May 4, 2026
According to a new Washington Post–ABC News–Ipsos poll, fifty-nine percent of Americans believe President Donald J. Trump does not have the mental sharpness necessary to lead the country. Fifty-five percent think he does not have the physical health to serve as president. Fifty-four percent say they don’t think Trump is a strong leader. Sixty-seven percent think Trump doesn’t carefully consider important decisions.
Today, Susannah George and Tara Copp of the Washington Post reported that as the U.S. ramps up its attempts to open the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is responding with military attacks. This morning, Iran fired drones and missiles at two U.S. destroyers and two merchant vessels moving through the strait. According to Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of U.S. Central Command, none of the ships were hit.
But Iran also launched six fast boats at the commercial ships. Cooper said the U.S. destroyed those vessels.
Ahmad Vahidi, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, posted on social media: “The Strait of Hormuz will not be opened by the tweet of the President of the United States; the management and control of this waterway is in the hands of Iran. Nothing will have the right to enter without permission, and in the event of a violation of this matter, it will be considered a legitimate target.”
Iran also hit the United Arab Emirates today with fifteen missiles and four drones. One of the armaments started a fire in the oil hub of Fujairah.
Trump told Trey Yingst of the Fox News Channel today that his military blockade of Iranian ports is the “greatest military maneuver in history.” He also said that if the Iranians target U.S. ships, they will be “blown off the face of the earth.” And yet, as Iran demonstrated by hitting the United Arab Emirates today, resuming the war could devastate the Middle East, plunging the globe into even more economic chaos. So, for now, Trump appears to be hanging onto the ceasefire.
Alexander Ward of the Wall Street Journal noted that today, at the White House, Trump told a group of small-business owners that he “call[s] it a mini war.”
Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) called out the fact that the Trump administration argued on Friday that it did not have to get congressional approval for the war on Iran at the 60-day mark required by the 1973 War Powers Resolution because, it said, the war had “terminated” on April 7. It made the claim despite the fact that a blockade is an act of war and the U.S. continues to blockade Iranian ports. Asked on Saturday how he could say the war had terminated when the U.S. military was enforcing the blockade, Trump told reporters: “Well, it’s a very friendly blockade. Nobody’s even challenging it.”
Duckworth, who lost both legs when serving as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in the Iraq War, posted: “U.S. and Iranian ships are exchanging missile fire today in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump’s claims that hostilities have ceased were bullsh*t. He is lying to the American people and prolonging his disastrous war of choice—And he’s doing it illegally.”
This afternoon, Trump posted an AI image of President Joe Biden on one knee with the caption: COWARDS KNEEL,” an AI image of President Barack Obama with the caption “TRAITORS BOW,” and an AI image of himself with his fist raised and the caption “LEADERS LEAD.”
Journalist Aaron Rupar noted: “Trump is crazyposting at 3pm.”
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Notes:
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5862406-trump-mental-fitness-physical-health-poll/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2026/05/04/us-ships-iran-hormuz-ceasefire/
X:
vahidi_org/status/2051291500873503048?s=46
Acyn/status/2051349043998237129
Acyn/status/2051347423986122783
Bluesky:
atrupar.com/post/3ml2dymkjtk23
Resource below to easily contact all of Congress - Be LOUD. Trump is an embarrassment and dangerous for our country 💔🤍💙
Use/share this spreadsheet (bit.ly/Goodtrouble) to contact members of Congress, the Cabinet and news organizations. Call. Write. Email. Protest. Unrelentingly.
Reach out (beyond your own) to as many in the Senate and House as you can. All of this is bigger than “I only represent my constituents” issues.
Comments/reactions help keep this bumped ✊
Yesterday I read Dan Rather's moving account of his time as a young journalist covering the Civil Rights movement and the enactment of the Voting Rights Act.
https://steady.substack.com/p/racism-is-alive-and-unwell
I remember the sixties. I am disgusted by the SCOTUS ruling in Louisiana v. Callais and the immediate racist response in red states to redistrict before the midterms to discount the black vote.
The white “Christian Nationalists”, the KKK in plain clothes in our country, cannot be allowed to undo 6 decades of progress.
We have six months until the midterms, during which we have to be laser-focused on defending the right to vote, which is so clearly under attack. Like in Hungary, this is the battleground for change. They won. SO CAN WE!
There are many, many things we urgently need to change in this country, but they all have one thing in common. They can’t be changed unless we get control of Congress at the midterms. Protecting the vote has to be our priority.
There is a lot EACH OF US can do:
1. Join and donate to organizations to make sure every eligible person is registered. Help them with registration drives.
2. Start now to help people you know get registered and get to the polls for the primaries.
3. Check where your local polling place is, especially if there has been or will be redistricting in your state. Be sure you know what district you are in and who the candidates are, and start researching them now.
4. Organize rides to vote for the primaries, especially in areas where redistricting is affecting polling locations.
5. Go online to check that you are registered and have not been purged from the voter rolls. Check again in three months and again two weeks before election day.
6. If you changed your name at any time, make sure that your voter registration name and your legal name are IDENTICAL. This is most likely to affect women who changed their names upon marriage but did not file for a legal name change.
7. Start talking to your neighbors about obtaining documents that meet the requirements of the SAVE America Act to prove citizenship for registration and, potentially, voting. In desperation, in the fall, the Republicans could ditch the filibuster in the Senate and pass the act. If states are redistricting this close to primaries to discount the vote of minorities, they can pass SAVE America at the last minute to demand documentation like certified birth certificates or passports that you can’t get in time. SCOTUS will not rule that it is unconstitutional; the proof is in Callais.
8. Even if the SAVE America Act is not passed nationally, red states can pass cloned versions. The Heritage Foundation has been pushing model legislation for “election integrity” in the states, and many have passed voter suppression laws. Call your local Board of Elections to check the registration and voting requirements for the primaries and check on the progress of legislation in your state.
9. Write to your state representatives about the need to protect the vote in your state. Do it even if you are in a red state that is redistricting, so that they know that there is committed opposition.
Understand that we are at the last line of defense for our democracy: OUR VOTE. Congress has failed us. SCOTUS has failed us. We cannot fail each other and our future.