Trump is More Unpopular Than Ever

Convicted felon Donald Trump's approval on the economy and immigration have fallen substantially, according to a new AP-NORC poll, the latest indication that two signature issues that got him elected barely a year ago could be turning into liabilities as his party begins to gear up for the 2026 midterms.

Only 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how Trump is handling the economy, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds. That is down from 40% in March and marks the lowest economic approval he’s registered in an AP-NORC poll in his first or second term. The Republican president also has struggled to recover from public blowback on other issues, such as his management of the federal government, and has not seen an approval bump even after congressional Democrats effectively capitulated to end a record-long government shutdown last month.

Perhaps most worryingly for Trump, who’s become increasingly synonymous with his party, he’s slipped on issues that were major strengths. Just a few months ago, 53% of Americans approved of Trump’s handling of crime, but that’s fallen to 43% in the new poll. There’s been a similar decline on immigration, from 49% approval in March to 38% now. 

“Taking people out of kindergarten, and people going home for Thanksgiving, taking them off a plane. If they are criminals, sure,” said 83-year-old Georgia resident Jim Rollins, who said he supported Trump in his first election but not since then. “But the percentages — based on the government’s own statistics — say that they’re not criminals. They just didn’t register, and maybe they sneaked across the border, and they’ve been here for 15 years.”  

About 3 in 10 U.S. adults approve of how Trump is handling health care, down slightly from November. The new poll was conducted in early December, as Trump and Congress struggled to find a bipartisan deal for extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies that will expire at the end of this month.  That health care fight was also the source of the recent government shutdown. About one-third of U.S. adults, 35%, approve of how Trump is managing the federal government, down from 43% in March.

 

Willie Nelson - Christmas Love Song

Man Charged With Wiping His Own Phone Before CBP Could Search It

Whatever happened to the right against self incrimination?  A man in Atlanta has been arrested and charged for allegedly deleting data from a Google Pixel phone before a member of a secretive Customs and Border Protection (CBP) unit was able to search it, according to court records and social media posts reviewed by 404 Media. The man, Samuel Tunick, is described as a local Atlanta activist in Instagram and other posts discussing the case.The exact circumstances around the search—such as why CBP wanted to search the phone in the first place—are not known. But it is uncommon to see someone charged specifically for wiping a phone, a feature that is easily accessible in some privacy and security-focused devices.

The indictment says on January 24, Tunick “did knowingly destroy, damage, waste, dispose of, and otherwise take any action to delete the digital contents of a Google Pixel cellular phone, for the purpose of preventing and impairing the Government’s lawful authority to take said property into its custody and control.” The indictment itself was filed in mid-November.Tunick was arrested earlier this month, according to a post on a crowd-funding site and court records. “Samuel Tunick, an Atlanta-based activist, Oberlin graduate, and beloved musician, was arrested by the DHS and FBI yesterday around 6pm EST. Tunick's friends describe him as an approachable, empathetic person who is always finding ways to improve the lives of the people around him,” of Tunick’s arrest on social media.

The indictment says the phone search was supposed to be performed by a supervisory officer from a CBP Tactical Terrorism Response Team. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) wrote in 2023 these are “highly secretive units deployed at U.S. ports of entry, which target, detain, search, and interrogate innocent travelers. These units, which may target travelers on the basis of officer ‘instincts.’ raise the risk that CBP is engaging in unlawful profiling or interfering with the First Amendment-protected activity of travelers.”  The Intercept previously covered the case of a sculptor and installation artist who was detained at San Francisco International Airport and had his phone searched. The report said Gach did not know why, even years later. Court records show authorities have since released Tunick, and that he is restricted from leaving the Northern District of Georgia as the case continues.

 

 

Mark Zuckerberg Shown to Be a Hypocrite, Once Again

Tech nerd Mark Zuckerberg has found himself at the center of an embarrassing climate change flip-flop, thanks to his $300 million mega yacht. The 41-year-old Meta boss, worth roughly $230 billion, has reportedly been burning hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel since launching his personal, 387-foot vessel last year.

The yacht, dubbed Launchpad, runs on four diesel engines that use about 291 gallons of fuel every hour, which allegedly emits 40 tons of CO₂ over that same period of time.

Zuckerberg, an outspoken advocate for climate change policies such as the Paris Agreement and scaling carbon dioxide removal technologies to limit global warming, has been roasted on social media over the yacht's massive carbon footprint.

 "Another reminder that Net Zero is only for the peasants," one person wrote on X next to a video of the massive luxury vessel sailing near Florida.  "Meanwhile ordinary people drive electric cars and recycle, because the planet matters. But for him, apparently, the planet doesn't matter," another social media user added.  Others called the multi-million-dollar yacht the ultimate "symbol of hypocrisy," as Zuckerberg has spent more than $100 million funding climate advocacy and related initiatives through his philanthropic organization.

Some critics of Zuckerberg's lavish mode of transportation noted that Launchpad was just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to climate hypocrisy.  The mega yacht has been accompanied on its journeys by a 220-foot, $30 million support ship called Wingman, which can carry smaller boats, a miniature submarine for exploration and even a helicopter.  "Rich people when they say "we’re all in this together" then fire up four diesel engines," an X user commented.

In just nine months between 2024 and this year, the $300 million super-yacht burned more than 528,000 gallons of diesel fuel, before docking in France’s La Ciotat shipyard in August, according to the Greek Reporter.  That usage amounted to more than 5,300 tons of carbon emissions being released by the one ship alone, the same as nearly 400 US households over one year.

The revelations about Zuckerberg's boat sharply contradict the Meta CEO's past comments about the dire situation Earth faces because of climate change, which has been largely blamed on human activities such as burning fossil fuels.  "Stopping climate change is something we can only do as a global community, and we have to act together before it’s too late," Zuckerberg said in 2017 while condemning President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord.

 

Trump Trough

Pentatonix - Bah Humbug

Sinking Ships