The Humiliation of Donald Trump

As the failures mount, the lashing out intensifies and the delusions grow

The trashing of the White House grounds by the vainglorious Donald. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images)

Even now, as our country of 342 million is stuck with unbelievably mediocre and incompetent people controlling the White House and Congress, the United States is blessed with extraordinarily gifted musicians and artists who possess massive, global appeal. Even as Trump’s America has become a laughingstock and/or a pariah state to much of the world, deeply talented people continue to ply their craft and entertain millions and millions of excited concertgoers.

But, of course, few of those artists were sought to perform during the nation’s 250th celebration on the National Mall that should have been an opportunity to bring Americans together and showcase our creative excellence. Instead, from June 25 to July 10, the Great American State Fair planned on a lineup of musical acts popular in the 1980s and ‘90s, including Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, Morris Day and The Time, Young MC, Martina McBride, Bret Michaels and The Commodores.

But it turns out that these artists were hired by Freedom250—the so-called nonpartisan group organizing the fair—based on a lie. They were told this event would not be about politics or buffing up the Trump regime.

"Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,” Bret Michaels said. As Martina McBride had it, "I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading.” In a joint statement, The Commodores said, "Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans.”

So they all dropped out, as did Morris Day and the Time and Young MC. Vanilla Ice and Fab Morvan of the original Milli Vanilli are still in, more than willing to suck up to Trump.

This is not the most important story in the world. But here’s the thing: Trump’s response underscores everything that’s wrong with having a man like this in power, particularly at a singular moment when we should be coming together to recognize what has been and what can be accomplished. While a Freedom250 spokesperson described Trump as “the visionary behind the Great American State Fair,” the musicians’ rejection clearly bruised his fragile ego.

“Cancel it,” he posted, complaining about “overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain.”

That’s not all. He had a solution—this from the malignant narcissist who insisted years ago that he alone can fix it. Check this out:

I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the World, the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP, to take the place of these highly paid, Third Rate “Artists,” and give a major speech, rallying the Country forward like I have done ever since being President!…I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy. I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN. So, by copy of this TRUTH, I am ordering my Representatives to look at the feasibility of doing an AMERICA IS BACK Rally on Wednesday, Washington, D.C., same time, same location. Only Great Patriots invited — It will be a Wild and Beautiful Celebration of America.

I make a point of not amplifying the unhinged rants spewed by this unwell man who’s been handed the levers of power. But the level of rage-fueled self-delusion, the hostility toward performers who disagree with being politically exploited, the absorption with what he calls people who “know how to WIN” and his planned deployment of yet another one of his grotesque rallies as a “beautiful celebration of America” that will only be attended by “Great Patriots” (read: his supporters) encapsulates why this moment is so unhinged and so dangerous. Add to this his violence-glorifying program of a UFC cage fight on the White House grounds.

We live in a time of enormous complexity and uncertainty. Our world faces grave challenges that could lead to the demise of life as we know it. Were sanity in place, it would be obvious to the overwhelming majority of American voters that it’s critical to put the best and brightest in power.

Instead, we are being held hostage by an utter buffoon, who lacks one iota of self-awareness and responds to an obvious humiliation by lashing out against his perceived enemies (in this case, “third rate ‘Artists’”) and puffing himself up as the greatest solution to all of our problems.

Forget humility. Forget rationality and calm. Forget the most basic capacity to grasp that the 250th celebration of America is an opportunity for unity. Instead, this mentally ill guy is posting AI images of himself as Jesus, installed on Mt. Rushmore and on horseback side-by-side with George Washington.

Frankly, it turns my stomach.

But more than that, this disgraceful display is a pattern that should be convincing responsible officials to pursue his removal. As his failures mount, he lashes out in increasingly extreme and dangerous ways. It’s nearly two months now since Trump threatened Iran like this if its leaders didn’t agree to his half-cocked demands to surrender: “A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

I don’t know if you recall the level of dread that permeated across our country that April day, but I sure do. And as horrifying as this threat was, that same post also included his fantasizing, in which he insisted, “we have Complete and Total Regime change, where different, smarter and less radicalized minds prevail,” and “something revolutionarily wonderful can happen” resulting in “one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World.”

These were the ravings of a deeply addled mind, and they provide more than enough evidence that Donald Trump is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office. Nearly eight weeks later, we are still experiencing the repeated whiplash of his declarations that the negotiations are succeeding and the war is about to end, followed by new threats to bomb Iran.

His failures are mounting. His lashing out is accelerating and growing uglier (I needed a shower after scrolling through the cesspool of his Truth Social feed). His humiliations are increasingly obvious. Cancel the music, he said, “just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy Center,” after a federal judge demanded Friday to remove his name from the building.

With this man still in power, July 4, 2026 will be a perverse day, as freedom-loving, democracy-loving Americans are left to worry about the state of the nation and its future. I would suggest celebrating America’s 250th anniversary on Nov. 3, as we join a large majority of our fellow citizens in ending the chokehold of Trump and his Republican enablers in Congress. This will be our chance to prove our devotion to the promise of America.

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