Who holds elections on a Monday?
And more news to watch.
Good morning! It’s Monday, April 28, 2025. Welcome to Day 99 of Donald Trump’s second administration.
I’ll have a longer piece tomorrow about Trump’s first 100 days. For now, I’m dropping into your inbox for a quick look at what to watch this week:
1. 100-days bonanza
Get ready for an endless march of thinkpieces about Trump’s second-term opening, starting today and lasting all week. (But you’ll really only need to read mine, right?) These pieces will have a lot to cover: DOGE, tariffs, Signalgate, and more. But it’s clear which issue the White House wants to turn attention to as the 100-day milestone approaches: immigration.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt held a briefing on the topic with border czar Tom Homan this morning. Plus, take a look at the signs arrayed on the White House lawn this morning:
This morning’s push represents the White House’s attempt to reclaim an issue which has historically been a strong point for Trump — until a recent decline. According to averages maintained by pollster Adam Carlson, opinions on Trump’s immigration policy slipped into negative territory for the first time last week, with more Americans now disapproving than approving of his handling of the issue. (It still remains his best-polling issue, however.)
That slippage is likely because of the focus on a group of immigration stories that play to Trump’s weaknesses, instead of his strengths, including the case involving Kilmar Abrego Garcia. A New York Times poll this weekend found Americans disapproving of Trump’s handling of that case, 52% to 31%.
Watch this week for the White House to try to reclaim the narrative on immigration — even as the Abrego Garcia case continues to twist through the courts, and other potentially unpopular stories crop up, including three U.S. citizen children who were deported with their mothers last week.
2. An election on a Monday?
It’s Election Day in Canada, as our neighbors to the north cast ballots in parliamentary elections that will decide the party of the next prime minister, after a decade being led by Justin Trudeau.
In case you thought Donald Trump only dominated elections here in the U.S., think again. When Trudeau announced his resignation in January, his Liberal Party was deeply unpopular and seemed poised to surrender the premiership to the Conservative Party for only the second time in recent history.
Then Trump happened, with his tariffs and his talk of turning Canada into the 51st state. And suddenly, fortunes changed. Red = Liberals, blue = Conservatives:
I can’t think of such a stark polling turnaround to compare it to in recent American political history. (But if you can, feel free to drop it in the comments!)
If Liberals win a majority of seats today, Mark Carney — the former central banker who succeeded Trudeau last month — will stay on as Prime Minister for a full four years. Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre will ascend to the role if Conservatives buck the recent polling trends and nab a majority.
Either man will be charged with sitting across the table from Trump, negotiating Canada’s trade — and, if Trump has his way, its very sovereignty. In fact, the U.S. president seemed to throw his hat in the ring for the premiership this morning.
“Elect the man who has the strength and wisdom to cut your taxes in half, increase your military power, for free, to the highest level in the World, have your Car, Steel, Aluminum, Lumber, Energy, and all other businesses, QUADRUPLE in size, WITH ZERO TARIFFS OR TAXES, if Canada becomes the cherished 51st. State of the United States of America,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, in a message directed at Canadians.
3. A crucial week for Russia/Ukraine talks
The last time Donald Trump and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky sat down together, you probably remember that it didn’t end well.
But they met again at the Vatican on Saturday, just before Pope Francis’ funeral, and it seems to have gone better. Perhaps they were inspired by the scenery?
After the meeting, Trump issued a more-skeptical-than-usual message about Russian president Vladimir Putin, nested inside a Truth Social post about the New York Times scribe Peter Baker.
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote. “It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!”
He then told reporters Sunday that he was “very disappointed” in Putin, who responded to the criticism by announcing a three-day temporary ceasefire this morning, although it will not take effect until May 8.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on “Meet the Press” yesterday that this week will be a “very important” one as Trump decides whether the peace talks are serious enough to merit continued engagement. “We have to make a determination about whether this is an endeavor that we want to continue to be involved in or if it’s time to sort of focus on some other issues that are equally if not more important in some cases,” Rubio said.
More news to know
The Atlantic: ‘I Run The Country And The World’
Politico: Mike Johnson’s tight megabill timeline is on a collision course with reality
WaPo: ‘60 Minutes’ correspondent rebukes CBS’s parent company on air
WSJ: Elite Universities Form Private Collective to Resist Trump Administration
CNN: Ron and Casey DeSantis were plotting a political dynasty in Florida. Then came a scandal
The day ahead
All times Eastern
President Trump will have lunch with Vice President Vance at 12:30 p.m., meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson at 2 p.m., host the Super Bowl-winning Philadelphia Eagles at 4 p.m., and sign executive orders at 5 p.m.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump will sign an order that could lead to states and cities losing federal funding if they refuse to cooperate with his federal immigration authorities.
The Senate will hold a procedural vote to advance the nomination of former Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) to be U.S. ambassador to China.
The House will vote on up to 17 pieces of legislation, including the TAKE IT DOWN Act, a Senate-passed bill that would criminalize the publication of revenge porn (including deepfakes).
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in A. J. T. v. Osseo Area Schools, a case on alleged discrimination against schoolchildren with disabilities, and Soto v. United States, a case on compensation for veterans.
John McCain's comeback in the 2008 GOP nomination race was similarly dramatic. He was polling in 5th place at one point in December 2007.
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/president/republican-primary/2008/national
Regarding #2 “elections on a Monday”, Australia does it right - always on a Saturday. The upcoming one, May 3, is the every-3-years-or-so Federal election in which, like Canada, the conservatives were until recently favored to take over Government from Labor, but the latter has made a comeback, though less spectacular than Canada’s libs. The political spectrum is colorful: the conservatives are Blue, leftwing Labor is Red, there’s the Greens, and a bunch of climate-concerned independents are informally Teal. As an expat, I’ll be watching!