THE DAILY BLAST with Greg Sargent

Trump’s Fury at Dems Goes Nuclear as Crushing New Shutdown Poll Hits

7 snips
Oct 20, 2025
Simon Rosenberg, a Democratic strategist and author of The Hopium Chronicles, dissects Trump's escalating fury over the government shutdown and its political fallout. He highlights Trump's punitive decision regarding the NY-NJ tunnel as a tactic of authoritarianism. Rosenberg discusses how recent polling reveals Trump’s plummeting economic approval and how this could affect upcoming elections in Virginia and New Jersey. He warns that Trump's reliance on aggressive tactics reflects his desperation, and stresses the long, challenging road ahead for restoring democracy.
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ANECDOTE

Killing Tunnel Project Used As Political Weapon

  • Trump publicly announced terminating a major New York–New Jersey tunnel project as retribution against Senator Schumer.
  • Greg Sargent and Rosenberg say that move is being used against Republicans in New Jersey's gubernatorial race.
INSIGHT

Failing Strongman Escalates Authoritarianism

  • Trump is simultaneously doing immense harm to the country and showing signs of physical, cognitive, and political decline.
  • Simon Rosenberg says those failures feed each other and push him toward greater authoritarian escalation.
INSIGHT

Vicious Cycle Of Failure And Crackdown

  • The more a strongman fails publicly, the more he leans into illiberal tactics to stay in power.
  • Rosenberg calls this a vicious cycle where failure breeds harsher authoritarianism and greater unpopularity.
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