Properly Subversive/Sherman R. Frederick

We’re 30 days into the Trump Revolution, and people like what they see.

Sherman Frederick

In the latest Trafalgar poll, conducted Feb. 7-9 with 1,321 American voters, Trump showed a 54% approval rating and 45% disapproval. Other polls reported slightly lower approval ratings, resulting in a RealClearPolitics Average of 48.7% approval and 46.1% disapproval for President Trump’s Job Approval.

This is still much higher than Trump’s job approval in his first administration.

“Trump is enjoying much stronger support from Republicans, Independents, and even Democrats than at this point in his first term,” Robert Cahaly and Matt Towery of Trafalgar Group said in the analysis of their poll. In the RCP Average during Trump’s first term, he never had a positive approval rating, and his net approval even sank to -21% in late 2017.

As a sidebar, the pollsters at Trafalgar say that other polls worded their questions in ways designed to produce lower results for Trump.

“Their questions have generally centered upon the opinion of Musk playing a large role in Trump’s administration, versus a straight up approve/disapprove question as to Musk and his efforts in leading DOGE.” When the questions are asked correctly, Republican approval of Musk is around +8%.

So, despite what you may hear from legacy media, it’s fair to say that Trump and DOGE are on a roll.

FOR EXAMPLE

Consider what DOGE caught Joe Biden’s EPA minions doing. They “parked” $20 billion — yes, with a “B” — at an outside bank so grants could flow to favored organizations without fear of interruption from the incoming Trump Administration.

This is about as corrupt as it gets and it underlines one of my rules of journalism: “No matter how skeptical you may be about government, you’re probably not skeptical enough.”

Here’s the story, according to new EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin:

“Shockingly, roughly 20 billion of your tax dollars were parked at an outside financial institution by the Biden EPA. This scheme was the first of its kind in EPA history, and it was purposefully designed to obligate all of the money in a rush job with reduced oversight.”

The money came to the EPA under the shamefully misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, which boosted government spending on environmental projects. Eight organizations were to get the money from the bank to keep the gravy train chugging along, then dole it out to other organizations as they see fit.

Climate United Fund, one of the eight organizations, provides “affordable, accessible financing for clean energy projects in communities that are often overlooked by traditional investing.”

A skeptic might call that a boondoggle. If the USAID grants are any guide, this money will funnel to an organization run by somebody’s brother-in-law specializing in gender grooming kids living in villages along the banks of the great grey-green, greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever trees.

Working to claw back the money, Mr. Zeldin has also called in the Department of Justice to investigate kickbacks that may have been received in return for the unprecedented action.

At the very least, he says.

“The days of irresponsibly shoveling boatloads of cash to far-left activist groups in the name of environmental justice and climate equity are over.”

ENFANT TERRIBLE

Six years ago, child climate activist Greta Thunberg said this in a speech before the British Parliament:

“You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. And the saddest thing is that most children are not even aware of the fate that awaits us. We will not understand it until it’s too late. And yet we are the lucky ones. Those who will be affected the hardest are already suffering the consequences. But their voices are not heard.”

They called her a prophet.

It’s 2025.

We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that her warnings were way over the top.

Isn’t it time we moved along?

At some point, climate activists must be held to science.

ONE MORE THING

 

(You can read more Properly Subversive at shermanfrederick.substack.com.)