100 Days of Receipts

Updated March 7, 2025

Are they playING funny with our money? 

By now, you've probably heard and seen a lot about this week's Joint Congressional Address. But as one representative remarked, it's not about what Trump said, it's about what he didn't say. In just one week, the government is approaching yet another shutdown. We've seen this episode before, right? Yes, but this time it's a little different. 

Dismantling Our Benefits

This time, Trump and his allies have all but confirmed, because they refuse to say it out loud, that they're going to dismantle Social Security benefits, ripping away hard-earned wages from seniors on fixed incomes, simultaneously taking their healthcare through the gutting of Medicare, disregarding the service of veterans by stripping their benefits, and throwing our nation into an even deeper healthcare crisis overall by defunding Medicaid. 

This is an effort to defund the backbone of American democracy. Why? So that people who don't rely on these systems can amass their already exorbitant wealth through tax breaks. The rich get richer, while the rest of us get sicker. 

What can we do?

Congress still relies on our votes to sit on their Ivory Tower on the Hill. So, our opinions do matter to the Congress people that want to continue wielding their power. While yes, we need to push our individual Congress people to pass a budget by March 14, the more important issue is that they pass a budget that protects the social safety net. 

While we may be Black, we're also American. We support our troops, care about our grandmothers, brothers, sisters, cousins, and aunties receiving healthcare, and want the tax dollars we've put into social security to come back to us when we need them most. So, we've got to make some noise. 

Reach Out To Your Lawmakers

Luckily, we've made it easy for you to reach out to your lawmakers. Make sure they don't slash our budget and support our veterans. Click HERE and spend less time than you did reading this blog post to take action. It will take all of us, but we shall overcome! 

Updated March 4, 2025

43 Days of Deceit. We're Bringing the Receipts. 

Tonight, March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump will deliver a joint address to Congress on his 43rd day as president. His address will focus on his administration's work to advance their priorities, and likely include a push to pass his proposed 2025 budget, which includes significant reductions to key entitlement programs, including Social Security and veterans benefits. 

If the last 43 days have proven anything, it's that this president is playing in our face. And we as the NAACP wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't break down these 43 Days of Deceit. So buckle up, because we're bringing receipts.

Examining the Campaign

Remember on the campaign trail, when Americans were rightfully expressing deep concern about the 900-page manifesto labeled "Project 2025" and then-candidate Trump claimed he had "no idea what it was?" Well, that's proven to be untrue. In the past 43 days, we've seen Project 2025 in action, with executive orders coming straight from the White House that, interestingly enough, are a little too similar to the objectives outlined in Project 2025, including:

• Ending Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs across the federal government, directing schools that receive federal funding to dismantle theirs, and directing DOJ employees to investigate both private and federally-funded institutions that are suspected of advancing such programs, for potential civil AND criminal charges. 
• Using the Civil Rights Act to remove gender ideology and critical race theory from schools. 
• Ending government support in the fight against mis and dis-information. 
• Taking steps to dismantle the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, the EPA, and his next target: the Department of Education. 

The Effects on Americans 

Remember on the campaign trail, when Trump preyed on the millions of Americans suffering from corporate greed, claiming that manufactured inflation was actually the fault of his predecessors? He told us the cost of bacon was too high, and honestly, we agreed. But, he also promised that he would lower these costs by putting "Americans first." Funny enough, in the last 43 days he's actually made the situation much worse. Here's how:

• Shortly after being elected,  Trump quickly reversed his promise to lower the price of goods, stating in a Time magazine interview that "It's hard to bring things down once they're up. You know, it's very hard." 
• On day ONE of his presidency, Trump rolled full steam ahead with imposing steep tariffs on some of our nation's key trade partners. He sees tariffs as a negotiating tactic. The reality is, tariffs are paid by American importers, who typically pass those costs onto retailers, who, in turn, jack up the prices that consumers end up paying. So, he's using us as pawns to boost his political prowess, while the average American is left footing the bill. And the proof is in the pudding — rising fuel and grocery prices. Got it. 
• Let's not even get started on the tax breaks for billionaires. 

What Have We Seen?

Trump has shown us time and time again that he loves to be the center of attention. and actually, it's a part of a deeper strategy to overwhelm the media with absolute foolishness, while the real business of unraveling our progress falls under the radar. So, it's not just about him, it's also about the scores of anti-Black, election denying extremists that have taken seats in Congress. And they've been busy too. 

• In February, House Republicans unanimously voted to pass a budget that puts profit over people. They vowed to snatch entitlements to affordable healthcare and nutritional assistance while hiking rates on student loans Americans already can't afford to pay. Why? So they can provide tax breaks to the nation's wealthiest 1% of billionaires, including Shadow President Elon Musk, who has been put in charge of gutting foundational institutions of government with 0 checks, or balances. Must be nice, right? 
  • To make matters worse, they forced newborn parents, such as Rep. Brittany Peterson (D-CO) to travel to Washington with her child because Speaker Johnson refused to pass rules that would allow new mothers to vote remotely. 
• They're also wasting our tax dollars by inundating us with "messaging bills" — pieces of legislation that they know won't pass, but will please the leader of their party. Who cares about the constituents? 
  • In January, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) filed a bill to direct the interior secretary to "arrange for the carving of the figure of President Donald J. Trump on Mount Rushmore."
  • Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) proposed a constitutional amendment to allow presidents to serve third terms — as long as their other two terms weren't consecutive, a loophole that appears designed to give Trump a pass while keeping, say, Barack Obama, on the sidelines. 
  • Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) proposed a bill to abolish the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which handles workplace safety. 
  • Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) also proposed two bills to "expunge" Trump's first-term impeachments. 

How is the NAACP taking Action?

While the receipts prove that Trump and his allies have spent the last 43 days deceiving the American people, and placing the livelihoods of millions at risk, we've been busy too. 

• We've launched the Black Consumer Advisory, to inform our community of the power our coins hold, and how we can use them to hold corporations accountable. Some made the naughty list, and some made the nice list, but we'll continue giving you the download here as things change. 
• Despite the fact that Trump may not see Altadena as worth investing in, we know that when disaster strikes, we can't leave our people behind. That's why we filed a lawsuit against the Eaton Electric Company for their role in starting the fire, have been on the ground hosting community town halls & resource fairs, and launched a recovery fund to ensure that Black homeowners have an opportunity to rebuild.
• And even though we know our cries may fall on deaf ears, it doesn't mean we're going to stay silent. So we sent a letter to senators letting them know just how problematic RFK Jr. is, and we partnered with our friends at the American Federation of Teachers to publish an op-ed talking about how dismantling our Department of Education would wreak havoc not only on our community, but this nation's future as a whole. 

Black America is tired. And it isn't solely up to us to fix a mess we didn't create, but we can't lose hope. Hope, joy, and some hard work have brought us this far, and it will keep carrying us forward. Let's find solace in the fact that many of the outrageous actions being taken by this Administration are also being challenged in the courts. While Trump may sit in the Oval Office, we the people hold the power. A people united can never be conquered. Join us, and let's fight for the future that is rightfully ours.