Pushback 19

Andrea Dooley

19 Feb 2025 — 2 min read

Sometimes a story defies categorization. Trump receives widespread backlash to social post calling himself ‘king’

We haven't even reached the one-month anniversary of his inauguration and he has already gone around the bend on his commitment to his authoritarian cosplay. Do not despair. Here are a few of the reasons why we can have hope:

A lot of people and organizations are speaking up, fighting back, filing lawsuits, and withdrawing support.
The states hold a lot of power. They are bringing lawsuits that are likely to be successful and are standing up for their own power even as Congress abdicates theirs. For example, states hold elections, not Trump. The midterm elections will happen.
Elected officials who lack their own backbones are starting to feel the heat from their constituency. We may not find the heroes we think we need, but if we can get our electeds to object and slow-walk the Trump agenda, that's a victory.

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Business

Tesla was hit by a wave of protests over Musk, sales are crashing, insiders are waking up

'Sell your Teslas, dump your stock' — Tesla protests, Musk's tanking popularity hit EV maker at bad time

Tesla stocks are down almost 15% since last month. Tesla cars sales in Europe have tanked 40% in the last year.

Legal

(Updates from Just Security Litigation Tracker, links to courtlistener court documents)

"On Feb. 18, Judge Rudolph Contreras granted the temporary restraining order and ordered that Harris continue to serve as Chair of the [Merit Service Protection Board] until the court rules on a preliminary injunction."

"On Feb 18, the court issued an administrative stay blocking the termination of plaintiffs’ (ODNI and CIA employees who oversaw DEIA) employment or placing plaintiffs on leave without pay."

In the 14 state lawsuit against DOGE: "On Feb 18, Judge Tanya Chutkan denied the Plaintiffs’ request for a temporary restraining order but also indicated a potentially favorable view of the Plaintiffs’ argument on the merits (pp. 8-9)."