We’ve seen a couple of noticeable wins from the grassroots push back efforts to Trump policies.
Latinopia has promised to update how the resistance to the Trump Administration is going and who’s firing back at the policies the Administration has been rolling out.
(Not literally firing back using firearms, Homeland Security! It’s a metaphor—, just saving you here the trouble of looking up what that word means.)
This week we’ve seen a couple of noticeable wins from the grassroots push back efforts.
One concerns the mega chain store Target. You all remember that on March 5th , the first day of Lent, Dr. Jamal Bryant, Pastor of New Birth Missionary Church in Stonecrest, Georgia and other Black church leaders, initiated a 40 day Target “fast”—as in don’t shop there during Lent. It was a response to Target dropping diversity, equity and inclusion hiring practices of Black workers, along with other minorities, and ditching its REACH (racial, equity, action, and change) initiative to invest over $2 billion into Black-owned businesses by the end of 2025.
Both policies were initiated by the company after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
The religious leaders called the Lenten boycott a Target “fast”–and the call evidently resonated; sales dropped and even though Lent is over, this week in April saw foot traffic down for the 11th straight week, according to Newsweek. Meanwhile, Costco, which has stuck to its diversity policies, has seen a rise in customer traffic.
Target is hurting on the profit front—and maybe more in terms of damage on the reputational and brand side, where they are taking a sizable hit.
This week, Bryant, one of the initiators of the 40-day Target “fast” has called to roll it over into an ongoing boycott until Target addresses the boycott demands, which include DEI and other measures.
Boycotts are a tricky tactic—often hard to sustain. But Target is hurting a little on the profit front—and maybe more in terms of damage on the reputational and brand side, where they are taking a sizable hit. Now that the movement is coalescing and Target is paying attention, Latinopia will keep a tight eye on the boycott as it rolls forward.
(Fun fact—boycotting was invented in Ireland when in 1880 a retired British army officer, Charles Cunnigham Boycott, went to work for a lord in County Mayo who was in favor of brutally evicting tenant farmers—Captain Boycott was in charge of the evictions Local businesses refused to serve him and people showed up around his home and created quite a ruckus—they were the tenants that said they had no option except to “boycott” him.”)
Big news of the pushback against Tesla—Tesla stock value has dropped 71%. We all know about the torchings at local dealerships burning up those Tesla Cypertrucks have sure enough gotten attention. All those events at local dealerships, along with the reporting on Tesla’s noxious founder may be the things that tarnished the brand among likely buyers and dropped the stock price.
The firm Morning Consult Intelligence assesses it crisply: “Musk may be turning off those US consumers most likely to buy a Tesla. Among high-income consumers who say they plan to purchase an EV in the future, Tesla now ranks lower compared with competitors than it did one year ago.”
Elon Musk has announced plans to spend less times mollocking around Washington DC as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. This is a thing he and Donald Trump made up—to cut services and public functions all in the name of saving tax dollars.
Take it away, Wikipedia:
The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)[b] is an initiative by the second Trump administration tasked with cutting federal spending. It emerged from discussions between Donald Trump and Elon Musk,[8] and was established by an executive order on January 20, 2025.
Musk’s political activities were cited as a reason for Tesla’s 71% profit decline in the first quarter of 2025.
DOGE has rolled up to fill decision roles at the Office of Personal Management (OPM),[9] the General Services Administration (GSA),[10] and the Social Security Administration (SSA).[11]
DOGE has also “accessed information systems to terminate contracts for scientific research, climate change initiatives, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.”
DOGE has also facilitated mass layoffs, efforts to dismantle federal agencies, and the ever-growing efforts to “crack down” on immigration.
But—your tax dollars have been hard at work for years making Elon the world’s richest man. $38 Billion in government loans, contracts, subsidies and tax credits over two decades.
Meanwhile DOGE is busy cut, cut, cutting—you can check it here on the official website where you can also buy DOGE merch! There you can find the cuts, for example to the National Oceanic And Atmospheric service, the nice people who keep you advised if a hurricane or a tornado is coming your way—fewer of them now to track those weather events and keep you advised.
Not to mention monitoring climate change.
The National Park Service is taking a hit, which is already leading to staff cuts and we can expect reduced national park hours and search-and-rescue capacity—so you may be clinging to that ledge a longer time as you wait for someone to come and pick you up.
Medicare and Medicaid are of course on the chopping block. What says “government waste” like providing health care for vulnerable Americans?
Tesla investors are getting quite cranky about Elon’s antics and the way they’ve tanked the brand—Musk’s political activities were cited as a reason for Tesla’s 71% profit decline in the first quarter of 2025 “prompting him to reconsider his leadership role in DOGE to re-focus on Tesla.”
Pete Hegseth may be getting kicked loose from his Secretary of Defense duties soon.
So Elon has gotten what he wants with DOGE—his name in headlines all day but is planning to tip toe away—”reduce his presence” as the polite expression goes.
We’ll see how the Administration realigns the leadership of this “agency”—Pete Hegseth may be getting kicked loose from his Secretary of Defense duties soon after blabbing around the world on Signal about military attacks and maybe it’s a new career path for him.
Back to our home front barricades and trenches that we build and dig to resist backward Trump Administration measures and the victories.
To review recent victories:
The Tesla protests helped tank the stock, which made investors mad. So Elon backed down from DOGE—maybe a win as we look forward to the mess that awaits as the Administration scrambles to re-arrange “leadership”.
Target is a little nervous about this boycott situation—and we’ll see this week how it rolls out.
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Copyright 2025 by Bobbi Murray. All images used in this blog are in the public domain.