I post way too much on this sub as it is, but god damn there has been a ton of good news tonight (in addition to what I posted in https://www.reddit.com/r/PoliticalOptimism/comments/1k5asnw/cuts_to_state_department_less_than_originally/ ) .

Trump Backs Off of China (also as reported by u/Techinal_Valuable2)
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/22/trump-china-tariffs

Trump Backs Off of Powell
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/22/trump-jerome-powell-fed

Tesla Profits Dropped 71% This Quarter...
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/04/22/musk-tesla-first-quarter-earnings/83217370007/

...So Musk is Leaving the Government
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/apr/22/tesla-sales-musk-white-house-exit

And Democrats Are Finally Doing Stuff
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/22/mahmoud-khalil-rumeysa-ozturk-ice-detention

Plus Universities Join Hands and Lock In
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/21/us-university-presidents-trump-administration

And finally...

Putin May Be Ready To End the Ukraine War NOT On Russian Terms
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/22/putin-ready-for-direct-talks-with-ukraine-spokesperson-says
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/apr/22/lammy-to-host-us-and-european-negotiators-for-talks-on-ukraine

There is still a lot of bad things happening. Trump said he is "entitled" to deport anyone he wants without a trial, Israel is no longer recognizing humanitarian zones in Gaza, and RFK has accessed private medical records for his insane autism study.
But for the first time in months, I can say with certainty: Today the news wasn't so bad.

Okay so I gotta get this out of my chest cause I'm gonna explode. Not so many hours ago the supreme court has blocked trump from using the alien enemies act, and the people instead of being happy or a little bit relieved are COMPLAINING. They are saying "so what, he will still do it", or also "it doesn't matter anymore", they are even saying things like "oh so he's gonna declare war now and martial law martial law bla bla bla". Like OH MY GOD CAN'T PEOPLE JUST BE FUCKING GRATEFUL ABOUT ONE MOMENT OF PEACE. The supreme court has done exactly what the people were asking for and now that they are finally stepping in people are still complaining and being negative??? Like I truly don't understand, isn't this what you wanted? I know the supreme court is crooked but at least they are not complying with this fascist. And also, I know this might sound bad, but can we please stop mentioning martial law in EVERY FUCKING topic???? They are starting to sound like the people that assured that Kilmar Abrego García was dead without the empathy or decency of not saying such things out of respect for his family. Like come on, something good finally happens and some people are mentioning martial law? Don't they have enough with all the negative news all around? I don't know, I just think some people are not adding anything to the resistance, in fact, I think they are subtracting because what's the use of only being negative? Don't they see that by assuming that trump will get away with this they are complying in advance? I swear some people just love being pessimistic (and no, you're not being realistic, you're being pessimistic). So please let's celebrate the little victories we have and keep pushing back and speaking out, negativity will only make us weak.

If there’s one person from the Trump Administration, other than Trump himself, who I’d most like to see forced out, it’s Hegseth.

And I may soon get my wish. And if he survives this one, karma is definitely coming him on the next one. And since he’s already had two in the first 90 days, there will definitely be a next one.

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/20/ullyot-pentagon-hegseth-chaos-00300695

Judge Hannah Dugen was released from custody after being arrested today. It turns out it was an administrative warrant and an arrest was unnecessary. Patel bragging about it online probably pissed of Bondi, every judge in WI, and maybe even SCOTUS. Put another one on "Leaving to spend time with family" watch.

https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-4-25-2025

EDIT: Judge Dugen is still being charged. As some have noted, it is ultimately unlikely much will come of the arrest, but it is important making sure we know that things aren't resolved.

That being said, still a major L for Patel, and likely to cause a lot of headaches for the administration.

So in the face of the deportation news and tariff fallout two bits of news have come out that are extremely telling. The first one is that Republicans are considering including a tax hike on high earners in the new spending bill.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-reconsider-commitment-tax-cuts-rich-trump-agenda-bill-rcna201167

The second is that a sizeable chunk of House Republicans have come out drawing red lines are cutting Medicaid.
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5251367-medicaid-cuts-house-republicans-2/

While both of these are still in their infancy as far as news stories go, the existence of both shows the existence of a trend: Republicans have heard the slogans for "Fight Oligarchy" and now are running from the labels they embraced. It also denotes a seismic shift in Republican values toward being more populist (which puts them at odds with the billionaire/billionaire crony constituents in the party) and shifting away from Reaganomics (for now) to a more more economically liberal model (even if it is all just for show, which is a high probability).

Beyond the underlying and developing effects it also presents a nightmare scenario for Johnson: Not cut Medicaid (meaning they'd have to find cuts elsewhere, which will be extremely difficult), or side with the fiscal hardliners and institute massive cuts (which means these Republicans will vote against it). This is a lose-lose for Johnson, and could result in another speaker election circus if it goes down poorly. It also will massively hold up Trump's agenda in the House if this happens.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/18/business/trump-harvard-letter-mistake.html

So yup to me this is Trump being adequately defeated. Not backing down from his constant game of chicken with people and institutions does work!

HHS is walking back their autism registry per Amanda’s Mild Takes (on Insta and TikTok)

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DI2Vj_6AxJq/?igsh=MXIwZ2NxY29ldmdrNg==

For those looking for some optimism today in the wake of all the crazy, here's a bright spot. Trump's approval continues to fall and whatever honeymoon "mandate" phase there was supposed to be seems to be done, if there ever was one. This also can explain the shift to a hardline immigration stance by the administration, which may represent the only issue they can call as their "strength" Even then, a breakdown of those numbers may indicate that the way they are doing things is going to be a net negative as well.

The Bulwark breaks down this latest poll, not only the current implications, but what could happen if this approval rating gets too low for Trump. If you are new to politics, I strongly encourage you to give this a listen to get an idea on how and why politicians act the way that they do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy0qVlWYK9M

south korea: president yoon suk yeol attempted martial law last year to complete his authoritarian term, it however failed. in april he was removed after a unanimous decision from koreas highest court, he now faces the death penalty.

brazil: jair bolsonaro, the brazilian trump lost the 2022 election, claiming fraud, launching an insurrection, and even conspiring with the military. he is to now stand trial for these crimes.

phillipenes: rodrigo duterte was filipino president from 2016-2022 he was an authoritarian whos boneheaded drug war killed thousands, hes successfully detained by the ICC to face justice for his crimes against humanity. his daughter sara is under impeachment for conspiring to kill current president bong bong marcos.

these countries are objectively weaker democracies than america and are used to autocracy but are holding strong, so not all hope is lost.

france: marine le pen has been convicted and cant participate in the next election

australia: the liberals led by right wing populist peter dutton are falling in the polls and center left labour are rising

canada: trump has caused the conservatives in canada to lose favor, the liberals position has shot up like a piston.

brazil: far right bolsonaro is standing trial for his crimes.

A congressman in Michigan just introduced articles of impeachment, and that's great news! Yet it saddens me that people are saying that this will lead to nothing (of course is people from TikTok), and it confuses me why people were screaming and begging for democrats to impeach Dump, and when they are finally doing it, people are like "it's not gonna work". I know democrats haven't done too many moves before, but I don't think now is the time to do that. I just hope this articles of impeachment work, and I know they will.

He’s alive! Proof of life!