Australians Join Canadians Saying No to Trump

People queue outside the Australian High Commission in London to vote in the Australian federal election, Friday, May 2, 2025. | Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP

In the second election in two weeks, voters of a democratic ally of the US reject the Donald Trump-sounding conservative candidate. In both Australia and Canada, the liberal government was behind in its reelection bid and in both countries they surged in the lead after Trump’s hostile rhetoric toward allies accompanied the Liberation Day tariffs.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese increasing his one-seat majority in the lower house of parliament to 10 seats was considered a landslide. His opening comment on Trump’s tariffs was, “This is not the act of a friend.” Peter Dalton, the conservative leader known as a hard right partisan simply could not shake his Trump identity. It took down his party.

Conservative leaders in both countries lost their own seats in parliament.

This is another setback for President Trump’s strategy to promote far right parties and candidates led by Vice President JD Vance and supported by podcaster Steve Bannon. Are Congressional Republicans listening? Trump has taken down two MAGA-like clones for two liberal incumbents in spite of their own inflation and sluggish economies.

Mid-Term Carnage

Trump and Johnson in Miami, Florida. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

Are Donald Trump’s tariffs and shock & awe about to produce a record loss for House Republicans? The mid-term election after a President’s term is considered a referendum on the administration’s performance in its first two years. It is usually difficult with a 26-seat average loss. There have been five exceptionally big losses of more than 40 seats since 1960.

Colorado County Commissioners Meet in Era of Austerity

Colorado State Capital | Photo: I, Morcheeba, via Wikimedia Commons

After a quarter century of steady population growth adding two Congressional Districts, Colorado is facing a significant slowdown. Colorado County Commissioners, meeting in their statewide convention on June 3, 2025, will assess the challenges.

As I said to the Metro Mayors Caucus in January, four days after President Trump’s inauguration in what now sounds like an understatement,

“As the new Trump Administration begins, Colorado’s relationship with Washington will change at the same time its population growth, economy, and fiscal health is being challenged.”

Colorado Counties Inc. (CCI) is a statewide association that assists counties concerning state legislation, federal relations and other local government policies. They provide training and data for commissioners. While this year’s budget shortfalls are dominant, Colorado is approaching an important election in 2026 for statewide and local offices. I will discuss the challenging political environment.

CCI officers are:

Scott Weaver	Yuma County
Lesley Dahlkemper	Jefferson County
Kristen Stephens	Larimer County
Wendell Koontz	Delta County
Tom Hass	Las Animas County
Merrit Linke	Grand County
Connie Warren-Gully	Arapahoe County
Steve O’Dosorio	Adams County
Executive Director	Kelly Flenniken

Metro Denver Sales Tax Revenue Flat Again

Both the Denver Metro area and the state of Colorado are dealing with tax revenue shortfalls causing government budget cuts. For the second year sales tax revenue in the Denver metro area is flat while municipal costs are up.

In the brief recession in 2020 due to the pandemic lockdown, sales tax revenue decreased. If the U.S. faces another recession in 2025, state, county, city budgets will be squeezed further especially given the sudden pull back in federal expenditures.

RELATED:
Sales Tax Collection Falls Again August 16, 2024
Sales Tax Recession November 14, 2024

At 100 Days Trump’s Approval Craters. Political Gravity Reasserts Itself.

President Trump signs a series of executive orders at the White House on Jan. 20. Photo: Jabin Botsford /The Washington Post via Getty Images

Donald Trump began his presidency with extreme optimism based on having won a second term in spite of Democrats and the liberal establishments’ best efforts. After winning the popular vote and starting with a higher polling approval than the first term, he and his team appeared to believe they could defy political gravity.

His plan of “Shock & Awe,” rushed to create unstoppable momentum. Unfortunately for President Trump, at the 100-day mark political gravity has kicked in; the headlines from the latest polls are terrible.

• CNN Poll: Trump’s approval at 100 days lower than any president in at least seven decades (43% approve / 57% disapprove). CNN 4/27/25
• President’s approval rating sinks as Americans criticize his major policies, polls find (39% approve / 55% disapprove). Washington Post 4/27/25
• Trump’s approval rating has been falling steadily, polling average shows (42% approve / 54% disapprove). New York Times 4/26/25

The Buzz’s National Dashboard has been tracking his approval, which went negative on March 14 and now is 7 points down in the RCP average.

Guardrails Punish Trump

President Volodymyr Zelensky with President Trump in the Oval Office
Photo: Doug Mills/The New York Times

President Trump at the 100-day mark in his administration hits guardrails that are damaging him politically. On January 24, four days after Trump’s inauguration, the Buzz established five guardrails to watch that would serve as measures of his government’s performance. They contain data that is hard to ignore.

His approval ratings are across the board bad. Overall job approval went from 49 percent after the inauguration to 45 percent today and from a net 6 percent positive to a net 7 percent negative.

Importantly, he is losing his economic credibility with the Dow shaving off more than 4,000 points after it had jumped to 44850 eight days after the inauguration in anticipation of tax cuts and deregulation. But near universal criticism both in the U.S. and abroad that tariffs will cause inflation and possibly a recession has damaged his reputation. Trump’s economic approval is now under water by 13 points and foreign policy, the same. His rating and handling inflation is worse at a negative 20 points. Even immigration, his erstwhile strongest issue, is now one point negative.

A host of new polls at Trump’s 100-day mark show that he has lost the modest public support he had. James Carville was right – Trump would collapse, maybe quicker than even he anticipated. Or as some might say, “He doesn’t have the cards.”

The First American Ally Says No to Trump

Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney in Ottawa April 29, 2025.
Photo: REUTERS/Jennifer Gauthier

In Donald Trump’s first term, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and others would argue America First was not isolationist and did not mean America alone. No one claims that today. The voters in Canada, one of America’s closest allies, just rejected Trump’s caustic comments on the “51st state” and his tariffs. I suspect a majority of voters throughout the western alliance would have the same view.

Mark Carney won the Canadian Prime Ministership with a near majority for his own liberal party after being behind conservatives by 2 to 1 only three months ago.

This will be Trump’s first 100-day election defeat and could portend tougher trade negotiations as governments begin to process Trump’s deep unpopularity. Even his international right wing/populist nationalists may disengage from the Trump bandwagon. This is a setback for the ambitions of J.D. Vance and Steve Bannon.