You named the mechanism most commentators miss, and named it exactly, the asymmetry is the whole game.
You locate Trump’s power in his willingness to break norms. The first-mover advantage only pays out if the community declines to punish, the thief’s edge vanishes the moment doors get locked. But, the variable isn’t Trump’s amorality; it’s everyone else’s calculation that retaliation costs more than appeasement. The NATO leaders weren’t afraid of an unconstrained man. They ran the numbers and decided flattery was cheaper than confrontation. His power is granted, transaction by transaction, by counterparties who’d rather pay the toll than build the fence.
That relocation changes the prescription. Condemnation is worthless against someone who recognizes no “we”, you can’t Shame someone that is amoral and strongly proud of it!
The only thing that reprices defection is making defection lose. And it’s why “the stupidest president” is a comforting error: his conduct isn’t a character flaw, it’s the rational output of a structure that rewards the first defector and never charges him. Remove him tomorrow and the payoff still sits there, waiting for the next one through the unlocked door. The problem was never the thief. It was the town that decided locks were rude.
I think to take down Trump we need to start at the bottom - or father down and begin with Miller. SURELY there is something somewhere we can use to get rid of this scum.
I agree with the "starting at the bottom" part. We need to continually shame those who still support this amoral regime. I assume that a lot of them aren't psychopaths themselves but are in denial about what the regime is actually up to. It won't be easy--it is often our family members or old friends who are involved--but they need to understand that even tacit approval of the regime's actions is no longer socially acceptable whatsoever.
I relate to this myself as I have found family members and friends who are slavishly devoted to the madman. It is very frustrating. No matter what I show them about how absurd are his antics, they then spout his lies, saying opposition is just based on Trump hatred.
Trump is leading a white supremacist, Christian nationalist crusade against an artificially created enemy. It is a plutocratic jihad against we the people. They are using the same strategy the CIA used in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion.
Scarily, a lot of those devotees would read the Prof's post and say, Right, that's why I voted for him, because Fox News showed me cooperation and community are tricks to keep righteous people down. So Vance will have to imitate Trump even after he's gone.
RD,how about starting with the financial markets who all support the "Nazi" 100%.CNBC who supports him 100% and also supports what AI is going to do to the job market. They cannot wait until 25 million people have lost their job due to AI. They become the worst scum in their support for Trump,Bessert,Miller and the entire entourage of bad actors.
Dianne, I would love it if Miller could be charged with giving orders that are illegal, like setting ICE on immigrants of color even those working on their green cards, asylum, and other legal documents. I bet some good investigators could find something legitimate to get him on, or at least get him out of DC and away from anything he can harm. He is a racist pig and this is an insult to pigs, but he is greedy andtotally self-absorbed, scared of everyone who is not him (possibly hateful of his Jewish heritage). Let's get him gone!!
It does not seem like Miller will get out of this time period without adding an orange jumpsuit to his wardrobe for a while. But, hey, I thought Rittenhouse would get some time as well.
There is some evidence that some traditional allies of the US are using flattery and appeasement to buy time to move away from US hegemony in global affairs. Trump's attempt to play world leaders off against each other have largely hit the buffers with the fall first of Bolsonaro and then Orban. His recent and continuing spat with Giorgia Meloni shows that even the european right is losing patience with him. Germany's Merz and France's Macron have both warned that Europe can no longer rely on the US as a reliable military partner and should act accordingly. In the UK, Starmer has withheld intelligence from the Americans over their use of unlawful force in the Caribbean. No other NATO or european country has provided assistance to the US in conducting attacks on Iran.
I'm in utter despair over the UKs pusillanimius behaviour towards the USA.
Born out of the desperate desperate horror of the second world war
We finished paying our war debt to you, ( yes, every penny,, you extracted - so let's stop the sentimental bilge?)
So, I for one are heartily sick and tired of accommodating Trump, and they continue to do it.
Yes, I know all about the US military might.
And ya know what? I'm Just fu**i sick of it.
Im Just tired of the peacock strutting of Hesgeth, tired of the utterly disgusting judicial murders you engage in while bleating about States rights, which are fine as long as it applies to sadistic murder.
Frankly, I am beyond now writing something amelirative in this piece, because,, as ever, you look at at, take juvenile offence at what I've said. And ignore it..
Now, for the wasted months I have posted on Substack,, particularly about "the MURDERS OF POOR RENEE GOOD AND ALEX PRETTIE"
I will say this.
You people will NOT FIND REDEMPTION IN THE MID TERMS ok?
You might find another 78 million people put their tick, or cross against trump.
So then what are you going to do?
Well?
There's just the endless bleating about your not fit for purpose "constitution" and going on stupid pointless "no kings" demonstrations.
Fun fact! Our King, Charles III,, yes great gtest great grandson of YOU KNOW WHO!
Has absolutely F***ck all power. He does EXACTLY what the Prime Minister,, with the authority of Parliament., tells him to do...
Yet YOU constantly wailing about your "declaration of independence" and the quasi religious sanctity of your precious constitution.... Have that blow hard, charlatan, popinjay, and mountebank running your country!
There is another factor to Trump’s amorality in play here that really enables him (as it does monarchs and dictators). Mainly that he attracts others who are immoral / amoral and who also see benefits for themselves in appeasing or supporting the authoritarian. None of these lunatics can wield power on their own.
Wait a minute! Let's not forget who is equally to blame - those who could have/should have removed this "diseased pig" from office but didn't. Instead, they encouraged and enabled him to turn the USA into a festering global wound. Your former allies are now scrambling to protect themselves from this abhorrent American "infection" that is trump and his minions.
Republican politicians, state and congress, have steadfastly embraced and enabled the madness, turning a blind eye to the massive grift, the flouting of the law, the lies, wars and the damaging economic buffoonery we are all now subjected to. They are just as bad as your POTUS (or worse). Top offending thugs? McConnell, Thune and Johnson. HOW do they live with themselves???
I don't know for sure, of course, but the Retrumplicans seem to operate on the same amoral attitude that if it's good for THEM, then it's good, and if it's bad for THEM, then it's bad. Their gauge might be white, male, supremacy...if whatever Trump says or does amplifies the power of white males, then it's "good," and anything that detracts from the hegemony of white males is "bad."
You are absolutely right about the white, male supremacy factor. However, this simplistic focus, along with greed, has turned the country into an abject, impotent "ideocracy" - a fascist hellscape with no apparent capacity to see the BIG picture.
Trump's pal Putin has got nukes. Will he use them against Ukraine now that he's struggling? Is Congress or anyone in trump's orbit capable of dealing with a nuclear threat? No. How about the greedy dweebs negotiating with Iran - an ongoing joke and embarrassment. This administration's rank stupidity and incompetence is now a serious global problem. And yet...they (cabinet and congress) still run cover for trump.
I agree with all of the above Judith. And I come back to the fact that most of the Retrumplicans don’t know what they’re looking at and I venture to say even maybe half of the Democrats in Congress also don’t understand the psychopathologies that are shaping the minds of Trump, Putin and Netanyahu. I’m not trying to paint an apocalyptic scenario, but these men are still being called Mr. President, etc. and not enough action is being taken to bring them down and out of power.
Quite some time ago the Republican Party ethos evolved into one mantra politics is a zero sum game. Throw compromises out the window. Their constituency be dammed. Coupled with a poorly educated citizenry that is unable to recognize what Robert is describing. Lots of work ahead of us.
Neil,great post. I have been saying for the past 10 yrs that those who support Trump are like him. Cheat on their wives,cheat in business,rascist,sexist,no empathy,no sympathy,no humanity. It is a shame such a large portion of the population has decided to support a " Nazi".What will turn it around?
NATO allies seem to have come to the conclusion that NATO without USA is stronger than NATO with USA. I wonder how long it will last until the people of the USA will install new locks — the old fancy ones seem useless.
That’s because it’s an unnecessary war, Trump didn’t consult with them. He didn’t even consult Congress. Then he wants their help? Nothing good has come from this Iran mess and Trump can’t handle it! He’s bored.
He and his gang of idiots in the Cabinet, especially Hegseth had no idea what they were dealing with. They still don’t have a clue!
Small problem in the text of Bob: is Trump powerfull or does he gain power by his erratic behaviour? I think he does not.
Mark Rutte flatters him, because he must gain time and guard the power of Nato. Iran does not take him serious and keeps a low level war going, with ridicule as weapon.
Europe does its best to use the "Trump trillions" in defensive credibility.
The world is waiting for the removal of this president. That is not a position of power.
Agree, the 'rest of the world' is playing a waiting game. Survival until he is gone...hoping there's something better in the future. Meanwhile, we in the USA sit on our hands, twiddle our thumbs, put on blinders and hum to ourselves. It is 'as if' the world is paralyzed with inaction, and the maniac continues unabated.
And here we go again with Trump offering help to Ukraine with the Patriot Missles. Is that all the typical lying transactional behavior to improve the recent 80% of Americans hatred of Trump? It has been said the US help to Ukraine will not happen for a year. Plenty of time as Trump sees it to reverse the 80% American hatred of Trump.
And then he will back out of the help for Ukraine as soon as his ratings go up. You know this guy, I know this guy, we all know this guy.
Dean,80% of deep,deep hatred of the " Nazi" and yet he still survives. The financial markets have helped,Nvidia and Jensen Huang(perhaps the most dangerous man in America with his AI and Robot agenda. CNBC,supporters of every Trumpit,Bessert,Miller,Lutnick and others.
Yes, we hope they are savvier than the average American. Look at how President Zelenskyy appears to be converting the Putin-puppet into concessions. (At what price, we must ask. The Nobel Peace Prize, maybe?)
but it doesn't happen-his power lies in him making the first move-keeping us off balance and on the defensive-judy Sherwood has it right-'paralyzed with inaction',waiting for godot
Trump is a wrecker. Yet he has the support of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress. It will end badly for America, because a strategy based on fear cannot lead to anything constructive..
This is an excellent analysis. The only thing I would add is that Trump didn't figure this out all by himself. He was schooled in it by Roy Cohn- himself a successful practitioner of amoral bullying. It's an acquired trait rather than an innate trait.
Banality of evil every time. I'm leary of applying psychological labels because they can be used to excuse behavior. He's a bad man, and as for his connection with his mentor Roy Cohn, like finds like.
Richard,agree that Cohn was the catalyst for his psychopathic behavior but his support over the past 2 yrs has come for all the wealth,legal advice he gets from big tech to include Apple,Amazon, Google,Nvidia. They all back him 100% in everything he does. ASs you may know,none of the those cos like Peter Thiel believe in democracy,they believe in TechNO State.
Honesty is not a "norm". And flattery cheaper than confrontation? That to me is complete surrender and laziness. How can truth not be worth putting out a bit of extra energy for? Truth will sustain us. Lies and cheating will destroy us.
Joanne - Flattery does not necessarily mean acquiescence. Trump-fluffing diplomats have a purpose in mind: keeping Trump feeling good about himself but not actually conceding vital issues. NATO is a good example. Rutte tongue-washing Trump with obsequious praise buys time at the cost of his self-respect, perhaps, but keeps the SOB in the alliance.
Members of the Liberal Order has to do whatever it takes to keep the man-baby distracted and minimize harm.
The goal is to outlast him. The endgame is then to rebuild what Trump has destroyed: a global order that supports and protects Liberal values -- respect for international law and international institutions, advancing science and the general welfare and dignity of all people.
It will always and everywhere be a challenge requiring persistence, hard work, and often sacrifice.
The alternative is a return to Trump-style transactional relationships -- the strong bullying the weak, with no concern for decency, dignity or care for the opinions of others.
I get that we have to "play" him. And he is so ridiculously stupid he falls for every faun over his "amazingness". It is disgusting that it must be done. It is so repulsive.
Agree wholeheartedly that honesty and truth are first principles and and share your anger but see the superficial and cosmetic coddling as a purely pragmatic approach. European leaders seem to have figured out their bread isn't buttered in the same way it has been for the last 70 years or so and are managing the demented toddler so as to give themselves the best chance at recalibrating strategy without inducing catastrophe.
This is why one of the first points I made in UTW was that Trump isn't special! Anyone can decide to break the rules, it's just that most people aren't stupid enough to, because they know there are consequences.
Of course, if we allow Trump to finish out his term without forcefully repudiating him and removing him from office, we'll be the ones stupid enough to suffer consequences we weren't required to.
I've lived in places where I didn't have to lock my door or take the key out of my car's ignition. I didn't think locking those two things would be rude: not having to lock them was freedom.
I agree with the asymmetry dynamic 'only' as to his (it's) personal qualifications as a desirable "tool" of the coalition that supports him financially; Money is the power behind the curtain / tool. Taking apart that coalition is the key to robbing the maga mouthpiece / tool of it's power. I think Bob and those that agree with this simplistic knee-jerk that insists on focusing on the face, name constantly on the news, is the most grave mistake of all. *In summation, to focus only there – the ‘face’ is a failure to see the ‘trees’ – forest, for the sequoia.:*
Rob Cohan would be so proud of his pupil. Trump is a snail who collects the bag of amoral personalities the likes of which modern history has never seen. And the birthrate of progressives are coming for his contrail.
Thank you, Johan. You spoke my thoughts precisely. Trump is not the first sociopathic, amoral dictator in history. He gets away with his behavior because no one stops him. Not MAGA, not Congress, not SCOTUS, not NATO. He could not be effective or continue without being enabled by zero consequences.
I'd say Trump's power comes from the spineless people he intentionally surrounds himself with. And there are many spineless people who will prostitute themselves to tell a Trump persona everything he wants to hear so they can keep their jobs. They inherently know the truths about Democracy and they all know their boss is crazy. But they have been given a chance to work under a President of the United States and to those prostitutes their pimp is everything.
Trump's fading era has proven that in the U.S., everything is available for money — from the lives of teenage girls to supreme court judges to presidents. This is not his achievement, but he provided the proof. It's time to buy new locks, set new standards and put new safeguards in place.
We can't go back to the pre-Trump U.S. by applying Band-Aids to stop the hemorrhaging any more than we can keep trying to fix our patchwork blanket of a healthcare system by applying more patches.
As a society, we need to share a moral code, work together for a common cause - at least agree to the Golden Rule, being conscious of each other. Trump has no aesthetic, or empathy. Who knew that The Power Of Positive Thinking could be such a source of evil.
Single-payer health care is not a panacea for every ill. Any health care system runs on one thing -- MONEY -- and right now the US is in a deep hole of debt.
We cannot allow government to overpromise and then under-deliver health care (e.g. "Medicare for Everyone") or, worse still, have government-run healthcare drive our entire system into bankruptcy.
What do you or did you do for a living? A healthcare system is made up of professionals, skilled and unskilled workers, plus other resources besides cash. Right now, it's a money well for parasites.
I am so tired of explaining that we spend twice as much as countries with universal healthcare, with worse results. Also, we attach the cost of healthcare to our products in the employer-based, paid-for healthcare system, which makes us less competitive in the global market. It should be old news by now, except it is suppressed by those who profit immensely from this mess of a system that shouldn't even be called a system. Take care.
Agree 100% Gloria. I'd venture to say that what we pay individually for individual health insurance is far MORE than what we'd pay for "Medicare for All."
I was never so glad to turn 65 and pay $550/month for Medicare and supplemental. I was paying $2000/month for private health insurance with similar coverage. Medicare has gone up every year, of course, but I still feel more protected and secure with that in place.
Victor, that is a fair question, and I am going to punt. My job as an ordinary citizen, is not devising health care programs. My job is, like yours, to ask questions and consider, critically, the proposals made in response.
At present we have subsidized health care for the elderly, and for the low-income population, but people in the middle (or their employers) have to pay a lot out of pocket for private health insurance. It is not an efficient system, and like many of our fellow citizens, I would love to see a better, fairer system put in place.
My point is that "someone" has to pay for it, and right now, our federal government is the world's biggest debtor, and we continue to add to our debt. Changing systems may well create efficiencies down the road but that doesn't help if we go bankrupt in the short term.
There are different components in our healthcare system -- pharmaceutical mfrs, hospitals, government departments and private insurances co's, and all the people employed in doing the work required to keep the system running.
Corporations exist because their owners figured they could provide a good or service that somebody would pay for, and make a profit doing so. All the rest could be considered simply details, and a matter of scale.
Who do you feel should set the price of a life-saving drug or procedure, the mfr or provider or the insurance company? Or maybe the consumer should have a say? What about a means-tested insurance system: should there be one price for the high-income people and a lower price for lower-income people? Should everything be "free" (i.e. paid by taxpayers)?
Lots of things to be considered. As Pres Obama would say, "It's complicated." I'm not smart or knowledgable enough to come up with the answers, but I do have questions -- and opinions (of course, since this IS a "comments" section.
I agree that the God of America is MONEY; which can do as it chooses & purchase anything th8at it wants. This is despite the reality that groups like Churches; civil defence groups & environmental groups have a value that TRANSCENDS commercial returns. Then add in that Trump is wholly AMORAL & you have a totally stuffed country. You are right any society that disdained better LOCKS is equally responsible.
Some people do worship money as if it were some divine attribute, but that does not mean it is unimportant.
I think of it this way: Money is both a measure of value -- a yardstick to compare the size of things in economic terms -- and also the essence of all the inputs of resources, work and consumption in our economy. The flow of money through a national economy is like the flow of blood through our bodies: it delivers oxygen and nutrients to where they are needed.
The excessive love of money that corrupts our thinking and our actions, but that is not money itself but an unhealthy relationship to it.
Caution: I am not an economist or a philosopher so I cannot prove this theory, but it has worked for me. So far, anyway.
Yes, I agree fully. Probably most Americans who are not currently millionaires (or aspiring to become one) would also agree that it is unhealthy, but I expect we would have a great divergence of opinion over "how much" accumulated money is unhealthy for society.
(FWIW, in some zip codes, ownership of a single-family home is, in and of itself, considered enough to qualify as a "millionaire" in terms of net worth - assuming no mortgage or lien -- even if they are old retired people eking out a living on Social Security.)
Right you are, ken! This is what we must tell Trump supporters time and time again. He and his billionaire pals use Jesus to cover up their real religion.
Trump's power is his predictable unpredictability. He says whatever sounds good at the moment and it flips sometimes within the same speech. What he, or "somebody" in his circle does, is rarely any immediate or logical consequence of what was said. It's an agreement, it's a truce, it's a ceasefire, show me the paper, there's no paper, who says, somebody said. I need, I want, gimme gimme.
The truly frightening part of this is that SOMEBODY is actually sending missles and bombers over Iran, ordering body armored masked thugs into peoples' homes and raking in billions in bribes. And NOBODY has said Epstein in weeks.
PS A democratic socialist and a social democrat are not the same thing and neither is a communist.
PPS There state actors who represent Communist Parties but there are no actual communists.
Carol, that phrase needs to be on billboards all across this country! Good people are just going about their lives without fully understanding the evil that exists in the White House!
This administration is ignoring the Constitution and the corrupt reactionary Supreme Court majority is rewriting it. We have to take away their power. We don't really have a 2 party system - that is false equivalence.
Quite right Carol. I came across this quotation some time ago and it's become my favourite quote. Apparently Burke didn't say it quite like that, but I prefer the shorter version. Trump has no filter and no self-awareness, like many psychopaths. I'm praying for the day when his dementia gets worse and he'll HAVE to be removed from office. I'm not even American but feel for most sensible Americans.
He is a perfect example of an ignorant, selfish, one-dimensional fool. The years with him as president will be remembered as some of the worst in American history. I will never understand how any one person in charge of a developed country is allowed to have the power to do the things he has done and continues to do. A man who thinks he's allowed to do things just because he wants to do them. Plus he is the most corrupt president in American history. He’s so far increased his wealth by an estimated $4 billion, and his sons’ and daughters’ wealth by billions more.
There's no doubt that he'll be remembered as the WORST president in US history. Whomever the next Dem candidate is, they should make an absolute campaign promise to destroy every one of the monuments Trump has built for himself. His self-aggrandising BS need to be erased from the history of the country! Future generations will look back on the Trump Era and think, WTF were Americans thinking?
I like this 86 47 in roman numerals shirt because MAGAs aren't able to decipher it 👇 😂
Lots of words Robert, and it makes my head spin, but it isn't that complicated - Trump is a despicable person who is mentally ill and should not be president. He is totally indecent. If this country continues to allow him to be president it is a failed empire that will never recover.
This is the worldwide dilemma; the American system; so sadly copied by emerging nations, turns out to be a fantastic paper tiger when a truly corrupt person gets into place and runs rampant.
I think you're right, PlasticFish, and when the economy crashes, the Trumpsters will be the first to implement the new stablecoin system, giving them the overwhelming advantage and riches.
You are correct about the power of amorality. But we have laws, a Constitution. There is a remedy in that Constitution to deal with such amorality in a president. In this case Trump’s power comes from the people of America. We have the power through our elected representatives and the cabinet to depose him. Why are we not using that power????
Harold, I have asked that question, too! You know what people tell me? All of government is being run by republicans. The House, Senate, White House and Supreme Court are controlled by republicans. They are following the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and since they are in control, nothing will be done to get rid of the orange clown. That right there clearly shows me that one party should never be completely in control of our country. This is what happens.
While the republicans are in power, it is their duty to depose him. Either they are cowardly or they like what he is doing. It was Republicans who deposed Nixon, Republican president.
I agree with you, Harold; however, these republicans are not like the republicans that deposed Nixon. These are maga republicans and part of the orange man's cult. They will never do anything to their dear leader.
If their leadership had a backbone, they would educate their fellow Republicans and impeach him whether the base liked it or not. It won’t happen, but it is their duty to prevent further damage to America
Harold, because the big money buys our representatives, and what used to be unlawful bribery is now: "campaign contributions". I have been wondering how the attempts to use our states' rights is going in Montana and Hawaii. These states are trying to ban huge amounts of money in elections, using states' rights to enable secretaries of state to stop allowing wealthy donors to flood elections with dirty money. Citizens' United can be blocked from doing this, as PACs, corporations and wealthy individual donors can too. there is no need to attempt to end Citizens United, because states already have this right, See Robert Reich's video about big money in politics made by Inequality Media. the bad guys are saying that money is speech, which it is not. It should not be necessary to have lots of money to have a voice in Democracy.
Also, why are we not putting him in prison where he cannot harm us and the rest of the world? He committed crimes. The attack on the Capitol. Various other crimes that resulted in him being tried in Court, and he was threatened with prison for not following judge's orders, but no judge followed through on actually imprisoning him. That we didn't contain him and let him loose to harm everyone everywhere, is inexcusable. We have utterly failed what I think was our duty to keep him from oozing out worldwide.
Our Constitution is not from any god and has problems. Trump has exploited those problems by ignoring any guidelines suggested by it. (The only problem is that they (the moral rules) are only suggestions or false epxectations.)
As a complete outsider I remember the basis of Trump's power- his willingness to follow the Project 2025 brief faithfully and explicitly. He has done exactly that. The object was to make the USA a parliamentary democracy with a President for Life. He is well on his way.
“ They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made “ - Nick Carraway’s observation about Tom and Daisy Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby”.
Only Trump spoke (at any rate, I didn't see or hear any other representative)
And when Trump speaks, it’s a load of utter bullshit
Putin instead of Zelenskyy
Japan instead of Iran, and a few other inconsistencies.
The whole world is at the mercy of a mega-moron and a bunch of puppets who think they're heads of state but don't even have the guts to tell that monstrous imbecile to shut his trap!
In a fit of madness, he might order his Secretary of War to drop an atom bomb on Japan!!!
God, if You exist, order Satan to deal with that bunch of Washington clowns—and fast.
The Last cCass! No regrets about getting up at 2 a.m. today.
A thousand thanks to you Robert and those who did it.
(And other world leaders -not just Iran- probably have consulted with psychologists as to the most effective ways of achieving their goals with a person in power who is a "bent man"--to borrow a term from Perelandra.)
I had a boss once who was the CEO. of large hospital. He reported to the hospital Board. On an occasion he needed to upgrade his car he went out and ordered the most expensive car that he could. The Board approved the car later, although I suspect they were not happy.
My Boss's attitude was you have as much power as you choose to take.
You named the mechanism most commentators miss, and named it exactly, the asymmetry is the whole game.
You locate Trump’s power in his willingness to break norms. The first-mover advantage only pays out if the community declines to punish, the thief’s edge vanishes the moment doors get locked. But, the variable isn’t Trump’s amorality; it’s everyone else’s calculation that retaliation costs more than appeasement. The NATO leaders weren’t afraid of an unconstrained man. They ran the numbers and decided flattery was cheaper than confrontation. His power is granted, transaction by transaction, by counterparties who’d rather pay the toll than build the fence.
That relocation changes the prescription. Condemnation is worthless against someone who recognizes no “we”, you can’t Shame someone that is amoral and strongly proud of it!
The only thing that reprices defection is making defection lose. And it’s why “the stupidest president” is a comforting error: his conduct isn’t a character flaw, it’s the rational output of a structure that rewards the first defector and never charges him. Remove him tomorrow and the payoff still sits there, waiting for the next one through the unlocked door. The problem was never the thief. It was the town that decided locks were rude.
🐌Johan
You can’t shame a psychopath.
Especially if he’s given immunity by other psychopaths like Thomas and Alito and facilitated by a psycho named Miller.
I think to take down Trump we need to start at the bottom - or father down and begin with Miller. SURELY there is something somewhere we can use to get rid of this scum.
I agree with the "starting at the bottom" part. We need to continually shame those who still support this amoral regime. I assume that a lot of them aren't psychopaths themselves but are in denial about what the regime is actually up to. It won't be easy--it is often our family members or old friends who are involved--but they need to understand that even tacit approval of the regime's actions is no longer socially acceptable whatsoever.
I relate to this myself as I have found family members and friends who are slavishly devoted to the madman. It is very frustrating. No matter what I show them about how absurd are his antics, they then spout his lies, saying opposition is just based on Trump hatred.
Yes, it's definitely an uphill battle! I've had to write several people off completely.
Trump is leading a white supremacist, Christian nationalist crusade against an artificially created enemy. It is a plutocratic jihad against we the people. They are using the same strategy the CIA used in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion.
Scarily, a lot of those devotees would read the Prof's post and say, Right, that's why I voted for him, because Fox News showed me cooperation and community are tricks to keep righteous people down. So Vance will have to imitate Trump even after he's gone.
RD,how about starting with the financial markets who all support the "Nazi" 100%.CNBC who supports him 100% and also supports what AI is going to do to the job market. They cannot wait until 25 million people have lost their job due to AI. They become the worst scum in their support for Trump,Bessert,Miller and the entire entourage of bad actors.
Boycott CNBC,boycott the advertisers on CNBC.
Dianne, I would love it if Miller could be charged with giving orders that are illegal, like setting ICE on immigrants of color even those working on their green cards, asylum, and other legal documents. I bet some good investigators could find something legitimate to get him on, or at least get him out of DC and away from anything he can harm. He is a racist pig and this is an insult to pigs, but he is greedy andtotally self-absorbed, scared of everyone who is not him (possibly hateful of his Jewish heritage). Let's get him gone!!
It does not seem like Miller will get out of this time period without adding an orange jumpsuit to his wardrobe for a while. But, hey, I thought Rittenhouse would get some time as well.
vought, hessert, bessent, federalist greedy treasonous bastards!
And you can't shame a billionaire(trillionaire).
There is some evidence that some traditional allies of the US are using flattery and appeasement to buy time to move away from US hegemony in global affairs. Trump's attempt to play world leaders off against each other have largely hit the buffers with the fall first of Bolsonaro and then Orban. His recent and continuing spat with Giorgia Meloni shows that even the european right is losing patience with him. Germany's Merz and France's Macron have both warned that Europe can no longer rely on the US as a reliable military partner and should act accordingly. In the UK, Starmer has withheld intelligence from the Americans over their use of unlawful force in the Caribbean. No other NATO or european country has provided assistance to the US in conducting attacks on Iran.
Good for the!
Too right!
I'm in utter despair over the UKs pusillanimius behaviour towards the USA.
Born out of the desperate desperate horror of the second world war
We finished paying our war debt to you, ( yes, every penny,, you extracted - so let's stop the sentimental bilge?)
So, I for one are heartily sick and tired of accommodating Trump, and they continue to do it.
Yes, I know all about the US military might.
And ya know what? I'm Just fu**i sick of it.
Im Just tired of the peacock strutting of Hesgeth, tired of the utterly disgusting judicial murders you engage in while bleating about States rights, which are fine as long as it applies to sadistic murder.
Frankly, I am beyond now writing something amelirative in this piece, because,, as ever, you look at at, take juvenile offence at what I've said. And ignore it..
Now, for the wasted months I have posted on Substack,, particularly about "the MURDERS OF POOR RENEE GOOD AND ALEX PRETTIE"
I will say this.
You people will NOT FIND REDEMPTION IN THE MID TERMS ok?
You might find another 78 million people put their tick, or cross against trump.
So then what are you going to do?
Well?
There's just the endless bleating about your not fit for purpose "constitution" and going on stupid pointless "no kings" demonstrations.
Fun fact! Our King, Charles III,, yes great gtest great grandson of YOU KNOW WHO!
Has absolutely F***ck all power. He does EXACTLY what the Prime Minister,, with the authority of Parliament., tells him to do...
Yet YOU constantly wailing about your "declaration of independence" and the quasi religious sanctity of your precious constitution.... Have that blow hard, charlatan, popinjay, and mountebank running your country!
And We are having to pay the price!
Well! You reap what ya sow folks!
I was with you for the first eight sentences and then you went and got all nihilistic.
Well, fair cop.... So what are you going toa out it then!? No, I don't mean me, I meas your country the?
Start again.
Without autocorrect on...
OK so what was nihilistic about it then?..
Inchoate
What is?
Correct. And they did a good job!
There is another factor to Trump’s amorality in play here that really enables him (as it does monarchs and dictators). Mainly that he attracts others who are immoral / amoral and who also see benefits for themselves in appeasing or supporting the authoritarian. None of these lunatics can wield power on their own.
Wait a minute! Let's not forget who is equally to blame - those who could have/should have removed this "diseased pig" from office but didn't. Instead, they encouraged and enabled him to turn the USA into a festering global wound. Your former allies are now scrambling to protect themselves from this abhorrent American "infection" that is trump and his minions.
Republican politicians, state and congress, have steadfastly embraced and enabled the madness, turning a blind eye to the massive grift, the flouting of the law, the lies, wars and the damaging economic buffoonery we are all now subjected to. They are just as bad as your POTUS (or worse). Top offending thugs? McConnell, Thune and Johnson. HOW do they live with themselves???
I don't know for sure, of course, but the Retrumplicans seem to operate on the same amoral attitude that if it's good for THEM, then it's good, and if it's bad for THEM, then it's bad. Their gauge might be white, male, supremacy...if whatever Trump says or does amplifies the power of white males, then it's "good," and anything that detracts from the hegemony of white males is "bad."
You are absolutely right about the white, male supremacy factor. However, this simplistic focus, along with greed, has turned the country into an abject, impotent "ideocracy" - a fascist hellscape with no apparent capacity to see the BIG picture.
Trump's pal Putin has got nukes. Will he use them against Ukraine now that he's struggling? Is Congress or anyone in trump's orbit capable of dealing with a nuclear threat? No. How about the greedy dweebs negotiating with Iran - an ongoing joke and embarrassment. This administration's rank stupidity and incompetence is now a serious global problem. And yet...they (cabinet and congress) still run cover for trump.
I agree with all of the above Judith. And I come back to the fact that most of the Retrumplicans don’t know what they’re looking at and I venture to say even maybe half of the Democrats in Congress also don’t understand the psychopathologies that are shaping the minds of Trump, Putin and Netanyahu. I’m not trying to paint an apocalyptic scenario, but these men are still being called Mr. President, etc. and not enough action is being taken to bring them down and out of power.
Quite some time ago the Republican Party ethos evolved into one mantra politics is a zero sum game. Throw compromises out the window. Their constituency be dammed. Coupled with a poorly educated citizenry that is unable to recognize what Robert is describing. Lots of work ahead of us.
Thank you Judith from Montreal!
“It’s the end of the world, as we know it.”
Judith,great post. You should continue to remind us of that.
It’s the payoff they will get for joining the cult of Trump.
As disgusting as it is, like attracts like.
Thanks again Johan. But I feel those who he has hand-picked are deep-inside thinking my boss if fucking crazy.
i fear juggernauts
Neil,great post. I have been saying for the past 10 yrs that those who support Trump are like him. Cheat on their wives,cheat in business,rascist,sexist,no empathy,no sympathy,no humanity. It is a shame such a large portion of the population has decided to support a " Nazi".What will turn it around?
People of the opportunistic bandwagon, the cult.
NATO allies seem to have come to the conclusion that NATO without USA is stronger than NATO with USA. I wonder how long it will last until the people of the USA will install new locks — the old fancy ones seem useless.
That’s because it’s an unnecessary war, Trump didn’t consult with them. He didn’t even consult Congress. Then he wants their help? Nothing good has come from this Iran mess and Trump can’t handle it! He’s bored.
He and his gang of idiots in the Cabinet, especially Hegseth had no idea what they were dealing with. They still don’t have a clue!
The locks seem to be useless because the Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court hold the keys.
Johan, nice analogies and I think they are right.
Small problem in the text of Bob: is Trump powerfull or does he gain power by his erratic behaviour? I think he does not.
Mark Rutte flatters him, because he must gain time and guard the power of Nato. Iran does not take him serious and keeps a low level war going, with ridicule as weapon.
Europe does its best to use the "Trump trillions" in defensive credibility.
The world is waiting for the removal of this president. That is not a position of power.
Agree, the 'rest of the world' is playing a waiting game. Survival until he is gone...hoping there's something better in the future. Meanwhile, we in the USA sit on our hands, twiddle our thumbs, put on blinders and hum to ourselves. It is 'as if' the world is paralyzed with inaction, and the maniac continues unabated.
Yes Judy, that is what I meant, in a bit friendlier words
And here we go again with Trump offering help to Ukraine with the Patriot Missles. Is that all the typical lying transactional behavior to improve the recent 80% of Americans hatred of Trump? It has been said the US help to Ukraine will not happen for a year. Plenty of time as Trump sees it to reverse the 80% American hatred of Trump.
And then he will back out of the help for Ukraine as soon as his ratings go up. You know this guy, I know this guy, we all know this guy.
Dean,80% of deep,deep hatred of the " Nazi" and yet he still survives. The financial markets have helped,Nvidia and Jensen Huang(perhaps the most dangerous man in America with his AI and Robot agenda. CNBC,supporters of every Trumpit,Bessert,Miller,Lutnick and others.
Unfortunately, that didn't work so well for Europe as Hitler came to power.
Yes, we hope they are savvier than the average American. Look at how President Zelenskyy appears to be converting the Putin-puppet into concessions. (At what price, we must ask. The Nobel Peace Prize, maybe?)
He may have the Nobel Peace prize on one condition: immediate abdication of him and his incompetent en blundering bunch...
Not sure Norway could accomplish that but maybe karma is waiting in the wings.
The condition remains...why do you have an expensive political circus when it does not act when it is needed?
but it doesn't happen-his power lies in him making the first move-keeping us off balance and on the defensive-judy Sherwood has it right-'paralyzed with inaction',waiting for godot
Trump is a wrecker. Yet he has the support of Republican majorities in both houses of Congress. It will end badly for America, because a strategy based on fear cannot lead to anything constructive..
Not if the majority of Americans refuse to live in fear.
I agree.
This is an excellent analysis. The only thing I would add is that Trump didn't figure this out all by himself. He was schooled in it by Roy Cohn- himself a successful practitioner of amoral bullying. It's an acquired trait rather than an innate trait.
Yesterday I saw a documentary about Roy Cohn. What a creep, what a miserable man.
My first thought: yes, you're right.
But then: is it an acquired trait? Is it innate? Can you be trained in evil? Can you learn to be an immoral bully? It is anthropology, but it matters.
I see Trump in the news after the summit in Ankara and see a lost old psychiatric patient and wonder. Or is it the banality of evil?
Banality of evil every time. I'm leary of applying psychological labels because they can be used to excuse behavior. He's a bad man, and as for his connection with his mentor Roy Cohn, like finds like.
Of course, don't miss the movie "The Apprentice"
Also aided and abetted by Leo and McConnell.
Richard,agree that Cohn was the catalyst for his psychopathic behavior but his support over the past 2 yrs has come for all the wealth,legal advice he gets from big tech to include Apple,Amazon, Google,Nvidia. They all back him 100% in everything he does. ASs you may know,none of the those cos like Peter Thiel believe in democracy,they believe in TechNO State.
Excellent comment, Johan!
Honesty is not a "norm". And flattery cheaper than confrontation? That to me is complete surrender and laziness. How can truth not be worth putting out a bit of extra energy for? Truth will sustain us. Lies and cheating will destroy us.
Joanne - Flattery does not necessarily mean acquiescence. Trump-fluffing diplomats have a purpose in mind: keeping Trump feeling good about himself but not actually conceding vital issues. NATO is a good example. Rutte tongue-washing Trump with obsequious praise buys time at the cost of his self-respect, perhaps, but keeps the SOB in the alliance.
Members of the Liberal Order has to do whatever it takes to keep the man-baby distracted and minimize harm.
The goal is to outlast him. The endgame is then to rebuild what Trump has destroyed: a global order that supports and protects Liberal values -- respect for international law and international institutions, advancing science and the general welfare and dignity of all people.
It will always and everywhere be a challenge requiring persistence, hard work, and often sacrifice.
The alternative is a return to Trump-style transactional relationships -- the strong bullying the weak, with no concern for decency, dignity or care for the opinions of others.
I get that we have to "play" him. And he is so ridiculously stupid he falls for every faun over his "amazingness". It is disgusting that it must be done. It is so repulsive.
Agree wholeheartedly that honesty and truth are first principles and and share your anger but see the superficial and cosmetic coddling as a purely pragmatic approach. European leaders seem to have figured out their bread isn't buttered in the same way it has been for the last 70 years or so and are managing the demented toddler so as to give themselves the best chance at recalibrating strategy without inducing catastrophe.
SIgh....Oy....
This is why one of the first points I made in UTW was that Trump isn't special! Anyone can decide to break the rules, it's just that most people aren't stupid enough to, because they know there are consequences.
Of course, if we allow Trump to finish out his term without forcefully repudiating him and removing him from office, we'll be the ones stupid enough to suffer consequences we weren't required to.
Well said, Johan!
Johan, excellent comment.
I've lived in places where I didn't have to lock my door or take the key out of my car's ignition. I didn't think locking those two things would be rude: not having to lock them was freedom.
Please tell me where those places are.
Your car was manufactured with the ability to be locked. Did your homes have locks?
I agree with the asymmetry dynamic 'only' as to his (it's) personal qualifications as a desirable "tool" of the coalition that supports him financially; Money is the power behind the curtain / tool. Taking apart that coalition is the key to robbing the maga mouthpiece / tool of it's power. I think Bob and those that agree with this simplistic knee-jerk that insists on focusing on the face, name constantly on the news, is the most grave mistake of all. *In summation, to focus only there – the ‘face’ is a failure to see the ‘trees’ – forest, for the sequoia.:*
Rob Cohan would be so proud of his pupil. Trump is a snail who collects the bag of amoral personalities the likes of which modern history has never seen. And the birthrate of progressives are coming for his contrail.
Thank you, Johan. You spoke my thoughts precisely. Trump is not the first sociopathic, amoral dictator in history. He gets away with his behavior because no one stops him. Not MAGA, not Congress, not SCOTUS, not NATO. He could not be effective or continue without being enabled by zero consequences.
Thank you Johan.
I'd say Trump's power comes from the spineless people he intentionally surrounds himself with. And there are many spineless people who will prostitute themselves to tell a Trump persona everything he wants to hear so they can keep their jobs. They inherently know the truths about Democracy and they all know their boss is crazy. But they have been given a chance to work under a President of the United States and to those prostitutes their pimp is everything.
Some members of NATO? Here we go again.
Trump's fading era has proven that in the U.S., everything is available for money — from the lives of teenage girls to supreme court judges to presidents. This is not his achievement, but he provided the proof. It's time to buy new locks, set new standards and put new safeguards in place.
We can't go back to the pre-Trump U.S. by applying Band-Aids to stop the hemorrhaging any more than we can keep trying to fix our patchwork blanket of a healthcare system by applying more patches.
As a society, we need to share a moral code, work together for a common cause - at least agree to the Golden Rule, being conscious of each other. Trump has no aesthetic, or empathy. Who knew that The Power Of Positive Thinking could be such a source of evil.
Gordon, he is a psychopath.
Explains everything.
Once a nurse... 😉
Lol.
Single-payer health care is not a panacea for every ill. Any health care system runs on one thing -- MONEY -- and right now the US is in a deep hole of debt.
We cannot allow government to overpromise and then under-deliver health care (e.g. "Medicare for Everyone") or, worse still, have government-run healthcare drive our entire system into bankruptcy.
What do you or did you do for a living? A healthcare system is made up of professionals, skilled and unskilled workers, plus other resources besides cash. Right now, it's a money well for parasites.
Like most people, I worked for a living. I needed the money.
My point is, without money to pay the bills, the system goes broke and everyone loses their jobs.
If you want healthcare, sooner or later you (or someone else) has to pay for it.
I am so tired of explaining that we spend twice as much as countries with universal healthcare, with worse results. Also, we attach the cost of healthcare to our products in the employer-based, paid-for healthcare system, which makes us less competitive in the global market. It should be old news by now, except it is suppressed by those who profit immensely from this mess of a system that shouldn't even be called a system. Take care.
Agree 100% Gloria. I'd venture to say that what we pay individually for individual health insurance is far MORE than what we'd pay for "Medicare for All."
I was never so glad to turn 65 and pay $550/month for Medicare and supplemental. I was paying $2000/month for private health insurance with similar coverage. Medicare has gone up every year, of course, but I still feel more protected and secure with that in place.
BTW, I love and respect healthcare workers, and use every opportunity to express my gratitude and admiration for their choice of profession.
Is the price right? If not, what do you propose?
Victor, that is a fair question, and I am going to punt. My job as an ordinary citizen, is not devising health care programs. My job is, like yours, to ask questions and consider, critically, the proposals made in response.
At present we have subsidized health care for the elderly, and for the low-income population, but people in the middle (or their employers) have to pay a lot out of pocket for private health insurance. It is not an efficient system, and like many of our fellow citizens, I would love to see a better, fairer system put in place.
My point is that "someone" has to pay for it, and right now, our federal government is the world's biggest debtor, and we continue to add to our debt. Changing systems may well create efficiencies down the road but that doesn't help if we go bankrupt in the short term.
There is hardly any competition in our healthcare system. Letting giant corporations set prices at their convenience is irresponsible and evil.
There are different components in our healthcare system -- pharmaceutical mfrs, hospitals, government departments and private insurances co's, and all the people employed in doing the work required to keep the system running.
Corporations exist because their owners figured they could provide a good or service that somebody would pay for, and make a profit doing so. All the rest could be considered simply details, and a matter of scale.
Who do you feel should set the price of a life-saving drug or procedure, the mfr or provider or the insurance company? Or maybe the consumer should have a say? What about a means-tested insurance system: should there be one price for the high-income people and a lower price for lower-income people? Should everything be "free" (i.e. paid by taxpayers)?
Lots of things to be considered. As Pres Obama would say, "It's complicated." I'm not smart or knowledgable enough to come up with the answers, but I do have questions -- and opinions (of course, since this IS a "comments" section.
I agree that the God of America is MONEY; which can do as it chooses & purchase anything th8at it wants. This is despite the reality that groups like Churches; civil defence groups & environmental groups have a value that TRANSCENDS commercial returns. Then add in that Trump is wholly AMORAL & you have a totally stuffed country. You are right any society that disdained better LOCKS is equally responsible.
ken.maynard7@gmail.com
Some people do worship money as if it were some divine attribute, but that does not mean it is unimportant.
I think of it this way: Money is both a measure of value -- a yardstick to compare the size of things in economic terms -- and also the essence of all the inputs of resources, work and consumption in our economy. The flow of money through a national economy is like the flow of blood through our bodies: it delivers oxygen and nutrients to where they are needed.
The excessive love of money that corrupts our thinking and our actions, but that is not money itself but an unhealthy relationship to it.
Caution: I am not an economist or a philosopher so I cannot prove this theory, but it has worked for me. So far, anyway.
Yes, R, a great accumulation of money is unhealthy for society.
Yes, I agree fully. Probably most Americans who are not currently millionaires (or aspiring to become one) would also agree that it is unhealthy, but I expect we would have a great divergence of opinion over "how much" accumulated money is unhealthy for society.
(FWIW, in some zip codes, ownership of a single-family home is, in and of itself, considered enough to qualify as a "millionaire" in terms of net worth - assuming no mortgage or lien -- even if they are old retired people eking out a living on Social Security.)
Right you are, ken! This is what we must tell Trump supporters time and time again. He and his billionaire pals use Jesus to cover up their real religion.
Amen!
Trump's power is his predictable unpredictability. He says whatever sounds good at the moment and it flips sometimes within the same speech. What he, or "somebody" in his circle does, is rarely any immediate or logical consequence of what was said. It's an agreement, it's a truce, it's a ceasefire, show me the paper, there's no paper, who says, somebody said. I need, I want, gimme gimme.
The truly frightening part of this is that SOMEBODY is actually sending missles and bombers over Iran, ordering body armored masked thugs into peoples' homes and raking in billions in bribes. And NOBODY has said Epstein in weeks.
PS A democratic socialist and a social democrat are not the same thing and neither is a communist.
PPS There state actors who represent Communist Parties but there are no actual communists.
Yes. But who’s going to “bell the cat”?
All true, but there is another factor:
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing."
--Edmund Burke
A charming sentiment, but we are now at the what the hell do we do NEXT stage!
Just how LONG is his tongue??
Carol, that phrase needs to be on billboards all across this country! Good people are just going about their lives without fully understanding the evil that exists in the White House!
Prof Reich had an aphorism button on a post the other day: “Bad Politicians are elected by Good People who don’t vote.”
ACTIVATE—vote in your primary and midterm election to put Democrats in charge. Call reps and senators. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.
The same Constitution that led us here "legally" is "allowing" the problem to re-exist with another demagogue.
The two-party system must be structually changed.
This administration is ignoring the Constitution and the corrupt reactionary Supreme Court majority is rewriting it. We have to take away their power. We don't really have a 2 party system - that is false equivalence.
Quite right Carol. I came across this quotation some time ago and it's become my favourite quote. Apparently Burke didn't say it quite like that, but I prefer the shorter version. Trump has no filter and no self-awareness, like many psychopaths. I'm praying for the day when his dementia gets worse and he'll HAVE to be removed from office. I'm not even American but feel for most sensible Americans.
Janet, how much worse can Trump's mental problems get? How he ever got to be president is beyond me except that money talks.
The president of the United States is non compos mentis.
He is a perfect example of an ignorant, selfish, one-dimensional fool. The years with him as president will be remembered as some of the worst in American history. I will never understand how any one person in charge of a developed country is allowed to have the power to do the things he has done and continues to do. A man who thinks he's allowed to do things just because he wants to do them. Plus he is the most corrupt president in American history. He’s so far increased his wealth by an estimated $4 billion, and his sons’ and daughters’ wealth by billions more.
There's no doubt that he'll be remembered as the WORST president in US history. Whomever the next Dem candidate is, they should make an absolute campaign promise to destroy every one of the monuments Trump has built for himself. His self-aggrandising BS need to be erased from the history of the country! Future generations will look back on the Trump Era and think, WTF were Americans thinking?
I like this 86 47 in roman numerals shirt because MAGAs aren't able to decipher it 👇 😂
https://shorturl.at/KYNJm
Or drive them really crazy with 八十六-四十七.
Calling Drump a President is a DISGRACE!!!
Heather B., We all know that money talks and is the root of all evil. We must put constrants on money in politics.
If he ever had a mind to begin with, Keith!
Keith, I had to look it up when Paul Krugman used it on his podcast recently. Lol.
It’s a mob boss mentality - “support me with complete loyalty and you’ll prosper - go against me and watch your kneecaps and your family.”
Lots of words Robert, and it makes my head spin, but it isn't that complicated - Trump is a despicable person who is mentally ill and should not be president. He is totally indecent. If this country continues to allow him to be president it is a failed empire that will never recover.
He’s not “mentally ill” in the traditional sense… He’s a calculating psychopath.
This is the worldwide dilemma; the American system; so sadly copied by emerging nations, turns out to be a fantastic paper tiger when a truly corrupt person gets into place and runs rampant.
Project 2025's goal is to do to the US what the Nazis did to the Weimar Republic.
I think you're right, PlasticFish, and when the economy crashes, the Trumpsters will be the first to implement the new stablecoin system, giving them the overwhelming advantage and riches.
Trump doesn't even know he's breaking laws and norms because he doesn't know what they were in the first place. He is a bull in a china shop.
You're right, of course. Yes and--
- he has the power endowed by short-sighted plutocrats
- he has the public culture cultivated and propagated by fifty years of conservative and far-right figures who promoted
+ automatic and dismissive individualism
+ thinking of everything as a contest for prize, no matter how intrinsic the activity and its outputs
+ worship of wealth and the wealthy
+ temporal myopia and ignorant geographic myopia
Trump got here on the power of white supremacist pseudo-Christian “nationalism.” Stronger than y’all expected, right?
He should have been eliminated while still cheating New York!!
Absolutely! 💯
You are correct about the power of amorality. But we have laws, a Constitution. There is a remedy in that Constitution to deal with such amorality in a president. In this case Trump’s power comes from the people of America. We have the power through our elected representatives and the cabinet to depose him. Why are we not using that power????
Harold, I have asked that question, too! You know what people tell me? All of government is being run by republicans. The House, Senate, White House and Supreme Court are controlled by republicans. They are following the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025 and since they are in control, nothing will be done to get rid of the orange clown. That right there clearly shows me that one party should never be completely in control of our country. This is what happens.
While the republicans are in power, it is their duty to depose him. Either they are cowardly or they like what he is doing. It was Republicans who deposed Nixon, Republican president.
I agree with you, Harold; however, these republicans are not like the republicans that deposed Nixon. These are maga republicans and part of the orange man's cult. They will never do anything to their dear leader.
If their leadership had a backbone, they would educate their fellow Republicans and impeach him whether the base liked it or not. It won’t happen, but it is their duty to prevent further damage to America
I agree with you 100%, Harold!
Harold, because the big money buys our representatives, and what used to be unlawful bribery is now: "campaign contributions". I have been wondering how the attempts to use our states' rights is going in Montana and Hawaii. These states are trying to ban huge amounts of money in elections, using states' rights to enable secretaries of state to stop allowing wealthy donors to flood elections with dirty money. Citizens' United can be blocked from doing this, as PACs, corporations and wealthy individual donors can too. there is no need to attempt to end Citizens United, because states already have this right, See Robert Reich's video about big money in politics made by Inequality Media. the bad guys are saying that money is speech, which it is not. It should not be necessary to have lots of money to have a voice in Democracy.
Also, why are we not putting him in prison where he cannot harm us and the rest of the world? He committed crimes. The attack on the Capitol. Various other crimes that resulted in him being tried in Court, and he was threatened with prison for not following judge's orders, but no judge followed through on actually imprisoning him. That we didn't contain him and let him loose to harm everyone everywhere, is inexcusable. We have utterly failed what I think was our duty to keep him from oozing out worldwide.
He and his Cabinet need to be flown over Iran and tossed from the plane! Then all republicans thrown out over Iran, too, why not?? Pure trash!!
Isn’t his term Scum?
Our Constitution is not from any god and has problems. Trump has exploited those problems by ignoring any guidelines suggested by it. (The only problem is that they (the moral rules) are only suggestions or false epxectations.)
because Republicans have majorities in both houses of Congress. We have a chance (hopefully) to change that in November.
As a complete outsider I remember the basis of Trump's power- his willingness to follow the Project 2025 brief faithfully and explicitly. He has done exactly that. The object was to make the USA a parliamentary democracy with a President for Life. He is well on his way.
Yes! Let us not forget Project 2025!! The plan that found their tool!
I’m not sure about the “democracy” part!
Project 25 members need complete disposal, male and female!
I agree
“ They were careless people, Tom and Daisy. They smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made “ - Nick Carraway’s observation about Tom and Daisy Buchanan in “The Great Gatsby”.
NATO summit in Ankara
Attendees:
Erdogan
Rutte
Trump
Only Trump spoke (at any rate, I didn't see or hear any other representative)
And when Trump speaks, it’s a load of utter bullshit
Putin instead of Zelenskyy
Japan instead of Iran, and a few other inconsistencies.
The whole world is at the mercy of a mega-moron and a bunch of puppets who think they're heads of state but don't even have the guts to tell that monstrous imbecile to shut his trap!
In a fit of madness, he might order his Secretary of War to drop an atom bomb on Japan!!!
God, if You exist, order Satan to deal with that bunch of Washington clowns—and fast.
The Last cCass! No regrets about getting up at 2 a.m. today.
A thousand thanks to you Robert and those who did it.
I agree, getting up at 2am was worth it – again! 😊
Follow the money. This is a plutocracy.
(And other world leaders -not just Iran- probably have consulted with psychologists as to the most effective ways of achieving their goals with a person in power who is a "bent man"--to borrow a term from Perelandra.)
I had a boss once who was the CEO. of large hospital. He reported to the hospital Board. On an occasion he needed to upgrade his car he went out and ordered the most expensive car that he could. The Board approved the car later, although I suspect they were not happy.
My Boss's attitude was you have as much power as you choose to take.
If there is a grenade with a half-out pin in the room, one is very careful.
It comes from fellows around him who are afraid of what he knows they’ve done and folks who want to use him to make them lots of money.