What strikes me is that there is so little opposition, both domestically and from abroad. Nobody laughs in his face, or calls him out. No need to insult, but simply state the (embarrassing) facts. Nothing! From nobody!
Opinion pieces galore, but no seriously effective opposition. Who has the guts to stand up against him, head-on, mano a mano?
There has been a whole lot of opposition expressed domestically and internationally. The simple fact is that right now, the GOP (Trump) controls Congress, SCOTUS and the White House. The checks and balances have effectively neutered by SCOTUS. So long as the GOP(Trump) remains in control, litigation and protest is all that’s left us.
That’s not to say that protest is pointless. On the contrary, litigation and protest have blunted or at least delayed some of the Trump insanity, and as we have seen in recent elections, the majority of Americans clearly oppose the chaos. Democratic governors like Newsom and Pritzker have indeed stood up to Trump personally, through litigation and legislation.
As you may be aware, or not, Bulgarians have just toppled their government through demonstrating massively in the streets. They did not want a corrupt government anymore for their children. So, things are possible...
Bulgaria has a parliamentary system of government where a 'no confidence' vote means the government must resign and new elections are held. Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to call a constitutional convention and switch to the parliamentary system.
Maybe there's some fantasy world where things make sense and good ideas prevail, but that's not the world we live in. I don't ever see this happening in anybody's lifetime. We are stuck with the system we have. There are too many vested interests and states who would never agree to give up power.
Well, then, this calls for a civil war 2.0 to get RID of political parties, primaries, and reduce expenditure to a RANKED CHOICE VOTE GENERAL ELECTION!!!
Maybe we are at the prophesied end of the fourth world— and the chaos we’re experiencing flips the switch— it does feel like something will happen. The universe does not sustain bullshit greedy power grabbers.
Yeah, that’s the American spirit! Imagine if the patriots thought that way in 1776! We are a nation founded in revolution living in times of disruptive change. To be “stuck” is to be doomed.
The current adversarial two-party U.S. election system is dysfunctional and increasingly undemocratic. The last presidental election cost tens of billions of dollars (mostly contributed by corporations and private interest groups) and look at the result! We are now an oligarchy not a democracy.
Einstein once said, "Insanity is repeating an action expecting different results." As a nation, we are certifibly insane.
A European once commented, "For a young nation, the U.S. has a very old constitution." Most of Europe got the opportunity to rewrite their constitutions after the devastation of two World Wars. Perhaps it is now our time to reinvent ourselves to match the challenges of the times. Should we do it now under Trump's authoritarian clown show... oh hell no! Do we have to wait for WWIII to spur us to action... hopefully not. Canada is a good model for an American parliamentary system so this is not that radical.
Ironically, the Bulgarians have had a corrupt regime after regime since the Soviet era, so while time does handle many of these issues, in the long run we all die…
To the extent that Congressional acquiescence to Trump was due to the threat of being "primaried" by maga voters, that threat is subsiding and everyone in DC sees it. It was definitely a major factor up to now though: members of Congress choosing their career over their country.
As for the Supreme Court, what is the reason for their cowardice or stupidity? WTF
Yup, unitary executive theory “holds that the Constitution vests all executive power in the president and that he must be able to control everything the executive branch does”, and Roberts is a believer. I only skimmed the recent NYT article about it, but he was part of a push for it in the Reagan administration. I really cannot understand support because it completely undermines the fundamental idea of checks and balances. In my mind, people who support the idea are, at best, naive idealists, or, more likely, power hungry and arrogant. And even *if* a good argument can be made, Trump is dangerous to use as the change agent. He is reckless and providing the situations to rule on, but that same recklessness is endangering everyone and everything everywhere.
When we next have a Democrat as President, my guess is that the Robert’s Court will find arguments for checks and balances. But then, no Democrat as President would likely demand unitary power, because, you know, The Constitution. First job for a decent new President will be to expand the SC to 13, to represent the 13 judicial districts in the US. To make it more representative of We The People, each judicial district should be able to choose their own SC candidates. Next up will be for attorneys to bring relevant cases to this larger SC and work to overturn the horrendously awful rulings we are getting during trump 2.0. And criminally adjudicate any current justice who is breaching ethics and laws by taking bribes/gifts and impose a mandatory Ethics Code like US Federal judges must abide by. Not to mention challenging those justices who lied in their Senate Confirmation hearings to follow strong precedent and uphold the law.
No need to pay for those worthless f@cks nor republican congress....I see the day when Harlan Crow decides to quit funding sugar baby Clarence Thomas and gets a cheaper deal at the new white house ballroom.
RE the Toxic Six on SCOTUS … It’s not ‘stupidity’; rather it’s cupidity. Those six are ideologically committed to autocracy, racism (yes, even Uncle Thomas),
patriarchy, and empire. And more than a few of those six benefit directly from the stances they’ve taken and the fascistic decisions they’ve rendered.
SCOTUS needs to be torn down to the studs and built anew with, among other things, an enforceable code of ethics, term limits, and a larger size.
Oh, and ‘original intent’ needs to be burned to the ground for the racist, elitist POS it is. It is the secular right’s version of fundamentalism.
It doesn't get the notice of us Americans, because Trump and Tech Bros Allies own and are censoring almost all the news we received on a daily basis. Even with the censorship, Americans are waking up, and we don't like what we see. Every election we are able to express ourselves with, we vote in ever increasing numbers for the opposition Democrats. We are up against not only Putin, but also our own greedy Billionaires, who would love to have the same power and easy wealth as the Russian Oligarchs. Let's face it, Trump isn't the only Anti-American Traitor here. All those news outlets, including the New York Times wouldn't let any discussion of Trump's ties to Russia or his mental health before the election, but we heard nothing but a drumbeat of criticism of both mental health andand the economy of Biden.
It's true that the media has not been as responsible as it could have been. However, it is still possible to find sources of comprehensive and truthful information. Prof. Krugman was able to write this Substack essay based on publicly available information from, yes, the news media. Too many Americans would rather wrap themselves in their comfortable cocoons of ignorance, or really don't care, because Trump is removing brown-skinned people from the country.
Stop the revenue flows. Take the pain and find alternatives. Send the warning shot over the bow. Numbers are watched for a test of reaction and cohesiveness. Consumers organized are highly powerful. Consumers have been trained and conditioned not to organize and to be passive. Told it doesn't matter. You may not break any piggy bank but this isn't the point. The point is to mark your territory and be seen as being aware and active.
Absolutely correct. Consumer revolts can be very powerful. Disney folded to popular protest immediately. We need to take on the TechBros. Those guys are dangerous. No more first person usage by AI. AI is a data center, not a person.
Adobe added an "AI Noise Reduction" feature to Photoshop. I tried it once and found it inferior to their old noise reduction feature. Fortunately, Adobe did not remove the old feature.
JB Pritzker, Gavin Newsom, Leticia James, Rachel Maddow, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Marjorie Taylor Fucking Greene, Indiana GOP Lawmakers, the good people of Newport Oregon, G20 leaders vis-a-vis recent so called Ukraine peace plan, Mark Carney (though probably far too cerebral), Ontario Premier Doug Ford notably with his Ronald Reagan ad during the World Series (so fun). Canadians in general. Elbows Up 💪🇨🇦 💪
Marjorie T. F. Greene is the rare R who pushes the presidump's buttons. Then, like Jeff Flake, she decides to leave the game. Not exactly profiles in courage.
Liz Cheney, for all her shortcomings, is one of the very few who risked getting her cojones severed. But she kept them intact. And paid the price.
Years ago, LeBron James tweeted back at Trump's attempt to bully him, and Trump shut right up. It disappointed me that LeBron never used that power again. And where did Oprah go?
Liz Cheney is probably rich enough to afford private security. Does anyone doubt that MTG has had credible death threats to herself and family? I'm not a fan of hers, but there are way too many rumors of MAGA threats of violence. They've got all the militias and criminal gangs ready to attack.
Interesting and significant that MTG was a shrill (and looney, but that doesn't matter) thorn in Democrats' side for 5 years and she expressed no concern for her personal safety. Five weeks after criticizing Trump, she leaves politics because of death threats. So ... who's violent in the US? (Readers of Prof Krugman knew the answer already, but maybe some MAGA types should reflect, though Fox won't invite them to....)
The Space Laser Lady sensibly decided that it wasn't worth spending millions to fight the main Republican party in the next primary election. Speculation is that she will be moving into Georgia State politics. IMO, DonnyJon will attack her there if that's what she does. In any case, she stayed long enough to qualify for her Congressional retirement benefits. If she drops out of politics completely, she'll still be very well off.
not well off because of the pension, which does not pay out till she's 63 or so - but well off because of savvy/well-informed investments since she was first elected. A model case for prohibiting stock market investments by members of Congress.
Thank you for mentioning Newport, Oregon. Lived in Oregon my whole life (60+ years) until a recent move to Washington state. Didn't realize what was happening in Newport, was so wrapped up in the move. Big applause to those "good people" of Newport!
One of the surprises of Trump’s second term has been the cowardice and complacency from the usual opposition. The Democrats are nowhere to be seen and the rush to profit off of Trump by the oligarchs has been alarming.
If the press doesn't cover it, that means it isn't there? There are many protests by lots of people, but you are just not being told about it because the media is owned by Trump's billionaire friends.
I definitely will not give it a rest. Many of us will not give it a rest. We are fully aware of the treason being committed in our present government. There is a population in this country that ignores the news or lack of news because they are too busy surviving, but the other people are watching and waiting to vote these monsters out of office.
I have well educated, affluent people in my family who choose to consume far right propaganda because it confirms their deep seated bias that other less fortunate people getting a leg up takes away from them and threaten their social superiority. They have a zero sum view of the world. They consider themselves to be good Christians. They were not like this until Fox News started polluting our airwaves.
Yes, the wealthy are building their bunkers to protect them. What are they afraid of? They should be afraid of a mad man in office who could set off a nuclear war whenever he is enraged, but no, they support him. Fox, so called News, is nothing but propaganda and should be silenced!
Terence is right, of course, many Democrats leaders are willy nilly accomplices, and in some ways we are all accomplices. There should be a shadow government, there should be a special continental congress, formal impeachment proceedings for the Scotus mockery of fundamental precedents and the law in general… a party wide reach to the Armed Forces… btw, you saw that full Democratic delegation on the steps of Congress loudly supporting the Six? Nah, I am making that up, there wasn’t one. Anyhow, even a concerted middling intelligent strategy of peeling off the moderates in the GOP (actually, many) by providing cover and even bargaining with them assuring them a political future would do it for me.
Instead, I actually got a text from some moron’s campaign in Brooklyn attacking a current Dem representative because he’s old. That’s my proof, there’s nothing out there but picnics
Perhaps in an ideal world! But it isn't! I don't know what goes on in the back rooms in DC because no one reports on that. Perhaps there is a rebellion in the brewing stage that we don't know about. One can only hope!
You don't understand our Electoral College (EC) system. More voters voted for someone OTHER than Trump. Even in 2016, Clinton won the popular vote by approx. 3.5 million but not the EC. If you understood that, you wouldn't be so arrogant.
Perhaps you could turn your attentions to your own provinces that are in support of Pollievre, or Smith in Alberta. Canada has its own problems. People in glass houses...
The Democrats are doing about as much as they can given the fact the American people decided to give all the power to Trump and his pathetic band of cowardly Republicans. Democrats are constantly holding hearings which highlight the abuses of the Trump administration and those hearings are getting covered in the news and on social media and on late night shows. For example their hearings on Trump’s illegal boat strikes have gotten wide coverage. They are slamming Trump’s actions in interviews, too. For example Mark Kelly’s recent interview with Lawrence O’Donnell was impressively powerful. He condemned Hegseth’s and Trump’s illegal killing of those Venezuelans and also reminded people that, unlike Republicans, he isn’t cowering in the face of threats in spite of the fact that his wife was left permanently brain damaged by an shooting.
Kelly isn’t the only Democrat who has refused to back down after receiving threats or, as in the case of Nancy Pelosi, a vicious attack on her husband. One person who threatened Ilhan Omar is now in prison but she still speaks out regularly. There are also a lot of Dems (Claire McCaskill, Kathy Hokul ) who have voted for bills like the ACA or the Clinton healthcare reforms that they knew would likely cost them their seats. The media normalizes the Republicans’ cowardice but never gives Democrats credit for their bravery.
In contrast the media keeps reporting that Republicans are going along with Trump’s terrible policies because they are getting threats. Worse they are afraid of getting primaried.
For decades our mainstream “liberal” media portrayed the Republicans who laid the foundations for this anti-democracy administration as “normal”, “moderate”, “principled”. It was those normal Republicans Bush I and II, not Trump, who gave us the three worst justices Thomas, Alito and plutocracy-loving Roberts. It has taken the media decades to acknowledge (occasionallly) just how extreme those justices are. Their bothsidesing faux balance has aided and abetted the far right’s takeover.
Six media companies own almost all of the media outlets in the US. That concentration makes it easier for the current regime to sue those companies if said media outlets publish or broadcast something that 47 doesn’t like.
It was the Supreme Court, aided and abetted by his sycophants in Congress and the cabinet, not the voters, who gave Trump immunity and powers beyond prior Presidents. You are right about our current terrible imitations of Justices being a problem but don’t forget Gorsuch whose voting record is worse than Roberts’.
The Dems are out of power nationally. They control a fair number of state houses and most big cities. But unfortunately, trump threatens to cut off state and city funding if people protest his policies. This is illegal, of course, but he doesn't care.
Okay, that comment is risible. Here's what I say to you Mr. Oilerhead: if you know how to eliminate the Electoral College, please come down here and fix it. Further, have you seen the polls regarding our "Dear Leader"? Like 36 approval rating? Many who voted for Dear Leader are regretting it. Most Americans (minus the maga crowd [1/3] are trying to solve these problems). Pretty hard to do when the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the "president" are all one cabal. Maybe you are unaware that many, many of us are doing our best to change this horror.
"If you want to get the attention of a large animal, whether it be a bureaucracy or an elephant, it helps to know where it feels pain. Be very sure, however, that you want its full attention." Kelvin Throop.
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The United States enters 2026 in a state of compounding crisis across every dimension that matters. The political system is under systematic assault by an aspiring autocrat. Social cohesion has collapsed into tribal warfare over basic facts. Economic anxiety deepens as affordability becomes unattainable for millions. And America’s international standing—built over seventy years at enormous cost—is being squandered with stunning speed.
These crises are not unrelated. They radiate from a single source: a president attempting to transform American democracy into authoritarian rule, aided by institutional weakness, political cowardice, and a population too exhausted or divided to mount effective resistance.
Even the 1% should have opposed him for the sake of their long-term interest in having a functional country. But he was so good at diverting working class rage away from them, they decided he was worth it.
(Correction: medium-term interest. The 1% don't seem to care about having a functioning country in the long term.)
Trump was indicted and well on his way to jail multiple times when the corruption of the bought off Republican party bailed him out so they could use him to destroy our democracy for their delusional ideology. The unfortunate reality is, the rich oligarchs that run our country (and control our media) wanted this and need Trump to be who he is to get what they want, which is to eliminate the threat of a functioning democracy that diminishes their wealth and power. As sick as Trump is, it's the billionaire enablers around him who are truly evil and see democracy as a failure (blinded to the fact that it was democracy that made them in the first place). There is a sickness in America driven by greed and ignorance, and it has infected must of our billionaires. And at the end of the day, money controls everything.
Jasmine Crockett, Pritzker, Adam Schiff, Kinsinger, even Liz Chaney...and there are more. Someone in the military is going to have to stand up to Trump and Hegseth. Congress is going to have to find their collective pair and arrest someone like Noem.
We need to kick the legs out from under Trump and Hegseth; we can't start at the top.
Mark Kelly, U.S. Navy combat pilot, will take-out the legs of the MAGA monster using truth, moral clarity and patriotic duty as his munitions and bone-spurs felon47 will fold like a cheap suit.
Actually, he is being opposed by the most important and consequential people: the voters in the most recent elections. They sent an ominous message to Trump enablers in Congress and state houses.
We need to keep that up. I am, however, a bit worried about possible voter interference - like several armed and masked men blocking the entrances and asking people for their "real Id" and voter registration card.
...and others as well. I am boycotting US products and services (in as much as possible...). If we (Canadians, Europeans, etc...) did it, it would be felt, enough to raise alarm amongst Trump's billionaire friends. Also, wait for the effect of the new travel rules (five years of social network activity, email contacts etc.). The US travel and hospitality industries will love that!
Yeah, those new rules should make many foreigners hesitant to visit the US. I'm wondering when the TSA will start trying the same thing for citizens. We'll have to show up for our flights 24 hours ahead of departure.
The thing is, IMO none of that can be really enforced. People today are getting "burner" phones to carry in the States. It's a matter of a hundred dollars or so to get a "burner" laptop that has nothing objectionable on it. And what will they do with people who don't have accounts with the usual social network outfits like Facebook?
I know it's hard to stand up to his intimidation, but I am waiting for one of the women he continually insults to respond. Perhaps "No, I'm not stupid, are you demented Mr. President? Either you can't remember what you said two days ago or are you lying now. Which is it?" Someone needs to call him out and his/her colleagues need to back him/her up.
Trump is a classic example of a cross between an elementary school/high school bully, and, a mob boss such as John Gotti, to give an appropriate NYC example. Importantly, he was mentored in tactics by the disgraced lawyer, Roy Cohn.
While subsequent commenters have pointed to Gavin Newsome and J.B. Pritzger, and, one might also point to the late night "comedian" show hosts among many other pundits, the most effective time and method to confront the Trump bully is directly to his face. Out-tough the lying coward that Trump is, in that shared time and space.
Congressman Goldman (D/NY) just successfully did that to Kristi Noem during a Congressional hearing yesterday. Reporters who share the same space and time with Trump, Leavitt, and, any member of this revolting, lying Administration, must stand strongly with truth to that "power" in those shared moments. This way, truth stands a better chance of being broadcast to Trump's cult followers. Those cult members don't watch Jimmy Kimmel, and, the Fox Network doesn't broadcast the broadsides by the MSNow, CNN, and, anti-Trump policies podcast pundits.
It seems we are all hoping for a "Sir, do you have no decency?" moment. But any Democrat (e.g. Newsom) cannot create that moment now. And what authoritative voice on the Republican side is there left?
It is more about energy and resources, along with a spine attached to the guts, I think. The trauma of push-back ties up your resources, energy, labor, and angst for a long time whether personal or organizational. With a juggernaut of corrupt or political scurrilous acolytes being paid to enrich their own well-being and longevity, coming after even inconsequential examples to launch attacks upon, this digital volcano of destruction of oppressive child-like tantrums as a strategy has been effective.
But, yes, this is why we have to pull together and step up the support using resources available to each and everyone of us. A drop put in the bucket is strength when we gather together.
Actually, they evaluated the Orange Swamp Creature and promised gazilion dollars without any intention of fulfiling. Such as van der Leyen promising PRIVATE investment. Apart from her own money, she cannot drive private investment, but the Orange Stupid Creature was ́appy
Krugman is right about the headline and almost understated about the diagnosis. This isn’t a case of a president misjudging threats. It’s a case of a president redefining “national security” to mean whatever protects his ego, his leverage, and his transactional instincts in the moment. Security policy becomes a loyalty test. Economics becomes a shakedown. Allies become obstacles.
What’s chilling is not just that Denmark, Canada, and the UK are hedging against us, but that they’re doing so rationally. Intelligence sharing depends on trust, and Trump has spent a decade proving that he treats sensitive information as a bargaining chip or a prop. You don’t hand classified material to someone who can’t tell the difference between state interest and personal flattery.
The Greenland episode, the Witkoff tape, the Section 232 farce — these aren’t isolated embarrassments. They’re signals. They tell allies that American power is now unpredictable and personalized, that rules last only until Trump feels slighted or bored. That’s how empires fracture: not with invasion, but with unreliability.
Krugman’s point about semiconductors is especially damning. Trump invokes “national security” to tax sofas, then sells off actual strategic advantage after a CEO whispers in his ear. That’s not ideology. That’s corruption with a flag draped over it.
The danger isn’t foreign enemies exploiting weakness. It’s that the weakness is intentional.
There is one big thing missing from this analysis: MONEY. Many of the moves Krugman discusses involve real or potential shakedowns to bring billions to Trump and his sleazy family. What might he have been promised, for example, to release the Nvidia chips? We may see some actual gains for his family, or there might be untraceable crypto currency transactions in addition to the many that have already happened. In Ukraine and Greenland he has explicitly focused on exploiting mineral rights and we can be sure he expects a cut for himself / his family. To be sure, his personal preoccupations and ego stroking play a role, but a crucial factor is the old familiar graft and payback.
And when the FBI finally took back our classified documents that he stole from the American people why weren’t these statements made back then? They were true then. They are true now.
February 28, 2025. Barely a month after the inauguration. The Department of Justice, now neutered and heel-toed, loaded the boxes onto Air Force One and flew them right back to Mar-a-Lago. The same boxes. The same crime scene. Trump bragged about it on Truth Social, calling it a restoration of justice. It wasn't justice. It was a trophy ceremony.
Didn't Navidia offer trump 25% of profits from the sale to China - 25% to the treasury.
Critics from both parties call it dangerous—it could help China close the AI gap and strengthen its military capabilities. Former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called the decision "nuts." Some constitutional scholars argue the profit-sharing arrangement may violate the Export Clause prohibiting taxes on exported goods.
The pattern you're spotting:
This fits Trump's transactional approach—treating government policy as a business deal where he extracts payment. The concern is that he's potentially compromising national security for government revenue.
True, the things Donald Trump doesn't like tend to be good for national security, not bad. The only one that comes close is the tariffs issue, but only if you're willing to connect his tariff policies to actual reshoring of vital industries.
I really appreciate this comment. I read your own post (Ventriloquism) on burnt ground— also informative. I am unable to subscribe to burnt ground, for some reason, but I plan to check back on your account every so often.
What should really be worrying for Americans is that the feeling that the United States could never again be trusted regardless of who’s the next president. Half the country voted to put Trump in charge - a second time. Is this a nation you would trust when its people couldn’t even judge what’s in their own best interest?
The blame for this debacle lies squarely on the shoulders of GOP voters, and elected GOP collaborationist quislings who are obviously either too cowardly or too opportunistic to speak the truth to Trump’s face. This will all seem quaint a year from now if Trump’s power grab is not checked; can it really be our destiny to become a vassal state ruled over by Putin and Xi? Thank you, Dr. Krugman, for speaking out clearly.
Republican conspiracy theorists used to whine about the "Trilateral Commission" and secret world governments, Hollywood Jews controlling world banking...
But now we have the real thing. A cabal of Oligarchs who truly believe that because they are so rich they are smarter than us. They believe they are the designated leaders of the world. Ellison and Thiel are the obvious ones. But it's a club that knows no borders or boundaries. It's a book, it's a sci-fi movie. It's real.
For those of us with a large collection of old paperback novels that haven’t made it to the yard sale or those Little Free Library stands, the entanglement of oligarchs, politicians, foreign governments, and secret societies we are now seeing reads just like a Robert Ludlum book from the 1990’s.
Putin and Trump are controlling and using the oligarchs. They will, up to a point, when the oligarchs find a better benefactor to make rules favorable to them.
Professor Krugman: every morning when i awaken into this dystopian fantasy-cum-reality, i find myself overwhelmed and afraid for myself and where my life is headed (nowhere good, that's for sure!) and this is all thanks to the orange rapist and his regime of evil.
incidentally, i learned that anyone wanting to visit the USA for vacation or whatever not only must turn over five years of social media information so his monsters can survey it for disparaging comments about the orange rapist and his closest techbros, but they also must provide a DNA SAMPLE!! wow. talk about authoritarianism. just, wow.
almost motivates me (and others? probably!) to create a flock of false social media accounts to show to the fake authorities so the real accounts are protected government scrutiny.
Apparently, having a very clean phone is a red flag. Make sure you have a browser history (not connected to you other devices) that has a bunch of innocuous sites in its history.
"I don't think Americans realize how unattractive the US looks to European tourists right now, and this just makes it worse. With the World Cup next year, you’re going to have the Tartan Army coming over in droves. If Scots get turned away just for having criticized Trump in the past, it’s going to cause a massive diplomatic mess."
Wait until the ICEstapo starts running sweeps and arrests players and visitors of the streets. I sure as Hell wouldn't come to the FIFA games from outside the US.
The buzz in the Western, non-American talk-back world is that most people are reconsidering going to the states unless they absolutely have to go for business or a funeral.
It’s quite simple- people from outside the US should postpone their travel plans. Why would one take the risk of being assaulted and why spend any money that supports the status quo?
Putin saying that the newly released National Security Strategy is in almost perfect alignment with Russia's goals is something that SHOULD be ringing alarm bells in Washington and beyond. It is proof-positive (as if more proof were needed) that everything Trump has done undermines the United States while strengthening Putin and Russia.
As Nancy Pelosi said so seemingly long ago, "Why is that everything with you always leads back to Russia?"
America elected him, America deserves him. The dumbassification of our country has got us into real trouble now. The forecast calls for pain. We only have ourselves to blame.
My only reaction is this: why in the bloody hell are countries—and our own press and government—only now admitting this? For God’s sake, this has been happening since 2016.
What’s next—hand-wringing opinion pieces suddenly “questioning” whether he really won the 2024 election? Really? As if this is some shocking new revelation? We already know the answer. He didn’t.
And who are we supposed to ask now—Musk? Why haven’t we? Or whomever else happens to be pulling strings behind the curtain?
I am beyond fed up with how painfully slow our leaders are to recognize and sound the alarm. Even now, they’re still dragging their feet. Still hedging. Still minimizing.
This is not leadership. This is negligence. And it’s the same story every time: too little, too late.
Europe and Canada are done with Trump and his bullying. The attempted surrender and “sale” of Ukraine to Russia was the final straw. I’m glad they have finally said enough even though it will cause us economic pain. Trump is evil, they finally see it and are acting to cut us off.
They are moving now. Seizing Russian assets, cutting the US out where they can and forcefully telling Putin and Trump to f off with their peace plan and kick-starting their mutual defense without U.S.
Did you know that to a large degree that Europe cutting off Russian natural gas is dependent on it being able to import it from the United States? The European measures are a sham, they won't be real until they pick up a gun and engage in Ukraine.
I didn't want to follow your link, but I did. It is not clear at all what your point was and how the link supported it. I don't like links because usually they are a road to nowhere, like in this case.
How about we just not let the USA become more like Russia, and not more like Europe. Isn't Rossie O'Donnell a mentally unbalanced fool for moving to Ireland.
I watched former Danish intelligence agent Jacob Karsboo talk about how Denmark is trying to balance saying the US is a threat and a friend as a fellow member of NATO. They do not want to be accused by others of pushing NATO out. He also pointed out that Donald Trump is complaining about Europe wasting his time but really he is wasting Ukrainian lives and European time.
I am wondering whether more European countries are going to speak up and say Trump is dangerous. I think most will continue to say one thing to Trump and another amongst themselves.
Trump has made the US a client state of Russia with his NSS, and Russia is a client state of China, so guess who is in ascendancy now. We can credit Donald J Trump with overseeing the Fall of the United States Empire. Other American countries that are democracies need to be forming an alliance as Trump will be coming after their natural resources. African countries should do the same. Trump offers the people of these countries nothing in return because USAID is shut down.
My friend tells me this morning slowly Scientists are leaving the US. My husband and friends of ours are among them. I am already mostly living abroad. I wrote this piece last November but it still seems relevant. It is called "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe" which I could also call "A 'Plan B' for Democracy" because we can choose to live in a democratic society whether or not the US remains one.
When Joe Biden's age limitations became too serious to ignore, the Democratic party, with sadness did the responsible thing. And Joe Biden gracefully accepted his fate.
When Trump's age limitations are manifested by tearing down parts of the White House, murdering people on boats in the Caribbean, shuttering whole agencies that do good for the world, attacking science and healthcare and making health insurance for millions of Americans unaffordable and so forth, the GOP just falls in line rather than removing the guy.
So here we are, waiting impatiently for the 2026 mid terms so we can begin to right the ship of state.
The lack of enforcement of international laws will spur more invasions. If the trend follows, China invades Taiwan while slowly (but surely), the EU will be engulfed by Russia.
I disagree about the EU. If Putin went after the EU today or in the next several years, they'd squash him. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be bloody though. That's especially true given the EU just locked away Russia's funds and is giving them to Ukraine.
I think that, today, the US would help Russia if that war happened. Remember what Trump said about NATO contributions:
“You didn't pay? You're delinquent?'" Trump recounted saying. "'No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.
I think that would be the breaking point for MAGA. Russia has been our enemy for about 80 years. They've been conditioned to believe that. A foreign war + aiding Russia? Not to mention there would probably be a revolt in the officer corps.
I read in the BBC that Germany is instituting a period of mandatory military service for the first time since 1945. I'm not sure how this differs from a draft, but it seems to be just as unpopular as the draft in the US was in 1970.
Someone once told me that if the US leaves NATO, NATO will set up monitoring stations in Canada because we will be the only nation in the Western Hemisphere with Nuclear Weapons
Back in DJT’s first term, I thought that Trump’s pro-Russia stance was due to his being blackmailed by Putin. What was he doing with the trove of top-secret documents stashed in his bathroom at Mar-a-Lago? Now it appears that DJT has been fully recruited by Putin to implement Russia’s agenda with a shared vision of divvying up the world. I would bet that Putin has also funneled money into DJT’s offshore accounts, payoffs for his dismemberment of our federal government, the betrayal of Ukraine, and the anti-NATO, anti-Europe posturing. Who benefits from the dissolution of USAID, the purges in the Department of Defense, the firings of so many JAGs as well as inspectors general across the government, the embrace of crypto currency and the plethora of pardons of high-level criminals including a drug kingpin? Putin has probably seduced DJT with fantasies of becoming a dictator with unprecedented military power and vast wealth. It may be Putin’s fantasy that he can pull this off, but I would never bet against the American people.
What I, and most other Europeans, worry about is that the Constitution and electoral system allows a man and his GOP to abuse the office of the POTUS in this way. To be sure, Europe is not without its faults and the UK’s Brexit was also a gross abuse of power and electoral sleight of hand that had Russia’s paw marks all over it, but here we are talking about the United States. The other problem with all this is the office of the POTUS has been denigrated almost beyond repair. Add to that the debacle around the SCOTUS and it all points to a system in deep crises that, if it is to ever recover and have some sense of normalcy restored, will require some serious legislative action, and dare I say it, fundamental Constitutional and electoral reform.
In the UK, the Conservative Party took £ millions in donations from the Russians and brought the whole Brexit disaster on the country. It regularly bills itself ‘the most successful political party in history’ because it has been a feature of UK politics for 200 years. It has finally shot its bolt and is in the process of disintegration. Hopefully this is what the Republicans face.
I actually think its billionaires and criminal enterprises who are doing the financial support for the right wing parties. They don't want to help pay for social programs. They want a return to feudal systems. Russia has a big military but it's shot financially. Putin is a criminal as is Trump.
Trump, his family and his allies are a GRAVE threat to world peace. And there is indeed far too less outspoken opposition. In Europe we need a Churchill, who recognizes the danger and refuses to negotiate with erratic & egocentric evil. And for Americans to only count on the ballot box (in mid- or end term) to put these fascists out of power is, in my humble opinion, a serious risk. My guess is that they won't leave by themselves....
I am just very surprised that this realisation comes only now?... Hasn't this been clear for quite a while now? I do hope all security agencies in the world had drastically tightened up all screws in their communication since then. For all our sakes. And I would be very interested to know what the Us ones think, at the simple staff level. Must be pretty scary and depressing working there at the moment...
What strikes me is that there is so little opposition, both domestically and from abroad. Nobody laughs in his face, or calls him out. No need to insult, but simply state the (embarrassing) facts. Nothing! From nobody!
Opinion pieces galore, but no seriously effective opposition. Who has the guts to stand up against him, head-on, mano a mano?
There has been a whole lot of opposition expressed domestically and internationally. The simple fact is that right now, the GOP (Trump) controls Congress, SCOTUS and the White House. The checks and balances have effectively neutered by SCOTUS. So long as the GOP(Trump) remains in control, litigation and protest is all that’s left us.
That’s not to say that protest is pointless. On the contrary, litigation and protest have blunted or at least delayed some of the Trump insanity, and as we have seen in recent elections, the majority of Americans clearly oppose the chaos. Democratic governors like Newsom and Pritzker have indeed stood up to Trump personally, through litigation and legislation.
As you may be aware, or not, Bulgarians have just toppled their government through demonstrating massively in the streets. They did not want a corrupt government anymore for their children. So, things are possible...
Bulgaria has a parliamentary system of government where a 'no confidence' vote means the government must resign and new elections are held. Perhaps it is time for the U.S. to call a constitutional convention and switch to the parliamentary system.
BIG NO to a Constitutional Convention. The Right would destroy every freedom.
yes, some of them are just waiting for the opportunity.
The right-wingers are a tiny and shrinking minority. Don't be afraid of a new Constitution. We need one BADLY. The Senate HAS to be abolished.
A Constitutional Convention is a sledgehammer. We need a scalpel. No room here to get too specific.
Make sure the Right destroys itself first and then get to work reinventing ourselves. Never again!
Maybe there's some fantasy world where things make sense and good ideas prevail, but that's not the world we live in. I don't ever see this happening in anybody's lifetime. We are stuck with the system we have. There are too many vested interests and states who would never agree to give up power.
Well, then, this calls for a civil war 2.0 to get RID of political parties, primaries, and reduce expenditure to a RANKED CHOICE VOTE GENERAL ELECTION!!!
Maybe we are at the prophesied end of the fourth world— and the chaos we’re experiencing flips the switch— it does feel like something will happen. The universe does not sustain bullshit greedy power grabbers.
“We are stuck with the system we have.”
Yeah, that’s the American spirit! Imagine if the patriots thought that way in 1776! We are a nation founded in revolution living in times of disruptive change. To be “stuck” is to be doomed.
The current adversarial two-party U.S. election system is dysfunctional and increasingly undemocratic. The last presidental election cost tens of billions of dollars (mostly contributed by corporations and private interest groups) and look at the result! We are now an oligarchy not a democracy.
Einstein once said, "Insanity is repeating an action expecting different results." As a nation, we are certifibly insane.
A European once commented, "For a young nation, the U.S. has a very old constitution." Most of Europe got the opportunity to rewrite their constitutions after the devastation of two World Wars. Perhaps it is now our time to reinvent ourselves to match the challenges of the times. Should we do it now under Trump's authoritarian clown show... oh hell no! Do we have to wait for WWIII to spur us to action... hopefully not. Canada is a good model for an American parliamentary system so this is not that radical.
Ironically, the Bulgarians have had a corrupt regime after regime since the Soviet era, so while time does handle many of these issues, in the long run we all die…
Good to know. I'll see what the BBC has to report on that.
To the extent that Congressional acquiescence to Trump was due to the threat of being "primaried" by maga voters, that threat is subsiding and everyone in DC sees it. It was definitely a major factor up to now though: members of Congress choosing their career over their country.
As for the Supreme Court, what is the reason for their cowardice or stupidity? WTF
A strong whiff of immorality perhaps? Money talks and venal people listen closely.
Their religion plays a role.
Religion is a cover for their racism.
SCOTUS has members sympathetic to the idea of super powerful president. I think they call it “unitary executive.”
Yup, unitary executive theory “holds that the Constitution vests all executive power in the president and that he must be able to control everything the executive branch does”, and Roberts is a believer. I only skimmed the recent NYT article about it, but he was part of a push for it in the Reagan administration. I really cannot understand support because it completely undermines the fundamental idea of checks and balances. In my mind, people who support the idea are, at best, naive idealists, or, more likely, power hungry and arrogant. And even *if* a good argument can be made, Trump is dangerous to use as the change agent. He is reckless and providing the situations to rule on, but that same recklessness is endangering everyone and everything everywhere.
That’s the point: To make any branch other than the Oval Office
obsolete.
Other scholars call it ‘dictatorship’.
When we next have a Democrat as President, my guess is that the Robert’s Court will find arguments for checks and balances. But then, no Democrat as President would likely demand unitary power, because, you know, The Constitution. First job for a decent new President will be to expand the SC to 13, to represent the 13 judicial districts in the US. To make it more representative of We The People, each judicial district should be able to choose their own SC candidates. Next up will be for attorneys to bring relevant cases to this larger SC and work to overturn the horrendously awful rulings we are getting during trump 2.0. And criminally adjudicate any current justice who is breaching ethics and laws by taking bribes/gifts and impose a mandatory Ethics Code like US Federal judges must abide by. Not to mention challenging those justices who lied in their Senate Confirmation hearings to follow strong precedent and uphold the law.
Let’s not rule out blackmail and extortion.
No need to pay for those worthless f@cks nor republican congress....I see the day when Harlan Crow decides to quit funding sugar baby Clarence Thomas and gets a cheaper deal at the new white house ballroom.
RE the Toxic Six on SCOTUS … It’s not ‘stupidity’; rather it’s cupidity. Those six are ideologically committed to autocracy, racism (yes, even Uncle Thomas),
patriarchy, and empire. And more than a few of those six benefit directly from the stances they’ve taken and the fascistic decisions they’ve rendered.
SCOTUS needs to be torn down to the studs and built anew with, among other things, an enforceable code of ethics, term limits, and a larger size.
Oh, and ‘original intent’ needs to be burned to the ground for the racist, elitist POS it is. It is the secular right’s version of fundamentalism.
Add: ACLU, SPLC, various unions, colleges, professions …
It doesn't get the notice of us Americans, because Trump and Tech Bros Allies own and are censoring almost all the news we received on a daily basis. Even with the censorship, Americans are waking up, and we don't like what we see. Every election we are able to express ourselves with, we vote in ever increasing numbers for the opposition Democrats. We are up against not only Putin, but also our own greedy Billionaires, who would love to have the same power and easy wealth as the Russian Oligarchs. Let's face it, Trump isn't the only Anti-American Traitor here. All those news outlets, including the New York Times wouldn't let any discussion of Trump's ties to Russia or his mental health before the election, but we heard nothing but a drumbeat of criticism of both mental health andand the economy of Biden.
It's true that the media has not been as responsible as it could have been. However, it is still possible to find sources of comprehensive and truthful information. Prof. Krugman was able to write this Substack essay based on publicly available information from, yes, the news media. Too many Americans would rather wrap themselves in their comfortable cocoons of ignorance, or really don't care, because Trump is removing brown-skinned people from the country.
Stop the revenue flows. Take the pain and find alternatives. Send the warning shot over the bow. Numbers are watched for a test of reaction and cohesiveness. Consumers organized are highly powerful. Consumers have been trained and conditioned not to organize and to be passive. Told it doesn't matter. You may not break any piggy bank but this isn't the point. The point is to mark your territory and be seen as being aware and active.
Absolutely correct. Consumer revolts can be very powerful. Disney folded to popular protest immediately. We need to take on the TechBros. Those guys are dangerous. No more first person usage by AI. AI is a data center, not a person.
Adobe added an "AI Noise Reduction" feature to Photoshop. I tried it once and found it inferior to their old noise reduction feature. Fortunately, Adobe did not remove the old feature.
Or have to admit we caused it.
JB Pritzker, Gavin Newsom, Leticia James, Rachel Maddow, Bernie Sanders, AOC, Marjorie Taylor Fucking Greene, Indiana GOP Lawmakers, the good people of Newport Oregon, G20 leaders vis-a-vis recent so called Ukraine peace plan, Mark Carney (though probably far too cerebral), Ontario Premier Doug Ford notably with his Ronald Reagan ad during the World Series (so fun). Canadians in general. Elbows Up 💪🇨🇦 💪
Marjorie T. F. Greene is the rare R who pushes the presidump's buttons. Then, like Jeff Flake, she decides to leave the game. Not exactly profiles in courage.
Liz Cheney, for all her shortcomings, is one of the very few who risked getting her cojones severed. But she kept them intact. And paid the price.
Agreed. I can't believe I forgot Cheney. There are so many…
Years ago, LeBron James tweeted back at Trump's attempt to bully him, and Trump shut right up. It disappointed me that LeBron never used that power again. And where did Oprah go?
Liz Cheney is probably rich enough to afford private security. Does anyone doubt that MTG has had credible death threats to herself and family? I'm not a fan of hers, but there are way too many rumors of MAGA threats of violence. They've got all the militias and criminal gangs ready to attack.
Interesting and significant that MTG was a shrill (and looney, but that doesn't matter) thorn in Democrats' side for 5 years and she expressed no concern for her personal safety. Five weeks after criticizing Trump, she leaves politics because of death threats. So ... who's violent in the US? (Readers of Prof Krugman knew the answer already, but maybe some MAGA types should reflect, though Fox won't invite them to....)
The Space Laser Lady sensibly decided that it wasn't worth spending millions to fight the main Republican party in the next primary election. Speculation is that she will be moving into Georgia State politics. IMO, DonnyJon will attack her there if that's what she does. In any case, she stayed long enough to qualify for her Congressional retirement benefits. If she drops out of politics completely, she'll still be very well off.
not well off because of the pension, which does not pay out till she's 63 or so - but well off because of savvy/well-informed investments since she was first elected. A model case for prohibiting stock market investments by members of Congress.
🎯🎯🎯
Thank you for mentioning Newport, Oregon. Lived in Oregon my whole life (60+ years) until a recent move to Washington state. Didn't realize what was happening in Newport, was so wrapped up in the move. Big applause to those "good people" of Newport!
Loved the way you referenced MTG because, yep, even her (scary).
Motive notwithstanding.
One of the surprises of Trump’s second term has been the cowardice and complacency from the usual opposition. The Democrats are nowhere to be seen and the rush to profit off of Trump by the oligarchs has been alarming.
If the press doesn't cover it, that means it isn't there? There are many protests by lots of people, but you are just not being told about it because the media is owned by Trump's billionaire friends.
I definitely will not give it a rest. Many of us will not give it a rest. We are fully aware of the treason being committed in our present government. There is a population in this country that ignores the news or lack of news because they are too busy surviving, but the other people are watching and waiting to vote these monsters out of office.
I have well educated, affluent people in my family who choose to consume far right propaganda because it confirms their deep seated bias that other less fortunate people getting a leg up takes away from them and threaten their social superiority. They have a zero sum view of the world. They consider themselves to be good Christians. They were not like this until Fox News started polluting our airwaves.
Yes, the wealthy are building their bunkers to protect them. What are they afraid of? They should be afraid of a mad man in office who could set off a nuclear war whenever he is enraged, but no, they support him. Fox, so called News, is nothing but propaganda and should be silenced!
Watch “The Brainwashing of My Father” on YouTube.
Terence is right, of course, many Democrats leaders are willy nilly accomplices, and in some ways we are all accomplices. There should be a shadow government, there should be a special continental congress, formal impeachment proceedings for the Scotus mockery of fundamental precedents and the law in general… a party wide reach to the Armed Forces… btw, you saw that full Democratic delegation on the steps of Congress loudly supporting the Six? Nah, I am making that up, there wasn’t one. Anyhow, even a concerted middling intelligent strategy of peeling off the moderates in the GOP (actually, many) by providing cover and even bargaining with them assuring them a political future would do it for me.
Instead, I actually got a text from some moron’s campaign in Brooklyn attacking a current Dem representative because he’s old. That’s my proof, there’s nothing out there but picnics
Perhaps in an ideal world! But it isn't! I don't know what goes on in the back rooms in DC because no one reports on that. Perhaps there is a rebellion in the brewing stage that we don't know about. One can only hope!
Why does Brad Linder want to take down Daniel Goldman? That only makes sense if Goldman can take out Schumer.
You don't understand our Electoral College (EC) system. More voters voted for someone OTHER than Trump. Even in 2016, Clinton won the popular vote by approx. 3.5 million but not the EC. If you understood that, you wouldn't be so arrogant.
Perhaps you could turn your attentions to your own provinces that are in support of Pollievre, or Smith in Alberta. Canada has its own problems. People in glass houses...
But did they? https://thiswillhold.substack.com/p/how-did-6-million-people-vote-in
The Democrats are doing about as much as they can given the fact the American people decided to give all the power to Trump and his pathetic band of cowardly Republicans. Democrats are constantly holding hearings which highlight the abuses of the Trump administration and those hearings are getting covered in the news and on social media and on late night shows. For example their hearings on Trump’s illegal boat strikes have gotten wide coverage. They are slamming Trump’s actions in interviews, too. For example Mark Kelly’s recent interview with Lawrence O’Donnell was impressively powerful. He condemned Hegseth’s and Trump’s illegal killing of those Venezuelans and also reminded people that, unlike Republicans, he isn’t cowering in the face of threats in spite of the fact that his wife was left permanently brain damaged by an shooting.
Kelly isn’t the only Democrat who has refused to back down after receiving threats or, as in the case of Nancy Pelosi, a vicious attack on her husband. One person who threatened Ilhan Omar is now in prison but she still speaks out regularly. There are also a lot of Dems (Claire McCaskill, Kathy Hokul ) who have voted for bills like the ACA or the Clinton healthcare reforms that they knew would likely cost them their seats. The media normalizes the Republicans’ cowardice but never gives Democrats credit for their bravery.
In contrast the media keeps reporting that Republicans are going along with Trump’s terrible policies because they are getting threats. Worse they are afraid of getting primaried.
For decades our mainstream “liberal” media portrayed the Republicans who laid the foundations for this anti-democracy administration as “normal”, “moderate”, “principled”. It was those normal Republicans Bush I and II, not Trump, who gave us the three worst justices Thomas, Alito and plutocracy-loving Roberts. It has taken the media decades to acknowledge (occasionallly) just how extreme those justices are. Their bothsidesing faux balance has aided and abetted the far right’s takeover.
Six media companies own almost all of the media outlets in the US. That concentration makes it easier for the current regime to sue those companies if said media outlets publish or broadcast something that 47 doesn’t like.
It was the Supreme Court, aided and abetted by his sycophants in Congress and the cabinet, not the voters, who gave Trump immunity and powers beyond prior Presidents. You are right about our current terrible imitations of Justices being a problem but don’t forget Gorsuch whose voting record is worse than Roberts’.
The Dems are out of power nationally. They control a fair number of state houses and most big cities. But unfortunately, trump threatens to cut off state and city funding if people protest his policies. This is illegal, of course, but he doesn't care.
Okay, that comment is risible. Here's what I say to you Mr. Oilerhead: if you know how to eliminate the Electoral College, please come down here and fix it. Further, have you seen the polls regarding our "Dear Leader"? Like 36 approval rating? Many who voted for Dear Leader are regretting it. Most Americans (minus the maga crowd [1/3] are trying to solve these problems). Pretty hard to do when the Supreme Court, the House of Representatives, the Senate and the "president" are all one cabal. Maybe you are unaware that many, many of us are doing our best to change this horror.
I'd like to cure cancer, Terry, but I don't have the ability at present. It's a fine statement to make, isn't it? Easy to make.
"MAKE HIM CARE." Okay, how? But thank God you're here to set all us lazy Americans straight.
"If you want to get the attention of a large animal, whether it be a bureaucracy or an elephant, it helps to know where it feels pain. Be very sure, however, that you want its full attention." Kelvin Throop.
Great quote. I think we're pretty sure it's time to get the full attention of the beast that is on its way to destroying the world order.
I think you are blind
Who deletes the "comment deleted"s? The poster, or PK? What we're left with is a lot of heated replies to we-know-not-what.
It can be the poster, Paul, or the Substack management. If you think a comment violates the rules (for example, is hateful), you can click on the three dots to the right above that comment and click on "report." When reporting, you must select your reason for recommending deletion and select whether it is to be reported to Paul or to Substack. As a poster, of course, you can remove any of your own comments.
The United States enters 2026 in a state of compounding crisis across every dimension that matters. The political system is under systematic assault by an aspiring autocrat. Social cohesion has collapsed into tribal warfare over basic facts. Economic anxiety deepens as affordability becomes unattainable for millions. And America’s international standing—built over seventy years at enormous cost—is being squandered with stunning speed.
These crises are not unrelated. They radiate from a single source: a president attempting to transform American democracy into authoritarian rule, aided by institutional weakness, political cowardice, and a population too exhausted or divided to mount effective resistance.
https://marcusnunes.substack.com/p/the-sad-state-of-the-union
Even the 1% should have opposed him for the sake of their long-term interest in having a functional country. But he was so good at diverting working class rage away from them, they decided he was worth it.
(Correction: medium-term interest. The 1% don't seem to care about having a functioning country in the long term.)
Trump was indicted and well on his way to jail multiple times when the corruption of the bought off Republican party bailed him out so they could use him to destroy our democracy for their delusional ideology. The unfortunate reality is, the rich oligarchs that run our country (and control our media) wanted this and need Trump to be who he is to get what they want, which is to eliminate the threat of a functioning democracy that diminishes their wealth and power. As sick as Trump is, it's the billionaire enablers around him who are truly evil and see democracy as a failure (blinded to the fact that it was democracy that made them in the first place). There is a sickness in America driven by greed and ignorance, and it has infected must of our billionaires. And at the end of the day, money controls everything.
It’s disgusting to see the billionaires paying tribute.
Jasmine Crockett, Pritzker, Adam Schiff, Kinsinger, even Liz Chaney...and there are more. Someone in the military is going to have to stand up to Trump and Hegseth. Congress is going to have to find their collective pair and arrest someone like Noem.
We need to kick the legs out from under Trump and Hegseth; we can't start at the top.
Mark Kelly, U.S. Navy combat pilot, will take-out the legs of the MAGA monster using truth, moral clarity and patriotic duty as his munitions and bone-spurs felon47 will fold like a cheap suit.
According to Matt Stoller on his blog BIG here on Substack, Jasmine Crockett has accepted campaign funds from crypto currency interests.
Actually, he is being opposed by the most important and consequential people: the voters in the most recent elections. They sent an ominous message to Trump enablers in Congress and state houses.
We need to keep that up. I am, however, a bit worried about possible voter interference - like several armed and masked men blocking the entrances and asking people for their "real Id" and voter registration card.
Very encouraging!
Massive boycott of things American by Canadians.
Wondering what you think Canada should be doing that Americans will not?
...and others as well. I am boycotting US products and services (in as much as possible...). If we (Canadians, Europeans, etc...) did it, it would be felt, enough to raise alarm amongst Trump's billionaire friends. Also, wait for the effect of the new travel rules (five years of social network activity, email contacts etc.). The US travel and hospitality industries will love that!
Yeah, those new rules should make many foreigners hesitant to visit the US. I'm wondering when the TSA will start trying the same thing for citizens. We'll have to show up for our flights 24 hours ahead of departure.
The thing is, IMO none of that can be really enforced. People today are getting "burner" phones to carry in the States. It's a matter of a hundred dollars or so to get a "burner" laptop that has nothing objectionable on it. And what will they do with people who don't have accounts with the usual social network outfits like Facebook?
I know it's hard to stand up to his intimidation, but I am waiting for one of the women he continually insults to respond. Perhaps "No, I'm not stupid, are you demented Mr. President? Either you can't remember what you said two days ago or are you lying now. Which is it?" Someone needs to call him out and his/her colleagues need to back him/her up.
Yes!
His insults to women reporters doesn't go over well with maga.
I disagree. It seems to me that MAGA doesn't like professional women. They want women to marry and be housewives.
Trump is a classic example of a cross between an elementary school/high school bully, and, a mob boss such as John Gotti, to give an appropriate NYC example. Importantly, he was mentored in tactics by the disgraced lawyer, Roy Cohn.
While subsequent commenters have pointed to Gavin Newsome and J.B. Pritzger, and, one might also point to the late night "comedian" show hosts among many other pundits, the most effective time and method to confront the Trump bully is directly to his face. Out-tough the lying coward that Trump is, in that shared time and space.
Congressman Goldman (D/NY) just successfully did that to Kristi Noem during a Congressional hearing yesterday. Reporters who share the same space and time with Trump, Leavitt, and, any member of this revolting, lying Administration, must stand strongly with truth to that "power" in those shared moments. This way, truth stands a better chance of being broadcast to Trump's cult followers. Those cult members don't watch Jimmy Kimmel, and, the Fox Network doesn't broadcast the broadsides by the MSNow, CNN, and, anti-Trump policies podcast pundits.
The problem is that all of our major media are controlled by oligarchs that have paid tribute.
They’re getting less and less major these days.
Pritzker in Illinois/ Buttigeg and Newsom.
It seems we are all hoping for a "Sir, do you have no decency?" moment. But any Democrat (e.g. Newsom) cannot create that moment now. And what authoritative voice on the Republican side is there left?
It is more about energy and resources, along with a spine attached to the guts, I think. The trauma of push-back ties up your resources, energy, labor, and angst for a long time whether personal or organizational. With a juggernaut of corrupt or political scurrilous acolytes being paid to enrich their own well-being and longevity, coming after even inconsequential examples to launch attacks upon, this digital volcano of destruction of oppressive child-like tantrums as a strategy has been effective.
But, yes, this is why we have to pull together and step up the support using resources available to each and everyone of us. A drop put in the bucket is strength when we gather together.
Actually, they evaluated the Orange Swamp Creature and promised gazilion dollars without any intention of fulfiling. Such as van der Leyen promising PRIVATE investment. Apart from her own money, she cannot drive private investment, but the Orange Stupid Creature was ́appy
Krugman is right about the headline and almost understated about the diagnosis. This isn’t a case of a president misjudging threats. It’s a case of a president redefining “national security” to mean whatever protects his ego, his leverage, and his transactional instincts in the moment. Security policy becomes a loyalty test. Economics becomes a shakedown. Allies become obstacles.
What’s chilling is not just that Denmark, Canada, and the UK are hedging against us, but that they’re doing so rationally. Intelligence sharing depends on trust, and Trump has spent a decade proving that he treats sensitive information as a bargaining chip or a prop. You don’t hand classified material to someone who can’t tell the difference between state interest and personal flattery.
The Greenland episode, the Witkoff tape, the Section 232 farce — these aren’t isolated embarrassments. They’re signals. They tell allies that American power is now unpredictable and personalized, that rules last only until Trump feels slighted or bored. That’s how empires fracture: not with invasion, but with unreliability.
Krugman’s point about semiconductors is especially damning. Trump invokes “national security” to tax sofas, then sells off actual strategic advantage after a CEO whispers in his ear. That’s not ideology. That’s corruption with a flag draped over it.
The danger isn’t foreign enemies exploiting weakness. It’s that the weakness is intentional.
I just published an essay about the Russian peace plan: www.burnt-ground.com/ventriloquism/
There is one big thing missing from this analysis: MONEY. Many of the moves Krugman discusses involve real or potential shakedowns to bring billions to Trump and his sleazy family. What might he have been promised, for example, to release the Nvidia chips? We may see some actual gains for his family, or there might be untraceable crypto currency transactions in addition to the many that have already happened. In Ukraine and Greenland he has explicitly focused on exploiting mineral rights and we can be sure he expects a cut for himself / his family. To be sure, his personal preoccupations and ego stroking play a role, but a crucial factor is the old familiar graft and payback.
Oh, he never does anything for free. I guarantee that he's getting a kickback.
Trump is all in on the AI bubble. When it deflates, the market drops, the economy goes into recession, he's done. His motive is more fear than greed.
And when the FBI finally took back our classified documents that he stole from the American people why weren’t these statements made back then? They were true then. They are true now.
February 28, 2025. Barely a month after the inauguration. The Department of Justice, now neutered and heel-toed, loaded the boxes onto Air Force One and flew them right back to Mar-a-Lago. The same boxes. The same crime scene. Trump bragged about it on Truth Social, calling it a restoration of justice. It wasn't justice. It was a trophy ceremony.
Nauseating!
Indeed, I agree. Read more at Burnt-Ground.com
My thoughts exactly. Lots of documents were never recovered and a shock number of Americans are ok with this.
Didn't Navidia offer trump 25% of profits from the sale to China - 25% to the treasury.
Critics from both parties call it dangerous—it could help China close the AI gap and strengthen its military capabilities. Former National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan called the decision "nuts." Some constitutional scholars argue the profit-sharing arrangement may violate the Export Clause prohibiting taxes on exported goods.
The pattern you're spotting:
This fits Trump's transactional approach—treating government policy as a business deal where he extracts payment. The concern is that he's potentially compromising national security for government revenue.
He was a poor businessman; bankrupted many times over- WE placed our trust in him, go figure historians!
It's a reward to Russia for China's help. Now, Isn't that scary.
Read more at Burnt Ground
True, the things Donald Trump doesn't like tend to be good for national security, not bad. The only one that comes close is the tariffs issue, but only if you're willing to connect his tariff policies to actual reshoring of vital industries.
I really appreciate this comment. I read your own post (Ventriloquism) on burnt ground— also informative. I am unable to subscribe to burnt ground, for some reason, but I plan to check back on your account every so often.
What should really be worrying for Americans is that the feeling that the United States could never again be trusted regardless of who’s the next president. Half the country voted to put Trump in charge - a second time. Is this a nation you would trust when its people couldn’t even judge what’s in their own best interest?
The blame for this debacle lies squarely on the shoulders of GOP voters, and elected GOP collaborationist quislings who are obviously either too cowardly or too opportunistic to speak the truth to Trump’s face. This will all seem quaint a year from now if Trump’s power grab is not checked; can it really be our destiny to become a vassal state ruled over by Putin and Xi? Thank you, Dr. Krugman, for speaking out clearly.
I was convinced that Trump is/was a Russian asset during the first awful term. Now it’s undeniable.
Trump is literally a Russian ASSet. but then so are Elon, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos. Apparently, kleptocracy is appealing to oligarchs.
Exactly.
Republican conspiracy theorists used to whine about the "Trilateral Commission" and secret world governments, Hollywood Jews controlling world banking...
But now we have the real thing. A cabal of Oligarchs who truly believe that because they are so rich they are smarter than us. They believe they are the designated leaders of the world. Ellison and Thiel are the obvious ones. But it's a club that knows no borders or boundaries. It's a book, it's a sci-fi movie. It's real.
People are now calling them the "Epstein Class". No joke. I'm beginning to think that's probably not far from accurate.
More here on the Epstein class:
https://www.democracynow.org/2025/11/25/anand_giridharadas
For those of us with a large collection of old paperback novels that haven’t made it to the yard sale or those Little Free Library stands, the entanglement of oligarchs, politicians, foreign governments, and secret societies we are now seeing reads just like a Robert Ludlum book from the 1990’s.
Left out the Bond villain part, though these guys actually top that.
Putin and Trump are controlling and using the oligarchs. They will, up to a point, when the oligarchs find a better benefactor to make rules favorable to them.
Assets or useful idiots?
Not mutually exclusive.
Professor Krugman: every morning when i awaken into this dystopian fantasy-cum-reality, i find myself overwhelmed and afraid for myself and where my life is headed (nowhere good, that's for sure!) and this is all thanks to the orange rapist and his regime of evil.
incidentally, i learned that anyone wanting to visit the USA for vacation or whatever not only must turn over five years of social media information so his monsters can survey it for disparaging comments about the orange rapist and his closest techbros, but they also must provide a DNA SAMPLE!! wow. talk about authoritarianism. just, wow.
And all that information will be mainlined into Palantir.
almost motivates me (and others? probably!) to create a flock of false social media accounts to show to the fake authorities so the real accounts are protected government scrutiny.
Great idea, I'm thinking of my new user names right now 😀
Apparently, having a very clean phone is a red flag. Make sure you have a browser history (not connected to you other devices) that has a bunch of innocuous sites in its history.
And the data from people entering the US used by whom? Peter Thiel could sell it to anyone.
"I don't think Americans realize how unattractive the US looks to European tourists right now, and this just makes it worse. With the World Cup next year, you’re going to have the Tartan Army coming over in droves. If Scots get turned away just for having criticized Trump in the past, it’s going to cause a massive diplomatic mess."
Wait until the ICEstapo starts running sweeps and arrests players and visitors of the streets. I sure as Hell wouldn't come to the FIFA games from outside the US.
The US doesn't do diplomacy any more.
The buzz in the Western, non-American talk-back world is that most people are reconsidering going to the states unless they absolutely have to go for business or a funeral.
It’s quite simple- people from outside the US should postpone their travel plans. Why would one take the risk of being assaulted and why spend any money that supports the status quo?
There must be consequences across the board.
Putin saying that the newly released National Security Strategy is in almost perfect alignment with Russia's goals is something that SHOULD be ringing alarm bells in Washington and beyond. It is proof-positive (as if more proof were needed) that everything Trump has done undermines the United States while strengthening Putin and Russia.
As Nancy Pelosi said so seemingly long ago, "Why is that everything with you always leads back to Russia?"
America elected him, America deserves him. The dumbassification of our country has got us into real trouble now. The forecast calls for pain. We only have ourselves to blame.
Dumbassification of America. Perfect. Right up there w/ enshittification.
The trouble is when America sneezes, Europe catches a cold.
My only reaction is this: why in the bloody hell are countries—and our own press and government—only now admitting this? For God’s sake, this has been happening since 2016.
What’s next—hand-wringing opinion pieces suddenly “questioning” whether he really won the 2024 election? Really? As if this is some shocking new revelation? We already know the answer. He didn’t.
And who are we supposed to ask now—Musk? Why haven’t we? Or whomever else happens to be pulling strings behind the curtain?
I am beyond fed up with how painfully slow our leaders are to recognize and sound the alarm. Even now, they’re still dragging their feet. Still hedging. Still minimizing.
This is not leadership. This is negligence. And it’s the same story every time: too little, too late.
Europe and Canada are done with Trump and his bullying. The attempted surrender and “sale” of Ukraine to Russia was the final straw. I’m glad they have finally said enough even though it will cause us economic pain. Trump is evil, they finally see it and are acting to cut us off.
Europe and Canada are free to come to the aid of Ukraine. What is holding them back?
They are moving now. Seizing Russian assets, cutting the US out where they can and forcefully telling Putin and Trump to f off with their peace plan and kick-starting their mutual defense without U.S.
Did you know that to a large degree that Europe cutting off Russian natural gas is dependent on it being able to import it from the United States? The European measures are a sham, they won't be real until they pick up a gun and engage in Ukraine.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/dec/12/von-der-leyen-trump-ukraine-belgium-russian-assets-starmer-latest-news-updates
I didn't want to follow your link, but I did. It is not clear at all what your point was and how the link supported it. I don't like links because usually they are a road to nowhere, like in this case.
You and your former Russian girlfriend need to move to Russia.
How about we just not let the USA become more like Russia, and not more like Europe. Isn't Rossie O'Donnell a mentally unbalanced fool for moving to Ireland.
I watched former Danish intelligence agent Jacob Karsboo talk about how Denmark is trying to balance saying the US is a threat and a friend as a fellow member of NATO. They do not want to be accused by others of pushing NATO out. He also pointed out that Donald Trump is complaining about Europe wasting his time but really he is wasting Ukrainian lives and European time.
I am wondering whether more European countries are going to speak up and say Trump is dangerous. I think most will continue to say one thing to Trump and another amongst themselves.
Trump has made the US a client state of Russia with his NSS, and Russia is a client state of China, so guess who is in ascendancy now. We can credit Donald J Trump with overseeing the Fall of the United States Empire. Other American countries that are democracies need to be forming an alliance as Trump will be coming after their natural resources. African countries should do the same. Trump offers the people of these countries nothing in return because USAID is shut down.
My friend tells me this morning slowly Scientists are leaving the US. My husband and friends of ours are among them. I am already mostly living abroad. I wrote this piece last November but it still seems relevant. It is called "A 'Plan B' for Catastrophe" which I could also call "A 'Plan B' for Democracy" because we can choose to live in a democratic society whether or not the US remains one.
https://lindaweide.substack.com/p/a-plan-b-for-catastrophe?r=f0qfn
Good for you. I have about $5000 to my name, and my PhD is 30 years old so I am stuck.
Same.
When Joe Biden's age limitations became too serious to ignore, the Democratic party, with sadness did the responsible thing. And Joe Biden gracefully accepted his fate.
When Trump's age limitations are manifested by tearing down parts of the White House, murdering people on boats in the Caribbean, shuttering whole agencies that do good for the world, attacking science and healthcare and making health insurance for millions of Americans unaffordable and so forth, the GOP just falls in line rather than removing the guy.
So here we are, waiting impatiently for the 2026 mid terms so we can begin to right the ship of state.
It's not tRump, he is just being used. And because he is making billions of dollars is happy to do it.
The lack of enforcement of international laws will spur more invasions. If the trend follows, China invades Taiwan while slowly (but surely), the EU will be engulfed by Russia.
I disagree about the EU. If Putin went after the EU today or in the next several years, they'd squash him. I'm not saying that it wouldn't be bloody though. That's especially true given the EU just locked away Russia's funds and is giving them to Ukraine.
I think that, today, the US would help Russia if that war happened. Remember what Trump said about NATO contributions:
“You didn't pay? You're delinquent?'" Trump recounted saying. "'No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.
I think that would be the breaking point for MAGA. Russia has been our enemy for about 80 years. They've been conditioned to believe that. A foreign war + aiding Russia? Not to mention there would probably be a revolt in the officer corps.
I read in the BBC that Germany is instituting a period of mandatory military service for the first time since 1945. I'm not sure how this differs from a draft, but it seems to be just as unpopular as the draft in the US was in 1970.
More about frozen assets here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2025/dec/12/von-der-leyen-trump-ukraine-belgium-russian-assets-starmer-latest-news-updates
Someone once told me that if the US leaves NATO, NATO will set up monitoring stations in Canada because we will be the only nation in the Western Hemisphere with Nuclear Weapons
Back in DJT’s first term, I thought that Trump’s pro-Russia stance was due to his being blackmailed by Putin. What was he doing with the trove of top-secret documents stashed in his bathroom at Mar-a-Lago? Now it appears that DJT has been fully recruited by Putin to implement Russia’s agenda with a shared vision of divvying up the world. I would bet that Putin has also funneled money into DJT’s offshore accounts, payoffs for his dismemberment of our federal government, the betrayal of Ukraine, and the anti-NATO, anti-Europe posturing. Who benefits from the dissolution of USAID, the purges in the Department of Defense, the firings of so many JAGs as well as inspectors general across the government, the embrace of crypto currency and the plethora of pardons of high-level criminals including a drug kingpin? Putin has probably seduced DJT with fantasies of becoming a dictator with unprecedented military power and vast wealth. It may be Putin’s fantasy that he can pull this off, but I would never bet against the American people.
I wonder if he was turned into an accomplice on his first trip to Russia.
What I, and most other Europeans, worry about is that the Constitution and electoral system allows a man and his GOP to abuse the office of the POTUS in this way. To be sure, Europe is not without its faults and the UK’s Brexit was also a gross abuse of power and electoral sleight of hand that had Russia’s paw marks all over it, but here we are talking about the United States. The other problem with all this is the office of the POTUS has been denigrated almost beyond repair. Add to that the debacle around the SCOTUS and it all points to a system in deep crises that, if it is to ever recover and have some sense of normalcy restored, will require some serious legislative action, and dare I say it, fundamental Constitutional and electoral reform.
In the UK, the Conservative Party took £ millions in donations from the Russians and brought the whole Brexit disaster on the country. It regularly bills itself ‘the most successful political party in history’ because it has been a feature of UK politics for 200 years. It has finally shot its bolt and is in the process of disintegration. Hopefully this is what the Republicans face.
Yep. Russia is financially supporting right wing parties and policies throughout Europe.
I actually think its billionaires and criminal enterprises who are doing the financial support for the right wing parties. They don't want to help pay for social programs. They want a return to feudal systems. Russia has a big military but it's shot financially. Putin is a criminal as is Trump.
Definitely the billionaires are a severe problem. And the Russian economy is currently weak.
But the Russian funding I’m speaking of goes back years. They’re reaping the rewards of past investment when they had more cash.
Trump, his family and his allies are a GRAVE threat to world peace. And there is indeed far too less outspoken opposition. In Europe we need a Churchill, who recognizes the danger and refuses to negotiate with erratic & egocentric evil. And for Americans to only count on the ballot box (in mid- or end term) to put these fascists out of power is, in my humble opinion, a serious risk. My guess is that they won't leave by themselves....
I am just very surprised that this realisation comes only now?... Hasn't this been clear for quite a while now? I do hope all security agencies in the world had drastically tightened up all screws in their communication since then. For all our sakes. And I would be very interested to know what the Us ones think, at the simple staff level. Must be pretty scary and depressing working there at the moment...
I think the “staff level “ were let go by Doge.