" for Columbus Day, which apparently now will be celebrated on multiple days? I gotta say, I don't get the insistence of sticking with a guy as the person who "discovered" our country but who never placed a foot on what is now American soil.
9. Goldman Sachs is projecting that the United States will have the lowest economic growth and the highest inflation rate of any developed economy in 2025. And it's not even close.
10. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) recorded a video this afternoon stating that he has introduced articles of impeachment against Trump for ignoring the Constitution and not providing due process. I doubt anything will come of it, but bully for him. Thanedar speaks with a heavy accent. Dinesh D'Souza, who has 5 million followers on Twitter and who made a film called 2000 Mules that pushed nonsense about the 2020 election that he later had to retract (but not before my state senator invited everyone to a viewing!), posted this in response. Remember - D'Souza is a big supporter of the administration that Greg Locke calls "the most spiritual administration, Jesus-driven, Bible-driven administration in the history of America." Sure about that?
