A new message from your friends at People For the American Way.
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Friend,

Welcome to our weekly “Trumptastrophe” email series that serves to remind
us of the destructive policies, decisions, and actions we encountered
during the Trump presidency and the threats that he and others in the MAGA
movement still pose – and to keep those moments clear in our memory as we
fight to defeat Republican extremists during the upcoming elections.

This week’s Trumptastrophe focuses on how frequently former President
Trump allows his ego and self-interests to stand in the way of legislation
that would benefit the America he allegedly wants to “make great again.”
One shining and very publicly embarrassing example is Trump’s failure to
pass an infrastructure deal – something his administration promised since
the very early days:

On May 22, 2019, Trump “[ [link removed] ]abruptly blew up a meeting with Democratic
congressional leaders,” abandoning the chance for substantial negotiations
on an infrastructure bill so he could engage in some staged ranting about
how unfairly he was being treated.

Trump walked into a scheduled White House meeting with House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi and Sen. Chuck Schumer, but did not even sit down. He complained
that Pelosi had said something “terrible” about him, walked out, and went
to the Rose Garden, where the press corps had been assembled to hear him
gripe about being the target of multiple investigations. He was reportedly
angered by a news report about Pelosi characterizing White House efforts
to stymie congressional investigators as a cover-up.

Schumer suggested that Trump had staged the blow-up because the
administration had still not come up with a credible infrastructure
package despite having promised one since taking office more than two
years earlier. As The New York Times [ [link removed] ]noted at the time, “It has become
[ [link removed] ]something of a joke in Washington—the phrase [ [link removed] ]“infrastructure
week” evokes laughter or eye-rolling whenever it comes up.”

The May 2019 episode is a reminder that for all his campaign bluster about
making America great again, Trump was less interested in using his
position to accomplish something significant for American communities than
he was in protecting his own image and ego. When Trump did propose
infrastructure spending, his plan was “[ [link removed] ]a mirage” that would actually
have “cut annual federal support for infrastructure in the long run and
shift costs to states, cities, and private individuals” while “providing a
potential windfall for private investors.”

This month, almost exactly five years later, the Biden administration is
[ [link removed] ]celebrating the tens of thousands of infrastructure projects made
possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Biden [ [link removed] ]signed before
the end of his first year in office.

Notably, [ [link removed] ]Trump had even tried to sabotage that legislation, publicly
criticizing Republican congressional leaders for negotiating on what
became a historic infrastructure deal. Trump’s opposition helps explain
why only 13 House Republicans, and fewer than half of Senate Republicans,
voted for the legislation. Sen. Ted Cruz [ [link removed] ]complained that Republicans
who supported the bill “gave Joe Biden a political win.”

Of course, that didn’t stop plenty of shameless Republican lawmakers from
trying to [ [link removed] ]take credit when funding they voted against began flowing to
urgently needed infrastructure projects in their districts and states. And
it hasn’t stopped right-wing Republicans from trying to [ [link removed] ]derail some of
that spending.

When Trump was trying to derail the infrastructure bill, Politico
[ [link removed] ]noted that “much of what has driven Trump’s approach to legislation in
the past has been self-interest and personal grievance.” It is clear that
the agenda of a second Trump administration would be dominated by
self-interest and personal grievance—and policy giveaways to his far-right
supporters.

[ [link removed] ]Project 2025 is a “[ [link removed] ]revolutionary” plan by right-wing organizations
and former Trump administration officials to “[ [link removed] ]take the reins of
government” if he returns to office and “[ [link removed] ]institutionalize Trumpism.”
It “would gut the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which includes
provisions for decarbonizing our transportation systems,” WBUR
[ [link removed] ]reported.

Trump and his allies are not interested in taking power so they can
strengthen and modernize the infrastructure on which American families,
workers, and the economy depend. Instead, they’re scheming for ways to
destroy what they call the “administrative state,” weaken the ability of
the federal government to protect individuals and communities, and give an
authoritarian-minded president free rein to use his power against his
personal and political opponents.

These are just some of the reasons we need YOU in this
fight. So, find your
favorite way to unwind after reading through this week’s recap, and then
make a plan for how you will fight back this week, this month, this
election cycle.

For members who are interested in sharing the weekly Trumptastrophe
series, [ [link removed] ]you can find all previous editions on our website! This post
will be published by Thursday so you can share with your friends and
family and remind them of the importance of ensuring that Trump is
defeated again this November.

[ [link removed] ]If you’d like to opt-out of this series but still continue receiving
our other email content, you can do so here >>

Thanks for all that you do to defeat Republican extremism.

– People For the American Way

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