We the people and fearless journalists must stand together. That includes confronting Trump's Epstein denials and the continuing lies of election fraud that he's shaping for the midterms.
"If you catch 100 red fire ants as well as 100 large black ants, and put them in a jar, at first, nothing will happen. However, if you violently shake the jar and dump them back on the ground the ants will fight until they eventually kill each other. The thing is, the red ants think the black ants are the enemy and vice versa, when in reality, the real enemy is the person who shook the jar. This is exactly what's happening in society today. Liberal vs conservative, black vs white, pro mask vs anti-mask, vax vs anti-vax, rich vs poor, man vs woman, cop vs citizen, immigrant vs citizen. The real question we need to be asking ourselves is who's shaking the jar ... and why?" —Shera
Trump never met a jar he wouldn't shake. His whole schtick since the beginning has been to divide and conquer. Only we won't go quietly into this dark night. And we won't eat our own.
As a human being and a woman, I find this story bracing. At some point in my past I remember standing in the midst of a group of men, one of whom started telling a 'dirty' joke, which, like most of them, denigrated women. They all laughed. I didn't. The jokester asked me, as if I were in the wrong, why I wasn't laughing, insisting it was funny. I told him it wasn't funny, standing my ground. A small event, to be sure, and one that happened maybe 30 years ago. Why have I remembered it when so much else has not survived in my recall? Because I took a stand against dominance and oppression, no matter the (social) cost. We all need to do more of this, every time we can. While the office of the presidency might command some respect, the utterly disgraceful 'man' who hold it deserves total opprobrium.
Excellent article! As you described, it is so important to hold Trump’s feet to the fire. If journalists such as you continue to do that, then, as in the beloved story of The Three Little Pigs, our democracy will be a safe and secure house of bricks and will not fall at the behest of the Windbag-in-Chief. We are surely being tested. Congress has proven to be the proverbial house of straw, some law firms and educational institutions houses of sticks. Oligarchs need no shelter at all…they’re providing the fans to amplify the wind effect. It is the courts and the journalists who are partnering with Truth and Law’s awesome task. As it has often been said, “failure is not an option”. We must continue to repair the mortar that keeps our republic intact while the Trump wind rages and blows. In the end, I do believe he will run out of the lies that fuel his continued onslaught against all of us. In the meantime it’s a ‘foul wind’ that blows here in America.
well said and as for the people thrown in these unspeakable jails many will die before the courts make their decicions to have them overturned and many will be mentally & physically damaged forever....the courts only work if there no monsters on the other side.... so now what do we do
Watch trump’s presentation to the prayer breakfast yesterday. He said he is the best friend xtians have ever had, then asked them to cheer for his hindu DNI. He wondered if he will ‘go to heaven’ and asserted he ‘deserves’ it … to a crowd half of whom ‘know’ it was determined before he was born, regardless of his ‘accomplishments’. He assumed they all agreed that he was compelled - and fully justified - to assuage his ‘ego’ … for an audience supposedly unified in believing in the moral duty to confront one’s self-indulgence. And they laughed and they cheered and only wanted to know where and how they could render unto Caesar not only what is his but also that which belongs to god
There are 2 prayer breakfasts. I point that out because the audience reaction reflects a certain type of attendee who wants to hear speakers like Paula White-Cain or listen to Bukele explain how God was necessary for success of their prison project. "We won the spiritual war first, and that reflected in our physical world."
He also seemed to take credit at one point for defending Christians in other countries from persecution, a recent focus of the White House, before he was president. He singled out a woman named Mariam Ibrahim in the audience, noting that, in 2014, she had endured imprisonment and persecution in Sudan for her Christian faith, resulting in an international outcry for her release.
"I did that. I did that with one phone call actually," Trump said of her successful release. "She had such support. It was so easy. And when I explained it to the powers that be, 'Yes, sir, we will do it right away.' I just wish I knew earlier."
He didn't make clear how he had become involved with the effort to secure Ibrahim's release, or whom he had called. According to a 2014 article published by BBC, Ibrahim was already living in the U.S. by the end of that year, two years before Trump was elected to his first term as president. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
There’s a link in there to a tweet by mike johnson in which he explains that as individuals we must be caring and loving to everybody but as a govt we must be ruthless in punishing all miscreants because … it’s what jeezus wants, no matter how it hurts us to do it. E.g., as an authority you must whip a misbehaving child until his back bleeds freely, then you must rub salt into the wounds, THEN you can revert to ‘individual’ and apply salve … and don’t forget to tell him/her “That hurt me more than it hurt you”. lol
Yes Kaitlin Collins stuck to her guns, was professional as always to a thing that has the professionalism of a toad. And that’s being kind. Her taking on as it seems the majority of journalists that are female have to put up with from this racist-misogynist pig way too often his idea of degradation would want to see this instead. Every reporter should have followed up with the same question. Also when he asks a reporter: Who are you with? The immediate response needs to be I'm with the American people. — Who are YOU with?
Not asking for journalists to fight our fights but damn man stand up for your co-workers, it’s just common decency.. If more stand up as a force not letting him get away with the ramblings of whatever that “weave” is, which basically is an incoherent jumble of words that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and call him out on all his lies. Sooner or later he’ll do the same to all the journalists and reporters as he did to the Ford autoworker who called him a “pedophile protector” because that’s who he is..
More of the WH reporters need to follow Caitlin’s lead and question him on the Epstein files ….she’s tough, but she’s not the only one! Remember Jim Acosta!
The Constitution’s first three words – “We the People” were written by a bunch of oligarchs. I think the chickens have finally come home to roost. With 33% of Americans approving of ICE actions the oligarchs are in firm control. The rest is a show.
And they had common values. They didn't need the constitution to govern. And what after all is democratic republic. Neither democracy nor true republic. Its an inherent contradiction. Better if they just called it a blob or a bunch of guys who weren't going to include racial minorities go 80 years or women for 130 years.
From telling a reporter “F-ck You” and flipping him/her with his middle finger, to criticizing Kaitlin Collins, this is typical immature, uneducated, and unintelligent demeanor. The more Mr. Trump attempts to interact with intelligent and informed reporters, the more the public sees his moronic behavior.
Our nation faces internal conflict beyond Mr. Trump, who was dumb enough to be trapped by Russia’s tactics, including flattery, sex, and money. This is part of Mr. Putin’s effort to weaken the U.S., motivated by his view that America dismantled the Soviet Union. He wants revenge.
Time will reveal the truth about Trump and his treasonous destruction of our government, but our nation – Congress and the public - move at a snail’s pace. Congress needs to enforce the Epstein Files Bill and send the Capitol Police to the DOJ and collect every single page. And the public needs to learn the truth about Mr. Trump and his abnormal sexual behavior. This man was convicted of sexually attacking a woman in a store's fitting room. This man was convicted of attempting to cover up his relationship with Stormy Daniels, an adult film star and prostitute through payments to his attorney. He was found guilty of 34 felony charges.
Mr. Trump is a stooge, instructed by Putin in his effort to demolish the United States. On January 6th, Trump sat in his private dining room at the White House and watched the violence and destruction of our Capitol FOR HOURS. He has repeated this predatory bloodlust and sanguinary obsession with the DHS and immigration issues. I would guess that most of the men employed by DHS also participated in January 6th.
It is important for the public to understand that the geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia persisted. While Gorbachev shook hands and signed agreements, so the world believed the official Cold War ended – IT DID NOT. I experienced this first-hand in Moscow during the 1990s and part of the 2000s. I observed these ongoing dynamics: the KGB take over of the government from Yeltsin; the transfer of all powers from the KGB to the FSB – so the western world thought that Russia was democratizing – resulting in the CIA reducing staff by 25%; the millions of dollars stolen from USAID and The World Bank (I worked as a consultant to both); and the massive expansion of Russian Organized Crime (ROC) now located in every single US state.
Putin’s plan was top-down destruction of the U.S. government by Mr. Trump, and bottom-up chaos and crime in American towns and cities. They create fires/arson, cyber-attacks, murder, bombings, drug distribution, sports gambling, etc. In October 2025, an ammunition plant in TN was blown up killing 19 employees. This plant manufactured weapons for Ukraine. In NC, a Judge’s home was burned down. This Judge refused to give DOJ their voter registration information. And in Michigan, a Mormon Church was burned killing three people. This church was among the largest organizations in the US donating goods and food to Ukraine. Do you really believe the LA fires were self-combustable? We - our countrymen and women - are way past the tipping point of understanding why, since 2015, our country is under attack from all directions.
To put the pieces of our democracy puzzle back together once Trump is gone, may take decades. His overwhelming devastation and havoc are extensive. I only hope the next generation of Americans will be as dedicated to our country as Steven Beschloss and other Substack messengers. Thank you for your daily efforts. Elziabeth
Think back to all the young people killed in Vietnam. For what? Americans really tortured by Americans. What a fraud by egomaniacal human being. And phony war on Iraq. And phony Iran contra trades. And now. Country built on hopes but lived by selfishness greed hate. What an ugly history. One nation under who knows what.
The Declaration of Independence and Constitution were general documents written by and for elite men. They have since been mangled over the past 40 years by people who have narrow self interests. Even the sender from ct lied about serving in Vietnam. And hes a great senator. This is not the country the founders intended. This is oligarchia. This is royalty on steroids. England France Belgium Holland Switzerland and Scandinava far better countries. They implement the ideals of those who tried to create the US. Indeed a democratic Republic might be an oxymoron. Pick one. The two concepts dont seem to fit. Certainly us is not a true democracy.
donnie gets more loathsome and demented every bloody day. His vicious troll of Michelle and Barack Obama was just too much! He's gone way beyond castigating the former presidents - except for 43, who refuses to comment or stick up for democracy, GHWB would be SO proud of you, shrub! I just wonder how many more ugly 'cartoons', ugly digs, ugly remarks he makes to and about anyone - will it take before we take him down? He's a pedophile pervert, and that's being kind. He's just a 5 year old bully - yet here he sits atop his paper throne subjecting us ALL to his violence, crazed rants, and then he gets more ink, quotes in papers, on TV, than anyone else ever has. And, yes, Llamas is just another poor soul blinking as trump dominates. MSM is in bondage to this sick pedo. Happy to see writers on Substack speaking out, when it seems nobody else will.
Jehovah. Peace to come to the entire earth as in the days of Eden. Wickedness that all moral people hate is in Donald Trump and the Republican Party. When you sell weapons to contras you sell your soul to their wickedness. Giving others permission to destroy innocence people because of who they are. What does that sound like to you? Nazi's. They love Trump.
For years I have said, "He who controls the narrative controls the outcome." I doubt that is original to me. But that is essentially what Steven is saying. In this instance, the MEDIA is pushing the "Donald" narrative. Lacking spine and character, the MEDIA perpetuates the Donald narrative. The Donald threatens lawsuit if one says the wrong and hurtful thing (boo hoo). The Donald has been quite successful with his bullying threats. Lacking strength of character and conviction, large portions of the MEDIA have cowed, making the Donald once again a rich man.
"If you catch 100 red fire ants as well as 100 large black ants, and put them in a jar, at first, nothing will happen. However, if you violently shake the jar and dump them back on the ground the ants will fight until they eventually kill each other. The thing is, the red ants think the black ants are the enemy and vice versa, when in reality, the real enemy is the person who shook the jar. This is exactly what's happening in society today. Liberal vs conservative, black vs white, pro mask vs anti-mask, vax vs anti-vax, rich vs poor, man vs woman, cop vs citizen, immigrant vs citizen. The real question we need to be asking ourselves is who's shaking the jar ... and why?" —Shera
Trump never met a jar he wouldn't shake. His whole schtick since the beginning has been to divide and conquer. Only we won't go quietly into this dark night. And we won't eat our own.
“I think I have learned that the best way to lift one’s self up is to help someone else.”
- Booker T. Washington
Serve one another. Lift someone up. It’s how we save ourselves.
https://albellenchia.substack.com/p/mr-b-goes-to-dc?r=7wk5d
As a human being and a woman, I find this story bracing. At some point in my past I remember standing in the midst of a group of men, one of whom started telling a 'dirty' joke, which, like most of them, denigrated women. They all laughed. I didn't. The jokester asked me, as if I were in the wrong, why I wasn't laughing, insisting it was funny. I told him it wasn't funny, standing my ground. A small event, to be sure, and one that happened maybe 30 years ago. Why have I remembered it when so much else has not survived in my recall? Because I took a stand against dominance and oppression, no matter the (social) cost. We all need to do more of this, every time we can. While the office of the presidency might command some respect, the utterly disgraceful 'man' who hold it deserves total opprobrium.
Excellent article! As you described, it is so important to hold Trump’s feet to the fire. If journalists such as you continue to do that, then, as in the beloved story of The Three Little Pigs, our democracy will be a safe and secure house of bricks and will not fall at the behest of the Windbag-in-Chief. We are surely being tested. Congress has proven to be the proverbial house of straw, some law firms and educational institutions houses of sticks. Oligarchs need no shelter at all…they’re providing the fans to amplify the wind effect. It is the courts and the journalists who are partnering with Truth and Law’s awesome task. As it has often been said, “failure is not an option”. We must continue to repair the mortar that keeps our republic intact while the Trump wind rages and blows. In the end, I do believe he will run out of the lies that fuel his continued onslaught against all of us. In the meantime it’s a ‘foul wind’ that blows here in America.
Unfortunately the law is too slow and verdicts are reversed with further appeals. The law bends too often toward injustice.
well said and as for the people thrown in these unspeakable jails many will die before the courts make their decicions to have them overturned and many will be mentally & physically damaged forever....the courts only work if there no monsters on the other side.... so now what do we do
Watch trump’s presentation to the prayer breakfast yesterday. He said he is the best friend xtians have ever had, then asked them to cheer for his hindu DNI. He wondered if he will ‘go to heaven’ and asserted he ‘deserves’ it … to a crowd half of whom ‘know’ it was determined before he was born, regardless of his ‘accomplishments’. He assumed they all agreed that he was compelled - and fully justified - to assuage his ‘ego’ … for an audience supposedly unified in believing in the moral duty to confront one’s self-indulgence. And they laughed and they cheered and only wanted to know where and how they could render unto Caesar not only what is his but also that which belongs to god
It’s nuts, people
and the talking heads wonder why so many have left 'the church' - in the wake of charlie kirk's murder, how do they dare preach about christ and god??
They opened the breakfast by singing the hymn How Great Thou Art. Trump thanked them and suggested they sing something nice about god too
Oh wait. I made that up. But you wondered, didn’t you?
There are 2 prayer breakfasts. I point that out because the audience reaction reflects a certain type of attendee who wants to hear speakers like Paula White-Cain or listen to Bukele explain how God was necessary for success of their prison project. "We won the spiritual war first, and that reflected in our physical world."
There was an unsuccessful attempt to have this be the only prayer breakfast. Looks like it was ignored. https://www.ncronline.org/news/dueling-national-prayer-breakfasts-religious-debate-over-trumps-immigration-policy
From that article (for which, Ann, thanks!)
He also seemed to take credit at one point for defending Christians in other countries from persecution, a recent focus of the White House, before he was president. He singled out a woman named Mariam Ibrahim in the audience, noting that, in 2014, she had endured imprisonment and persecution in Sudan for her Christian faith, resulting in an international outcry for her release.
"I did that. I did that with one phone call actually," Trump said of her successful release. "She had such support. It was so easy. And when I explained it to the powers that be, 'Yes, sir, we will do it right away.' I just wish I knew earlier."
He didn't make clear how he had become involved with the effort to secure Ibrahim's release, or whom he had called. According to a 2014 article published by BBC, Ibrahim was already living in the U.S. by the end of that year, two years before Trump was elected to his first term as president. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification.
He prefers to bomb Muslims on Christmas so he steals someone else’s story. Nigeria played him to get resources & get rid of a pesky militia.
https://www.chathamhouse.org/2026/01/how-nigeria-flipped-script-trump
There’s a link in there to a tweet by mike johnson in which he explains that as individuals we must be caring and loving to everybody but as a govt we must be ruthless in punishing all miscreants because … it’s what jeezus wants, no matter how it hurts us to do it. E.g., as an authority you must whip a misbehaving child until his back bleeds freely, then you must rub salt into the wounds, THEN you can revert to ‘individual’ and apply salve … and don’t forget to tell him/her “That hurt me more than it hurt you”. lol
Yes Kaitlin Collins stuck to her guns, was professional as always to a thing that has the professionalism of a toad. And that’s being kind. Her taking on as it seems the majority of journalists that are female have to put up with from this racist-misogynist pig way too often his idea of degradation would want to see this instead. Every reporter should have followed up with the same question. Also when he asks a reporter: Who are you with? The immediate response needs to be I'm with the American people. — Who are YOU with?
Not asking for journalists to fight our fights but damn man stand up for your co-workers, it’s just common decency.. If more stand up as a force not letting him get away with the ramblings of whatever that “weave” is, which basically is an incoherent jumble of words that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and call him out on all his lies. Sooner or later he’ll do the same to all the journalists and reporters as he did to the Ford autoworker who called him a “pedophile protector” because that’s who he is..
More of the WH reporters need to follow Caitlin’s lead and question him on the Epstein files ….she’s tough, but she’s not the only one! Remember Jim Acosta!
The Constitution’s first three words – “We the People” were written by a bunch of oligarchs. I think the chickens have finally come home to roost. With 33% of Americans approving of ICE actions the oligarchs are in firm control. The rest is a show.
And they had common values. They didn't need the constitution to govern. And what after all is democratic republic. Neither democracy nor true republic. Its an inherent contradiction. Better if they just called it a blob or a bunch of guys who weren't going to include racial minorities go 80 years or women for 130 years.
From telling a reporter “F-ck You” and flipping him/her with his middle finger, to criticizing Kaitlin Collins, this is typical immature, uneducated, and unintelligent demeanor. The more Mr. Trump attempts to interact with intelligent and informed reporters, the more the public sees his moronic behavior.
Our nation faces internal conflict beyond Mr. Trump, who was dumb enough to be trapped by Russia’s tactics, including flattery, sex, and money. This is part of Mr. Putin’s effort to weaken the U.S., motivated by his view that America dismantled the Soviet Union. He wants revenge.
Time will reveal the truth about Trump and his treasonous destruction of our government, but our nation – Congress and the public - move at a snail’s pace. Congress needs to enforce the Epstein Files Bill and send the Capitol Police to the DOJ and collect every single page. And the public needs to learn the truth about Mr. Trump and his abnormal sexual behavior. This man was convicted of sexually attacking a woman in a store's fitting room. This man was convicted of attempting to cover up his relationship with Stormy Daniels, an adult film star and prostitute through payments to his attorney. He was found guilty of 34 felony charges.
Mr. Trump is a stooge, instructed by Putin in his effort to demolish the United States. On January 6th, Trump sat in his private dining room at the White House and watched the violence and destruction of our Capitol FOR HOURS. He has repeated this predatory bloodlust and sanguinary obsession with the DHS and immigration issues. I would guess that most of the men employed by DHS also participated in January 6th.
It is important for the public to understand that the geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia persisted. While Gorbachev shook hands and signed agreements, so the world believed the official Cold War ended – IT DID NOT. I experienced this first-hand in Moscow during the 1990s and part of the 2000s. I observed these ongoing dynamics: the KGB take over of the government from Yeltsin; the transfer of all powers from the KGB to the FSB – so the western world thought that Russia was democratizing – resulting in the CIA reducing staff by 25%; the millions of dollars stolen from USAID and The World Bank (I worked as a consultant to both); and the massive expansion of Russian Organized Crime (ROC) now located in every single US state.
Putin’s plan was top-down destruction of the U.S. government by Mr. Trump, and bottom-up chaos and crime in American towns and cities. They create fires/arson, cyber-attacks, murder, bombings, drug distribution, sports gambling, etc. In October 2025, an ammunition plant in TN was blown up killing 19 employees. This plant manufactured weapons for Ukraine. In NC, a Judge’s home was burned down. This Judge refused to give DOJ their voter registration information. And in Michigan, a Mormon Church was burned killing three people. This church was among the largest organizations in the US donating goods and food to Ukraine. Do you really believe the LA fires were self-combustable? We - our countrymen and women - are way past the tipping point of understanding why, since 2015, our country is under attack from all directions.
To put the pieces of our democracy puzzle back together once Trump is gone, may take decades. His overwhelming devastation and havoc are extensive. I only hope the next generation of Americans will be as dedicated to our country as Steven Beschloss and other Substack messengers. Thank you for your daily efforts. Elziabeth
Think back to all the young people killed in Vietnam. For what? Americans really tortured by Americans. What a fraud by egomaniacal human being. And phony war on Iraq. And phony Iran contra trades. And now. Country built on hopes but lived by selfishness greed hate. What an ugly history. One nation under who knows what.
You take me back to the final scene of Saving Private Ryan:
“I lived a good life, didn’t I?”
The Declaration of Independence and Constitution were general documents written by and for elite men. They have since been mangled over the past 40 years by people who have narrow self interests. Even the sender from ct lied about serving in Vietnam. And hes a great senator. This is not the country the founders intended. This is oligarchia. This is royalty on steroids. England France Belgium Holland Switzerland and Scandinava far better countries. They implement the ideals of those who tried to create the US. Indeed a democratic Republic might be an oxymoron. Pick one. The two concepts dont seem to fit. Certainly us is not a true democracy.
donnie gets more loathsome and demented every bloody day. His vicious troll of Michelle and Barack Obama was just too much! He's gone way beyond castigating the former presidents - except for 43, who refuses to comment or stick up for democracy, GHWB would be SO proud of you, shrub! I just wonder how many more ugly 'cartoons', ugly digs, ugly remarks he makes to and about anyone - will it take before we take him down? He's a pedophile pervert, and that's being kind. He's just a 5 year old bully - yet here he sits atop his paper throne subjecting us ALL to his violence, crazed rants, and then he gets more ink, quotes in papers, on TV, than anyone else ever has. And, yes, Llamas is just another poor soul blinking as trump dominates. MSM is in bondage to this sick pedo. Happy to see writers on Substack speaking out, when it seems nobody else will.
And yes I'm as guilty as the PP. INSTEAD of ignoring him I repeat his loathsome rudeness and cruelty. Time to gag my worst instincts 🤪🫤
The half time show should be her just smiling and laughing.
Trump is in full attack mode against reporters and against fair elections. Thanks for this article.
Thank you, Mr. Beschloss.
Jehovah. Peace to come to the entire earth as in the days of Eden. Wickedness that all moral people hate is in Donald Trump and the Republican Party. When you sell weapons to contras you sell your soul to their wickedness. Giving others permission to destroy innocence people because of who they are. What does that sound like to you? Nazi's. They love Trump.
For years I have said, "He who controls the narrative controls the outcome." I doubt that is original to me. But that is essentially what Steven is saying. In this instance, the MEDIA is pushing the "Donald" narrative. Lacking spine and character, the MEDIA perpetuates the Donald narrative. The Donald threatens lawsuit if one says the wrong and hurtful thing (boo hoo). The Donald has been quite successful with his bullying threats. Lacking strength of character and conviction, large portions of the MEDIA have cowed, making the Donald once again a rich man.