Donald Trump and maga Republicans have no plan for the evil and illegal World War in Iran causing Middle East instability

Trump’s war on Iran is already a muddled mess | Echo Editorial published in the Philadelphia Inquirer:

Nearly two weeks into the war, Donald Trump’s chaos and confusion have remade the world into a more dangerous place.

Donald Trump has no plan for the World War with Iran and is surrounded by unserious people like Pete Hegseth, the clownish defense secretary.

On the same day Donald Trump said the war in Iran could end “very soon,” the Defense Department declared on social media, “We have Only Just Begun to Fight.” 😟😒

The mixed messaging was in keeping with the president’s circular reasoning for his war of whim. He has cycled through an ever-changing list of reasons for starting the war, including regime change, preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, stopping terrorist proxies, and wiping out its navy.

Out of the confusion this much is clear: Trump has no idea what he is doing, and his word is no good. Nearly two weeks into the war, Trump’s chaos and confusion have remade the world into a more dangerous place.

More unsettling perhaps, it appears Trump was misled into war by Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister who faces corruption charges at home and allegations of having committed war crimes abroad. Talk about a role model. 🙄😓

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. entered the war because Israel was prepared to act first. He tried to walk back the comments but the New York Times detailed a timeline of how Netanyahu manipulated Trump.

Netanyahu has already destroyed most of Gaza. Is that the plan for Iran❓


U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) hinted at a different endgame when he said once the Iran regime is toppled, “we’re gonna make a ton of money.” (His claim makes no sense. What is a "ton of money"❓ Meaningless, just a figure of speech expression.)

Send in Trump’s profiteers, son-in-law Jared Kushner and developer Steve Witkoff. Never have two unelected and unqualified men made more money for themselves while accomplishing so little.

If only some of the U.S. firepower used to bomb Iran went to stop Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine, then Trump may have had a legitimate claim to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Instead, when asked about Russia sharing intelligence to help Iran attack U.S. warships, aircraft, and other military interests, Trump called the question “stupid.”

Trump’s continued subservience to Putin is a stunning abdication of his duty to protect and defend the United States.

Likewise, the Republicans in Congress (like Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins) remain uninterested in fulfilling their constitutional duty to act as a check on the president after voting down a resolution to halt the war in Iran.

U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, the Democrat from Pennsylvania who frequently represents Mar-a-Lago, joined with the GOP in paving the way for more war. In the House, all the Republicans from Pennsylvania, including Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick from Bucks County, did the same.

No debate and just a blank check from Congress.

So, what exactly have Trump and his enablers gained by attacking Iran❓

Here’s a quick accounting:

• Oil prices surged and the stock market was whipsawed.
• The economic shock could stoke inflation and fuel the faltering job market.
• The war is costing taxpayers almost $1 billion a day.
• Seven U.S. service members died and about 140 have been injured, eight severely.
• More than 1,200 Iranians have been killed, including roughly 175 people, most of them children, at a school struck by a U.S. missile that Trump refuses to own up to.
• Thousands of Americans were left stranded in a war zone.
• Bombing Iran’s oil depots unleashed thick black smoke and a toxic rain that threatened the air quality and the food and water supply.

The inhumanity risks turning the Iranian people further against America, while making the U.S. a pariah state.

The only positive development was the removal of Ali Khamenei, Iran’s ruthless supreme leader.

However, Khamenei, 86, was replaced by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who is likely to continue Iran’s hard-line theocratic rule.

So, essentially Trump traded an aging ayatollah for a younger version who lost his father, wife, and a son in the attacks.

Don’t expect any olive branches from Tehran, which responded with missile and drone strikes in 10 countries across the Middle East.

The regime may be battered but it remains dangerous.

An unrestrained and vindictive Trump is also dangerous. He has no plan and is surrounded by unserious people like Pete Hegseth, the clownish defense secretary.

The White House social media account celebrated the war with a disgusting juvenile video that wove snippets of Hollywood movies and video games with real footage of the military strikes in Iran.

Goodbye to the greatest generation. The U.S. is now led by a confederacy of dunces.

Trump looked every bit the head fool as he sported a branded white baseball hat with USA emblazoned in gold that he sells for $55 on his merch website while attending the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base of the first six U.S. soldiers killed in the war.

While the war in Iran drags on, Trump is already talking about toppling Cuba.

Apparently, all the world’s a stage as the president wreaks global chaos and accomplishes little beyond sowing death, destruction, and suffering.

Donald Trump and maga Republicans want to control the 2026 elections because voters are finally fed up with chaos!

Echo essay published in the Los Angeles Times by Jackie Calmes:

I hope Maine's Senator Susan Collins 👀reads the Los Angeles Times.

If you wake each morning already angry at news of some latest outrage from Donald Trump, or some unhinged, malevolent message he posted online overnight and if you then go to bed already burdened by nightmares from the headlines of the day, there’s good news: You’re not alone.

Being social animals, humans find comfort in company. Except, in this case, for Republicans nationwide who will face voters in November. And that’s another thought that should be comforting: that those Trump-enabling Republicans are discomfited.

Those were my reflections this week as I read the Wall Street Journal’s report on a Texas Democrat’s 14-point victory on Saturday in a special state Senate election to represent a Fort Worth-area district that Trump won by 17 points in 2024. That’s a 31-point swing from red to blue. So sure, consider all the caveats about special elections being low-turnout affairs that aren’t exactly representative of the larger electorate that comes out in a general November election. But 31 points❓😃

What struck me even more, however, was independent voter Shanna Abbott’s explanation to the Journal for why she supported Democrat Taylor Rehmet in that race:

“Every day there’s something insane happening.”

See❓ You’re not alone in thinking that same thing. Misery loves company: an adage for our Trumpian times. And from solidarity comes action.

That’s what has Republicans quaking in this midterm election year. They’re especially unnerved because they also know that every day Trump will say something, do something or do nothing — say, to rein in the brutal, even murderous thugs masquerading as federal law enforcement agents on U.S. streets or to lower prices as he promised (instead of ultimately raising them with tariffs) — and keep alive the disgust that so many Americans share. It’s a growing majority, polls show.

For more than a decade this “flood[ing] the zone with s—,” as Trump high priest Stephen K. Bannon put it years ago, has been not just Trump’s innate proclivity but also a purposeful strategy to disorient and overwhelm the media as well as the public. 

Trump’s fire hose ❗was the weaponry of his superpower. No sooner did he say or do something that in past times would have undone another president — or at least provoked a consuming controversy — then Trump would spawn another rhubarb, and then another.

Discombobulated, Trump’s political foes as well as Americans generally just threw up their collective arms in surrender: It’s just Trump being Trump.

What’s more, at Trump’s debut on the national political stage, back when then-rival Jeb Bush presciently predicted during the 2016 campaign that Trump would be “a chaos president,” many Americans heard those words with welcoming ears and not as the warning that Bush intended.

Many voters wanted a chaos agent to shake up Washington, a disruptor to “drain the swamp” and to stick it to the elites. (Never mind that billionaire Trump was one of those elites, as he’s lately illustrating in spades with word of every self-enriching crypto deal and each new black redaction from the tranche of criminality known as the Epstein files that might be protecting him or his predatory pals from infamy.)

Yet, in his second term, with Trump unrestrained by the kind of normie advisors who checked him in his first term, and, in fact, encouraged in his worst authoritarian instincts by current aides (looking at you, Stephen Miller), the president has surpassed the limits of Americans’ appetites for his rhubarbs. They’re choking on his chaos, a revulsion that’s exacerbated when they see every day that Trump isn’t making their lives more affordable — he rejects the very word “affordability” as a Democratic “con job.” 

Instead, Trump is preoccupied with erecting gold and marble monuments to himself in Washington and partying at his sumptuous Mar-a-Lago with, yes, the elites IOW "The Jeffrey Epstein class".

Even some elites are hedging. A headline in the Washington Post: “Trump’s chaotic governing style is hurting the value of the U.S. dollar.” A weaker dollar, in turn, further raises ordinary Americans’ costs for imports including autos, electronics, clothes, food and more.

The year 2026, is only five weeks old and already Americans have stomached a lot.

They watched witness video of armed immigration agents shooting to death two citizens protesting in Minneapolis, only to hear Trump and his mooks slime and blame the victims. Americans saw 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and 2-year-old Chloe Renata Tipan Villacis taken by agents and sent 1,300 miles from Minneapolis to a detention center in Texas — just two among the thousands of children nabbed by immigration agents nationwide during Trump 2.0, independent studies and data show. (Reminder: Nearly a third of the estimated 4,600 children victimized by first-term Trump’s abhorrent family separation policy still had not been reunited with their families when he regained office.)

Local news carries horror stories in other cities coast-to-coast about the abuses of Trump’s mass deportation operations. Beyond U.S. borders, Trump took over a country, Venezuela, after the U.S. military abducted its leader without notice to Congress, then threatened to take Greenland from longtime ally Denmark, alienating Europe and threatening the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s continued existence.

And, Measles infections are back❗ On Sunday night, Trump announced he would close the Kennedy Center two years for reconstruction. (Just like his failed casino bankruptcies, he has closed yet another entertainment venue.)

Trump's administration’s cover-up of the Epstein files continues. And the Wall Street Journal reported a blockbuster on yet another Mideast deal benefiting the Trump family.

Americans raise their kids to be good losers, and tell them that elections are the foundation of democracy. Yet Trump continues to insist the 2020 election was stolen from him, last week had federal agents seize ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, to try to make his case, yet again, and twice this week said Republicans should nationalize voting in at least 15 states. (You can guess which ones, starting with California.)

Donald Trump is fearful, as he should be, about the midterm elections. Company’s coming. #VoteBlue

Bluesky: @jackiecalmes Threads: @jkcalmes
X: @jackiekcalmes

Donald Trump and the Department of Justice under the direction of Pam Bondi are obviously involved in an Epstein files cover up

Inquirer readers on the Epstein files

Donald Trump talks with Jeffrey Epstein at a Mar-a-Lago party in NBC footage from 1992.

Declassify the Epstein files. #EpsteinFilesCoverUp

Donald Trump “is in the Epstein files,” wrote Elon Musk in June. “That is the real reason they have not been made public.” 

When a person with inside knowledge makes a public claim that the president has a purely personal reason for suppressing certain portions of the files describing the criminal investigation into charges of child sex trafficking by Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell — both known associates of Trump — how does that matter evaporate from our consciousness in just a couple of days? This administration’s strategy is to create so much chaos and angst that we are too stunned and numb to focus on any specific claim. I call on the FBI and U.S. Justice Department to pursue Musk’s allegation. 

If these federal government agencies are unable or unwilling, I call on Congress to do its job now and investigate if this is an abuse of presidential power, as we had with Watergate. I have a right to know about the character and integrity of the people running the United States of America. We all do.

From Kathy Dwyer, Hollywood in Mongomery County, Pennsylvania

P.S. Calling on Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to find another "deep throat"....."follow the money".  💲

Evilism is not an inevitable outcome of the Trumpzi administration if Americans will wake up and respond!

Echo essay published in Substacks:  Open Letters by Mersault

Dear Regretful Trump Voters, This letter isn’t here to judge you. It’s not about sanctimoniously wagging a finger or berating your choices—whether you voted out of frustration, party loyalty, or the dubious conviction that you were choosing the lesser evil. It’s about confronting a moment of reckoning—a crossroads where we must face the catastrophic consequences of a gamble gone disastrously wrong.

For those who clung to the hope that Trump’s presidency might soften his extremism, or dismissed warnings as partisan hysteria, the past eight weeks have stripped away every illusion. If you thought it couldn’t possibly be worse than before the election—if you dared to hope for moderation or reason—those hopes have been obliterated. His actions since November haven’t just continued down the same perilous path; they’ve accelerated with a fervor that lays bare the authoritarian playbook in stark relief.

The evidence is overwhelming, stacking up faster than lawsuits at Mar-a-Lago. Every word, every policy, every unchecked outrage confirms the grim trajectory ahead. The stakes have never been higher, and the truth has never been clearer: the danger is not hypothetical; it’s here. Your response to this moment won’t just define your own moral compass—it will shape the future of our democracy.

Rhetoric Turned Darker: Since the election, Trump’s rhetoric has spiraled from divisive to downright apocalyptic, a dangerous escalation even beyond his pre-election excesses. His recent Truth Social posts exemplify this unraveling. The day after Christmas, in a message that should have celebrated unity, Trump instead unleashed a tirade—railing against political opponents, the justice system, and even President Biden. What could have been a moment of holiday cheer became another battle cry steeped in paranoia and vengeance.

In just weeks, Trump has gone further than ever before. He’s proposed using the military to suppress domestic dissent, a suggestion so chilling it reads like the rejected plot of a dystopian novel. He’s called for imprisoning journalists who dare to report the truth, sought to sue or jail political opponents, proposed extreme voting restrictions based on fabricated fraud claims, and emboldened violent extremists by casting their threats as justified outrage. These aren’t just inflammatory words—they’re calculated moves to undermine democracy.

For those who hoped his post-election presidency might bring moderation or reason, the evidence couldn’t be clearer: it’s worse. These actions aren’t isolated—they’re part of a deliberate strategy to destabilize democracy and consolidate power. Trump’s chaos is by design: sowing fear, attacking institutions, and presenting himself as the sole savior in a crisis of his own making. The consequences of this path are deliberate, dire, and demand a reckoning.

Pay-for-Play Corruption on Display:  The corruption we’re witnessing under Trump isn’t a deviation from his promises—it’s the realization of them. What was once hinted at in shadowy whispers has now become an unashamed spectacle. Since the election, the already glaring pay-for-play system has grown even more brazen, transforming governance into a grotesque auction where power and influence go to the highest bidder. Corporate leaders are now funneled into closed-door meetings, not to collaborate on policy, but to pledge financial fealty in exchange for favorable treatment. Under the guise of “support,” loyalty isn’t earned—it’s coerced.

Inauguration donations have become open displays of transactional politics, with pharmaceutical giants, tech firms, and Wall Street executives tripping over themselves to secure Trump’s favor. Charter Communications quadrupled its contribution to curry favor for regulatory rulings. Big Pharma pledged over $10 million to stall generic drug approvals, effectively holding affordable medication hostage to protect their profits. Even Uber’s CEO dropped a cool $1 million to the inauguration, seeking an edge in labor and regulatory battles. These aren’t outliers—they’re features of a system unapologetically transactional, corrosive, and profoundly undemocratic.

It’s worse now than ever before. During the campaign, such practices might have been dismissed as exaggerations. Now, they’re undeniable facts of Trump’s governance—a model where public trust is auctioned off to the highest bidder. For voters who believed Trump’s promises to "drain the swamp," the evidence couldn’t be more damning. Far from cleaning house, he’s thrown open the doors and handed over the keys to the vault.

This isn’t governance—it’s an auction block where democracy itself is up for grabs. If this is what we’re seeing before he’s even sworn in, the implications for the future are staggering. For those beginning to regret their choice, it’s not too late to reckon with what’s unfolding and to act before the system, designed for the few at the expense of the many, solidifies. As corruption becomes normalized under Trump, the next logical step in his playbook emerges: surrounding himself with a cabinet engineered not to govern, but to dismantle democratic institutions entirely.

Evilism in a villians cabinet

Cabinet of Cartoon Villains:  If you thought Trump’s pre-election rhetoric was troubling, his post-election appointments should set off sirens. What began as a campaign of divisive bluster has metastasized into a calculated assault on democratic norms, human rights, and public trust. Trump has surrounded himself with a motley crew of extremists, opportunists, and sycophants—each handpicked not for their qualifications, but for their unwavering loyalty to his authoritarian agenda.

This isn’t a team assembled to serve the American people—it’s a coalition designed to consolidate power, dismantle civil rights, and prioritize corporate and ideological interests over the public good. From climate change deniers to anti-science conspiracy theorists, corporate puppets to far-right ideologues, this cabinet isn’t about governance—it’s about demolition. For a detailed account of these appointees and their dangerous track records, see the addendum at the end of this letter. But for now, let it suffice to say: this group makes his first-term cabinet look restrained by comparison—a terrifying escalation that demands your attention and action.

Authoritarian Alignment and Global Isolation: Trump’s alignment with authoritarian regimes and disdain for NATO allies signal a troubling, and now even more blatant, shift in U.S. global standing. Just last week, he hailed China’s violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong as “strong and decisive,” a chilling endorsement of state-sponsored brutality. Earlier this month, he dismissed NATO partners as “freeloaders,” proposing a reduction in the U.S. military presence in Eastern Europe—a move that weakens global alliances and emboldens adversaries like Russia and China, who have already responded with increased aggression. Recent revelations of attempts to weaken sanctions on Russia further illuminate his administration's disturbing prioritization of authoritarian interests over democratic alliances.

Incredibly, he has gone further, using his post-election platform to float absurd ideas like reclaiming the Panama Canal and annexing Greenland. These proposals, as ludicrous as they sound, are presented as grand strategies rather than the diplomatic embarrassments they so clearly are—an unsettling reminder of how detached from reality his rhetoric has become. Just days ago, reports surfaced that Trump privately dismissed human rights abuses by allied nations as “internal matters,” signaling a retreat from moral leadership with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer against a window. This new posture isn’t merely embarrassing—it’s a gift to despots worldwide, undermining the fragile balance of global stability and diminishing America’s standing as a leader of free nations.

Conspiracy Theories and Public Trust Erosion:  Trump’s penchant for conspiracy theories continues to erode public trust and endanger lives. Recently, he dismissed climate change as a “hoax,” undermining urgent scientific consensus and jeopardizing environmental policy efforts. Two weeks ago, he slashed disaster preparedness funding, dismissing climate disasters as “liberal fantasies,” leaving vulnerable communities at greater risk. His baseless claims of a “deep state” within the FDA have further sown distrust in critical health institutions, igniting fresh waves of vaccine hesitancy that have already disrupted public health initiatives across several states.

Adding fuel to this crisis, Trump’s nomination of vaccine denier Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services has alarmed experts, who warn it could bolster anti-vaccine sentiments and compromise life-saving vaccination efforts. Meanwhile, his assertion that the Department of Education is “infiltrated by Marxists” has fueled widespread disinformation campaigns about school curricula, further polarizing the public and undermining trust in educational institutions.

Each baseless assertion chips away at the foundation of institutional trust, leaving the public more divided and susceptible to fear-mongering. The ripple effects are already evident: increased polarization, reduced civic engagement, and a nation teetering on the edge of chaos.

The Path Forward: Actions You Can Take:  You’ve seen the consequences of your vote, and now you face a pivotal moment. This is your chance for “TrumPenitence.” This isn’t about switching parties or wallowing in past mistakes—it’s about reclaiming the values that truly define us: honesty, fairness, and democracy. The question now is: What will you do next?

Speak Out: Summon your courage. Speak with friends, family, and your community about what you’ve learned. These conversations don’t just exchange ideas—they change minds and shift perceptions.

Get Involved Locally: Join civic organizations, community groups, or town halls committed to pushing for change. Grassroots action at the local level creates ripples that grow into waves.

Vote in Every Election: Local and state elections often have as much, if not more, impact than national ones. Use your vote to block harmful policies and elevate leaders who uphold democratic values.

Support Advocacy Groups: Contribute your time, money, or resources to organizations fighting for civil rights, environmental protections, and voter access. Advocacy organizations amplify individual efforts into powerful movements.

Educate Yourself and Others: Stay informed and share reliable, fact-based information about the administration’s actions. Silence is the ally of misinformation; knowledge is its antidote.

History Shows That Collective Action Can Turn the Tide

Think of the Civil Rights Movement, which dismantled systemic oppression through grassroots persistence. Recall Watergate, where public demand for accountability forced even the highest levels of power to reckon with the rule of law. Remember the early labor movements that won workers’ rights, the women’s suffrage campaign that shattered barriers to equality, and the American Revolution itself, where ordinary people refused to bow to tyranny. In every instance, democracy’s survival depended not on passive hope, but on bold, collective action.

The Power to Reclaim Our Country Lies in Your Hands:  This is not about redemption—it’s about responsibility. Apologies won’t rebuild what has been broken; only action can. Your TrumPenitence is not just about rejecting the past—it’s about choosing to build a future rooted in the principles that make democracy worth defending.

History is watching, and it will not be kind to those who stood by. The path forward begins with you. Rise to the occasion. Rise to defend democracy. Prove that taking responsibility is not only possible—it’s necessary. America’s future must be built on courage, not cowardice, and your actions will define it.

If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe (a paid subscription would be incredible!), restack, and tap the Buy Me a Coffee button ☕. Your support keeps me fueled to call out the corrupt and complicit.

Donald Trump selects his cast of loyalty bonded clowns for a cabinet focused on retribution priorities

Echo essay published in The New Yorker by David Remnick:

In the first few days after the reëlection of Donald Trump, one heard across the fruited plains and the canyons of the great cities a noisy welter of accusation, self-laceration, celebration, and rationalization.

 

There were also conspicuous assurances of normalcy that went like this: The sun went down in the evening and came up in the morning. Democracy did not end or even falter; the election was democracy, after all. The once and future President would surely dispense with his frenzied campaign threats and get down to the mundane task of governing. Making America great yet again required sobriety and competence, and Trump and his councillors would undoubtedly recognize that obligation.

For the titans of business, the new Administration promised untold prosperity: regulation would ease, tax rates decline. 

Elon Musk would make government just as civil, generous, and “efficient” as his social-media platform, X. Jeff Bezos, having ordered the editorial board of his newspaper to spike its endorsement of Kamala Harris, selflessly tweeted “big congratulations” to Trump, on his “extraordinary political comeback.” 

Wall Street executives and Sand Hill Road philosophers exulted that the “mergers-and-acquisitions climate” would now bring opportunities beyond imagining. (How these opportunities might benefit the working class they presumably would clarify at a later date.)

Meanwhile, the President-elect convened his loyalists at Mar-a-Lago, where they went about putting together a White House staff and a Cabinet. Historically, this is a deliberative process that can, even with the noblest intentions, go horribly wrong. In “The Best and the Brightest,” David Halberstam wrote about an American tradition of mandarins in Washington as an aristocracy come to power, convinced of its own disinterested quality, believing itself above both petty partisan interest and material greed. 

But, the suggestion also meant the holding and wielding of power was judged offensive by these same people, who preferred to view their role as service.

Halberstam’s larger subject was the aristocracy of Robert McNamara, Dean Rusk, McGeorge Bundy, and all the other exceptional men of the Ivy League and corporate boardrooms who helped guide the country into the (disasterous❗) Vietnam War.

At least as a matter of rhetoric, Trump is uninterested in conventional notions of expertise (which smacks of élitism). Nor is he focussed on assembling a council of constructive disagreement, a team of rivals (which smacks of disloyalty). 

As Trump's personnel choices rolled out in recent days, it became clear that they pointed wholly to his long-held priorities—and they are not the common good. The nominations of Matt Gaetz as Attorney General, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., as Secretary of Health and Human Services, Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, and Tulsi Gabbard as the director of National Intelligence are the residue of Trump’s resentments and his thirst for retribution.

In Gaetz, who faces allegations (which he denies) of illegal drug use and having sex with an underage girl, Trump sees himself, a man wrongly judged, he insists, as liable for sexual abuse. 

In Kennedy, an anti-vax conspiracy theorist, he sees a vindication of his own suspicion of science and his wildly erratic handling of the COVID crisis. In Hegseth, who defends war criminals and lambastes “woke” generals, he sees vengeance against the military establishmentarians who called him unfit. In Gabbard, who finds the good in foreign dictators, he sees someone who might shape the work of the intelligence agencies to help justify ending U.S. support for Ukraine. In other words, Trump’s nominations—in their reckless endorsement of the dangerously unqualified—look like the most flagrant act of vindictive trolling since the rise of the Internet. But it is a trolling beyond mischief. All these appointees are meant to bolster Trump’s effort to lay waste to the officials and the institutions that he has come to despise or regard as threats to his power or person. These appointees are not intended to be his advisers. They are his shock troops.

Or could it be that the President-elect is out to reduce the country to the status of a global laughingstock? Until this spate of appointments, observers had long remarked that Trump had no sense of humor. Al Franken, late of the U.S. Senate and “Saturday Night Live,” is among those who have said that they have never heard Trump laugh. Smirk, perhaps, at the misfortune of others, but not laugh in the joyful sense.

Back in the days when Trump swanned about Manhattan as a caricature rich guy and gonif construction magnate, he was part of a metropolitan jokescape, up there in lights with John Gotti and Leona Helmsley. Spy, the satirical magazine of its time, fact-checked his finances (inflated) and his books (preposterous). Trump was not amused. His lawyers sent frequent letters to the editors, threatening litigation. He found himself in a similar mood, many years later, when Barack Obama, who had suffered Trump’s constant insinuations about his place of birth, took the occasion of the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner to rib the political aspirations of the host of “The Celebrity Apprentice.” Trump left the ballroom in a funk, nurturing, perhaps, an ominous resolve.

Trump has always been obsessed with dramas of dominance and submission, strength and weakness, who is laughing at whom. This is his lens for human relations generally, and particularly when it comes to politics, foreign and domestic. As long ago as January, 2016, Niraj Chokshi, then an enterprising reporter for the Washington Post, calculated the many times that Trump had pointed out that someone—Russia, China, OPEC, “the Persians,” “the mullahs”—was “laughing at us.” More recently, in this, his third Presidential campaign, Trump told a crowd at Mar-a-Lago, “November 5th is going to go down as the single most important day in the history of our country.” He added, “Right now, we’re not respected. Right now, our country is known as a joke. It’s a joke.”

Now Trump’s critics and an increasing number of his supporters are taking stock of his most disgraceful appointments—these men and women of perfect jawlines, dubious reputations, and rotten ideas. They wonder if this is not the ultimate joke, with national endangerment as its punch line. Dean Acheson, who helped Harry Truman design NATO and rebuild Europe under the Marshall Plan, titled his memoir “Present at the Creation.” Which of Donald Trump’s new advisers will line up to write the sequel? 

Donald Trump needs an Evangelical reality test: Philander, racist, sexual abuser and Bible heretic

How can evangelicals like Mike Johnson tolerate Trump?
Echo opinion by LZ Granderson published in the Lost Angeles Times newspaper:

At the 2016, Republican National Convention, when I told Donald Trump’s “God whisperer” 😟Paula White that he referred to her as his pastor, she said she was his spiritual advisor — as if that were some sort of “get out of jail free” card for her.

And yet White worked hard in our conversation to convince me that the foul-mouthed person on the campaign trail was godly.
Then came her turn to speak at the convention. Most of the seats were empty when White took the stage, which says a lot about the interest attendees had in the words of Trump’s spiritual advisor.

It was as if their minds were already made up.

This was after Trump referred to a book of the Bible as “Two Corinthians” in a speech at Liberty University, the private Christian college where Jerry Falwell Jr. was president, before a sex scandal forced him to resign later that year. 

This was after Trump mocked a journalist’s disability. This was after he came down the escalator at Trump Tower and kicked off his campaign by bashing Mexico and Latinos before offering “and some, I assume, are good people.” Trump had shown what kind of person he was, and somehow still had evangelical Christians’ support.

But, he must have feared there would be some limit to their capacity for cognitive dissonance, because he did not want evangelical voters to find out about his 2006, affair with Stormy Daniels. 

In fact, Trump paid her money to stay quiet days before the election. I don’t know if that’s what White spiritually advised him to do, but she went on to serve Trump at the White House, so she must have made peace with the deceit.

The reason Trump is on trial in New York isn’t because of President Biden or Democrats. It’s because he wanted to deceive a crucial bloc of voters and in doing so is accused of falsely claiming the hush payment as legal services on business documents. And he is accused of falsifying documents in connection with other crimes.

In other words, it’s not a witch hunt. It’s repercussions.

Now, it appears, it’s House Speaker Mike Johnson’s turn to find some sort of balance between his personal faith and his professional interest. The joint news conference between Trump and Johnson at Mar-A-Lago, will most likely help Johnson keep his job — which was murky after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called his leadership into question — but it does nothing to erase the fact he’s aligned with a thrice-married adulterer who mocked Jimmy Carter the day after Rosalynn Carter, his wife of 77 years, entered hospice.

The image of Johnson standing at the lectern — as Trump stood behind him like a jack-o’-lantern the day after Halloween — was frightening. Unnerving. It was not a show of strength; it was another sign of how far some white evangelicals are willing to drag their faith through the mud just to be next to power.

Christians believe in a thing called grace, and Lord knows I’ve benefited from a lot of it in life. But, Trump doesn’t express remorse for his affair with Daniels or the hush money spent to trick his Christian supporters. He has been found liable for sexual abuse. He’s bragged about grabbing women by their private parts and kissing them without consent.

The fact that Trump could be forgiven is irrelevant if he hasn’t changed or stopped his abuses or given any indication of regret. What we have in Trump is not a story of redemption but a clear account of who he really is and always has been.

In February during a rally, he said this about his opponent Nikki Haley: “Where’s your husband? Oh, he’s away. He’s away. What happened to her husband? What happened to her husband? Where is he? He’s gone!”

It was no secret: Haley’s husband was deployed overseas with the South Carolina National Guard, something she discussed openly at campaign events. Trump knew “what happened to her husband.” But he just gambled that some in his audience didn’t know and that he could score cheap political points by smearing a service member.

You don’t have to act surprised. That’s the kind of person Trump has always been, regardless of whether he had a “God whisperer” on staff. This is the kind of person Johnson cozied up to  in a desperate grab at keeping his job. (Maine Writer IMO- Speaker Johnson was no guest at Mar-A-Lago.  Betcha' he paid his own way including getting an invoice for his meals. Wanna' bet?)

I’m not sure what the former president’s current spiritual advisor is whispering in his ear these days, but by now it’s clear he doesn’t need to listen to get reelected.

(P.S. Maine Writer- Hypocricy on steroids!)

Donald Trump is P.T. Barnum's "sucker born every minute" con man

Echo editorial published in the Seattle Times: P.T. Barnum, the great 19th century showman, circus owner and hoax promoter, is quoted as saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.”

David Horsey political cartoon

Trump sells Bibles; evangelicals sell their souls

Donald J. Trump, the great 21st century con man, political phenomenon and hoax promoter, would heartily agree. Trump has built a weirdly successful career in business, entertainment and politics based on his uncanny ability to convince legions of suckers to buy into his self-aggrandizing schemes, from Trump University, the Trump charity and the Big Lie, to his latest scam tricking thousands of poor chumps into chipping in to pay his millions of dollars in legal bills.

False and cynical "big lie" claims of voter fraud threaten our democracy as much as Trump himself. January 6 Committee.

And, now, Trump is selling Bibles. These aren’t just any Bibles, these are “God Bless the USA” Bibles featuring some of the lyrics from country singer Lee Greenwood’s patriotic song of that name — a textual addition that King James might find curious were he still around to promote his own translation of the holy book. 

Of course, the king is long dead, which made it easy for Trump to expropriate the old monarch’s version of the scriptures for his own money-making scheme.

Trump solemnly stipulates that money raised from Bible sales will not be used for his presidential campaign. What he makes less clear is the fact that he is getting paid for every book sold by the publisher — a publishing operation that he happens to own.

But dare we doubt that Trump is sincere in his mission to spread the gospel?

“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Trump assured his potential customers in the video promoting Bible sales on Truth Social. “I’m proud to endorse and encourage you to get this Bible📖.  We must make America pray again.”  Yeah❓ Pray  — and pay💲 again, that is.

Forgive me for being a skeptic, but I would bet $59.99 (the price of Trump’s Bibles) that he does not have “many” Bibles in his home and I am pretty darn sure it is not his favorite book. That would have to be his own ghost-written book, “The Art of the Deal.”

Trump is clearly not a religious man. He has spent his life enthusiastically engaging in each of the Seven Deadly Sins. Nevertheless, evangelical Christians are his most ardent supporters and are likely to be his best customers for the new Bible. Trump exploiting the Word of God for his own financial gain may be a form of desecration, if not blasphemy, but, sadly, some conservative Christians will not be bothered. They have already sold their political souls to the huckster from Mar-a-Lago.

The former guy Donald Trump is indicted because he concealed government documents and obstructed justice

Former Attorney General, who was hired by Donald Trump, Bill Barr writes, The Truth About the Trump Indictment. 

An echo opinion published in The Free Press: Free Press for Free People, by Bill Barr:

"This time the president is not a victim of a witch hunt. The situation is entirely of his own making."

Read the full text with the Trump indictment here.

He’s the victim. ❓

Since President Trump was indicted in Florida last week, those of us who read and listen to conservative media have heard that singular message. The longer version goes like this: he’s the victim of a political witch hunt being carried out by the deep state during a presidential campaign in order to take out the Republican front-runner.

If anyone is sympathetic to this kind of logic, it’s me.

Having served in the Trump administration as the attorney general, I witnessed firsthand the often venomous treatment he, and those in his administration, often received.

It is also true, as I know well, that Trump is a deeply flawed, incorrigible man who frequently brings calamity on himself and the country through his dishonesty and self-destructive recklessness. Even his supporters, who can’t help but acknowledge that he is own worst enemy, know it.

For the sake of the country, our party, and a basic respect for the truth, it is time that Republicans come to grips with the hard truths about President Trump’s conduct and its implications. 

Chief among them: Trump’s indictment is not the result of unfair government persecution. This is a situation entirely of his own making. The effort to present Trump as a victim in the Mar-a-Lago document affair is cynical political propaganda.

In the federal indictment against former President Donald Trump, unsealed on Friday, June 9, 2023, the former guy, Trump faces 37 counts related to sensitive documents recovered at his Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida after he left the White House.

Here are the plain facts.

1. The Documents

On leaving office, Trump illegally removed from the White House hundreds of some of the most sensitive national defense documents that the country possesses. These include information on the defense capabilities of the U.S. and foreign countries; our country’s nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the U.S. and our allies; and plans for potential retaliation against foreign attack. His handling of these documents in bathrooms and ballrooms at Mar-a-Lago was lawless and exposed the country to intolerable risk. The government had every right—indeed, it had no choice—but to retrieve this material.

The U.S. National Archives and the DOJ acted with restraint in trying to do so, giving Trump every opportunity to resolve the matter discreetly for more than a year. But, Trump stonewalled. He ignored his advisers’ repeated warnings that he was playing with fire. The indictment describes in detail how Trump flouted and deceitfully obstructed a grand jury subpoena for the documents by lying to his lawyer and playing a shell game to hide many of the documents. If true, that conduct was a flagrant crime that cannot be excused.

Why would Trump risk the safety of the American people by hanging on to these documents in the face of the government’s lawful demands for their return? As trophies? Because he thought it was a fun party trick? Because he thought it would be cool to show off to houseguests? Or simply because he thought he could get away with it? Knowing him, it was an act of self-assertion merely to gratify his ego.

Some have tried to frame this affair as a simple custody dispute over documents. Trump’s apologists have conjured up bizarre arguments that the Presidential Records Act, a statute meant to prohibit former presidents from removing official documents from the White House, should be interpreted as giving Trump carte blanche to remove whatever he wants, even if it is unquestionably an official document.

These justifications are not only farcical, they are beside the point. They ignore the central reason the former president was indicted: his calculated and deceitful obstruction of a grand jury subpoena.

That Trump had no right to remove national defense documents from the White House is beyond debate. These documents are the very quintessence of the materials that the law expressly forbids an outgoing president from taking with him. 

Under the Presidential Records Act, when there is a change in administrations, official documents related to the conduct of government business must remain under ownership, custody, and control of the government. The only documents a departing president is allowed to take with him are “purely private” documents unrelated to official duties, such as “diaries, journals, or other personal notes. . . which are not prepared or utilized for, or circulated or communicated in the course of, transacting Government business.”

Obviously, the documents at issue here were generated and used by defense, intelligence, and other national security officials, and they were provided to the president to carry out the business of the government. There is simply no universe in which these could be deemed “purely private” papers like a diary.

That’s why Trump’s apologists don’t even attempt to contend that the documents are private. Instead, they advance a ludicrous argument—perhaps even crazier than their argument that Vice President Pence could unilaterally decide the election on January 6—that an outgoing president has absolute “discretion” to label any document “private,” even if the document indisputably falls outside the statutory definition of “private.”

In other words, they are not merely saying a president has some discretion to determine whether something gray should be treated as black or white. They are saying he has total discretion to label something indisputably black as white—which, if true, would obviously eviscerate the entire Presidential Records Act. (This indefensible position is ably dismantled by Andrew McCarthy in a series of recent National Review pieces.)

2. Trump’s Obstruction

All the razzle-dazzle about Trump’s supposed rights under the Presidential Records Act is a sideshow. At its core, this is an obstruction case. Trump would not have been indicted just for taking the documents in the first place. Nor would he have been indicted even if he delayed returning them for a period while arguing about it.

What got Trump criminally charged was his deceit and obstruction in responding to the grand jury subpoena served in May 2022 after he had stymied the government for a year.

That subpoena sought all documents in Trump’s possession that were marked as classified. If Trump truly thought he had a solid basis for keeping those documents, there were easy and obvious ways he could have lawfully raised those arguments at the time. Among other things, he could have taken legal action to quash the subpoena or have a court declare his right to keep them.

He did not do any of that.

Instead, the indictment alleges, he led the government to believe he was complying with the subpoena, telling the DOJ he was an “open book.” At the same time, he told his own lawyer it would be “better” to tell the DOJ there were no such documents and suggested his lawyer pluck out any “really bad” ones before giving anything to the government. Why would Trump say these things to his lawyer if he really thought he had a good legal basis for keeping all the documents?

But the pivotal fact—and what ultimately led the DOJ to charge Trump—was the department’s conclusion that Trump personally engaged in an outrageous course of deception to obstruct the grand jury’s inquiry. The indictment alleges in great detail that (1) Trump led his lawyer to believe that he would be allowed to conduct a complete search of all the boxes that could contain the relevant documents; (2) Trump then arranged, without the lawyer’s knowledge, for a large number of the relevant boxes to be removed from the room to be searched, thus preventing a complete search; and (3) Trump then caused his attorney to file a false statement with the court saying he conducted a complete search.

If true—and many key facts come from Trump’s own lawyer—this was brazen criminal conduct that cannot be justified in any way.

3.  The “Double Standard” Argument

Sensible Republicans don’t even try to defend Trump’s behavior. Instead, they point to the flagrant “double standard,” arguing that it’s unfair to charge Trump when Hillary Clinton got away scot-free during the Obama administration for comparable behavior.

I believe there is a double standard. And I have spoken out repeatedly about it when I was attorney general and since.

I think the DOJ sometimes pursues alleged wrongdoing by Republicans with far more gusto than it does when the allegations implicate Democrats. I also agree the differential treatment of Hillary Clinton is a good example of this. During the Obama administration, the DOJ conducted a grossly inadequate investigation of Clinton’s use of a private email server and the intentional destruction of that server before the department had a sufficient chance to review it. This deficient investigation, coupled with sweeping grants of immunity to the key people involved, made it impossible later to impose appropriate accountability on those responsible.

But, while the double standard is real, responding to Trump’s indictment by repetitively invoking this grievance is essentially a dodge. It sidesteps the real questions raised by Trump’s behavior.

The question is this: should Trump have been given a pass by the DOJ just because Hillary may have been? Some of my Republican friends think the answer is yes. I am unconvinced. It is not clear to me that giving Trump a pass would be the best way of restoring the rule of law and putting the double standard behind us.

This is not a case where the government has stretched the law or manufactured an offense, and is carrying out a hit job on someone who has really done nothing wrong. Rather, the argument advanced by Trump’s defenders is that, even though Trump’s conduct was indefensible and likely a serious crime, Hillary did the same thing. And it’s unfair that Hillary got away with it.

But if Trump engaged in the kind of brazen criminal conduct alleged, then applying the law in his case is not unfair to him. The injustice lies in not having applied it seven years ago to Hillary. You don’t rectify that omission by giving future violators a free pass. You rectify it by applying the right standard to the case at hand, and insisting it is applied to comparable cases going forward. Here, that means ensuring the same standard is applied in the pending investigations of Hunter Biden and President Biden’s handling of classified documents.

In short, giving a pass to Trump might cause more harm to the rule of law than honestly applying the law to him. The rule of law won’t be restored by further degrading the rule of law. As Andrew McCarthy pithily observed: “The fix for a two-tiered justice system is not equal injustice under the law.” An Untenable Position

Even if you buy the double standard argument, at most it justifies not holding Trump accountable criminally. It does not mean that his conduct was any less outrageous. And here is where I think too many Republicans are falling down.

It is one thing to argue that Trump should not face criminal liability. Fine. But the next obvious question is whether, given his conduct, the GOP should continue to promote him for the highest office in the land❓  (Exactly ❗)

Many Republicans are avoiding this question and thus implicitly endorsing Trump for the presidency, despite his egregious conduct. This posture is untenable.

Many loyal Republicans have instinctively rushed to the ramparts to defend Trump. I understand that impulse. But with each new revelation, they look more and more foolish. Remember when news first broke of the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago? The roars of Trump supporters were deafening. “Why didn’t the government simply ask for the documents back?” Well, as it turns out, they did ask, politely, for about a year, and they were jerked around. Trump’s supporters then shifted tack. “Well, why didn’t they use a subpoena first before conducting a search?” Well, as it turns out, they did issue a subpoena, quietly and discreetly, three months before the search, and the search was done only after the government got surveillance video suggesting that, in responding to the subpoena, documents had been illegally withheld. And on and on and on.

Whenever defending Trump is concerned, it is always prudent not to get too far out on a limb until the facts are known. It would be wise to consider that the DOJ has held back a lot of information, and it will be coming out in the weeks ahead. But what we already know about Trump’s behavior is indefensible.

William Barr served as the 77th and 85th United States attorney general in the administrations of presidents George H. W. Bush and Donald Trump. His book is One Damn Thing After Another: Memoirs of an Attorney General.

Donald Trump illegally hid secret documents and created a threat to national security

 Gary Ross

Donald Trump appeared in a Miami, Florida, federal court, where he pleaded not guilty to 37 felony charges.  Trump is charged with mishandling of classified documents, obstructing justice and making false statements.

An essay echo published in The Conversation by Gary Ross, Associate Provessor with Texas A&M:

Donald Trump’s arraignment in federal court was obviously a historic moment for this country. 

Twice impeached and twice indicted, he is the only former American president federally charged with crimes.

How the exposure of highly classified documents could harm US security – and why there are laws against storing them insecurely.

As you’ve no doubt learned by now, he is accused of taking, and then storing in various unsecure locations in Mar-a-Lago, his resort in Palm Beach, Florida, documents belonging to the National Archives. The Justice Department says Trump repeatedly refused to hand them over when federal archivists requested he do so.

Whether he was just careless, wanted the documents as trophies or had more nefarious motives is unclear. Whatever his motivations, though, storing those documents in the way the government alleges he did is serious.

Gary Ross, a scholar of U.S. intelligence at Texas A&M University, helps us understand why.

“Historically, foreign spies have attempted to enter highly secure U.S. government buildings to obtain classified information,” he writes. “If (they) knew Trump stored classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, they may have attempted to enter the property. 

In fact, in 2019, a Chinese business consultant entered the resort and initially got past Secret Service agents.”

That woman, who was carrying multiple electronic devices, ultimately was stopped in the main reception area, Ross notes.

I wonder how many other business consultants got through in the many months the documents were still on the property. Don’t you?😁

Trump was hiding secret documents in boxes stored in his bathroom and other places at his Mar-A-Lago home.

When Donald Trump pled not guilty on June 13, 2023, to federal criminal charges related to his alleged illegal retention of classified documents, it was his first opportunity to formally answer charges that he violated the Espionage Act.

The Justice Department alleges that, after his presidency, Trump held, in an unsecure location, documents about some of the nation’s most sensitive secrets, including information about U.S. nuclear programs as well as U.S. and allies’ defense and weapons capabilities and potential vulnerabilities to military attack and that he repeatedly thwarted efforts by the National Archives to retrieve them.

The Conversation asked Gary Ross, a scholar of Intelligence studies, who has investigated cases involving the mishandling and unauthorized disclosure of classified information for multiple U.S. government agencies, to define some of the categories of risk detailed in the indictment and explain how the U.S. and allies may have been harmed.

What’s the risk to US national security?

U.S. national security includes the country’s ability to defend itself, collect and analyze sensitive information about other nations’ capabilities and intentions, and maintain relationships with allies. National security can be compromised in a variety of ways.

Americans are familiar with espionage, or spying. It’s when a government recruits an official or resident of another country – just as the Soviet Union recruited Robert Hanssen, a senior FBI special agent, in 1979 - to provide classified U.S. intelligence.

But the Espionage Act is much broader than traditional spying and includes the unauthorized possession, storage or disclosure of classified information.

According to the federal indictment, Trump stored boxes containing various levels of classified material in different parts of The Mar-a-Lago Club, his Palm Beach, Florida, resort. Boxes were kept on a ballroom stage, in his bedroom and in a bathroom and shower between Jan. 20, 2020, when he left the White House, and Aug. 8, 2021, when the FBI recovered 102 classified documents.

Trump had returned some classified material on Jan. 17, 2021, and June 3, 2021.

After the 9/11 terrorist attack, a report by the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction documented two instances in which allied intelligence agencies refused to share sensitive information with the U.S. due to concerns that the U.S. would not protect the information.
What are the risks to soldiers and citizens?

In addition to information about U.S. nuclear programs, the U.S. and allies’ defense, and weapons capabilities and potential military vulnerabilities, the indictment alleges Trump also unlawfully retained classified information about U.S. military retaliation plans in response to a foreign attack.

In enemy hands, this intelligence, if still valid, could significantly increase their ability to develop effective countermeasures or to alter their military tactics. At best, this could prolong a conflict, and, at worst, could allow an adversary to defeat U.S. forces, which could jeopardize citizens’ lives.

In each scenario, the lives of U.S. service members could be placed at increased risk.

Additionally, an enemy able to identify a U.S. vulnerability, particularly a self-identified vulnerability, can also try to exploit that weakness to their advantage, just as the United States did during World War II.

Prior to the 1942 Battle of Midway, U.S. intelligence intercepted and decrypted communications detailing Japan’s military strategy for the upcoming battle.

U.S. forces took advantage of the information, won the decisive conflict and turned the tide of the war.

Ironically, the U.S. was unsuccessful in safeguarding the fact that it had intercepted and decrypted Japanese communications. A Naval officer allowed a Chicago Tribune journalist unauthorized access ❗to classified U.S. communications.

Subsequently the journalist wrote an article revealing the U.S. penetration.

This was one of the few instances in which the U.S. government considered, but ultimately rejected, prosecuting a media outlet for disclosing national defense information.