Let me try to reassure Americans that we in Europe can see, quite clearly, that the fraud in the Oval office and his lackies do NOT represent the American people. Not in the war in the Middle East - and it is a war! Or in the illegal persecution by ICE and its concentration camps. The attempt to disenfranchise the female and trans vote and, generally, try to rig upcoming elections…the list goes on. Tdump is disintegrating in front of the whole world. We see it.
Thank you! It's been worrisome to many of us Americans that we may be confused with our nation's excuse for a president. Yes, there are people who still support him. But most of them do it out of fear. Or perhaps because they don't want to admit that they voted for the wrong person. His promises have never come to fruition because he never intended them to reach that point. We have been embarrassed that he cannot string a subject and predicate together to make a full sentence. We have been embarrassed by his bullying and his crass remarks toward our allies. We also know that our longtime allies will never trust us again.
In fact, we Americans worry that this stain will last on our reputation for decades. We also worry that Trump will upend our nation in such a way that we will lose our liberties and fall into the same abyss as Germany in the 1930s. We are working hard to prevent it. But as long as Trump has boot lickers in his administration, it likely will take a long time for the rest of us to turn this ship around.
I am too old to give up on the nation I grew up in. I don't want to leave a mess for my grandchildren. They've already become cynical about our government and about their futures. I don't want this to be prelude to their future.
I feel your concerns and they are justified. However, the sheer incompetence and open deception - not to mention the corruption - of this regime is out in the open now. Keep the faith. I believe there in an end in sight and then the real work will start!! 🙏
Exactly. Even his MAGA is starting to walk away. I welcome them back from the confusion they’ve been locked into just because he put an R next to his name and ran for office. If his puppeteers hadn’t cheated his way into the White House we wouldn’t be having all this to deal with worldwide.
When the real work starts I fear that those who were MAGAs perhaps with regret will expect quick fixes and when that is impossible to do to their satisfaction they will again be looking for someone with promises regardless of how empty they are. The leopard, as the saying goes, does not change its spots and so those who choose not to bother learning will be doomed, and maybe doom us all to their me-first wish an immediate change in their whole life's circumstances. Education is powerful but only if one puts effort into obtaining it.
Great post. Thank you for sharing what so many people also feel about this. I am 79 and I fear for our grandchildren's futures. Trump is a disaster for America and the world!
Jan, next month I turn the page of age to a new decade, 90, and I still walk, drive, and thrive! I have a lot at stake here as well. and I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I share your concerns.
When the Allied forces swarmed into Berlin, in 1945, they did not discriminate between who had or had not supported Hitler. They went wild on everybody.
I very well understand the causes of inaction. But how far/low does this disaster need to go on until the American people can admit that they for wrong government or that the fear they feel is stronger that going along with it? It may be that the truth is not reaching out.
Thank you for seeing us!! We know Trump is a depraved, malignant narcissistic grifter. I am disappointed and sickened that MAGA is a cult and trying to take the whole world down an ugly, hateful path.
I believe that all will be held accountable for their actions. 💙💙💙
Thank you! Yes, he really is alone, I think. Now that he is requesting help for the mess he created, from our precious allies that he has hideously mistreated, and each in turn refuses his requests, it seems that his cohorts, and the writers of Project 2025, which he follows but tried to deny and hide, might leave him alone, too, rather than trying to continue using him for their own benefits.
I have extended family in Europe as well as in Japan. Most people I know accept that Donald Trump became the president of the United States -- TWICE -- by OUR democratic process. So I am not sure what percentage you believe you speak for.
The next sane president will have to prepare for the Mother of all Apology Tours.
The American people you claim to care for and understand are also being cornered by Trump's actions. Europe does have leverage - if they cared enough to try to use it.
🙏 Thank you, Joe. It’s a comfort to know that our friends and neighbors are aware that most eligible voters in the US do not support 47. That said, there is no denying that this country has sustained a total moral collapse. 47 may have lit the match but the conditions for this wildfire are 400+ years of oppression and exploitation. I know because my ancestors were on the Mayflower and at Jamestown and I work every day to reduce that karmic debt. My hope rests in the fact that new growth always follows, regardless of the magnitude of the destruction. That new growth will reflect the dominant value system. Which wolf will we feed? https://www.nanticokeindians.org/about/the-tale-of-two-wolves/
Virtually all of us on this Substack are opposed to Trump, his cabinet, and the sycophants in both the Senate and the House who support this corrupt regime. However, our problem is truly systemic, in that obviously our current system permitted our politicians to be purchased, and once they are bought, they will do what their purchasers, the billionaires, require them to do. These people have as much guilt on their backs as the demonic and mentally ill individual that they have kept in office when they should join a movement to impeach him and bring all his cabinet to task.
If we do not install an improved system of democracy that prevents politicians from representing the interest of only a few,, then a disaster like this will occur again and again. So far, the only system I have come across that I believe can work is ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY. Here is a system that puts the welfare of the people and the planet first and not career politicians who are primarily interested in keeping their jobs, and using their positions to gain as much wealth as possible.
The linked article below expresses hope. Hope is integral to the triumph over tyranny. Hope is necessary to animate humanity’s transition to a life-centered society.
Actually, I pray for 47’s good health and long life. If ICC prosecutes war crimes and/ or crimes against humanity, he could spend his retirement in one of the notorious prisons of member nations: Kamiti (Kenya), La Makala (Congo), or Mendoza (Argentina). Presidential immunity doesn’t apply.
I have long awaited his orange stripes. A good long life would be satisfying with occasional history and spiritual lessons! However, while he is at our head as president, I have hope he eats one cheeseburger to many!
47 stated that he doubts he’s going to heaven. If his supporters truly are people of faith, his repentance will be a priority. Especially if they believe that this war is Armageddon, where believers must conduct themselves in a manner befitting preparing for the Messiah’s return. The state of 47’s soul was a big headline on fox. https://www.fox5dc.com/news/im-not-sure-im-going-be-able-make-heaven-trump-tells-press-air-force-one
Thank the good Lord y'all do see it, Joe! Those of us resisting and fighting this corrupt regime are so encouraged when we get messages of support from our friends around the world. I have several friends that I continue to write from the Ukraine. One is a soldier and another is part of a group patrol that goes out at night to determine if there is anyone in need of help and assistance. We commiserate with one another and offer encouragement. It keeps us working, fighting and resisting. We appreciate all of our allies! The majority of us support NATO, the United Nations Charter and the system of alliances and rules. Once this orange POS is removed from office and we have honest, good Americans leading us again, we will begin to build back those bridges he destroyed. We are aware it will take a while for any country to ever gain any trust back with the United States, but we are determined to prove that we are not all maga and idiots! Thanks for your comment, Joe!
Then how is it that Republicans are still positioned to maintain control of the senate in the fall? Where is that support coming from if not Americans?
Refuse Elon’s companies, refuse his products. Down with the man who orchestrated the stealing of our private information and gave big bucks to the felon! And, take the federal contracts and money granted away from him!
Elon, and any of his vote counting machines, need to be banned from being involved in our elections. He bought trump the 2024 election. Let's not make that mistake again. Ban Musk and any of his equipment!
It’s too early for trolls. Not even 5 AM in the midwest. We will have free and fair elections because there are more than 2.5 M adults in this country and we’ll demand nothing less. Dems will prevail because it’s been 10 years of the same tacky hats and tired promises. There’s no greatness and the emperor forgot to put his clothes on. Yuk.
The election must happen even if trump believes that HE can stop it. We need to remind people that our votes DO count! Don't stay home. Get out and vote blue and let's get rid of this stain on our history!
Joe White is one person. My friends in other countries know that Americans voted this man into office twice, along with a Republican House and Senate, that he is abetted by the Supreme Court and that the few resistant Republicans have lost their races or are leaving Congress.
I still believe that the 2024 election was rigged by Musk. Do not believe that trump has most Americans wanting him in office. I usually stay quiet in settings where trump's name comes up, but when it does, he is not on the popular lists. This attempt at WWIII will be the end of him. As long as he doesn't cancel the midterms, (I do not believe he can) we will have democratic leadership again and trump can take his gilded trappings home with him from the Oval Office!
Reich is right that Trump doesn’t represent Americans…but let’s be precise about what’s happening globally.
Writing from Portugal today: Europe isn’t waiting for American resistance to work. They’re building post-American security architecture right now. France expanding nuclear umbrella. Spain enforcing international law by evicting US forces. Germany accelerating defense integration. NATO Article 5 revealed as negotiable when Iran fired missile at Turkey with zero collective response, and then daddy Trump uses NATO to try to force allies to come to his aid.
Trump is isolated because he’s operationally incompetent at everything except extraction. Started unauthorized war, ignored allies, burned 800+ Patriots Ukraine needs, enriched Russia….
But here’s what Americans need to understand: The world isn’t just waiting for you to fix this. High-trust societies (Switzerland, Nordics, Netherlands, Canada, most of Europe) are functioning examples of what’s possible when systems optimize for human flourishing instead of oligarchical extraction. They treat like cases alike. Judge themselves by treatment of most vulnerable. These aren’t utopian ideals, they’re operational governments right now.
Climate cooperation, pandemic response, poverty reduction—-these all continue in Geneva, Brussels, Oslo regardless of American chaos.
Developing nations building alternatives. Agroforestry replacing extractive models. Renewable transition accelerating because of this oil crisis.
Americans resisting Trump: your work matters. But the architecture for global cooperation exists independent of U.S.participation now.
Spain just proved you can say no. Minnesota proved solidarity scales when cruelty is visible.
The question isn’t whether the world needs America. It’s whether America will rejoin the world after this…or remain extractive outlier.
Thank you. Things here have gotten out of hand with an under-educated, non-thinking electorate who prize political promises over substance and intellect. The majority of us will re-establish sanity to our governance as soon as we can. We will always need and want your partnership in the world's brotherhood of nations.
Promises by a proven liar! Why people still believe him is beyond me. He was not going to war, yet just a couple of months into his second year of his final term, he has us in a war with no explanation or justification. How can anyone still believe in him?
Thank-you Joe, for mentioning the 'disenfranchisement' issue. That is the one imminent action that could literally make his power unstoppable.
THE MOST URGENT PRIORITY RIGHT NOW SHOULD BE TO BLOCK THE SO-CALLED ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT’
(I refer to it as the ‘Screw American Voters’ Act,)
Conventional wisdom has been that the bill wouldn’t be able to pass a filibuster. But Trump and his henchmen are exerting enormous pressure to get the senate to waive the filibuster for this vote. Given that this horrible bill has already passed the House, we could be shocked to find this be enacted law virtually any time!
People need to do whatever they can to publicize this issue! The ‘SAVE Act’ is being debated right now!
All Senators, especially Republican Senators, need to hear from their constituents how much they oppose this legislation!
The so-called ‘SAVE Act’ would not only prevent tens of millions of married women from being able to vote, it could prevent ANYONE who doesn’t happen to have their original birth certificate and/or a current valid U.S. passport from voting!
Even more destructive, trying to enforce these provisions on election day could lead to massive confusion and delays… creating an opportunity for Trump to declare a national emergency and take over.
My goodness, as an Australian, I am finding this period so hard. I want to support my American friends, many of whom I know are good people, but I am also so ANGRY at Americans for electing this tyrant and thug. It's a real struggle with my inner self and it makes me sad. Still, we (the world) will come through this and see brighter times. I am looking forward to a time when I can cycle along American roads and experience the country I have admired so much from afar, sans Trump and his buffoons. Good luck, everyone. See you on the other side.
An American, I too am angry at the Americans who elected this tyrant and thug, including my delusional brother who voted for this horror three times. I am growing old, I hope I live to see America leaving Trump and Trumpism far behind in the rearview mirror.
We wish our fellow citizens had never voted for this fool either, but here we are. What’s happened to the Republicans could happen to Australia’s Liberal Party.
Most of us here did not elect the person, and many of us still cannot believe it really happened. The happenings taking place in many places should never exist anywhere. We value our true friends, and I thank you for your kindness and good wishes.
This is exactly as it should be. I have been utterly disgusted by the choices my country has made since the election of Nixon, and then Reagan -- as if we didn't learn anything.
The growth of the so-called "religious right" during the 1970s has impacted our politics at all levels -- including and especially local. Those people are incredibly fanatic and dedicated to their cause. No amount of reasoning will have any impact on them.
I certainly share your disgust that so many voted him in. My entire neighborhood and many of my relatives , who are all good people fell for his snake oil sale of him because he promised them to turn back the clock on the rapid changes, socially and technologically we are experiencing, especially: no more wars!, control of rapid infusion of different, new people into small communities too rapidly, without assistance in assimilation; overwhelming drug and scam waves that he based on foreign governments; etc. Trump is himself is a clever con artist and ignorant but gifted manipulator of ignorant, unsophisticated, and narrow thinking people. Horrifying to see how few can think independently as well. Many of those people are having a rude awakening and are appalled. This is why the anti Trump message is overcoming the anti other party think habit and so many are voting in oppositional government. Happily, many honorable Republicans are among these.
We all want to keep our Constitution and treasured friends and allies abroad. I know I watched the Capitol Riot, which I watched from its beginning to bitter end in teeth gnashing fury and jumping up and down and pacing but was falsely relieved when Congress reconvened and did the right thing. The Republican Party thereafter has done nothing but support Trump. I believe that Trump scared them with his control of evil and are only now realizing the damage they have wrought. Now they are clearly in the wrong side of history and many are jumping ship, quitting and “retiring” to open up their electable seats to the democrats to gain control of Congress. Hopefully the Supreme Court will follow the lower court judges and then Trump can be impeached, kicked out of office, and the begin fighting the loss of his entire cache of looted treasure and incarceration. Many add hung for the traitor and scoundrel he is. But we have a long hard fight ahead to get there.
I would like to say here that I have traveled to Australia and New Zealand for a month or so traveling to visit tropical fruit programs and farms and enjoyed that so much.
We Americans who didn't vote for him are just as angry (probably more) than you are. The number of people who voted against him were almost half the nation. It should have been a totally different outcome if poor old Joe had stuck to the plan of being a one time president. A different outcome just might have been possible. Hopefully there are many that won't make that choice going forward.
We have failed in education, our wonderfully rich system of supporting ideas and imagination set us on our laurels and we thought it would always be plentiful and free. We’ve spoiled ourselves and our children. Now we are in a huge bind to remember our heritage and continue growing to the words and ideals that made our nation laudable, We the people…hold these truths…have these rights…long resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country…and many other words we have grown by in order to become fully human. We have much work to do.
Parliamentary systems like Australia’s are much less likely to get a leader as messy as this. Our system badly needs structural change. The likelihood of that is unfortunately near zero.
You have to wonder why so many "leaders" from other countries keep going to the White House. These visits just boost the ego that really needs deflating.
BTW the press corps should also boycott briefings of all government functionaries and just depend upon insider confidants. The only good in the official line is that it is probably projectionism pointing away from the truth.
Maybe they go because they how the 🍊child might behave if they don’t go 🤷🏻♀️ The 🤡 is a bit of a loose cannon with a lot of military might at his whim that thus far congress/the courts cannot seem to manage 🤦🏻♀️
O, please do👍!!! Trump was SO proud of his last trip and it would shake him up no end at this time for a flat snubbing.
We would bear the brunt of his fury with glee to see him humiliated like that. If King Charles does go, he MUST make it clear that the United Kingdom will NOT help him in his self-inflicted debacles!
and our "leader" is just fine with that. And at the same time, he continues to back Poo-Tin and his clear aggression against Ukraine. There is clearly much more to the story wrt his affection toward Russia.
Just watch. Ukraine has developed world-class techniques in anti-drone warfare -- and they've been able to take out 90% or over of the Shahed drones Russia has been throwing at them. Watch Trump make overtures to Zelenskyy for some help.
He refused when President Zelensky offered help. Now a t son wants tovststta drone business.
President Jimmy Carter let his brother manage the peanut farm so Jimmy would not break the emolument clause.
What a difference there is being pushed continually by the bully in office now! It seems that money made while breaking that clause should all go to our government. It would be wonderful to use it to feed, clothe, house, educate, and give medical help to everyone in need. Further, his signature would not be allowed on any checks or benefits.
In his previous term, he insisted that he sign all checks going to people, checks that were really from our government, but whether or not he used an automatic pen, I do not know. I do know of some people who insisted that their checks were signed by him, and just as he had hoped, they believed that he had paid them himself out of his own pocket. I expect those people voted for him despite my explanation that it was our tax money that was paid to them.
Oh,yes. It is a hardship on our military but it shows Trump how foolish he has been, if Trump is even capable of realizing that. But his answer to that was.,well we have been supporting Ukraine too. Trump the Chump.
Yes Bob, impatient we are. Get rid of those nuts, get your competent and courageous military commanders back in function, start reconstruction of your humaniarian apparatus, start with new concern for energy, environment, public health.
And show to the world that this regime was a tragic abberation and a reason for apologies to the victims and to the world.
The regime of W. Bush and Dick Cheney started an illegal war and brought "torture" -- enhanced interrogation -- to the United States. And went unpunished. They are criminals who were never held to account. Aberration? I don't think so.
This is sort of uplifting, but in fact the only issue now is how to engineer an impeachment. It may not have fully sunk in with the chronically provincial US citizens, but Trump, led by Isreal, just pulled a "Pearl Harbor" type illegal sneak attack on a country in the middle of diplomatic negotiations. The attack was on a country too big to invade, which can block the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely. The brain damaged US secretary of defense is now charging into the mideast waving Maltese Cross and Star of David banners and screaming about holy crusades. This situation is now threatening to cascade into the kind chain reaction that led to WW1. This isn't funny anymore.
Tch, tch. What he is maneuvering to attempt is obvious to everyone, which is why throwing up one’s hands in despair is just wrong. Public opinion does count and right now every voice added to the shouting is required. The larger the crowd the more politicians will reconsider their own fates. We need crush any hope that caring the course with Trump is less than political suicide.
This weekend on the 28th you will have the opportunity to help. Join a No King No Trump march! We got Seven million people to participate in the last one and dare to aspire to double that this weekend. Last time I went alone. This time I am taking four others with me.
I am part of a No Kings rally in Brunswick GA and my younger sister in Baton Rouge LA. We are both doing everything we can to stop this idiot from doing more damage. I am hopeful that we will have tremendous turnout all over America!
The world has had enough of this childish, crazy man Trump, and he must be removed as president. Come on Republicans in Congress, enough is enough. Impeach him!
Let’s do more than that. Impeachment is just a warning! Let’s Impeach, Convict And Evict! That gives us back 2 years to reverse some of the administrative damage and give the next president a chance to restore normality.
I saw today that there is a petition to invoke the 25th Amendment because there is not time to wait to have enough Democrats elected to impeach him. However, members of his own loyal cabinet would need to testify, and it seems that that would not happen.
With impeachment, following the November election and the swearing in of the new people, he would be held responsible for something or some things. Still, what will happen in the meantime?
As always RR beautifully and brilliantly articulates the difference between right and wrong. He Represents a kind and intelligible version of American values. Stay strong RR we need you more than ever!!
I am based in Norway. I have always been pro-American, in terms of supporting the values and principles that the American Constitution expounds. It is therefore deeply disturbing to see someone with an electoral mandate behave in such blatant contravention to the basic American values and principles. In this sense it is hard to find anyone more anti-American than the current White House resident, whose words and deeds stand in stark opposition to the norms and values we expect from a president. As you say it is important for us outside the US to oppose that. And at the same time, please rest assured that we stand with the American democratic (non-partisan) opposition. We know how valuable the US can be and want to get back there asap.
Of course, it has been an article of neoconservatism before it became Common Sense to White Supremacists, that there's no such thing as community in any more-than-additive sense: just individuals. That ideology makes part of the passion for borders and behind the destruction of unions and communication networks and many transport networks and....
(Say, makes the Coalition of the Willing sound good, by comparison.)
"So, like an angry five-year-old whose friends refuse to come to his party because he shouts at them and never shares his toys, Trump exploded: “[W]e no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance " well written, Professor Reich!
The confounding thing is that we have the power and mechanisms to remove him, but people are failing to act out of their own self interests as things go from bad to worse. He has appealed to our worst impulses and the darker side of human nature which is exactly what the framers of The Constitution were worried about.
Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. I will never believe a corporation is a person until Texas executes one. Fix Scotus.
The Powell memo. Automatic voter registration. End the filibuster and gerrymandering. Overturn Buckley and Citizens United. Congress without term limits is too much like a retirement home.
The President Of The United States should be limited to one term of four years. Term limits org.
There are plenty of well qualified people who would like to do that job, and who would be good at it.
Chris, it's OUR JOB TO LIGHT A FIRE UNDER THE ASSHOLES IN OFFICE WHO HAVE LET THIS SITUATION GO ON 14 MONTHS LONGER THAN IT SHOULD HAVE! CALL THEM DAILY AND SCREAM BLOODY MURDER AT WHOEVER PICKS UP THE PHONE! GIVE THEM HELL! VISIT THEIR OFFICES! PARTICIPATE IN NO KINGS DAY THREE, MARCH 28! IMPEACH HEGSETH!
The Joint Chiefs and lower ranking senior officers just carried out and continue to carry out an unlawful order of massive consequence. With their display of immorality and the lack of application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, along woth international law, how can we expect the humble non-commissioned and commissioned officers to not follow unlawful orders?
Joe Kent's resignation may be a hint of the rot in the regime (for those who have not seen it already!), and also a reminder of the kind of personalities attracted to and attracted by Trumpism
I agree with Chris Lemon (below) reminding us that the job of removal before elections is the job of the Congress. Unfortunately that have abdicated their responsibility to the country. Thus, we the people, have to clean House and Senate of the Vichy, Quislings, and other sorts who no longer represent us.
According to the military experts I’ve read so far, the order itself was not illegal, otherwise it would have been ignored or challenged. The JC advised against attacking Iran but were overruled by Trump
The Joint Chiefs had their voices cut off when Hegseth kicked most news outlets out of the Pentagon. They appear to be acting like kept men, yes, but to be fair to them they don't have the power or authority to stop the train wreck. Ultimately, we need a fourth arm of government that they can go to in times like this, to set things straight. But that's a topic for another day.
The Joint Chiefs, like the gop congress have no spine. They huff and puff and walk around with their ribbons and creased uniforms, but they are cosplaying strength. True strength would have turned on trump from the get-go with the illegal killings in the Caribbean.
While this is eloquent, sadly, it does need to be acknowledged that the majority is not “vast”. It is a majority now, and that is good. But we do need to acknowledge that it is of great concern that a significant portion of Americans continue to support a person who is an avowed racist. At some stage, this must be acknowledged and addressed.
It is hard for us out here to understand HOW trump can force an unwilling nation with a strong constitution into behaving so badly.
There seem to be a third who actively support him, but I suspect the ostensibly inert and apathetic third have a sneaking regard for what he is doing or they would lean toward the third who want him gone. There are always a very few Dems in Congress who are willing to put their finger on the scales to help the GOP when push comes to shove.
Your image of yourselves is of the tough guy, well armed, who takes no sh*t, so depicted in countless Hollywood fantasies, yet in reality you have caved to an unintelligent, spoilt, bullying toddler who has shamed you on the world stage. Time, maybe, to reconsider the self-image and that Constitution.
We are listening to you, Mr Reich, and others like you so we know all is not lost. Perhaps by refusing to support trump in this we are doing what we can to help you bring him down. God only knows we wish you well.
Let me try to reassure Americans that we in Europe can see, quite clearly, that the fraud in the Oval office and his lackies do NOT represent the American people. Not in the war in the Middle East - and it is a war! Or in the illegal persecution by ICE and its concentration camps. The attempt to disenfranchise the female and trans vote and, generally, try to rig upcoming elections…the list goes on. Tdump is disintegrating in front of the whole world. We see it.
Thank you! It's been worrisome to many of us Americans that we may be confused with our nation's excuse for a president. Yes, there are people who still support him. But most of them do it out of fear. Or perhaps because they don't want to admit that they voted for the wrong person. His promises have never come to fruition because he never intended them to reach that point. We have been embarrassed that he cannot string a subject and predicate together to make a full sentence. We have been embarrassed by his bullying and his crass remarks toward our allies. We also know that our longtime allies will never trust us again.
In fact, we Americans worry that this stain will last on our reputation for decades. We also worry that Trump will upend our nation in such a way that we will lose our liberties and fall into the same abyss as Germany in the 1930s. We are working hard to prevent it. But as long as Trump has boot lickers in his administration, it likely will take a long time for the rest of us to turn this ship around.
I am too old to give up on the nation I grew up in. I don't want to leave a mess for my grandchildren. They've already become cynical about our government and about their futures. I don't want this to be prelude to their future.
Hi Donna,
I feel your concerns and they are justified. However, the sheer incompetence and open deception - not to mention the corruption - of this regime is out in the open now. Keep the faith. I believe there in an end in sight and then the real work will start!! 🙏
It is going to take, time, patience and unwavering determination. But this perverted tinpot dictator will fall and all his sycophantic followers. ☺️
Thanks, Joe, for the encouragement! ❤️
Exactly. Even his MAGA is starting to walk away. I welcome them back from the confusion they’ve been locked into just because he put an R next to his name and ran for office. If his puppeteers hadn’t cheated his way into the White House we wouldn’t be having all this to deal with worldwide.
“R” or not, the public needs to educate itself on what it’s voting for and not follow like sheep.
Or turn off FOX and stop commenting on x.
When the real work starts I fear that those who were MAGAs perhaps with regret will expect quick fixes and when that is impossible to do to their satisfaction they will again be looking for someone with promises regardless of how empty they are. The leopard, as the saying goes, does not change its spots and so those who choose not to bother learning will be doomed, and maybe doom us all to their me-first wish an immediate change in their whole life's circumstances. Education is powerful but only if one puts effort into obtaining it.
Great post. Thank you for sharing what so many people also feel about this. I am 79 and I fear for our grandchildren's futures. Trump is a disaster for America and the world!
Jan, next month I turn the page of age to a new decade, 90, and I still walk, drive, and thrive! I have a lot at stake here as well. and I have grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I share your concerns.
When the Allied forces swarmed into Berlin, in 1945, they did not discriminate between who had or had not supported Hitler. They went wild on everybody.
Well said, Donna!
I very well understand the causes of inaction. But how far/low does this disaster need to go on until the American people can admit that they for wrong government or that the fear they feel is stronger that going along with it? It may be that the truth is not reaching out.
Agree 👍 🤝
Thank you for seeing us!! We know Trump is a depraved, malignant narcissistic grifter. I am disappointed and sickened that MAGA is a cult and trying to take the whole world down an ugly, hateful path.
I believe that all will be held accountable for their actions. 💙💙💙
Absofuckinglutely hahaha!
Nuremberg them all 😈
Thank you dear. I am still devasted on how he got voted in again!
Actually, I care for all people, except Fascists, ego-maniacs and pedophile s 🤔
Fake news media. Uneducated Americans. Years of politicians bought on the open market.
Thank you!
It is going to be a long fight, so let’s join together and support each other!! ☺️
Joe White, God bless you! God bless us all! Your kind words of understanding mean so much, and they bring me to tears of relief and gratitude!
You are not alone. You are not isolated. Tdump IS though hahaha!
Thank you! Yes, he really is alone, I think. Now that he is requesting help for the mess he created, from our precious allies that he has hideously mistreated, and each in turn refuses his requests, it seems that his cohorts, and the writers of Project 2025, which he follows but tried to deny and hide, might leave him alone, too, rather than trying to continue using him for their own benefits.
Here’s a headline from our good friends in Canada: “Trump calls his friends losers, only to be surprised when no one comes to his party.” Remember when Obama nailed it? “what, did no one come to his birthday party when he was a kid?” The video is priceless. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/us-politics/article-trump-calls-his-friends-losers-only-to-be-surprised-when-no-one-comes/. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-election-2020/obama-biden-rally-stevie-wonder-trump-michigan-detroit-polls-latest-b1490030.html. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETOZfLEwYpE.
ISO, thank you. I cannot join the site to see the film, but I appreciate your effort and sharing l the quotation.
If you google the quote, the video should pop up. I found it worth the hunt.
We can hope that this whole trump regime will fall, and soon!
"we in Europe"
I have extended family in Europe as well as in Japan. Most people I know accept that Donald Trump became the president of the United States -- TWICE -- by OUR democratic process. So I am not sure what percentage you believe you speak for.
The next sane president will have to prepare for the Mother of all Apology Tours.
Hahaha!! The most popular president ever!!! Note who’s coming to his rescue 00000!!!
The American people you claim to care for and understand are also being cornered by Trump's actions. Europe does have leverage - if they cared enough to try to use it.
Actually, I care for all people, except Fascists, ego-maniacs and pedophile s 🤔
🙏 Thank you, Joe. It’s a comfort to know that our friends and neighbors are aware that most eligible voters in the US do not support 47. That said, there is no denying that this country has sustained a total moral collapse. 47 may have lit the match but the conditions for this wildfire are 400+ years of oppression and exploitation. I know because my ancestors were on the Mayflower and at Jamestown and I work every day to reduce that karmic debt. My hope rests in the fact that new growth always follows, regardless of the magnitude of the destruction. That new growth will reflect the dominant value system. Which wolf will we feed? https://www.nanticokeindians.org/about/the-tale-of-two-wolves/
Virtually all of us on this Substack are opposed to Trump, his cabinet, and the sycophants in both the Senate and the House who support this corrupt regime. However, our problem is truly systemic, in that obviously our current system permitted our politicians to be purchased, and once they are bought, they will do what their purchasers, the billionaires, require them to do. These people have as much guilt on their backs as the demonic and mentally ill individual that they have kept in office when they should join a movement to impeach him and bring all his cabinet to task.
If we do not install an improved system of democracy that prevents politicians from representing the interest of only a few,, then a disaster like this will occur again and again. So far, the only system I have come across that I believe can work is ECONOMIC DEMOCRACY. Here is a system that puts the welfare of the people and the planet first and not career politicians who are primarily interested in keeping their jobs, and using their positions to gain as much wealth as possible.
https://crisistransition.substack.com/p/local-economic-empowerment-and-global
https://crisistransition.substack.com/p/weve-been-dealt-the-best-hand-possible
The linked article below expresses hope. Hope is integral to the triumph over tyranny. Hope is necessary to animate humanity’s transition to a life-centered society.
https://crisistransition.substack.com/p/weve-been-dealt-the-best-hand-possible
Thank you for this. Now if only he dies.
Actually, I pray for 47’s good health and long life. If ICC prosecutes war crimes and/ or crimes against humanity, he could spend his retirement in one of the notorious prisons of member nations: Kamiti (Kenya), La Makala (Congo), or Mendoza (Argentina). Presidential immunity doesn’t apply.
I have long awaited his orange stripes. A good long life would be satisfying with occasional history and spiritual lessons! However, while he is at our head as president, I have hope he eats one cheeseburger to many!
47 stated that he doubts he’s going to heaven. If his supporters truly are people of faith, his repentance will be a priority. Especially if they believe that this war is Armageddon, where believers must conduct themselves in a manner befitting preparing for the Messiah’s return. The state of 47’s soul was a big headline on fox. https://www.fox5dc.com/news/im-not-sure-im-going-be-able-make-heaven-trump-tells-press-air-force-one
From your lips to the ears of the heavens....
All in good time…needs to face his sins first!!!
Prison could offer a unique opportunity for reflection.
Yes, he needs to punished for all of his misdeeds. I hope he doesn't take the easy way out!
Then what?!? Vance?????
Thank the good Lord y'all do see it, Joe! Those of us resisting and fighting this corrupt regime are so encouraged when we get messages of support from our friends around the world. I have several friends that I continue to write from the Ukraine. One is a soldier and another is part of a group patrol that goes out at night to determine if there is anyone in need of help and assistance. We commiserate with one another and offer encouragement. It keeps us working, fighting and resisting. We appreciate all of our allies! The majority of us support NATO, the United Nations Charter and the system of alliances and rules. Once this orange POS is removed from office and we have honest, good Americans leading us again, we will begin to build back those bridges he destroyed. We are aware it will take a while for any country to ever gain any trust back with the United States, but we are determined to prove that we are not all maga and idiots! Thanks for your comment, Joe!
Then how is it that Republicans are still positioned to maintain control of the senate in the fall? Where is that support coming from if not Americans?
Humpty Dumpty is planning on employing Elon as responsible for vote counting…desperate measures. But we see it.
Refuse Elon’s companies, refuse his products. Down with the man who orchestrated the stealing of our private information and gave big bucks to the felon! And, take the federal contracts and money granted away from him!
Elon, and any of his vote counting machines, need to be banned from being involved in our elections. He bought trump the 2024 election. Let's not make that mistake again. Ban Musk and any of his equipment!
It’s a long way to November. Trump’s approvals are continuing to spiral downward. Let’s talk after the elections.
It’s too early for trolls. Not even 5 AM in the midwest. We will have free and fair elections because there are more than 2.5 M adults in this country and we’ll demand nothing less. Dems will prevail because it’s been 10 years of the same tacky hats and tired promises. There’s no greatness and the emperor forgot to put his clothes on. Yuk.
The election must happen even if trump believes that HE can stop it. We need to remind people that our votes DO count! Don't stay home. Get out and vote blue and let's get rid of this stain on our history!
The odds in that are rapidly changing ... in large part thanks to the illegal war.
4Q of 2025 saw Zero Point Seven (0.7%) GDP growth of our economy. This is before Venezuela and Iran, of course.
$$$$$$$. Follow the $. It will lead to the downfall of our Democracy if we don’t wake up! God help us.
Compromised voting machines!
It is refreshing to hear that the world does understand that this administration is NOT representing the American people.
Joe White is one person. My friends in other countries know that Americans voted this man into office twice, along with a Republican House and Senate, that he is abetted by the Supreme Court and that the few resistant Republicans have lost their races or are leaving Congress.
I still believe that the 2024 election was rigged by Musk. Do not believe that trump has most Americans wanting him in office. I usually stay quiet in settings where trump's name comes up, but when it does, he is not on the popular lists. This attempt at WWIII will be the end of him. As long as he doesn't cancel the midterms, (I do not believe he can) we will have democratic leadership again and trump can take his gilded trappings home with him from the Oval Office!
Reich is right that Trump doesn’t represent Americans…but let’s be precise about what’s happening globally.
Writing from Portugal today: Europe isn’t waiting for American resistance to work. They’re building post-American security architecture right now. France expanding nuclear umbrella. Spain enforcing international law by evicting US forces. Germany accelerating defense integration. NATO Article 5 revealed as negotiable when Iran fired missile at Turkey with zero collective response, and then daddy Trump uses NATO to try to force allies to come to his aid.
Trump is isolated because he’s operationally incompetent at everything except extraction. Started unauthorized war, ignored allies, burned 800+ Patriots Ukraine needs, enriched Russia….
But here’s what Americans need to understand: The world isn’t just waiting for you to fix this. High-trust societies (Switzerland, Nordics, Netherlands, Canada, most of Europe) are functioning examples of what’s possible when systems optimize for human flourishing instead of oligarchical extraction. They treat like cases alike. Judge themselves by treatment of most vulnerable. These aren’t utopian ideals, they’re operational governments right now.
Climate cooperation, pandemic response, poverty reduction—-these all continue in Geneva, Brussels, Oslo regardless of American chaos.
Developing nations building alternatives. Agroforestry replacing extractive models. Renewable transition accelerating because of this oil crisis.
Americans resisting Trump: your work matters. But the architecture for global cooperation exists independent of U.S.participation now.
Spain just proved you can say no. Minnesota proved solidarity scales when cruelty is visible.
The question isn’t whether the world needs America. It’s whether America will rejoin the world after this…or remain extractive outlier.
—Johan (former U.S. FSO, in Europe this week)
Thank you. Things here have gotten out of hand with an under-educated, non-thinking electorate who prize political promises over substance and intellect. The majority of us will re-establish sanity to our governance as soon as we can. We will always need and want your partnership in the world's brotherhood of nations.
Promises by a proven liar! Why people still believe him is beyond me. He was not going to war, yet just a couple of months into his second year of his final term, he has us in a war with no explanation or justification. How can anyone still believe in him?
Thank you Joe! We will demonstrate our resistance on March 28!
Thank-you Joe, for mentioning the 'disenfranchisement' issue. That is the one imminent action that could literally make his power unstoppable.
THE MOST URGENT PRIORITY RIGHT NOW SHOULD BE TO BLOCK THE SO-CALLED ‘SAVE AMERICA ACT’
(I refer to it as the ‘Screw American Voters’ Act,)
Conventional wisdom has been that the bill wouldn’t be able to pass a filibuster. But Trump and his henchmen are exerting enormous pressure to get the senate to waive the filibuster for this vote. Given that this horrible bill has already passed the House, we could be shocked to find this be enacted law virtually any time!
People need to do whatever they can to publicize this issue! The ‘SAVE Act’ is being debated right now!
All Senators, especially Republican Senators, need to hear from their constituents how much they oppose this legislation!
The so-called ‘SAVE Act’ would not only prevent tens of millions of married women from being able to vote, it could prevent ANYONE who doesn’t happen to have their original birth certificate and/or a current valid U.S. passport from voting!
Even more destructive, trying to enforce these provisions on election day could lead to massive confusion and delays… creating an opportunity for Trump to declare a national emergency and take over.
This substack post contains additional details:
https://martinkushler.substack.com/p/the-most-urgent-priority-right-now
Thank-you for responding to this urgent issue!
My goodness, as an Australian, I am finding this period so hard. I want to support my American friends, many of whom I know are good people, but I am also so ANGRY at Americans for electing this tyrant and thug. It's a real struggle with my inner self and it makes me sad. Still, we (the world) will come through this and see brighter times. I am looking forward to a time when I can cycle along American roads and experience the country I have admired so much from afar, sans Trump and his buffoons. Good luck, everyone. See you on the other side.
An American, I too am angry at the Americans who elected this tyrant and thug, including my delusional brother who voted for this horror three times. I am growing old, I hope I live to see America leaving Trump and Trumpism far behind in the rearview mirror.
Let's hope that the misogyny, that also helped elect this buffoon will somehow dissipate.
Yes. Since our experience is becoming a living hell, we hope to see you on the other side. Thanks!
I'm angry too, and am American born and bred. He is a travesty of all people like me
were taught to believe in.
We wish our fellow citizens had never voted for this fool either, but here we are. What’s happened to the Republicans could happen to Australia’s Liberal Party.
Let’s hope it never happens anywhere, including here.
Most of us here did not elect the person, and many of us still cannot believe it really happened. The happenings taking place in many places should never exist anywhere. We value our true friends, and I thank you for your kindness and good wishes.
This is exactly as it should be. I have been utterly disgusted by the choices my country has made since the election of Nixon, and then Reagan -- as if we didn't learn anything.
The growth of the so-called "religious right" during the 1970s has impacted our politics at all levels -- including and especially local. Those people are incredibly fanatic and dedicated to their cause. No amount of reasoning will have any impact on them.
I certainly share your disgust that so many voted him in. My entire neighborhood and many of my relatives , who are all good people fell for his snake oil sale of him because he promised them to turn back the clock on the rapid changes, socially and technologically we are experiencing, especially: no more wars!, control of rapid infusion of different, new people into small communities too rapidly, without assistance in assimilation; overwhelming drug and scam waves that he based on foreign governments; etc. Trump is himself is a clever con artist and ignorant but gifted manipulator of ignorant, unsophisticated, and narrow thinking people. Horrifying to see how few can think independently as well. Many of those people are having a rude awakening and are appalled. This is why the anti Trump message is overcoming the anti other party think habit and so many are voting in oppositional government. Happily, many honorable Republicans are among these.
We all want to keep our Constitution and treasured friends and allies abroad. I know I watched the Capitol Riot, which I watched from its beginning to bitter end in teeth gnashing fury and jumping up and down and pacing but was falsely relieved when Congress reconvened and did the right thing. The Republican Party thereafter has done nothing but support Trump. I believe that Trump scared them with his control of evil and are only now realizing the damage they have wrought. Now they are clearly in the wrong side of history and many are jumping ship, quitting and “retiring” to open up their electable seats to the democrats to gain control of Congress. Hopefully the Supreme Court will follow the lower court judges and then Trump can be impeached, kicked out of office, and the begin fighting the loss of his entire cache of looted treasure and incarceration. Many add hung for the traitor and scoundrel he is. But we have a long hard fight ahead to get there.
I would like to say here that I have traveled to Australia and New Zealand for a month or so traveling to visit tropical fruit programs and farms and enjoyed that so much.
We Americans who didn't vote for him are just as angry (probably more) than you are. The number of people who voted against him were almost half the nation. It should have been a totally different outcome if poor old Joe had stuck to the plan of being a one time president. A different outcome just might have been possible. Hopefully there are many that won't make that choice going forward.
We have failed in education, our wonderfully rich system of supporting ideas and imagination set us on our laurels and we thought it would always be plentiful and free. We’ve spoiled ourselves and our children. Now we are in a huge bind to remember our heritage and continue growing to the words and ideals that made our nation laudable, We the people…hold these truths…have these rights…long resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain…ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country…and many other words we have grown by in order to become fully human. We have much work to do.
Hang with us. We will get through this.
Parliamentary systems like Australia’s are much less likely to get a leader as messy as this. Our system badly needs structural change. The likelihood of that is unfortunately near zero.
Totally agree.
Thank you so much for saying what we need to hear in England. And I really hope that King Charles cancels his visit to the unspeakable Trump.
I wish the King would cancel his visit too, but would Starmer allow him to do it?
You have to wonder why so many "leaders" from other countries keep going to the White House. These visits just boost the ego that really needs deflating.
BTW the press corps should also boycott briefings of all government functionaries and just depend upon insider confidants. The only good in the official line is that it is probably projectionism pointing away from the truth.
Maybe they go because they how the 🍊child might behave if they don’t go 🤷🏻♀️ The 🤡 is a bit of a loose cannon with a lot of military might at his whim that thus far congress/the courts cannot seem to manage 🤦🏻♀️
O, please do👍!!! Trump was SO proud of his last trip and it would shake him up no end at this time for a flat snubbing.
We would bear the brunt of his fury with glee to see him humiliated like that. If King Charles does go, he MUST make it clear that the United Kingdom will NOT help him in his self-inflicted debacles!
But they have so many mutual trumpstein file issues to discuss.
And to the people of Europe: we need you to help the heroes of Ukraine while we work to shed
Vladimir Putin’s not-so-secret ally, Donald Trump.
Even Putin is turning on T. by pointing out targets to Iran, I read.
and our "leader" is just fine with that. And at the same time, he continues to back Poo-Tin and his clear aggression against Ukraine. There is clearly much more to the story wrt his affection toward Russia.
Just watch. Ukraine has developed world-class techniques in anti-drone warfare -- and they've been able to take out 90% or over of the Shahed drones Russia has been throwing at them. Watch Trump make overtures to Zelenskyy for some help.
He refused when President Zelensky offered help. Now a t son wants tovststta drone business.
President Jimmy Carter let his brother manage the peanut farm so Jimmy would not break the emolument clause.
What a difference there is being pushed continually by the bully in office now! It seems that money made while breaking that clause should all go to our government. It would be wonderful to use it to feed, clothe, house, educate, and give medical help to everyone in need. Further, his signature would not be allowed on any checks or benefits.
In his previous term, he insisted that he sign all checks going to people, checks that were really from our government, but whether or not he used an automatic pen, I do not know. I do know of some people who insisted that their checks were signed by him, and just as he had hoped, they believed that he had paid them himself out of his own pocket. I expect those people voted for him despite my explanation that it was our tax money that was paid to them.
I sincerely hope you are correct, Thomas!
Headline today just popped up: "Ukraine Deploys 201 Drone Experts To Middle East To Counter Iran-Made Shahed"
Oh,yes. It is a hardship on our military but it shows Trump how foolish he has been, if Trump is even capable of realizing that. But his answer to that was.,well we have been supporting Ukraine too. Trump the Chump.
Yes Bob, impatient we are. Get rid of those nuts, get your competent and courageous military commanders back in function, start reconstruction of your humaniarian apparatus, start with new concern for energy, environment, public health.
And show to the world that this regime was a tragic abberation and a reason for apologies to the victims and to the world.
The regime of W. Bush and Dick Cheney started an illegal war and brought "torture" -- enhanced interrogation -- to the United States. And went unpunished. They are criminals who were never held to account. Aberration? I don't think so.
I'm afraid I agree completely; remenber My Lay. But I did not mention that and more shamefull happenings. History will...
This is sort of uplifting, but in fact the only issue now is how to engineer an impeachment. It may not have fully sunk in with the chronically provincial US citizens, but Trump, led by Isreal, just pulled a "Pearl Harbor" type illegal sneak attack on a country in the middle of diplomatic negotiations. The attack was on a country too big to invade, which can block the Strait of Hormuz indefinitely. The brain damaged US secretary of defense is now charging into the mideast waving Maltese Cross and Star of David banners and screaming about holy crusades. This situation is now threatening to cascade into the kind chain reaction that led to WW1. This isn't funny anymore.
Tch, tch. What he is maneuvering to attempt is obvious to everyone, which is why throwing up one’s hands in despair is just wrong. Public opinion does count and right now every voice added to the shouting is required. The larger the crowd the more politicians will reconsider their own fates. We need crush any hope that caring the course with Trump is less than political suicide.
This weekend on the 28th you will have the opportunity to help. Join a No King No Trump march! We got Seven million people to participate in the last one and dare to aspire to double that this weekend. Last time I went alone. This time I am taking four others with me.
I am part of a No Kings rally in Brunswick GA and my younger sister in Baton Rouge LA. We are both doing everything we can to stop this idiot from doing more damage. I am hopeful that we will have tremendous turnout all over America!
The world has had enough of this childish, crazy man Trump, and he must be removed as president. Come on Republicans in Congress, enough is enough. Impeach him!
Let’s do more than that. Impeachment is just a warning! Let’s Impeach, Convict And Evict! That gives us back 2 years to reverse some of the administrative damage and give the next president a chance to restore normality.
I saw today that there is a petition to invoke the 25th Amendment because there is not time to wait to have enough Democrats elected to impeach him. However, members of his own loyal cabinet would need to testify, and it seems that that would not happen.
With impeachment, following the November election and the swearing in of the new people, he would be held responsible for something or some things. Still, what will happen in the meantime?
let's just hope the elections go as they should. I woudn't bet on it as I believe they have already been rigged.
💯💯💯
As always RR beautifully and brilliantly articulates the difference between right and wrong. He Represents a kind and intelligible version of American values. Stay strong RR we need you more than ever!!
I am based in Norway. I have always been pro-American, in terms of supporting the values and principles that the American Constitution expounds. It is therefore deeply disturbing to see someone with an electoral mandate behave in such blatant contravention to the basic American values and principles. In this sense it is hard to find anyone more anti-American than the current White House resident, whose words and deeds stand in stark opposition to the norms and values we expect from a president. As you say it is important for us outside the US to oppose that. And at the same time, please rest assured that we stand with the American democratic (non-partisan) opposition. We know how valuable the US can be and want to get back there asap.
John Erik Fossum
Thank you for that. It is good to know we have allies against the corrupt and dysfunctional Trump in other parts of the world.
Amen.
Of course, it has been an article of neoconservatism before it became Common Sense to White Supremacists, that there's no such thing as community in any more-than-additive sense: just individuals. That ideology makes part of the passion for borders and behind the destruction of unions and communication networks and many transport networks and....
(Say, makes the Coalition of the Willing sound good, by comparison.)
Assuming we're all inured to the sound of Guantanamo Bay (and a democracy which can open - but can't close - it), true...
= /
"So, like an angry five-year-old whose friends refuse to come to his party because he shouts at them and never shares his toys, Trump exploded: “[W]e no longer ‘need,’ or desire, the NATO Countries’ assistance " well written, Professor Reich!
The confounding thing is that we have the power and mechanisms to remove him, but people are failing to act out of their own self interests as things go from bad to worse. He has appealed to our worst impulses and the darker side of human nature which is exactly what the framers of The Constitution were worried about.
Reinstate the Fairness Doctrine. I will never believe a corporation is a person until Texas executes one. Fix Scotus.
The Powell memo. Automatic voter registration. End the filibuster and gerrymandering. Overturn Buckley and Citizens United. Congress without term limits is too much like a retirement home.
The President Of The United States should be limited to one term of four years. Term limits org.
There are plenty of well qualified people who would like to do that job, and who would be good at it.
The country deserves better results.
"I will never believe a corporation is a person until Texas executes one." Great line!!
We need some courage among the Joint Chiefs to remove this guy by any means available.
That's not the Joint Chiefs job, it's congress' job.
Chris, it's OUR JOB TO LIGHT A FIRE UNDER THE ASSHOLES IN OFFICE WHO HAVE LET THIS SITUATION GO ON 14 MONTHS LONGER THAN IT SHOULD HAVE! CALL THEM DAILY AND SCREAM BLOODY MURDER AT WHOEVER PICKS UP THE PHONE! GIVE THEM HELL! VISIT THEIR OFFICES! PARTICIPATE IN NO KINGS DAY THREE, MARCH 28! IMPEACH HEGSETH!
The Joint Chiefs and lower ranking senior officers just carried out and continue to carry out an unlawful order of massive consequence. With their display of immorality and the lack of application of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, along woth international law, how can we expect the humble non-commissioned and commissioned officers to not follow unlawful orders?
Joe Kent's resignation may be a hint of the rot in the regime (for those who have not seen it already!), and also a reminder of the kind of personalities attracted to and attracted by Trumpism
I agree with Chris Lemon (below) reminding us that the job of removal before elections is the job of the Congress. Unfortunately that have abdicated their responsibility to the country. Thus, we the people, have to clean House and Senate of the Vichy, Quislings, and other sorts who no longer represent us.
According to the military experts I’ve read so far, the order itself was not illegal, otherwise it would have been ignored or challenged. The JC advised against attacking Iran but were overruled by Trump
The Joint Chiefs had their voices cut off when Hegseth kicked most news outlets out of the Pentagon. They appear to be acting like kept men, yes, but to be fair to them they don't have the power or authority to stop the train wreck. Ultimately, we need a fourth arm of government that they can go to in times like this, to set things straight. But that's a topic for another day.
The Joint Chiefs, like the gop congress have no spine. They huff and puff and walk around with their ribbons and creased uniforms, but they are cosplaying strength. True strength would have turned on trump from the get-go with the illegal killings in the Caribbean.
Vincent, LIKE, LIKE, LIKE, LIKE -- "BY A-N-Y MEANS AVAILABLE"!!!
While this is eloquent, sadly, it does need to be acknowledged that the majority is not “vast”. It is a majority now, and that is good. But we do need to acknowledge that it is of great concern that a significant portion of Americans continue to support a person who is an avowed racist. At some stage, this must be acknowledged and addressed.
It is hard for us out here to understand HOW trump can force an unwilling nation with a strong constitution into behaving so badly.
There seem to be a third who actively support him, but I suspect the ostensibly inert and apathetic third have a sneaking regard for what he is doing or they would lean toward the third who want him gone. There are always a very few Dems in Congress who are willing to put their finger on the scales to help the GOP when push comes to shove.
Your image of yourselves is of the tough guy, well armed, who takes no sh*t, so depicted in countless Hollywood fantasies, yet in reality you have caved to an unintelligent, spoilt, bullying toddler who has shamed you on the world stage. Time, maybe, to reconsider the self-image and that Constitution.
We are listening to you, Mr Reich, and others like you so we know all is not lost. Perhaps by refusing to support trump in this we are doing what we can to help you bring him down. God only knows we wish you well.
Someone agrees with me….