Damn Steven, what an excellent essay, so succinctly stated. That this country is home to so many who do not understand what you are saying, or who discount it in deference to (or worship of) their orange god, is not only disheartening, but also chillingly scary. I just think of my grandchildren........ how could I grow up in such a blessed country and not bequeath it to them?
There is hope in the polling numbers. The more he does, the more his actions draw disapproval. Young male voters and people who endorsed the Orange Menace. Their support is evaporating.
Joe Rogan did a podcast on the importance of due process. A very important multi-billionaire GOP donor who is called a “market mover” supported trump. At the world economic conference he politely talked smack about the economic policies. All he wanted was less regulation. Instead, investors and the business world are frozen due to chaos and uncertainty.
Even Fox can only find 1 area DJT polls in positive territory. His ratings are mostly in the 30% range. DJT immediately attacked on social media and for good measure the WSJ.
“Rupert Murdoch has told me for years that he is going to get rid of his FoxNews, Trump Hating, Fake Pollster, but he has never done so,” Trump wrote. “This ‘pollster’ has gotten me, and MAGA, wrong for years. Also, and while he’s at it, he should start making changes at the China Loving Wall Street Journal. It sucks!!!”
We are barely three months into this regime but the damage done to our country is shocking. I am still stunned at the complacency of the Republican Party. Are they really ok with the dismantling of our democracy? I can understand, but not agree with, a desire for a less robust federal bureaucracy. A thorough destruction of all agencies designed to keep us safe should at least raise some concerns. Still not a peep. Turning our law enforcement agencies into trump’s personal vendetta machines is just peachy. I can just imagine the howling and outrage if Biden had done something even remotely resembling a tenth of what Trump has done.
Hegseth’s use of Signal for top secret military planning raised a tsk tsk. Hilary’s use of a private email server led to years congressional hearings and chants of “lock her up”. What gives? Was it all show? How did the party of Abraham Lincoln become a chaos agent? I suspect it is a combination of cowardice and the desire for power at any cost.
The full cost of Trump’s actions won’t be evident until late summer when the supply chains run dry. The maga cultists will blame Biden or China or some other hoodoo. The remaining sixty five percent will put the blame where it belongs. Trump’s approval ratings will drop into the mid thirties. What happens then will tell me everything I need to know about whether our country can be saved. I am optimistic that we will turn this around.
Follow the money. The main thing for the GOP is the richest of the rich billionaires really need those $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Then the money they save will trickle down to everyone else. And if the government's essential services are gutted, well, isn't it worth it so the billionaires can buy more yachts and fund a trip to Mars?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, some Republicans may be catching on as to just how unpopular and dangerous all of this is:
Do billionaires need those tax cuts? Or was it their greed? Even billionaires consider the ROI. They know when they’ve made a bad bet or investment.
They did not foresee the depth of recklessness that would freeze the business world in confusion chaos & uncertainty. Nor did they want to make the American “brand” toxic. Could that lost value be recouped in tax cuts? In how many decades?
I give more credence to the American billionaire “market mover” who spoke up at the World Economic Forum. IOW, like the old E F Hutton ad, when Kenneth Griffin talks [rich] people listen. He is a major GOP donor and supported DJT for less regulation who politely but harshly recently panned trump policies from Harvard to tariffs.
Yes, he has many many billion$.
— Trump ‘eroding’ US brand, has made the country 20% poorer, Citadel chief says—
And the Trump cult will label them RINOS and insist Trump knows best! The big question for the GOP is who actually has power within the party, Trump or his critics.
The party gave him the power. It’s up to them to pull it back before Americans pull them down. He is not invincible.
The most oblivious of the trump cult is about all that is left in the poll numbers supporting what is happening. Even so, they see resources for their states shrinking or in the case of Arkansas disaster relief, denied.
The country is larger than the GOP. Whoever loses the unaffiliated loses power.
We are some distance into an ongoing neofascist coup, if people have troubles in Arkansas that's not really a "problem" - it makes them less able to organize resistance against the coup. The main idea is to destroy civil society and the rule of law, see what I mean?
It’s just I believable that in 90 days the MAGA cult of fascism has managed to dismantle federal systems of power and safety and resource which we have been building up since the foundation of the Union. It is so ironic that we are right at the cusp of a huge anniversary for our country and its founding - our break for independence and freedom. All the things we fought so hard - millions of lives lost to the noble cause - and right at this moment is when we are watching EXACTLY what and whom we were fighting against - take over and destroy the democracy we jumped across an ocean to secure for our children’s children’s children.
Yes there is tremendous pain for us here right now. Terrible suffering and mortifying bigotry, racism and xenophobia. But what is as - if not even more heartbreaking … we are setting fire to all of the dreams of our forefathers and mothers and seizing them from the generations to come. Our children’s children’s children.
If I were not already here, I wouldn’t be traveling to America either. And beyond that - I wouldn’t trust her, either.
I wholeheartedly agree. I was born the year that WW2 ended. I have seen many changes. I could never have predicted the world as it is today, as it seemed that after that war that mankind was moving toward a more peaceful & progressive time. And yes, there were/are many bumps on that road, but slowly progress was being made. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Theodore Parker; 1810 - 1860)
You are so right! Trump is shrewd, but can’t think critically. He is a cruel bully, yet thin-skinned. He is energetically impulsive, yet slothful and ignorant of his responsibility to all Americans and our Constitution. I do not know how long it will take to repair the damage to our democracy. Part of that repair is predicated upon making certain he leaves office when his term is up. The other part is the necessity of sustained, earnest democratic rule and adherence to the rule of law. If we do not follow this corrupt administration with its counterpart, “with liberty and justice for all”, then we can just wave wistfully goodbye to all that we hold dear.
Democrats need to re-take the House and the Senate in the 2026 elections to slow down the destruction and to make sure that Trump does leave at the end of his term--unless we somehow get the numbers to impeach and convict him, and then he can leave sooner.
I think many people don't know what's going on because Trump is throwing so much s*** at everyone all day that they are shutting their eyes so they don't go blind. In my town, no one but me, and those who work at the public library, apparently, knows of the plans to end funding for libraries, archives and museums. Libraries! Ben Franklin is rolling in his grave. I think all the crazy is a diversion from Trump's plan to realign the U.S. with Russia, China and North Korea. God only knows what he is doing that we don't know about. My one question: who is REALLY running things? I don't think he is sophisticated or smart enough to do all the dismantling. So who is behind the curtain?
See Project2025.com, the website of that awful initiative. Put together by the Heritage Foundation it is a coalition of over 100 organizations and millions of dollars. They meticulously planned this hijacking, so they were ready to go on Day 1.
P.S. This is one reason voter purges and suppression efforts were through the roof.
Absolutely true. They also knew their plan was not popular. Not only did the Orange Menace have to distance himself but implementation had to occur at a rapid pace.
We are witnessing a complete breakdown of our system of checks and balances. The system is not checking itself and it damned sure isn’t balancing. It is shameful.
Although if it is checking compassionate policies, and leaving an unbalanced neofascist like Trump alone to carry on, that makes some people extremely pleased - Putin, for example.
I am at a loss to find words that adequately describe the profound mix of intense emotions I am feeling. Rage, disgust, anxiety, betrayal, grief. I am in my mid 70s. I hope the end of Trumpism comes while I can still relish it.
I go through each of those emotions every day. I know how you feel. I am in my late 70s. Some days I am optimistic and then I despair. The one thing that picks me up is to join protests every week. The company of like minded people really helps.
I believe that I owe my five granddaughters a duty to peacefully evict the vandals ruining our country. Participating in protests often feels insignificant. But I continue because doing nothing is not an option. I hope that the 3.5% rule identified by Erica Chenoweth works because we will get there by the end of summer.
I have lovely Iranian neighbors. The wife went to England to visit family. It’s been weeks. Her husband no longer comes outside. Groceries are delivered. The grandchildren are not visiting. No spring flowers on the patio. 😢
Thank you for this. One of my seniors, a student from Czechia tell me that he was returning home to take a gap year then go to university in Germany or the Netherlands. His plan was to attend a major American university but he is afraid to remain in the United States. We need courageous leaders to stand up to Trump as Senator Stephen A. Douglas did to President James Buchanan during the Lecompton Constitution crisis, risking his political career and life. I told his story last night on my Substack. https://dundas.substack.com/p/needed-one-courageous-republican
As always, thank you again. Keep speaking out and watch your six.
This sentence says it all..."You may not have heard about the two teenaged German tourists who were detained, handcuffed and put in prison uniforms for allegedly not having proper visas, but I assure you that people in their home country heard about it."
.... Bravo dump & muck... hope you're happy at the destruction you both have done.. there will be a new word to describe your pathological behavior
Such an excellent essay. You do write beautifully. We have to continue to work together for a better future minus Trump and his minions. May 1. Next protest
I share your optimism. We’re probably already at a point where he’d lose if the 2024 election were redone. Now that we’re in this regime it just has to play itself out. The eventual rebuilding will be chaotic, because nobody likes dramatic change when it’s obvious that going back like it was is impossible, but it will eventually be better. Better than before, I truly believe.
“Under certain circumstances, profanity provides a relief denied even to prayer." - Mark Twain.
This is one of those times.
Damn Steven, what an excellent essay, so succinctly stated. That this country is home to so many who do not understand what you are saying, or who discount it in deference to (or worship of) their orange god, is not only disheartening, but also chillingly scary. I just think of my grandchildren........ how could I grow up in such a blessed country and not bequeath it to them?
Thank you kindly, James. It is scary...but it just underlines the work for all of us to keep alive the vision toward that more optimistic future.
There is hope in the polling numbers. The more he does, the more his actions draw disapproval. Young male voters and people who endorsed the Orange Menace. Their support is evaporating.
https://www.thecut.com/article/trump-approval-rating-falls-among-young-men-poll-shows.html
Joe Rogan did a podcast on the importance of due process. A very important multi-billionaire GOP donor who is called a “market mover” supported trump. At the world economic conference he politely talked smack about the economic policies. All he wanted was less regulation. Instead, investors and the business world are frozen due to chaos and uncertainty.
Even Fox can only find 1 area DJT polls in positive territory. His ratings are mostly in the 30% range. DJT immediately attacked on social media and for good measure the WSJ.
“Rupert Murdoch has told me for years that he is going to get rid of his FoxNews, Trump Hating, Fake Pollster, but he has never done so,” Trump wrote. “This ‘pollster’ has gotten me, and MAGA, wrong for years. Also, and while he’s at it, he should start making changes at the China Loving Wall Street Journal. It sucks!!!”
https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/04/trump-slams-fox-news-owner-as-networks-latest-poll-shows-record-low-approval-rating.html
Another excellent post. Beautifully written.
We are barely three months into this regime but the damage done to our country is shocking. I am still stunned at the complacency of the Republican Party. Are they really ok with the dismantling of our democracy? I can understand, but not agree with, a desire for a less robust federal bureaucracy. A thorough destruction of all agencies designed to keep us safe should at least raise some concerns. Still not a peep. Turning our law enforcement agencies into trump’s personal vendetta machines is just peachy. I can just imagine the howling and outrage if Biden had done something even remotely resembling a tenth of what Trump has done.
Hegseth’s use of Signal for top secret military planning raised a tsk tsk. Hilary’s use of a private email server led to years congressional hearings and chants of “lock her up”. What gives? Was it all show? How did the party of Abraham Lincoln become a chaos agent? I suspect it is a combination of cowardice and the desire for power at any cost.
The full cost of Trump’s actions won’t be evident until late summer when the supply chains run dry. The maga cultists will blame Biden or China or some other hoodoo. The remaining sixty five percent will put the blame where it belongs. Trump’s approval ratings will drop into the mid thirties. What happens then will tell me everything I need to know about whether our country can be saved. I am optimistic that we will turn this around.
Thanks, Buzz.
Follow the money. The main thing for the GOP is the richest of the rich billionaires really need those $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. Then the money they save will trickle down to everyone else. And if the government's essential services are gutted, well, isn't it worth it so the billionaires can buy more yachts and fund a trip to Mars?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, some Republicans may be catching on as to just how unpopular and dangerous all of this is:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/apr/24/republican-anti-tax-coalition-trump
Yes, some Republicans are losing their zeal. More than that other hopefuls are turning away. It is also bad when Fox polling has only 1 measure to show its audience that indicates approval. The rest are mostly in the 30% range. https://www.mlive.com/news/2025/04/trump-slams-fox-news-owner-as-networks-latest-poll-shows-record-low-approval-rating.html
Do billionaires need those tax cuts? Or was it their greed? Even billionaires consider the ROI. They know when they’ve made a bad bet or investment.
They did not foresee the depth of recklessness that would freeze the business world in confusion chaos & uncertainty. Nor did they want to make the American “brand” toxic. Could that lost value be recouped in tax cuts? In how many decades?
I give more credence to the American billionaire “market mover” who spoke up at the World Economic Forum. IOW, like the old E F Hutton ad, when Kenneth Griffin talks [rich] people listen. He is a major GOP donor and supported DJT for less regulation who politely but harshly recently panned trump policies from Harvard to tariffs.
Yes, he has many many billion$.
— Trump ‘eroding’ US brand, has made the country 20% poorer, Citadel chief says—
https://www.semafor.com/article/04/23/2025/citadel-ceo-ken-griffin-trump-is-eroding-us-brand-and-making-the-country-poorer
And the Trump cult will label them RINOS and insist Trump knows best! The big question for the GOP is who actually has power within the party, Trump or his critics.
The party gave him the power. It’s up to them to pull it back before Americans pull them down. He is not invincible.
The most oblivious of the trump cult is about all that is left in the poll numbers supporting what is happening. Even so, they see resources for their states shrinking or in the case of Arkansas disaster relief, denied.
The country is larger than the GOP. Whoever loses the unaffiliated loses power.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/15370/party-affiliation.aspx
"The State is a body of armed men."
- Lenin
We are some distance into an ongoing neofascist coup, if people have troubles in Arkansas that's not really a "problem" - it makes them less able to organize resistance against the coup. The main idea is to destroy civil society and the rule of law, see what I mean?
It isn’t exactly eye opening. You’re advocating for defeatism where everyone should all stay home and cower.
Always about the Money and the Power. Always.
It’s just I believable that in 90 days the MAGA cult of fascism has managed to dismantle federal systems of power and safety and resource which we have been building up since the foundation of the Union. It is so ironic that we are right at the cusp of a huge anniversary for our country and its founding - our break for independence and freedom. All the things we fought so hard - millions of lives lost to the noble cause - and right at this moment is when we are watching EXACTLY what and whom we were fighting against - take over and destroy the democracy we jumped across an ocean to secure for our children’s children’s children.
Yes there is tremendous pain for us here right now. Terrible suffering and mortifying bigotry, racism and xenophobia. But what is as - if not even more heartbreaking … we are setting fire to all of the dreams of our forefathers and mothers and seizing them from the generations to come. Our children’s children’s children.
If I were not already here, I wouldn’t be traveling to America either. And beyond that - I wouldn’t trust her, either.
The IRONY of a huge anniversary coming up …salt on a gaping wound.
I wholeheartedly agree. I was born the year that WW2 ended. I have seen many changes. I could never have predicted the world as it is today, as it seemed that after that war that mankind was moving toward a more peaceful & progressive time. And yes, there were/are many bumps on that road, but slowly progress was being made. “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Theodore Parker; 1810 - 1860)
You are so right! Trump is shrewd, but can’t think critically. He is a cruel bully, yet thin-skinned. He is energetically impulsive, yet slothful and ignorant of his responsibility to all Americans and our Constitution. I do not know how long it will take to repair the damage to our democracy. Part of that repair is predicated upon making certain he leaves office when his term is up. The other part is the necessity of sustained, earnest democratic rule and adherence to the rule of law. If we do not follow this corrupt administration with its counterpart, “with liberty and justice for all”, then we can just wave wistfully goodbye to all that we hold dear.
Democrats need to re-take the House and the Senate in the 2026 elections to slow down the destruction and to make sure that Trump does leave at the end of his term--unless we somehow get the numbers to impeach and convict him, and then he can leave sooner.
I think many people don't know what's going on because Trump is throwing so much s*** at everyone all day that they are shutting their eyes so they don't go blind. In my town, no one but me, and those who work at the public library, apparently, knows of the plans to end funding for libraries, archives and museums. Libraries! Ben Franklin is rolling in his grave. I think all the crazy is a diversion from Trump's plan to realign the U.S. with Russia, China and North Korea. God only knows what he is doing that we don't know about. My one question: who is REALLY running things? I don't think he is sophisticated or smart enough to do all the dismantling. So who is behind the curtain?
“There are many who do not know they are fascists but will find it out when the time comes.” Ernest Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls
See Project2025.com, the website of that awful initiative. Put together by the Heritage Foundation it is a coalition of over 100 organizations and millions of dollars. They meticulously planned this hijacking, so they were ready to go on Day 1.
P.S. This is one reason voter purges and suppression efforts were through the roof.
Absolutely true. They also knew their plan was not popular. Not only did the Orange Menace have to distance himself but implementation had to occur at a rapid pace.
My question, also; WHO or WHAT is behind all of this chaos? Something Wicked This Way Comes.
We are witnessing a complete breakdown of our system of checks and balances. The system is not checking itself and it damned sure isn’t balancing. It is shameful.
Although if it is checking compassionate policies, and leaving an unbalanced neofascist like Trump alone to carry on, that makes some people extremely pleased - Putin, for example.
Comrade Krasnov and his Handler, Natasha. Russia is pleased.
I am at a loss to find words that adequately describe the profound mix of intense emotions I am feeling. Rage, disgust, anxiety, betrayal, grief. I am in my mid 70s. I hope the end of Trumpism comes while I can still relish it.
I go through each of those emotions every day. I know how you feel. I am in my late 70s. Some days I am optimistic and then I despair. The one thing that picks me up is to join protests every week. The company of like minded people really helps.
I believe that I owe my five granddaughters a duty to peacefully evict the vandals ruining our country. Participating in protests often feels insignificant. But I continue because doing nothing is not an option. I hope that the 3.5% rule identified by Erica Chenoweth works because we will get there by the end of summer.
In my small northern Vermont town it was common to be in the village store and hear only French. No more.
I have lovely Iranian neighbors. The wife went to England to visit family. It’s been weeks. Her husband no longer comes outside. Groceries are delivered. The grandchildren are not visiting. No spring flowers on the patio. 😢
Steven,
Thank you for this. One of my seniors, a student from Czechia tell me that he was returning home to take a gap year then go to university in Germany or the Netherlands. His plan was to attend a major American university but he is afraid to remain in the United States. We need courageous leaders to stand up to Trump as Senator Stephen A. Douglas did to President James Buchanan during the Lecompton Constitution crisis, risking his political career and life. I told his story last night on my Substack. https://dundas.substack.com/p/needed-one-courageous-republican
As always, thank you again. Keep speaking out and watch your six.
Steve Dundas
This sentence says it all..."You may not have heard about the two teenaged German tourists who were detained, handcuffed and put in prison uniforms for allegedly not having proper visas, but I assure you that people in their home country heard about it."
.... Bravo dump & muck... hope you're happy at the destruction you both have done.. there will be a new word to describe your pathological behavior
Such an excellent essay. You do write beautifully. We have to continue to work together for a better future minus Trump and his minions. May 1. Next protest
Thank you! I wish all his followers could read this!!!
I would hope the World will forgive us once he is gone!
Awesome essay again Steven, just great just great.
I share your optimism. We’re probably already at a point where he’d lose if the 2024 election were redone. Now that we’re in this regime it just has to play itself out. The eventual rebuilding will be chaotic, because nobody likes dramatic change when it’s obvious that going back like it was is impossible, but it will eventually be better. Better than before, I truly believe.