5️⃣ America Delivers Trump’s Report Card
Americans voted today in off-year elections that constitute a direct referendum on Trump’s catastrophic first year back in power. Virginia elected its first female governor with Abigail Spanberger crushing her opponent by double digits. New Jersey’s Mikey Sherrill—a former military helicopter pilot and lawyer raising four kids—dominated her Trump-backed opponent by five to twelve points depending on the poll. In New York, Democratic Socialist ZohranMamdani held a commanding 94 percent lead to become mayor, driving Trump so insane he spent 24 hours rage-posting, calling Jewish voters “stupid people” if they voted for Mamdani, and threatening to cut federal funding to New York. But the real knockout came from California’s Proposition 50, which passed with 70-80 percent support—wiping out Texas’s gerrymandered five-seat advantage and setting a precedent for blue states to fight back. Trump knows what’s coming: his approval rating sits at 30 percent on the economy, 29 percent on immigration, with an overall disapproval of 65 percent. These aren’t fake polls—this is America waking up.
4️⃣ Dick Cheney Dead at 84
The most powerful vice president in American history died yesterday from pneumonia complications, closing the book on the architect of the post-9/11 war on terror. Cheney championed torture programs, warrantless surveillance, and the catastrophic Iraq War that killed hundreds of thousands based on fabricated weapons of mass destruction intelligence. He was Trump regime light before Trump existed—a warmongering profiteer who enriched Halliburton cronies while American soldiers died. But late in life, something shifted. Cheney broke with Republicans to condemn Trump’s authoritarian moves, backed daughter Liz’s January 6th investigation, and voted for Kamala Harris in 2024. He apologized for opposing gay marriage after his daughter came out. He stood for America when it counted. Democrats who once moved to impeach him shook his hand after he opposed Trump’s 2020 coup attempt. A complex legacy for a man who lived four decades past his heart disease prognosis, literally pumping blood through his body with a machine before finally getting a transplant.
3️⃣ Trump Weaponizes Starvation
After a judge ruled Trump must release $5.5 billion in SNAP benefits to 42 million hungry Americans, Trump defied the order and launched a social media tirade blaming Biden for the shutdown he engineered. But the cruelty goes deeper: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins sent intimidating letters to every grocery store participating in SNAP, explicitly warning that any store showing mercy—reducing prices or feeding people during the shutdown—would be removed from the program and prosecuted. Trump is actively implementing holodomor, Stalin’s Ukrainian starvation genocide, as American policy. He’s using hunger as a weapon against his own citizens because Democrats won’t let him gut Medicaid for 20 million people. When you starve people, they can’t protest, they can’t organize—they can only think about survival. Trump’s betting on economic collapse to consolidate power, willing to destroy mortgage markets and American livelihoods to get his way.
2️⃣ Trump Eyes Venezuela Assassination
The Trump administration asked the Justice Department for legal justification to assassinate Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro without Congressional authorization for military force. After Trump told 60 Minutes he didn’t think he’d invade Venezuela, his regime pivoted to finding a legal pathway for targeted killing instead. Russia, China, and Iran are flooding Venezuela with surface-to-air missiles and military equipment, eager for this proxy war that would rehabilitate Russia’s military reputation. The U.S. military isn’t supporting Trump’s Venezuela war fantasies, which is why he’s seeking covert assassination options. Venezuela poses zero threat to American national security, but they do have oil—and Trump needs a distraction from his collapsing economy and surging Democratic opposition. It’s unconscionable foreign policy decay: assassinating foreign leaders “just because,” with no authorization, no strategy, and no support.
1️⃣ SCOTUS Hears Tariff Challenge as Bessent Threatens Canada
The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on Trump’s sweeping global tariffs in what could be a defining case on presidential overreach. But Trump’s Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent isn’t waiting for the ruling—he spent the weekend threatening Canada for the second straight day. After Canada’s Ronald Reagan ad mocking Trump’s moronic tariff policy went viral, Mark Carney apologized to Trump on a phone call. Bessent made clear: Canada better capitulate or face economic devastation. Trump’s using tariffs as a cudgel against allies, destroying international relationships while grocery prices soar, mortgage markets freeze, and Americans watch their costs spike across the board. The man who promised to end inflation is engineering economic chaos, and SCOTUS will decide Wednesday whether one president can unilaterally weaponize trade policy without Congressional oversight.
The FiveStack is available as an audio podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Advertising inquiries email next@narativ.org. The FiveStack is a co-production of deanblundell.substack.com and narativ.org.
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