The resistance saves democracy (again), and Trump has the worst day of his presidency

June 18, 2026

In a sudden reversal, Georgia legislators abandoned plans at the last minute to eliminate Black-majority congressional districts, as demanded by Trump. See Democracy Docket, Georgia Republican lawmakers unexpectedly kill GOP redistricting push.

In Louisiana v. Callais, the Supreme Court’s reactionary majority invited Southern states to reinstitute the Jim Crow era by eliminating Black-majority congressional districts under the guise of partisan redistricting. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp enthusiastically accepted the Supreme Court’s invitation and called a special legislative session to eliminate two Black-majority congressional districts.

But, as reported by Democracy Docket,

At the last minute, Republican lawmakers shot it down. In a stunning letter to Kemp, Georgia House Republican leadership said they “will not be taking up congressional or legislative redistricting for the 2028 election cycle during this special session.”

The letter was signed by eight House Republicans, including Speaker Jon Burns. The group appeared to take issue with what would likely have been a rushed redistricting process, and also cited pending legal cases as another reason for their refusal to go along with Kemp’s plan.

Although Republican lawmakers cited a “rushed process” as the reason for their decision, the legislature was moving full steam ahead on the redistricting until Wednesday.

What happened?

Answer: Republican lawmakers witnessed the widespread public protests, especially by the Black community in Georgia, and concluded that the political cost of proceeding with the redistricting would outweigh the likely Democratic wins in the existing Black-majority districts.

Again, per Democracy Docket,

Democrats were clearly ramping up for a major fight. Opponents and state Democratic leaders had already packed the Georgia capitol building Wednesday ahead of the proceedings, carrying signs urging lawmakers to “protect Black voters” and “say no to Jim Crow.”

Unlike in Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee — three Southern states that raced to gerrymander in the weeks since the Callais ruling — it appears Georgia Republicans weren’t willing to take the risk for now.

Democratic Senate Minority Leader, Harold Jones, said,

Make no mistake, it was the people of Georgia who put pressure on the General Assembly and let them know they did not appreciate the attempt to steal these elections.

Democratic State Rep. Jasmine Clark said,

This was a massive victory for the people, who organized and protested these maps because they knew the stakes.

The resistance has repeatedly saved democracy over the last ten years. Resistance matters in whatever form it takes, but the sight of thousands of citizens in the streets, on the steps of the state capitol, or lining highways and bridge overpasses is a sobering reminder to Republican politicians that the people grant the consent to be governed, and can withdraw it on a moment’s notice.

Congratulations to everyone who lobbied and litigated against the Georgia redistricting efforts! Your actions are an inspiration to us all!

Trump has the worst day of his presidency.

On Wednesday, we finally learned the terms of the memorandum of understanding that purportedly ends the US war against Iran. An administration official read aloud the terms of the agreement as Trump participated in a private signing ceremony at the Palace of Versailles—an unfortunate choice of venue given the history of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles that planted the seeds of WW II.

The odd choice to read the terms aloud to reporters—rather than providing a copy of the document—suggests that Trump is embarrassed by the agreement. He should be. I highly recommend this annotated summary by The New York Times, A Look at the Text of the Agreement Between the United States and Iran. (Gift article, accessible to all.)

The core of the agreement is this: Iran gets everything it wants; the US gets an unenforceable promise that Iran will discuss its nuclear enrichment program in the future.

Iran received the following commitments from the US:

• Cessation of hostilities, including in Lebanon,

• lifting of the blockade,

• lifting of oil-sales sanctions,

• a promise by the US not to meddle in Iran’s internal affairs,

• unfreezing of $24 billion in Iranian assets,

• a $300 billion reconstruction fund, and

• implicit recognition that Iran can charge fees for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz after the initial 60 days of the agreement.

The US receives Iran’s promise to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—which was open before the war. Iran also promises to talk about its nuclear enrichment program. But as I noted earlier this week, CIA Director Ratcliffe told Trump US intelligence gathering raises doubts about Iran’s intention of agreeing to limit its nuclear enrichment program. See Axios, CIA director doubts Iran’s intentions on deal, sources say.

So, the only substantial consideration received by the US in the deal—Iran’s agreement to negotiate about its nuclear program—is illusory because Iran is playing “rope-a-dope” with Trump.

The deal is so bad that a striking number of congressional Republicans, including some of Trump’s closest allies, are condemning it. See, for example, Al Jazeera, Trump’s MoU with Iran draws backlash from some Republicans. But Republican Senator Bill Cassidy said it best:

Reagan is rolling over in his grave. Iran’s nuclear ambitions were not curbed, and they have learned that threatening the Strait of Hormuz works and will undoubtedly leverage it in the future. Now, Iran gets to build brand-new infrastructure under this deal.

See also, Axios, Netanyahu fumes, allies rage over Trump’s Iran deal.

Trump followed the signing with a bizarre press conference in which he said that it would be “unfair” to take away Iran’s ballistic missiles—the destruction of which was a key objective of the war. See HuffPost,

Trump, attending the G7 with other leaders in France, also withdrew at least one of his stated rationales for attacking Iran in the first place, saying it would be “unfair” for Tehran not to have ballistic missiles, having previously vowed to obliterate them.

In short, Trump knows he negotiated a bad agreement and is now taking Iran’s side to explain why Trump capitulated to Iran.

Concluding Thoughts

Due to travel today, I have run out of time and must close the newsletter here. But I can’t leave without commenting on Trump’s bizarre attack on Senate Republicans. Indeed, he seems to be treating them as adversaries. After Senate Republicans indicated a willingness to immediately confirm Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence, Trump ordered Clayton not to appear for his confirmation hearing.

Why?

Trump claims that Clayton can’t be confirmed for DNI until his replacement U.S. Attorney General is confirmed. That rationale is complete and utter bull****. Trump can simply appoint an acting US Attorney, as he has done in dozens of districts across the nation.

The real reason is that Trump wants Bill Pulte to be able to fire any intelligence community members who participated in the investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election. That prospect horrifies Republicans, who understand that preventing Trump from hollowing out the intelligence community is a national security issue of the highest order.

Trump likewise told Republicans, once again, that he will not sign a reauthorization of the warrantless-search authority under Section 702 of FISA unless they attach the SAVE Act to the bill. Trump has made the same request on multiple occasions, which Republicans have rejected because they need the filibuster to continue their reign of terror as a minority party.

To an objective observer, it looks like Trump is at war with the Republican Party.

Trump is humiliated, isolated, and lashing out against allies and enemies alike. While we can’t count on Trump to single-handedly defeat the entire Republican Party in the midterms, he is doing his best to make that dream come true for Democrats.

That’s all for now! Talk to you tomorrow!

Pro-democracy protest photos

Send photos to rbhubbell@gmail.com. Include city and state.

Please include photos in the body of the email, rather than sending links to folders, cloud drives, Facebook, or third-party providers. Thanks!

Indivisible Alamance NC “We The People Demand” June 14th protest.

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The Connecticut Visibility Brigade drove over two hours to join the weekly standout in front of the ICE Field Office in Burlington MA on June 17.

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Sunday June 14 … two cities (Duluth MN & Superior WI) met in the middle of our shared bridge to celebrate our Flag and our Democracy.  

Organized by several local chapters of Indivisible & Mobilize.us …. Over 600 folks showed up for ‘Hands Across the Bridge’. 

We did this in 35 mph winds (no signs were allowed because they would have posed a traffic hazard). Below is a video of the event, as well as a snapshot of myself w/ my friends, and a long view of the Bong Bridge, which spans from Duluth to Superior.

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Seattle, Washington 

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Indivisible West Marin, Corte Madera, CA 101 Freeway, June 17, 2026

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Weekly Tuesday morning Chandler, AZ Bridge Brigade (We may have to take a break for the summer with temperatures consistently reaching 90° by 9am.)

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AlbaNY Visibility Brigade

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San Jose, CA.  Visibility Brigade members Bill and Helen joined Indivisible San Jose today before returning to Massachusetts. Weather was warm and the responses to our messages were very supportive.  Lots of waves and honks accompanied by a few who disagreed.

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Our weekly Signs of Fascism rally, every Wednesday in various locations. This one in Strasburg, Va.

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Baltimore, Md.

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American Tobacco Trail Pedestrian Bridge over I-40, Durham NC

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Tolland Good Trouble Visibility Brigade

Tolland, Connecticut

A lovely morning of horns, waves & thumbs up. 

RESIST!

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July 17, 2026, Lebanon NH

2194 cars passed by in one hour; 710 gave positive waves or honks. Only 26 middle fingers.

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Many horns honking approval here in Jamaica Plain, MA.  And dogs with far more allegiance to the Constitution than the current occupant of what remains of the White House.

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Marjorie Prince, a lifelong activist, spent the last year of her life protesting daily in front of her West Seattle nursing home and inspired MondaysWithMarjorie. She died recently, at age 87. A large crowd came out last week to stand for her. The protests continue. Photos: 1. Marjorie in pink. 1. Holding some of her hand-made signs, waving to her in hospice. 2. Honoring her passing

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Pittsfield MA! John Sharaf Photography

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We the People stand out, Delmar, NY

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