March 30, 2026: "Just say no!"

There are times when "Just say no!" actually IS the best course of action. . .

By now the count is in - the official count, that is. The one that shows we had over 8 million people out in the streets on Saturday, protesting against Donald Trump and the illegal and unconstitutional actions of his administration. It was amazing, and we have the photos to prove it!

Now what?

Now we go back to doing more of what we have been doing, and push even harder.

Approximately 1 in every 50 people in the U.S. participated in the third No Kings protest. There were more registered protests across the country than there are counties. And while some areas had several different rallies in a single county, even in deep-red Oklahoma - the only state in the union where every single county voted for Trump in 2024 - even in Oklahoma, there were 30 events scheduled. That is a really graphic illustration of just how widespread the resistance to Trump’s regime is.

Keep in mind that there are many more people who oppose Trump than we had out in the streets Saturday - people who had to work, people who were caring for elders or children, or who had conditions that made it really difficult to participate. The count also only included those participating in registered protests, so people who simply went out to stand on the street corner in their small towns weren’t included. . . and there were a lot of those, based on social media accounts. And a lot of people coming out to protest this time were joining for the first time.

That’s because Trump’s MAGA coalition is fracturing.

One big sign is the fact that male voters - in general, but specifically young men - are turning against him in a dramatic shift. Former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was a Trump loyalist before splitting from him over the Epstein files, has turned on Fox News for supporting Trump’s war in Iran - “Fox News is now the fake news,” Greene said Sunday in a post on X. “Brainwashing boomers to support what we voted against.”

The war in Iran is widening cracks that have been developing since Fall. Politico has done a solid summary of the major issues dividing Trump’s base - both the major ones (the war in Iran, the Epstein files, the economy, Israel and antisemitism, immigration) but also some that have flown under most people’s radar (artificial intelligence, gender politics, and the overall subject of American identity.)

It’s not just his base that is splitting apart. There’s an increasing split among his senior staff and advisors as well, in particular over the war. Trump’s wild swings on the war, the reasons for fighting, and the intended goals are frustrating them. One senior official told a reporter that Trump “is getting a little bored with Iran. . . Not that he regrets it or something — he’s just bored and wants to move on.”

One of Trump’s key promises to his supporters during his campaign was that he would be “the peace president”, that he would keep America from military involvement overseas. But an analysis released today by The Intercept shows that during the five years Trump has occupied the White House, he has involved the country in over 20 military interventions, armed conflicts, and wars around the world. Now the Pentagon is preparing to send ground troops into Iran, in a war he started without any clear reason, and for many of his remaining supporters that appears to have been the final straw.

I’m going to end this part tonight with a look back to something from shortly after the last No Kings protests, in October. Rachel Maddow reported on a poll taken by NBC news during the week of October 24-28 in which they asked people whether they considered themselves to be MAGA supporters, then they asked them whether they considered themselves to be supporters of the No Kings movement.

43% of Americans said they supported No Kings. Only 30% said they supported the MAGA movement.

We have about 342 million citizens - I'm not counting noncitizens for this purpose. 43% of that number comes out to something over 147 million people. That’s a LOT of people. But consider:

• That poll was taken only a few weeks after the first Venezuelan small boat was attacked.

• It was taken before Congress ordered the release of the Epstein files.

• It was taken before the Dept. of Justice illegally stalled that release for weeks past the deadline

• It was taken before Trump snatched the head of another government and arrested him.

• It was taken before the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Or the detainment of a five-year-old boy in a bunny hat.

• It was taken before Trump chose to begin a war without consulting Congress, or listening to the advice of his generals, or discussing it with our allies.

I wonder what those percentages would be right now?

Misc. Short Takes

CONGRESS

• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is spearheading legislation to block the sale of nearly $660 million in weapons to Israel, along with Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-ML), and Peter Welch (D-VT). The senators are launching three “joint resolutions of disapproval” that would block the sale of 5,000 250-pound bombs, 10,000 500-pound bombs and 12,000 1,000-pound bombs to Israel. This type of resolution gives the Senate Foreign Relations Committee five days to consider the legislation; if the committee takes no action, the senators can force a vote on the floor.

DHS / IMMIGRATION

• In the first week under new DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, a policy implemented by former Sec. Kristi Noem has already been reversed, according to internal memos. The policy required her personal authorization for any expenditure over $100,000, and disproportionately hindered the Federal Emergency Management Agency in responding to disasters.

• On April 1, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Trump v. Barbara, a challenge to Trump’s executive order on the first day of his current term that attempted to end birthright citizenship.

ECONOMY

• As of today, March 30, gas prices average $3.99/gallon across the U.S. - up $1.01 (39%) since Feb. 28.

• The Trump administration is paying French company TotalEnergies $1 billion to cancel leases for two wind farm projects off the coast of North Carolina and New York. A statement from the Department of the Interior said, “the American people will no longer pay for ideological subsidies that benefited only the unreliable and costly offshore wind industry.″

• Protests have broken out in the Philippines and the country had a two-day general strike over rising fuel prices. The country has declared an “energy emergency,” and it has only 40-45 days of fuel left.

• The stock market has fallen now for five straight weeks in a row; this is the worst weekly streak in four years, although the total loss has been less abrupt than last March’s reaction to Trump’s tariff actions.

IRAN WAR

• Trump now says that re-opening the Strait of Hormuz is not a “core objective” for ending the war in Iran. However, he also posted on Truth Social today that if the Strait was not completely opened, the U.S. would conclude its stay in Iran by “blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinization plants!)” Attacking civilian infrastructure is internationally recognized as a war crime.

• Iran is selectively targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, allowing a trickle of vessels from nations it considers “non-hostile” to pass through - for a price of as much as $2 million per ship. Two Chinese ships became the first container ships to exit the Gulf today. This article from The Guardian has good visual explanations of the current shipping channels and situation in the Strait.

Resistance Actions

Like I said up top, now we need to push harder. And we will.

This past weekend, Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, spoke at the No Kings flagship protest in Minneapolis, and announced the next level of the resistance to a crowd of more than 100,000 people.

“When Trump tries to sabotage the Midterms, we need to match the depth of the organizing that we’ve seen here in Minnesota with the breadth of the organizing we’re seeing all over the world for No Kings 3. What does that mean? Let’s get specific. I want everybody, everybody here, to put this on your calendar.

The next major, national action of this movement is not just going to be another protest. It is a tactical escalation. . . it is an economic show of force, inspired by Minnesota’s Day of Truth and Action. . . On May 1st, on May Day, across the country, we are saying no business as usual. No work, no school, no shopping. We're gonna show up and say we're putting workers over billionaires and kings.

(You can hear his full announcement here.)

On Tuesday March 31 - the day you get this in your email if you’re a subscriber - there will be a mass call to discuss what happens next. 8 pm ET, 5 pm PT. To participate in the call, you can sign up at Mobilize.us.

Indivisible may be the biggest name involved in planning the strike, but they are only part of an impressively long list of organizations from all around the country coming together under the name May Day Strong. Together, they represent labor organizations, educational institutions, immigrant and civil rights activists, environmental and faith communities, and more.

We have a month. We can do this. Just remember - stay LOUD. Stay STRONG. And never, ever give up!