This Fourth of July weekend we will celebrate the 249th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence with fireworks and all the usual fanfare. As Texans, we should also take a moment to celebrate Spain’s big win in 1776, picking the American side in the war with England. Everyone knows France played a big role, but Spain also stood with the American patriots and people from New Spain (which back then included Texas), sent millions in cash, and thousands of longhorns, to help the cause. Ernesto Rodriguez, senior historian and curator at the Alamo, knows more about this than anyone. He joined me for my podcast this week, which you can watch here.
Here’s the week’s Winners and Losers List:
WINNER: President Trump’s List of Latest Wins
President Donald Trump continues his push to establish permanent residency in the winner’s circle. Trump won passage of his One Big Beautiful Bill, even after Democrats tried to talk it to death. The soon-to-be-signed bill will preserve the Trump tax cuts, which is great for everyone. If you haven’t read tax fighter Grover Norquist’s sign-off on the bill, it’s illuminating.
In case you missed it, the Mid-Year Federal Rules Tally was released this week, which found that Trump has instituted fewer new regulations than any president since they started keeping tabs. His edict that 10 regulations must die before a new one can be established seems to be working.
Trump shattered another record at the border one day this week when just 137 people were found trying to cross illegally, the lowest single day in 25 years.
Trump got great Supreme Court wins this week, and also in his civil suit against Paramount, which owns CBS News. Paramount is going to pay Trump $16 million after he sued CBS for doctoring its interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris to make her sound coherent.
Granted, Paramount only settled the case because it needs federal approval of a merger deal, and many in the media are pushing back at the precedent, saying CBS has the right to edit their stories any way they want. I get that point, but now that we know that the media, including CBS, was more than a little complicit in covering up former President Joe Biden’s cognitive impairment, I think we should raise the bar a little and demand that they stop doctoring tapes to make candidates they like look smarter than they are.
Alligator Alcatraz was a big hit this week too. You can buy a shirt and other merch on Amazon.
LOSERS: Democrats’ Lack of Pride
Speaking of the Fourth of July, how did we get to the point where only 36% of Democrats say they are extremely or very proud to be Americans? Did these folks miss the news last week when America’s B-2 Bombers ended a decades-old threat of nuclear war in the Middle East, and virtually all of Europe finally delivered a big thank you to the United States for NATO protections since World War II? Still, 92% of Republicans are proud to be Americans.
Gallup, which took the poll, notes that it’s all linked to Trump. Before Biden left office, 62% of Democrats said they were proud Americans.
But to get to the truly ungrateful, you have to go to Generation Z, where only 41% say they are proud of our country. Oh well, more hot dogs and apple pie for the rest of us!
LOSER: Lia Thomas and Other Men in Women’s Sports
There was no bigger symbol of the injustice of men competing in women’s sports than the University of Pennsylvania swimmer who changed his name to Lia Thomas and switched from swimming on the men’s team to the women’s team his senior year. The 6’1” Thomas, who grew up in Austin and attended Westlake High School, took home all the trophies after he started competing against women.
This week, UPenn signed an agreement with the US Dept. of Education that will force Thomas to give those trophies back. UPenn has agreed to follow Title IX and civil rights law going forward. Those laws prohibit men from competing in women’s sports. UPenn will also apologize, which is a big victory in the war against trans madness, but cold comfort for the women athletes whose college careers were ruined while they were forced to compete and share locker rooms with men.
WINNERS: Republicans in Congress
Speaking of a low bar, expectations have to be adjusted when you talk about Congress, but another poll this week found that approval of Republicans in Congress is up to 36%—the highest since 2011. Across the aisle, Democratic approval is down 12 points since February of last year, and stands at 27% among registered voters.
WINNER: HQ Texas
The latest analysis from CBRE Americas Consulting found that almost half of new business headquarters being established in the U.S. are in Texas. Dallas got almost 100 new headquarter operations last year, and Austin got 80. It’s not just people who are moving to the Lone Star State—it’s jobs.
LOSERS: New York City and New York State
A number of Democrats from all over New York came out over the weekend insisting that their nominee for mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, denounce the term “globalize the intifada,” which is a rallying cry against Jews. Mamdani clearly has no intention of walking back the offensive statement. It’s his slogan and he’s sticking with it. Meanwhile, new reports indicate New York Democrats may have a bigger problem. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul may have used Medicaid funds that should have gone to cover hospital costs for sick New Yorkers to plug a billion-dollar hole in the always-overdrawn New York State budget. This is not unlike her predecessor, Andrew Cuomo, who was soundly rejected in the New York City mayoral primary at least in part because he let so many elderly people die during COVID-19.
Democrats always insist that the problems they have with voters are only about messaging, but actions are also important. Mamdani’s anti-Semitism and Hochul’s stealing health care funding to fix her bloated budget matter too.
Have a great Fourth of July!
Sherry Sylvester is a Distinguished Senior Fellow at the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and the former Senior Advisor to Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.
Sign up to receive this in your inbox every week at www.texaspolicy.com/9thandCongress.
Follow me on X @sylvester1630 and follow my podcast, the Sherry Sylvester Show on Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
