Thank you for this. Out of everything that happened yesterday, the pardons were a kick in the stomach, even though I knew they were coming. All of those brave prosecutors, all of that evidence, all of those brave judges who did the right thing, and now it's done, just like that. I feel like I'm watching a banana republic, or some other country. This is no longer the United States that I grew up loving and caring about. It makes me sad. And scared.
Quite a few people writing here don't seem to have considered that "the news" doesn't generally follow who gets brought to justice after they do something wrong unless it becomes a high-interest story. I live in the Minneapolis area and there was local follow-up on who participated in the George Floyd riots and who got brought to justice if they'd broken the law. There were actually many outsiders who came here to cause the turmoil that ensued.
I noticed. I noticed that the Proud Boys who came and rioted in the middle of the peaceful BLM protests did not get arrested and prosecuted. The other 26 million were pretty well-behaved, give or take some graffiti.
We never fully removed the shackles from the colonial period. There we were enslaving people as a way to prosperity. From the planters to the oligarchs it’s the same motive.
Paul, we knew what we were in for. My history isn’t the best but I’m trying to find a worst president in our brief history. I can’t. Andrew Johnson? Andrew Jackson? George W. Bush? No, the pale in comparison. So why this abomination?
When I do something that doesn’t go right, I tend to reflect and ask myself what was it I did wrong. I think this would be healthy to view it. It always takes two to tango. So let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. And I want to state that I’m not a die hard liberal. I’m not partisan although I seek democratic safe ports in storms.
In my opinion, the left has pushed our “woke” agendas as far then farther. Diversity is it really needed? I think not especially when you automatically categorize those of us who are Caucasian. I’m now accused of being privileged. That’s the result of CRT. I’m simply a small single proprietor business person but I’m frequently singled out as privileged. I’m tired of that shit. In this nation, we have made struggling white people the enemy and we don’t even realize it. Think about it before you outright reject it. There is more but that’s enough for now.
Example #1: I was seeking a booth at a democratic sponsored event once. I had to identify myself in categories. 1. Minority owned? 2. Woman owned? 3. Union friendly? 4. LBGTQ owned? Are you fricken kidding me? I’m a small single proprietor business. I didn’t quite fit in. This is what is destroying this nation.so we rebel and elect a mafia second rate demigod so destructive.
Your little personal anecdote doesn’t “prove” that democrats forced “woke” on the country. You’ve become exactly the same as any fox viewer by accepting the republican fascist propaganda framing of democrats based on your feelings.
Democrats and liberals persuaded themselves earlier in this century that changing demographics would bring about a “minority majority” who would bring Democrats back into power—instead what has happened is that many of those “minority” voters have aligned with Republicans. It turns out a lot of Latinos are actually white (descended from Spanish colonials), so that the supposed racial realignment was a mirage. In the meantime, Democrats and liberals have done a p*ss poor job of selling themselves to voters.
The working class Latinos have more in common with the working class whites. They are religiously conservative, have strong family values and value hard work. They don't particularly like entitlement programs and are the least likely to be a burden on the social safety net. They are less likely to go to college.
There's a big difference between working class Latinos and the college Latino crowd. Latino is also a huge tent with people from many places and cultures.
OK, you got me. No one is “actually white,” but over 40% of Latinos identify as white, and 42% voted for Trump last year. The idea that this group, which constitutes most of the increase in “people of color” that the left was counting on, would consistently support progressives turned out to be a big miscalculation.
Look up a political analyst and researchers named Ruy Texiera. He spent the 90s running around with big piles of data claiming to support this "demographic wave" the Democrats convinced themselves they would ride to generational power. He was a Dem insider then. Now he's at the (conservative) Manhattan Institute. And kind of "revising" his past theses. "What I really meant was...blah, blah, blah...etc". Translation: full of crap then, full of crap now.
Again, we have declared war on white people that is the Democratic Party agenda. But most will never understand this tid bit. But it’s true. That ole pendulum shift and now it has shifted to the far right. We as humans and we are in this sub brut category, we don’t ever know when enough is enough.
And don’t be concerned about me. I have no where else to turn but to the very imperfect Democratic Party agenda. I will never move to the right. But I despise the left side politics. Read my book, “Donald’s Vanity Tantrums.” I know what I’m talking about.
Oh, bullshit. That was no litmus test. That was a rather simplistic way of slotting you into a marketing category so they know what buttons to push when they want you to give them money. Don’t attribute to malice what actually is unimaginative fund raising techniques.
Are you not differentiating between groups who are working specifically with those named groups, and ones with the general public? And these people have it rough too, and may have different experiences than you. I’ve sometimes thought it would be nice if all groups could attend these meetings, but I don’t begrudge them. Also, I have come to realize that being white, and probably male, does confer some privileges.
I understand the chafing at being looked at as the enemy, but maybe people are identifying a situation, rather than targeting you. And your need to be a part of the conversation.
Everyone is arguing with you, I'm here to validate your experience. There is a very vocal minority in the left that went power hungry and was not checked by the normal majority. They found a magic formula to weaponize American politeness, giving them unreasonable amount of control over others. Now, after about 15 years of ruling the public discourse the petty tyrants are fighting to maintain the control they gained as the zeitgeist changes and their methods becoming less effective.
Noam, I seem to be accustomed to being argued with. There is frequently another side. What many forget is that we have forces that are pulling us apart. They are making us angry. And when we are fighting each other, they take over. And yes, the more extreme on the left has created an ugly backlash to the right. This is the usual outcome. The oligarchs rule.
I agree with you for the most part. Latinx strikes me as particularly arrogant and insensitive as are "State your Pronouns".
Diversity is great, but why should the cardiologists daughter get put up ahead of a poor white boy who pulled himself up out of crime and poverty. I think privilege should be a function of wealth and social class.
It is extremely telling that black and latino voters for Trump increased.
Trump might still have a way to go to knock James Buchanan (Lincoln's immediate predecessor) off his pedestal as the consensus Worst President of All Time.
Highly recommend a book about slavery's economic impact and importance - "The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism."
I think people have lumped in Jan 6 with the other rioting and mob violence that took place in 2020. I still think about how liberals downplayed the more violent aspects of the George Floyd protests (I know I did), the hypocrisy over Covid, and the sudden rise in crime/homicide hurt Democrats’ credibility when it comes to criticizing Jan 6.
And there was a jump in violence in the preceding years, but that apparently didn’t happen because crime started declining afterwards?
And I am confused for suggesting that for some people the perception of Jan 6 could have been lumped in with the broader surge in violence of the same period.
(Also I did not “mix up” street violence with the attack on the Capitol. Just describing why the public might not have treated it with the gravity they should have.)
The hypocrisy over COVID may refer to public health officials saying mass gatherings to protest the killing of George Floyd should not be discouraged as a public health measure, because it was a good cause. It was not the place of public health officials to say what is a good cause—they could have instead advised that protests (whatever the subject matter) were not a public health hazard if they were limited to outdoors, during daylight hours, and made some effort at social distancing. It was known by then that sunlight effectively killed the virus (unfortunately the briefing where that was announced became better known for Trump’s suggestion that people drink disinfectant). But saying that COVID restrictions could be relaxed for BLM protests was what persuaded a lot of people that public health officials were biased, and that the pandemic was not as serious as they claimed.
Own your words. You’re the one who compared liberal blindness to destruction of property in the George Floyd protests to outrage over the occupation and desecration of the building that houses the beating heart of our democracy.
Those who lump those events together either cannot or refuse to use their brains to make valid comparisons. How are civil rights protests that sometimes turned violent the same as a violent insurrection orchestrated by the sitting President to try to remain in power?
What I am describing is how many people plausible have equivocated the two things and thus downplayed Jan 6. I am not equivocating the two things, because they are vastly different in terms of public consequence.
I am upset people voted for Trump. I am upset many voters didn’t treat Jan 6 as disqualifying.
I was living in Europe when the 2020 protests took place. Got most of my information from my sister in Portland, NPR, the Guardian, and how Europeans were interpreting events in their media. I can tell you the Scandinavians were less positive about the events than Anglos.
People generally understand that some properties are more valuable than others. The Capitol is the beating heart of our democracy—how do you value that? It was forcibly taken from its rightful owners and desecrated with feces. How did that change its value? How does it compare to property damaged or destroyed in the George Floyd protests? Was that property sacred to our democracy? Did insurance not rebuild their value? How do you rebuild the value of the beating heart of democracy?
You’re not a serious person if you can’t think more deeply than comparing things that don’t compare.
I know your comment wasn't particularly popular with this commenter base, Dan, but I think you're exactly right. Regardless of the facts of the George Floyd protests vs. Jan 6, the perception amongst the center and center-right is that they are two sides of the same coin. This has probably been helped along by Fox News and right wing media in general.
I wasn't prepared for people to treat it as a moral statement or an endorsement of equivocation. I am not saying that equivocation is good, because it isn't. It's used to rationalize voting for Trump, which is bad.
What crime!! We're at a 50-year low! (Because, in part, unemployment is also at a 50-year low) Are the stats by all the local police lies all over the country of different political stripes lies???
The relatively minor rise in certain crimes, including murder began during COVID, under Tr**p and dropped back down under Biden. Fact. At its peak, this spike never came close to the crime rates in the 70s/80s/early 90s, especially under Reagan and Bush Sr. And Democrats DID discuss the crime spike, but you are probably right that they didn't say and do enough.
Telling everyone to shelter at home an isolate but the also saying it was fine to gather in large groups in public to protest.
Then telling people that we were somehow protecting the public by keeping schools closed and reopening bars (much worse Covid vectors), some places kept schools closed long after the vaccines were rolled out. Emily Oster has been lambasted for pointing out learning loss is real.
Those things did negatively impact public trust in public health and school policy, things Democrats historically win on and have had credibility in.
All you are communicating is that you ask dishonest questions, ignore the substance of what is written, and then just throw unwarranted insults at people.
I noticed. I noticed that the Proud Boys who came and rioted in the middle of the peaceful BLM protests did not get arrested and prosecuted. The other 26 million were pretty well-behaved, give or take some graffiti.
There was urban, racially charged violence, which was not controlled due to inadequate resources and unwillingness to utilize violence to combat it. There was also a planned violent attack on our federal government to circumvent our democratic way of life. There is no equivalency between the two.
10,000 people were arrested nationwide for the violence of the George Floyd Protests, 300 for federal crimes. None of them were pardoned or allowed off. Liberals said things like "they were mostly peaceful" which is true. But not one elected liberal excused the violence and no one was pardoned.
"people" may have lumped them together but they are not equivalent and as of now Trump is clearly siding with violence.
The inference of the pardons is that vigilantes, rapists, racists, murderers can expect a pardon from DJT in the future if it ties in with his agenda. Anyone he hates is now at risk.
What still puzzles and infuriates me is that Garland took so long to take action. Insurrection January 6th, 2021. Smith appointed as special prosecutor only in June 2022, and (from memory) handed up indictments in October 2023, 32 months after the event! Was he a GOP plant? It’s ridiculous. I’m a recovering lawyer - there is no reason why they couldn’t have charged Trump and the other perps by June 2021, and started the clock. Even the supine USSC couldn’t then have delayed justice until the election.
I don’t understand how the members of congress can look at each other, or their constituents. They were the ones running and hiding in closets, calling their families for a last goodbye. They were the ones stepping in the feces and cleaning it from their desks. They were the ones the capital police protected so fearlessly, suffering injury and death. Now they are supporting the felon who fomented the insurrection. And voters are terrified of immigrants? I will never disbelieve what my own eyes witnessed.
Congress doesn't have to consider constituents that much anymore. It is the donors that matter more and more. The relationship between constituents and large donors is nonlinear and it's getting progressively worse, faster than the human brain can figure.
We don’t have an energy shortage, but the GOP has a severe spine shortage. These cowards will die a thousand deaths before Trump betrays them and they lose their careers.
There is a scene in 1984 where it is announced that due to great effort by Big Brother chocolate rations will go up to 20 grams. Winston Smith wonders: "Doesn't anyone remember that only last week it was 30?"
In 2020, Trump got 5000 Taliban terrorists released and Biden got blamed for the fallout. Now he has released 1600 violent MAGA terrorists onto the streets of the US including the worst cop killers and seditious conspirators. They will offend again, some violently. How will he get Biden to take the blame?
Absolutely, Paul. I avoided watching anything yesterday, but to learn this morning that he has desecrated the rule of law is heartbreaking. We all know the thugs were guilty. The video evidence alone was enough to convict. And the work of the Select Committee to investigate January 6th gives all the proof in writing. Horrified hardly describes my reaction.
This is no worse than when all white juries refused to convict the murderers of blacks. It's bad. It's very bad. But it can be beaten, and Martin Luther King, Jr has shown us how. With nonviolent protest and resistance.
It will start with the Neo-Brown Shirts (aka Proud boys, J6 patriots of all stripes) beating up peaceful protestors. With no consequences. Then when protests get louder, the military will get jnvolved to “keep the peace”.
Authoritarians and fascists first begin to bend, then break the law where the law doesn't exist. Migrants around the border areas are now at a grave risk. The declaration of the drug cartels as terrorists will also have a similar effect. Any killing around the border of immigrants will be outside the law. The Nazi's killed more civilians outside of Germany than inside it. "Be reflective if you must be armed." Once forces are conditioned to kill around the border, those will be the ones sent to quell domestic protests. Thanks John Roberts. Thanks Mitch.
I can’t forget that King was brutally assassinated and that voting rights, CRT, DEI etc. have been rolled back, that the arc he referred to does not seem to bend toward justice. That the disparity between the rich and poor seems wider than ever. Can it be beaten with nonviolent protest and resistance? We just lost our country to fascism. I am not feeling very hopeful.
The pendulum always swings. The general trend of the swings has been towards freedom and equality, but we have to fight for it.
The purpose of non-violent protest is to provoke and capitalize politically on the response. It is theater for the audience. It prices the consciences of people who have supported injustice in the past. Say, by voting for Trump.
MLK knew he was risking his life every time he walked into a protest. He was playing chicken with martyrdom and he both won and lost. In dying he, a mortal man, achieved immortality.
If Trump is like other autocrats, and he is most assuredly like other autocrats, he is willing and even eager to kill his opposition. We must prove to the public whether his forces are willing to follow illegal orders. They probably are. Many of us may be martyred to the cause of human freedom and a Constitutional Republic. What are you willing to die for? How far will you go?
The only thing that is more disgusting is that Trump/Vance was endorsed by the FOP (The Fraternal Order of Police). Over 140 of their own were violently beaten for hours on January 6, 2021. One Capitol police officer died that day and four took their own lives as a result of post traumatic stress disorder. My grandfather and my father each wore the badge for 33 years and were veterans of WWI and WWII. I have little respect for the FOP and their leadership for such little respect for their own members and those who wear the badge. Trump now has a militia group of fascists waiting for his orders. "Stand by and stand down".
We CANNOT EVER allow him to use the US Military like this. That would truly signal the end of our country. The local yokels are just frills on the country’s panties.
@Matty, He declared emergencies all along the southern border yesterday so ‘you have just allowed the use of military like this’. You they’ll take the time to determine who is.a US citizen in an emergency? Haha. No chance. Come Feb 1st he’ll do the same with the northern border. And then we here in Canada are pooched. My mama always said, you get the govt you deserve. NONE of us deserved this. We are all in this together now. Thanks for nothing.
Sorry, I was not referring to the use of the US military at our borders. That is at least an arguable claim, even though it is preposterous. My comment was really about any possible use id the military internally. That will be a blow too far for America.
Let’s see how the DOD responds to his first request to interfere with internal justice, OK? We may be pleasantly surprised by their reply. He hasn’t quite hijacked our entire country.. yet.
Terrible injustice has happened before in our country. Yes, and gone unpunished. Evil has won in the past. But the pendulum swings. It falls to us to FIGHT for our freedom.
The other side has more guns than our side can ever have, and knows how to use them. We must win those people over and cause enough of them to have a change of heart by pricking their consciences through nonviolent protest.
Freedom isn't free. Every couple of generations darkness comes and the people have to fight for freedom or lose it. What are you willing to die for?
That is how. Purge the non-loyalists from the DOD and other law enforcement agencies. Send in the Proud Boys and 3%'ers, the Oath Keepers, and other militia. Send in Eric Prince's forces too. Deputize them all, a type of privatizing law enforcement. Militia's already know they will be pardoned, so there is minimal legal jeopardy to them. Local and state cops can easily be overwhelmed ( J6th proved this). Many in Law Enforcement are supporters anyway and will first look the other way, especially around immigrants and drug cartel forces, but in time that transfers to all political enemies and anyone who disagrees or speaks up.
Yes it can. And I may also win the lottery. I’m not being snide, I’m just being hopeful and having some faith in humanity. I’ll be as concerned as you are, if/when the DOD decides to play along with his game.
He’s going to purge the pentagon. Or at least attempt to. That will be your que. Perhaps hegseth gets denied. That would be a plus, but not necessarily.
They took down Gen Milleys photograph in the halls of the Pentagon yesterday. Orders to send military to the southern border. An alcoholic rapist Christian Nationalist is up for Sec of Defense. Do we need another warning signal?
I believe that pardoning the thugs and degenerates who attacked the Capital was a colossal mistake for Trump to make right out of the gate. We will never forget. I'm sure his political minions will be twisting in the wind trying to defend this despicable act. I will never forgive the people who voted for him or the ones who stayed home and didn't vote at all. Sickening.
Many of those people are angry with Trump for what they have been through. . They won't necessarily feel different just because he pardoned them. Like you said. Mistake in more ways than one.
You’re not a serious person. You simply don’t believe in the rule of law if “your people” are held accountable for breaking it. If you’re an American citizen, you’ve failed at holding up your end of the bargain.
I do not think jailing people that way is appropriate for the crime that was committed. They trespassed on public property as part of a political protest.
Saying someone shouldn't be jailed for life for eg shoplifting would be similar if it weren't for the fact that it was done in response to a protest which makes this situation even worse.
Tell that to the families of the dead cops trying to defend the capitol. What exactly makes breaking and entering along with violence above the law? Because it happened at a government building? So those are now law free zones if you disagree politically? Your “logic” is astounding.
“All these people did was walk around”. This should be in the dictionary as the definition of gaslighting. It’s almost like you think none of us remember watching the live televised atrocities on TV. Oh, and what happened to “Back the Blue”? Only one cop died, no biggie. Did he die from watching all the people walk around? Your demonstrable lies and stupidity are breathtaking.
Do you understand them well enough for an eternal refusal of forgiveness? Or is it perhaps sufficiently possible that there’s something about them that you don’t understand that you may one day regret that statement?
Professor Krugman: i realize that Biden took steps to limit or prevent the destruction that the orange jesus seeks to institute, but as a 34-times convicted felon, i don't think any of Biden's measures -- not even his pardons of his family members -- will be honoured because trump is a lawless pestilence who has been taught time and again that he is beholden to NO LAWs, to NO ONE. the only thing the orange jesus worships is MONEY, and the hands that feed it to him.
Presidential pardons can only be challenged in congress and the courts, and congress can’t overturn them. The executive branch has no power to do so at all. What you’re talking about would require a re-write of the constitution, or a burning of it. There are still significant separations of powers in the states, and impeachment is still a real thing.
We had this in Poland 2015-2023. The executive will claim "we will not comply with the obviously unlawful ruling of the court", to the applause of the media and bused-in mass demonstrations of supporters.
The above play will be attempted not always, so you will think (maybe correctly) that rule of law is frayed, but still holds. Even in cases when such a play WILL be attempted, it will not always succeed. But sometimes it will succeed.
All in all, the legal setup becomes the "Pirates of the Caribbean" thing - "the Pirate's Law is merely a suggestion".
The issue is you had this in Poland for a very short time span. Deeply embedded tradition melded with law is much harder to break. I am not saying it is impossible for Trump to bend the law the way you say, but the longstanding tradition does make it harder.
Nevertheless, people should pay attention to what you say. Because it isn't in fact impossible here.
I just noted, "Trump's legal alternate universe", another thing familiar. In his "stop birthright citizenship" Executive Order, Trump DID NOT question (strict interpretation) the constitutionally explicit birthright citizenship. Trump simply ordered to stop the use of federal HARDWARE printers for the purpose of printing any documents confirming this citizenship. Nowhere in the Constitution there is a phrase "the right of people to keep and bear their citizenship proof papers shall not be infringed", is there?
We had a very similar case in Poland 2015. Constitution specifies that the decisions, as ruled by courts, start to be binding when they are published in public records. So the executive simply stopped publishing, selectively, some rulings. Sorry, not "stopped", just delayed a bit, like couple of years. No EXPLICIT laws were broken, but this effectively nixed the judiciary branch. Oh, sure, the courts ruled that such practice DOES break the laws, customs, Constitution, you name it. The courts themselves referred to each other's DECISIONS, not the printed (actually, not printed) pages of record. But you do see the cleverness (or stupidity) of this farce, dont't you? The executive had, to IT'S voters, a plausible explanation why what it keeps doing is legal, never mind "woke courts" screaming otherwise.
I hope I am wrong, but my own faith in the "power of tradition" (which I did have) evaporated away, seeing (both US and Poland) what people enthusiastically applaud and accept.
You're right about what he is attempting to do. He absolutely is attempting to build autocracy; and one of the components of that is weakening the Constitution. The question is whether he will get away with it. This will partly depend upon the courts.
However, in this particular case, I am dubious it will weaken the Constitution much. For one thing, I doubt the people who wrote birthright citizenship into the Constitution intended for people to be able to visit here, have a baby, and have that baby be a citizen. Birthright citizenship was conceived entirely as a way to make sure former slaves were considered citizens, and didn't anticipate significant numbers of people coming here from elsewhere and having babies. That is the starting point. Coming to the present, their argument that the US doesn't have jurisdiction over visitors the way that it had jurisdiction over former slaves would solve this clear discrepancy over intent and execution. The real question here is whether there is any historic (originalist) basis for this jurisdiction argument. If the conservatives on the court adhere to it without one, then it will weaken the Constitution. But, if there is a basis, then it will not weaken it one bit. As far as this single matter, the rule of law will still hold.
I am far more concerned about First Amendment free speech matters. These capricious lawsuits Trump is bringing with no real basis, and the fact they are not being dismissed out of hand, and the fact that they are not then being fought out to their bitter end is massively concerning to me. ABC and the like have a duty to the American people to fight these things out vigorously, and to me this is where tradition is failing. I believe twenty years ago, they would have recognized this duty.
Yes, there is a nuance. Much to discuss, with "birthright citizenship" I see your point for the cases you raised, but there are other cases, like people WORKING in the US for years (illegally) and THEN having babies. But this will be raised by people much more qualified/knowledgeable than I am, so I will stay on the sidelines here.
But never mind a particular law in question. Trump had some 50 court rulings Fall 2020 that "election results are what was announced" and still tried using make-believe-law tricks to claim the 2021-24 Presidency. It is this "law in the cargo-cult interpretation" I wanted to highlight. What you write about hare-brained legal arguments in lawsuits filed by Trump is an example of this wider phenomena. Making "legal arguments/cases" which are patently "not even wrong" (not just erroneous, but simply a garbage).
In the US that would be grounds for impeachment, as the president has a duty to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution, and flouting a Supreme Court decision would be in direct contravention of that duty. Not that he’d necessarily be impeached by a Republican house but their majority is slim and he wouldn’t want to risk a trial. I think the checks and balances will hold.
I *observe* that it is now wholly possible in the US to flout both law (read the Smith's Report) and, if expedient, decisions of ANY court. And this flouting will be accepted by enough people ready to go to a civil war to defend this flouting, to actually HAVE a civil war.
I am sorry, but this is I think already a "please open your eyes" territory.
I do not see any evidence that flouting the law is generally accepted, nor do I see any instances of presidential abuse of power that bend the law more than slightly and have been allowed. If you can give me some examples I’d be interested to see them though. Also, I consider it a form of brinksmanship to say ‘people are ready to go to war over this’. It may be true but I don’t see real evidence of it. I think most Trump voters are far more moderate than this left-falling echo chamber makes them out to be.
AFAIK in 50/51 (?) cases Trump claimed 2020 election fraud, courts rejected his claim. Nevertheless about half of the country is fine with his continuing claim. To me, this is flouting the law, by half of the US population.
It is astonishing you think the threat of impeachment is at all viable or that Trump will concern himself with it in the least. It isn't and he won't. Since conviction on impeachment in the Senate requires a 2/3 majority vote, he'd probably just ignore the whole proceedings.
Sean you are making a point but you should consider: he issued an executive order that negated birthright citizenship which is in the constitution, he issued an executive order announcing a national emergency at the border when there clearly is no emergency though it will allow him to call up the military and the national guard. This note could go on and on. It isn’t just that he isn’t a democratic president. Rather he is anti-democratic.
18 states have filed suit to block his attempt to end birthright citizenship. He’s a showman and a conman and this is how he gets something out on the table. And there’s legitimate justification in a lot of people’s minds for declaring an emergency at the border. It’s been very leaky for a long time now.
If orange wants to make life miserable for whoever he can have his newly released hord of worshipper terrorists harass them. He is immune for his executive privilege and he will promise immunity to all who break the law for him.
Please don’t dehumanise him. And there’s a big difference between pardoning people for a politically sensitive incident 4 years ago and promising them ‘immunity’ for carrying out his dastardly deeds. Y’all are getting very irrational on this.
You can't be serious that we shouldn't dehumanize Mango Mussolini, and even think it is worth mentioning. He dehumanizes people on every single day ending in the letters d a y.
And there is a relationship between pardoning people for political violence and creating a belief in his followers that they will be immune in the future for carrying out his dastardly deeds. In fact, I'd say that is the point. Surely you're not postulating that he actually cares about their personal well being? It would be irrational not to make the obvious connection.
You realise dehumanisation is a classic racist attack right? You’re just using it to defend your right to be angry and to refuse to try to understand why other people are angry. It doesn’t help anything. Though if you really do want war keep goin with it.
Trump aside, I am not dehumanising his voters. And, trust me, I do understand why they are angry, and I defend their anger at every turn. But, unlike his voters, he is a truly horrible and despicable person, and I will speak that truth at every turn, in every way. I cannot fail to speak the truth, and phrases like Mango Mussolini are indeed the truth in every way that matters.
He also declared war on trans people and threw protections for LGBTQ people out the window -- but we knew he was going to do that. Doesn't make it any easier for us who are, even so.
With respect to the Brown Shirts -- and make no mistake, that's what they are -- I take some consolation the overwhelming majority of them have absolutely no idea what happened to the original ones. They called it the Night of the Long Knives for a reason.
In general, only a few of any dictator's original cronies survive very long after power is assumed. They think they're entitled to a share of the pie they just helped steal, but the dictator just makes examples of them as a defensive move.
Re energy and all else false coming out of the Head Mouth- it will be taken as truth by enough of our people perhaps until it hits home with them some way.
Ruth Ben Ghiat historian on fascism and authoritarianism on her Jen Rubin- "Contrarian" substack interview made the point that the Sec'ty of Defense (Hegseth probably) is the perfect person to command militias to do some dirty work internally that the army national guard can't or won't do.
“For now, however, it all seems insignificant beside the reality that the president of the United States has thrown himself fully behind political violence.”
Yes, and he and all his bros are high on their own supply right now. This will ultimately be their downfall.
He’s thrown himself fully behind political violence, but this has always been true for Trump, the man. The very real (and very scary) facts is that now, on the day of his inauguration as President, that man has thrown the United States Government fully behind political violence.
To me, this is the first signal that we are in serious trouble.
How do you see his downfall approaching? I would like to believe you. But I don’t see how. He has been over reaching for a long time and getting away with everything.
I am much MORE bothered than you OBVIOUSLY will EVER understand. And I’ve done more in my very long life to help foster democracy than you likely ever will. Mean people suck. Don’t be one!
That Trump’s downfall is near is delusional, I fear. We can wish it… but that does not make it so. Our faith in guardrails now lies with Congress… and that’s a long shot.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that American Democracy may have just died. The executive orders are beyond unethical and destructive. I was prepared, mentally, for bad but this is terrifying, nightmarish.
I didn’t watch or listen to any of it, but seeing that picture this morning of all the tech Brose lined up with each other egging on their leader is beyond disgusting. How did we let America come to this?
I advice people to safeguard their sanity and minimize mainstream news and platforms of tech bros. Because in next few years, media will be busy reacting to daily tweets and absurdities of Trump. Media will sane wash him, truth wash him and in general create an environment of pessimism and confusion. Social media will become a sewer and we must stay out of it.
I only go through a glance of important news and stick to sensible informative platforms (like this Blog). I have also made a list of books i plan to read this year to educate myself better. I am currently reading Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy by Schumpeter. Next on my reading list is Theory of the Leisure Class by T. Veblen.
Thank you. I have not watched the news for 8 years. I scan headlines, walk,meditate, read, groom my dog, refresh my sourdough starter, etc. My sanity comes first.
Regardless of your political affiliation you should avoid mainstream news and especially avoid cybernetic social media as much as possible. These things are funded by advertisement which is just targeted mass manipulation for hire.
Exposing yourself to that is unhealthy and harms not just you but everyone around you.
Donald shows you what kind of a person he is by his treatment of Joe Biden. Since the election, Biden has treated Donald respectfully. But Donald has returned the favor with boorishness and rudeness. The speech yesterday was a case in point. Donald trashed the work of the Biden administration with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sitting there. Donald sounded as if he was speaking at one of his rallies. There was no need to do that. Donald lacks common decency and humanity. Of course, we all have known that for ten or fifteen years.
That alone is a good reason to not vote for him. I don't understand why any decent person would vote for him.
Possibly because the alternative was something they considered worse. Kamala Harris was a corrupt and cruel puppet candidate of the worst order for neo-cons and worse. At least Trump is an evil they can see and understand (or think they can). Not nearly enough criticism is levelled at the democrats for encouraging weak candidates, discouraging real competition within its party, and trying to sell us all a dud candidate when it thought it could (first Biden, then Harris). Worth considering that perhaps some blame ought to go their way.
Nope, sorry, not buying it. Harris's "faults" were gender, skin color, and Israel, none of which she could do anything about. Everything else is just weak rationalization of naked desire for power to control others.
Kamala's only mistake was not being endorsed by Fox News. The sensational, emotional slant provided by right wing outlets will always appeal more than critical thinking and facts to the strapped, stressed undereducated tribes of working people. Biden and Harris both understand this, but he is better at that emotional connection. And Faux News really played up his declining mental status. If only she had had more time...
What do the Democrats do going forward? The republicans have locked up the white male working class, white conservative Christians, and all of the people who are motivated by racial/cultural/religious antagonism.
That leaves out all of the liberals of different races, many women and most of the people who are not white, people who believe in facts and reality and education. But apparently this group will continue to lose to the first group on election day. That happened in 2016 and 2024.
Of course, some Democrats have the tendency to think of reasons to not vote. Remember in 2016 some women said that they saw no difference between Ms. Clinton and Donald. Some said that she did not exhibit sufficient empathy.
Does Donald exhibit empathy? Three differences between Ms. Clinton and Donald are Kavanagh, Gorsuch, and Barret. These people would not be on the Supreme Court if Ms. Clinton had won and Roe would probably still be the law of the land.
But I am concerned about how the Democrats overcome the republicans skillful use of the culture wars and their help from right-wing media such as FOX which runs propaganda for the republican/religious right wing 24/7.
I agree that Ms. Harris did about as well as she could considering the circumstances.
I love the Democrats, but they have trouble pulling it together on election day.
But in politics if you don't win on election day, you don't win at all.
This kind of comment is exactly the reason Trump won. To anyone outside of the Democratic echo chamber Harris presented as a cruel, corrupt, cowardly, idiotic puppet of the corrupt warmongering institution which attempted to put an enfeebled old man with dementia in charge of the nuclear arsenal. I’m sorry but it’s absurd beyond words to say this, and shows a complete lack of respect for half of your country and much of the rest of the world, let alone a deep absence of critical thinking on your own part.
LOL. Echo chamber? I live in a very red rural area and Trump voters are my friends, neighbors, community. I know whereof I speak. My point was the outsized part played by right-wing media/influencers in the election, given that Trump is a PR genius.
This is ridiculous. But ridiculous with a grain of truth.
Democrats joined with Republicans in hollowing out the working class, and then were dismissive at best and condescending at worst when the working class sounded the alarm. They now believe, correctly, that Trumpism is a departure from the Democrat/Republican policy consensus. And he is the only one directly speaking at all to the legitimate fears of the working class.
Harris was no more 'weak' than any other candidate that would have been put forward by the Democrats under a more competitive process. Just like anyone else they would have put forward if Biden hadn't run, she was saying all the wrong things in the campaign. She was absolutely typical of what Democrats think win elections. They are wrong. Wrong because Democrats don't even understand what is wrong.
But, Trump is the wrong answer to the right question. Trump understands far better than Democrats what is wrong, but he is nevertheless the wrong person to address it. He will likely just make things worse for the working class.
But it is ridiculous to believe she was a 'puppet candidate'. 60% of the Democratic party simply doesn't understand what's wrong, and she's just representative of that 60%. That's not 'puppet'. That's representation.
If she wasn’t a puppet candidate there would have been a primary, there would have been even a semblance of difference between her policy platform and Biden’s, and she would’ve fielded live interviews. You’ll probably argue that those things are a result of incompetence rather than malicious intent, and I’d respond that if one of the two most powerful sub-national political institutions in the world can’t do better than her then we’re all in way more trouble than we think. When the elderly man with dementia didn’t work out they put forward the controllable front candidate (the neo-cons did it with Bush Jr, and not with Harris?).
I agree with you about most everything else you said btw.
What you are trying to do is make sense of the fact the Democrats fielded a bad candidate, and it seems like you're convinced the Democrats would have fielded a better candidate had there been a competitive or "real" process. I am saying, "no they wouldn't have". I am saying she is representative, that she is on par with the best the Democrats are capable of doing, and that 'yes', we are in more trouble than we realize.
Democrats cannot win elections without the working class, period. And none of the candidates they would have fielded besides Harris would have made the slightest dent in the shift of the working class across demographics to Trump. This is because the working class is a profound blind spot for Democrats, so they have no plan for them, and therefore no (genuine) message for them. And the working class correctly knows it. They may not be the most sophisticated thinkers, but after a while they figure out when institutions like the Democratic party don't care about them.
Never forget that what trump says he will do includes anything at all that has already happened under Biden- if it helps trump he will claim HE did it !!! The man cannot be trusted for anything but lies, cheating & stealing to enhance HIMSELF ! The public are just too ignorant to see what he is doing. He is the most tiresome & revolting human on the planet !
Thank you for this. Out of everything that happened yesterday, the pardons were a kick in the stomach, even though I knew they were coming. All of those brave prosecutors, all of that evidence, all of those brave judges who did the right thing, and now it's done, just like that. I feel like I'm watching a banana republic, or some other country. This is no longer the United States that I grew up loving and caring about. It makes me sad. And scared.
Quite a few people writing here don't seem to have considered that "the news" doesn't generally follow who gets brought to justice after they do something wrong unless it becomes a high-interest story. I live in the Minneapolis area and there was local follow-up on who participated in the George Floyd riots and who got brought to justice if they'd broken the law. There were actually many outsiders who came here to cause the turmoil that ensued.
I noticed. I noticed that the Proud Boys who came and rioted in the middle of the peaceful BLM protests did not get arrested and prosecuted. The other 26 million were pretty well-behaved, give or take some graffiti.
Oops. This was supposed to be a reply to Quayle.
OK now my song: "They're Eating Cat and Dogs Says J.D. Vance" The 2nd verse is most important. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiNusL05JUo
We never fully removed the shackles from the colonial period. There we were enslaving people as a way to prosperity. From the planters to the oligarchs it’s the same motive.
Paul, we knew what we were in for. My history isn’t the best but I’m trying to find a worst president in our brief history. I can’t. Andrew Johnson? Andrew Jackson? George W. Bush? No, the pale in comparison. So why this abomination?
When I do something that doesn’t go right, I tend to reflect and ask myself what was it I did wrong. I think this would be healthy to view it. It always takes two to tango. So let me play devil’s advocate for a moment. And I want to state that I’m not a die hard liberal. I’m not partisan although I seek democratic safe ports in storms.
In my opinion, the left has pushed our “woke” agendas as far then farther. Diversity is it really needed? I think not especially when you automatically categorize those of us who are Caucasian. I’m now accused of being privileged. That’s the result of CRT. I’m simply a small single proprietor business person but I’m frequently singled out as privileged. I’m tired of that shit. In this nation, we have made struggling white people the enemy and we don’t even realize it. Think about it before you outright reject it. There is more but that’s enough for now.
Example #1: I was seeking a booth at a democratic sponsored event once. I had to identify myself in categories. 1. Minority owned? 2. Woman owned? 3. Union friendly? 4. LBGTQ owned? Are you fricken kidding me? I’m a small single proprietor business. I didn’t quite fit in. This is what is destroying this nation.so we rebel and elect a mafia second rate demigod so destructive.
Your little personal anecdote doesn’t “prove” that democrats forced “woke” on the country. You’ve become exactly the same as any fox viewer by accepting the republican fascist propaganda framing of democrats based on your feelings.
Democrats and liberals persuaded themselves earlier in this century that changing demographics would bring about a “minority majority” who would bring Democrats back into power—instead what has happened is that many of those “minority” voters have aligned with Republicans. It turns out a lot of Latinos are actually white (descended from Spanish colonials), so that the supposed racial realignment was a mirage. In the meantime, Democrats and liberals have done a p*ss poor job of selling themselves to voters.
The working class Latinos have more in common with the working class whites. They are religiously conservative, have strong family values and value hard work. They don't particularly like entitlement programs and are the least likely to be a burden on the social safety net. They are less likely to go to college.
There's a big difference between working class Latinos and the college Latino crowd. Latino is also a huge tent with people from many places and cultures.
“Actually white.” Says more about you that you would write something like that.
OK, you got me. No one is “actually white,” but over 40% of Latinos identify as white, and 42% voted for Trump last year. The idea that this group, which constitutes most of the increase in “people of color” that the left was counting on, would consistently support progressives turned out to be a big miscalculation.
A meanie type I see.
Look up a political analyst and researchers named Ruy Texiera. He spent the 90s running around with big piles of data claiming to support this "demographic wave" the Democrats convinced themselves they would ride to generational power. He was a Dem insider then. Now he's at the (conservative) Manhattan Institute. And kind of "revising" his past theses. "What I really meant was...blah, blah, blah...etc". Translation: full of crap then, full of crap now.
Identity politics strikes again. Hoist on their own petard, I'd say the Dems are...
Again, we have declared war on white people that is the Democratic Party agenda. But most will never understand this tid bit. But it’s true. That ole pendulum shift and now it has shifted to the far right. We as humans and we are in this sub brut category, we don’t ever know when enough is enough.
And don’t be concerned about me. I have no where else to turn but to the very imperfect Democratic Party agenda. I will never move to the right. But I despise the left side politics. Read my book, “Donald’s Vanity Tantrums.” I know what I’m talking about.
What’s woke?
Oh, bullshit. That was no litmus test. That was a rather simplistic way of slotting you into a marketing category so they know what buttons to push when they want you to give them money. Don’t attribute to malice what actually is unimaginative fund raising techniques.
Are you not differentiating between groups who are working specifically with those named groups, and ones with the general public? And these people have it rough too, and may have different experiences than you. I’ve sometimes thought it would be nice if all groups could attend these meetings, but I don’t begrudge them. Also, I have come to realize that being white, and probably male, does confer some privileges.
I understand the chafing at being looked at as the enemy, but maybe people are identifying a situation, rather than targeting you. And your need to be a part of the conversation.
Both sides have a point.
Everyone is arguing with you, I'm here to validate your experience. There is a very vocal minority in the left that went power hungry and was not checked by the normal majority. They found a magic formula to weaponize American politeness, giving them unreasonable amount of control over others. Now, after about 15 years of ruling the public discourse the petty tyrants are fighting to maintain the control they gained as the zeitgeist changes and their methods becoming less effective.
Noam, I seem to be accustomed to being argued with. There is frequently another side. What many forget is that we have forces that are pulling us apart. They are making us angry. And when we are fighting each other, they take over. And yes, the more extreme on the left has created an ugly backlash to the right. This is the usual outcome. The oligarchs rule.
I agree with you for the most part. Latinx strikes me as particularly arrogant and insensitive as are "State your Pronouns".
Diversity is great, but why should the cardiologists daughter get put up ahead of a poor white boy who pulled himself up out of crime and poverty. I think privilege should be a function of wealth and social class.
It is extremely telling that black and latino voters for Trump increased.
Trump might still have a way to go to knock James Buchanan (Lincoln's immediate predecessor) off his pedestal as the consensus Worst President of All Time.
Who
In the decade of 1850-1860, cotton was 60% of our country’s total exports. Most of which went to the clothing mills in England.
Yea, we owe our global economic lead in that industrial era to a certain shall we say, low-maintenance working class group.
Highly recommend a book about slavery's economic impact and importance - "The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of American Capitalism."
Don’t tell me what to do or say. And what is V
Dont feed the (AI?) bot/troll. I reported him/it lol
I think people have lumped in Jan 6 with the other rioting and mob violence that took place in 2020. I still think about how liberals downplayed the more violent aspects of the George Floyd protests (I know I did), the hypocrisy over Covid, and the sudden rise in crime/homicide hurt Democrats’ credibility when it comes to criticizing Jan 6.
Sigh.
Hypocrisy over COVID what exactly? Rise in crime what exactly? https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/u-s-sees-sharp-decline-in-murders-and-others-crimes-in-2024
Also, mixing up street violence with an attack to the Capitol shows how confused you're, man
And there was a jump in violence in the preceding years, but that apparently didn’t happen because crime started declining afterwards?
And I am confused for suggesting that for some people the perception of Jan 6 could have been lumped in with the broader surge in violence of the same period.
(Also I did not “mix up” street violence with the attack on the Capitol. Just describing why the public might not have treated it with the gravity they should have.)
The hypocrisy over COVID may refer to public health officials saying mass gatherings to protest the killing of George Floyd should not be discouraged as a public health measure, because it was a good cause. It was not the place of public health officials to say what is a good cause—they could have instead advised that protests (whatever the subject matter) were not a public health hazard if they were limited to outdoors, during daylight hours, and made some effort at social distancing. It was known by then that sunlight effectively killed the virus (unfortunately the briefing where that was announced became better known for Trump’s suggestion that people drink disinfectant). But saying that COVID restrictions could be relaxed for BLM protests was what persuaded a lot of people that public health officials were biased, and that the pandemic was not as serious as they claimed.
Please give more hard evidence of this political violence perpetrated by liberals.
That is not the claim made or implied, so I am confused by your claim.
Own your words. You’re the one who compared liberal blindness to destruction of property in the George Floyd protests to outrage over the occupation and desecration of the building that houses the beating heart of our democracy.
Those who lump those events together either cannot or refuse to use their brains to make valid comparisons. How are civil rights protests that sometimes turned violent the same as a violent insurrection orchestrated by the sitting President to try to remain in power?
What I am describing is how many people plausible have equivocated the two things and thus downplayed Jan 6. I am not equivocating the two things, because they are vastly different in terms of public consequence.
I am upset people voted for Trump. I am upset many voters didn’t treat Jan 6 as disqualifying.
I was living in Europe when the 2020 protests took place. Got most of my information from my sister in Portland, NPR, the Guardian, and how Europeans were interpreting events in their media. I can tell you the Scandinavians were less positive about the events than Anglos.
People generally understand that some properties are more valuable than others. The Capitol is the beating heart of our democracy—how do you value that? It was forcibly taken from its rightful owners and desecrated with feces. How did that change its value? How does it compare to property damaged or destroyed in the George Floyd protests? Was that property sacred to our democracy? Did insurance not rebuild their value? How do you rebuild the value of the beating heart of democracy?
You’re not a serious person if you can’t think more deeply than comparing things that don’t compare.
I know your comment wasn't particularly popular with this commenter base, Dan, but I think you're exactly right. Regardless of the facts of the George Floyd protests vs. Jan 6, the perception amongst the center and center-right is that they are two sides of the same coin. This has probably been helped along by Fox News and right wing media in general.
- your fellow SlowBorer!
I wasn't prepared for people to treat it as a moral statement or an endorsement of equivocation. I am not saying that equivocation is good, because it isn't. It's used to rationalize voting for Trump, which is bad.
What crime!! We're at a 50-year low! (Because, in part, unemployment is also at a 50-year low) Are the stats by all the local police lies all over the country of different political stripes lies???
Certainly looting a shoe store or protesting in the streets is comparable to attacking our nation’s capital and attempting an insurrection.
Describing why people might equivocate is not an endorsement of equivocation.
Nitwit. Don’t waste your babbling here Dan. Find a corner stool at the nearest tavern and mumble your nonsense nonstop to disinterested imbibers.
Completely disagree.
The relatively minor rise in certain crimes, including murder began during COVID, under Tr**p and dropped back down under Biden. Fact. At its peak, this spike never came close to the crime rates in the 70s/80s/early 90s, especially under Reagan and Bush Sr. And Democrats DID discuss the crime spike, but you are probably right that they didn't say and do enough.
Dude you're dead wrong here and are repeating a Russian disinfo talking point.
What hypocrisy over COVID-19?
Telling everyone to shelter at home an isolate but the also saying it was fine to gather in large groups in public to protest.
Then telling people that we were somehow protecting the public by keeping schools closed and reopening bars (much worse Covid vectors), some places kept schools closed long after the vaccines were rolled out. Emily Oster has been lambasted for pointing out learning loss is real.
Those things did negatively impact public trust in public health and school policy, things Democrats historically win on and have had credibility in.
Republicans ran things too. Drink some more Kool Aid.
All you are communicating is that you ask dishonest questions, ignore the substance of what is written, and then just throw unwarranted insults at people.
I noticed. I noticed that the Proud Boys who came and rioted in the middle of the peaceful BLM protests did not get arrested and prosecuted. The other 26 million were pretty well-behaved, give or take some graffiti.
It is a form of semantic infiltration to suggest the protests and the violence in 2020 were the same events.
There was urban, racially charged violence, which was not controlled due to inadequate resources and unwillingness to utilize violence to combat it. There was also a planned violent attack on our federal government to circumvent our democratic way of life. There is no equivalency between the two.
10,000 people were arrested nationwide for the violence of the George Floyd Protests, 300 for federal crimes. None of them were pardoned or allowed off. Liberals said things like "they were mostly peaceful" which is true. But not one elected liberal excused the violence and no one was pardoned.
"people" may have lumped them together but they are not equivalent and as of now Trump is clearly siding with violence.
https://apnews.com/article/records-rebut-claims-jan-6-rioters-55adf4d46aff57b91af2fdd3345dace8
The inference of the pardons is that vigilantes, rapists, racists, murderers can expect a pardon from DJT in the future if it ties in with his agenda. Anyone he hates is now at risk.
You are watching Hitler's Germany in the 1920s when he put together his own militia of thugs. They were called Brownshirts
What still puzzles and infuriates me is that Garland took so long to take action. Insurrection January 6th, 2021. Smith appointed as special prosecutor only in June 2022, and (from memory) handed up indictments in October 2023, 32 months after the event! Was he a GOP plant? It’s ridiculous. I’m a recovering lawyer - there is no reason why they couldn’t have charged Trump and the other perps by June 2021, and started the clock. Even the supine USSC couldn’t then have delayed justice until the election.
I don’t understand how the members of congress can look at each other, or their constituents. They were the ones running and hiding in closets, calling their families for a last goodbye. They were the ones stepping in the feces and cleaning it from their desks. They were the ones the capital police protected so fearlessly, suffering injury and death. Now they are supporting the felon who fomented the insurrection. And voters are terrified of immigrants? I will never disbelieve what my own eyes witnessed.
Congress doesn't have to consider constituents that much anymore. It is the donors that matter more and more. The relationship between constituents and large donors is nonlinear and it's getting progressively worse, faster than the human brain can figure.
We lose – this is the real world.
We don’t have an energy shortage, but the GOP has a severe spine shortage. These cowards will die a thousand deaths before Trump betrays them and they lose their careers.
There is a scene in 1984 where it is announced that due to great effort by Big Brother chocolate rations will go up to 20 grams. Winston Smith wonders: "Doesn't anyone remember that only last week it was 30?"
What a perfect description of the MAGA cult mindset.
That an "increase" is actually a decrease. Believing propaganda. Reread Arthur's post and you will understand.
Lewis isn’t worth communicating with.
Thanks for the confirmation. I suspected as much.
Bot/MAGA alert.
Doesn't this come under the column called '"gaslighting"?
Yes. Manipulation 101.
In 2020, Trump got 5000 Taliban terrorists released and Biden got blamed for the fallout. Now he has released 1600 violent MAGA terrorists onto the streets of the US including the worst cop killers and seditious conspirators. They will offend again, some violently. How will he get Biden to take the blame?
He won't blame them. He'll laud them as patriots acting in defense of the reich.
Do you know what rhetoric even means? He has literally called these people patriots. 🧌
Bot/MAGA alert.
Absolutely, Paul. I avoided watching anything yesterday, but to learn this morning that he has desecrated the rule of law is heartbreaking. We all know the thugs were guilty. The video evidence alone was enough to convict. And the work of the Select Committee to investigate January 6th gives all the proof in writing. Horrified hardly describes my reaction.
This is no worse than when all white juries refused to convict the murderers of blacks. It's bad. It's very bad. But it can be beaten, and Martin Luther King, Jr has shown us how. With nonviolent protest and resistance.
And Trump will send our military to shoot nonviolent protesters. Just wait.
And Americans will cheer him.
It will start with the Neo-Brown Shirts (aka Proud boys, J6 patriots of all stripes) beating up peaceful protestors. With no consequences. Then when protests get louder, the military will get jnvolved to “keep the peace”.
Authoritarians and fascists first begin to bend, then break the law where the law doesn't exist. Migrants around the border areas are now at a grave risk. The declaration of the drug cartels as terrorists will also have a similar effect. Any killing around the border of immigrants will be outside the law. The Nazi's killed more civilians outside of Germany than inside it. "Be reflective if you must be armed." Once forces are conditioned to kill around the border, those will be the ones sent to quell domestic protests. Thanks John Roberts. Thanks Mitch.
I can’t forget that King was brutally assassinated and that voting rights, CRT, DEI etc. have been rolled back, that the arc he referred to does not seem to bend toward justice. That the disparity between the rich and poor seems wider than ever. Can it be beaten with nonviolent protest and resistance? We just lost our country to fascism. I am not feeling very hopeful.
The pendulum always swings. The general trend of the swings has been towards freedom and equality, but we have to fight for it.
The purpose of non-violent protest is to provoke and capitalize politically on the response. It is theater for the audience. It prices the consciences of people who have supported injustice in the past. Say, by voting for Trump.
MLK knew he was risking his life every time he walked into a protest. He was playing chicken with martyrdom and he both won and lost. In dying he, a mortal man, achieved immortality.
If Trump is like other autocrats, and he is most assuredly like other autocrats, he is willing and even eager to kill his opposition. We must prove to the public whether his forces are willing to follow illegal orders. They probably are. Many of us may be martyred to the cause of human freedom and a Constitutional Republic. What are you willing to die for? How far will you go?
That should be "pricks the consciousness" Damn autocorrect.
Arm up.
When the rule of law is dead, gunpowder is king.
I do think it’s a good idea. I’ve never owned a gun, but it’s probably time.
Remember he pardoned the military officer whose own men turned him in for war crimes? So, it's no surprise he pardoned "his protesters".
The only thing that is more disgusting is that Trump/Vance was endorsed by the FOP (The Fraternal Order of Police). Over 140 of their own were violently beaten for hours on January 6, 2021. One Capitol police officer died that day and four took their own lives as a result of post traumatic stress disorder. My grandfather and my father each wore the badge for 33 years and were veterans of WWI and WWII. I have little respect for the FOP and their leadership for such little respect for their own members and those who wear the badge. Trump now has a militia group of fascists waiting for his orders. "Stand by and stand down".
We CANNOT EVER allow him to use the US Military like this. That would truly signal the end of our country. The local yokels are just frills on the country’s panties.
@Matty, He declared emergencies all along the southern border yesterday so ‘you have just allowed the use of military like this’. You they’ll take the time to determine who is.a US citizen in an emergency? Haha. No chance. Come Feb 1st he’ll do the same with the northern border. And then we here in Canada are pooched. My mama always said, you get the govt you deserve. NONE of us deserved this. We are all in this together now. Thanks for nothing.
Sorry, I was not referring to the use of the US military at our borders. That is at least an arguable claim, even though it is preposterous. My comment was really about any possible use id the military internally. That will be a blow too far for America.
What are you going to do about it?
Let’s see how the DOD responds to his first request to interfere with internal justice, OK? We may be pleasantly surprised by their reply. He hasn’t quite hijacked our entire country.. yet.
Every position of authority in his administration is run by an evil, powerful sycophant. Seems to me he has quite hijacked the entire country.
So, hide under blankets and let someone else do the work? No wonder the Trumpers have zero respect for us.
Arm up.
Terrible injustice has happened before in our country. Yes, and gone unpunished. Evil has won in the past. But the pendulum swings. It falls to us to FIGHT for our freedom.
The other side has more guns than our side can ever have, and knows how to use them. We must win those people over and cause enough of them to have a change of heart by pricking their consciences through nonviolent protest.
Freedom isn't free. Every couple of generations darkness comes and the people have to fight for freedom or lose it. What are you willing to die for?
"Purge. Privatizations. Pardons." -Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
That is how. Purge the non-loyalists from the DOD and other law enforcement agencies. Send in the Proud Boys and 3%'ers, the Oath Keepers, and other militia. Send in Eric Prince's forces too. Deputize them all, a type of privatizing law enforcement. Militia's already know they will be pardoned, so there is minimal legal jeopardy to them. Local and state cops can easily be overwhelmed ( J6th proved this). Many in Law Enforcement are supporters anyway and will first look the other way, especially around immigrants and drug cartel forces, but in time that transfers to all political enemies and anyone who disagrees or speaks up.
It Can Happen Here.
Yes it can. And I may also win the lottery. I’m not being snide, I’m just being hopeful and having some faith in humanity. I’ll be as concerned as you are, if/when the DOD decides to play along with his game.
He’s going to purge the pentagon. Or at least attempt to. That will be your que. Perhaps hegseth gets denied. That would be a plus, but not necessarily.
They took down Gen Milleys photograph in the halls of the Pentagon yesterday. Orders to send military to the southern border. An alcoholic rapist Christian Nationalist is up for Sec of Defense. Do we need another warning signal?
All he has to do is declare a national emergency, or martial law. He has, and will.
I believe that pardoning the thugs and degenerates who attacked the Capital was a colossal mistake for Trump to make right out of the gate. We will never forget. I'm sure his political minions will be twisting in the wind trying to defend this despicable act. I will never forgive the people who voted for him or the ones who stayed home and didn't vote at all. Sickening.
Many of those people are angry with Trump for what they have been through. . They won't necessarily feel different just because he pardoned them. Like you said. Mistake in more ways than one.
Those were political prisoners. Jailing them was completely inappropriate.
You’re not a serious person. You simply don’t believe in the rule of law if “your people” are held accountable for breaking it. If you’re an American citizen, you’ve failed at holding up your end of the bargain.
I do not think jailing people that way is appropriate for the crime that was committed. They trespassed on public property as part of a political protest.
Saying someone shouldn't be jailed for life for eg shoplifting would be similar if it weren't for the fact that it was done in response to a protest which makes this situation even worse.
Since you seem so well acquainted with the facts, please tell us all which defendants were charged with just trespassing and received jail time.
You don’t get to make up a new definition of their crimes and pretend that’s the truth. You’ve failed yet again to be a citizen, if you even are one.
Tell that to the families of the dead cops trying to defend the capitol. What exactly makes breaking and entering along with violence above the law? Because it happened at a government building? So those are now law free zones if you disagree politically? Your “logic” is astounding.
People who bombed the capital are working in the government now. All these people did was walk around.
One cop died. IIRC it was from an unrelated illness.
“All these people did was walk around”. This should be in the dictionary as the definition of gaslighting. It’s almost like you think none of us remember watching the live televised atrocities on TV. Oh, and what happened to “Back the Blue”? Only one cop died, no biggie. Did he die from watching all the people walk around? Your demonstrable lies and stupidity are breathtaking.
See you in the streets, cunt.
Is that really how you're going to argue for the Law?
You must be great fun at parties. Obviously you have nothing better to do than troll the comments section of this Substack.
You are full of shit.
Surely, you forgot to add a note indicating that “political prisoners “ was sarcastic. Surely.
You can call the sides whatever you like but that doesn't change the moral and logical realities.
Do you understand them well enough for an eternal refusal of forgiveness? Or is it perhaps sufficiently possible that there’s something about them that you don’t understand that you may one day regret that statement?
I’m pretty sure I will never forgive those traitors. You do you.
The answers to your questions are easy: yes, and no.
Why don’t you go down on each and every one?
Professor Krugman: i realize that Biden took steps to limit or prevent the destruction that the orange jesus seeks to institute, but as a 34-times convicted felon, i don't think any of Biden's measures -- not even his pardons of his family members -- will be honoured because trump is a lawless pestilence who has been taught time and again that he is beholden to NO LAWs, to NO ONE. the only thing the orange jesus worships is MONEY, and the hands that feed it to him.
Presidential pardons can only be challenged in congress and the courts, and congress can’t overturn them. The executive branch has no power to do so at all. What you’re talking about would require a re-write of the constitution, or a burning of it. There are still significant separations of powers in the states, and impeachment is still a real thing.
We had this in Poland 2015-2023. The executive will claim "we will not comply with the obviously unlawful ruling of the court", to the applause of the media and bused-in mass demonstrations of supporters.
The above play will be attempted not always, so you will think (maybe correctly) that rule of law is frayed, but still holds. Even in cases when such a play WILL be attempted, it will not always succeed. But sometimes it will succeed.
All in all, the legal setup becomes the "Pirates of the Caribbean" thing - "the Pirate's Law is merely a suggestion".
The issue is you had this in Poland for a very short time span. Deeply embedded tradition melded with law is much harder to break. I am not saying it is impossible for Trump to bend the law the way you say, but the longstanding tradition does make it harder.
Nevertheless, people should pay attention to what you say. Because it isn't in fact impossible here.
I just noted, "Trump's legal alternate universe", another thing familiar. In his "stop birthright citizenship" Executive Order, Trump DID NOT question (strict interpretation) the constitutionally explicit birthright citizenship. Trump simply ordered to stop the use of federal HARDWARE printers for the purpose of printing any documents confirming this citizenship. Nowhere in the Constitution there is a phrase "the right of people to keep and bear their citizenship proof papers shall not be infringed", is there?
We had a very similar case in Poland 2015. Constitution specifies that the decisions, as ruled by courts, start to be binding when they are published in public records. So the executive simply stopped publishing, selectively, some rulings. Sorry, not "stopped", just delayed a bit, like couple of years. No EXPLICIT laws were broken, but this effectively nixed the judiciary branch. Oh, sure, the courts ruled that such practice DOES break the laws, customs, Constitution, you name it. The courts themselves referred to each other's DECISIONS, not the printed (actually, not printed) pages of record. But you do see the cleverness (or stupidity) of this farce, dont't you? The executive had, to IT'S voters, a plausible explanation why what it keeps doing is legal, never mind "woke courts" screaming otherwise.
I hope I am wrong, but my own faith in the "power of tradition" (which I did have) evaporated away, seeing (both US and Poland) what people enthusiastically applaud and accept.
You're right about what he is attempting to do. He absolutely is attempting to build autocracy; and one of the components of that is weakening the Constitution. The question is whether he will get away with it. This will partly depend upon the courts.
However, in this particular case, I am dubious it will weaken the Constitution much. For one thing, I doubt the people who wrote birthright citizenship into the Constitution intended for people to be able to visit here, have a baby, and have that baby be a citizen. Birthright citizenship was conceived entirely as a way to make sure former slaves were considered citizens, and didn't anticipate significant numbers of people coming here from elsewhere and having babies. That is the starting point. Coming to the present, their argument that the US doesn't have jurisdiction over visitors the way that it had jurisdiction over former slaves would solve this clear discrepancy over intent and execution. The real question here is whether there is any historic (originalist) basis for this jurisdiction argument. If the conservatives on the court adhere to it without one, then it will weaken the Constitution. But, if there is a basis, then it will not weaken it one bit. As far as this single matter, the rule of law will still hold.
I am far more concerned about First Amendment free speech matters. These capricious lawsuits Trump is bringing with no real basis, and the fact they are not being dismissed out of hand, and the fact that they are not then being fought out to their bitter end is massively concerning to me. ABC and the like have a duty to the American people to fight these things out vigorously, and to me this is where tradition is failing. I believe twenty years ago, they would have recognized this duty.
Yes, there is a nuance. Much to discuss, with "birthright citizenship" I see your point for the cases you raised, but there are other cases, like people WORKING in the US for years (illegally) and THEN having babies. But this will be raised by people much more qualified/knowledgeable than I am, so I will stay on the sidelines here.
But never mind a particular law in question. Trump had some 50 court rulings Fall 2020 that "election results are what was announced" and still tried using make-believe-law tricks to claim the 2021-24 Presidency. It is this "law in the cargo-cult interpretation" I wanted to highlight. What you write about hare-brained legal arguments in lawsuits filed by Trump is an example of this wider phenomena. Making "legal arguments/cases" which are patently "not even wrong" (not just erroneous, but simply a garbage).
In the US that would be grounds for impeachment, as the president has a duty to preserve, protect, and defend the constitution, and flouting a Supreme Court decision would be in direct contravention of that duty. Not that he’d necessarily be impeached by a Republican house but their majority is slim and he wouldn’t want to risk a trial. I think the checks and balances will hold.
I *observe* that it is now wholly possible in the US to flout both law (read the Smith's Report) and, if expedient, decisions of ANY court. And this flouting will be accepted by enough people ready to go to a civil war to defend this flouting, to actually HAVE a civil war.
I am sorry, but this is I think already a "please open your eyes" territory.
I do not see any evidence that flouting the law is generally accepted, nor do I see any instances of presidential abuse of power that bend the law more than slightly and have been allowed. If you can give me some examples I’d be interested to see them though. Also, I consider it a form of brinksmanship to say ‘people are ready to go to war over this’. It may be true but I don’t see real evidence of it. I think most Trump voters are far more moderate than this left-falling echo chamber makes them out to be.
AFAIK in 50/51 (?) cases Trump claimed 2020 election fraud, courts rejected his claim. Nevertheless about half of the country is fine with his continuing claim. To me, this is flouting the law, by half of the US population.
It is astonishing you think the threat of impeachment is at all viable or that Trump will concern himself with it in the least. It isn't and he won't. Since conviction on impeachment in the Senate requires a 2/3 majority vote, he'd probably just ignore the whole proceedings.
Sean you are making a point but you should consider: he issued an executive order that negated birthright citizenship which is in the constitution, he issued an executive order announcing a national emergency at the border when there clearly is no emergency though it will allow him to call up the military and the national guard. This note could go on and on. It isn’t just that he isn’t a democratic president. Rather he is anti-democratic.
18 states have filed suit to block his attempt to end birthright citizenship. He’s a showman and a conman and this is how he gets something out on the table. And there’s legitimate justification in a lot of people’s minds for declaring an emergency at the border. It’s been very leaky for a long time now.
If orange wants to make life miserable for whoever he can have his newly released hord of worshipper terrorists harass them. He is immune for his executive privilege and he will promise immunity to all who break the law for him.
Please don’t dehumanise him. And there’s a big difference between pardoning people for a politically sensitive incident 4 years ago and promising them ‘immunity’ for carrying out his dastardly deeds. Y’all are getting very irrational on this.
You can't be serious that we shouldn't dehumanize Mango Mussolini, and even think it is worth mentioning. He dehumanizes people on every single day ending in the letters d a y.
And there is a relationship between pardoning people for political violence and creating a belief in his followers that they will be immune in the future for carrying out his dastardly deeds. In fact, I'd say that is the point. Surely you're not postulating that he actually cares about their personal well being? It would be irrational not to make the obvious connection.
You realise dehumanisation is a classic racist attack right? You’re just using it to defend your right to be angry and to refuse to try to understand why other people are angry. It doesn’t help anything. Though if you really do want war keep goin with it.
That isn't the only way dehumanisation is used.
Trump aside, I am not dehumanising his voters. And, trust me, I do understand why they are angry, and I defend their anger at every turn. But, unlike his voters, he is a truly horrible and despicable person, and I will speak that truth at every turn, in every way. I cannot fail to speak the truth, and phrases like Mango Mussolini are indeed the truth in every way that matters.
He also declared war on trans people and threw protections for LGBTQ people out the window -- but we knew he was going to do that. Doesn't make it any easier for us who are, even so.
With respect to the Brown Shirts -- and make no mistake, that's what they are -- I take some consolation the overwhelming majority of them have absolutely no idea what happened to the original ones. They called it the Night of the Long Knives for a reason.
In general, only a few of any dictator's original cronies survive very long after power is assumed. They think they're entitled to a share of the pie they just helped steal, but the dictator just makes examples of them as a defensive move.
Condolences to all of us.
Re energy and all else false coming out of the Head Mouth- it will be taken as truth by enough of our people perhaps until it hits home with them some way.
Ruth Ben Ghiat historian on fascism and authoritarianism on her Jen Rubin- "Contrarian" substack interview made the point that the Sec'ty of Defense (Hegseth probably) is the perfect person to command militias to do some dirty work internally that the army national guard can't or won't do.
Resistance has to be smart.
Please keep telling the truth.
“For now, however, it all seems insignificant beside the reality that the president of the United States has thrown himself fully behind political violence.”
Yes, and he and all his bros are high on their own supply right now. This will ultimately be their downfall.
He’s thrown himself fully behind political violence, but this has always been true for Trump, the man. The very real (and very scary) facts is that now, on the day of his inauguration as President, that man has thrown the United States Government fully behind political violence.
To me, this is the first signal that we are in serious trouble.
If Trumpism gets entrenched, (the trend from 2016 to now indicates this), we will start to look more and more like USSR/Russia.
As much as I hate to think in terms of armed militias on the left, does anyone think that the likes of
Putin can be deposed without violence?
Trump will overreach.
He already has with his pardons. His downfall is approaching quickly.
How do you see his downfall approaching? I would like to believe you. But I don’t see how. He has been over reaching for a long time and getting away with everything.
The pardons are an ugly thumb in the eye to honorable lawmakers. I believe it was even a bridge too far for them. There will be a backlash.
Stop waiting for the cavalry. It’s not coming, and you know it. You just don’t want to be bothered.
I am much MORE bothered than you OBVIOUSLY will EVER understand. And I’ve done more in my very long life to help foster democracy than you likely ever will. Mean people suck. Don’t be one!
That Trump’s downfall is near is delusional, I fear. We can wish it… but that does not make it so. Our faith in guardrails now lies with Congress… and that’s a long shot.
I don’t think it’s hyperbole to say that American Democracy may have just died. The executive orders are beyond unethical and destructive. I was prepared, mentally, for bad but this is terrifying, nightmarish.
I didn’t watch or listen to any of it, but seeing that picture this morning of all the tech Brose lined up with each other egging on their leader is beyond disgusting. How did we let America come to this?
I thought I was overreacting, but you're even more alarmed than I am. It certainly does feel like the end of the American Age.
I advice people to safeguard their sanity and minimize mainstream news and platforms of tech bros. Because in next few years, media will be busy reacting to daily tweets and absurdities of Trump. Media will sane wash him, truth wash him and in general create an environment of pessimism and confusion. Social media will become a sewer and we must stay out of it.
I only go through a glance of important news and stick to sensible informative platforms (like this Blog). I have also made a list of books i plan to read this year to educate myself better. I am currently reading Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy by Schumpeter. Next on my reading list is Theory of the Leisure Class by T. Veblen.
Thank you. I have not watched the news for 8 years. I scan headlines, walk,meditate, read, groom my dog, refresh my sourdough starter, etc. My sanity comes first.
And support if possible the truth-tellers!
Regardless of your political affiliation you should avoid mainstream news and especially avoid cybernetic social media as much as possible. These things are funded by advertisement which is just targeted mass manipulation for hire.
Exposing yourself to that is unhealthy and harms not just you but everyone around you.
Donald shows you what kind of a person he is by his treatment of Joe Biden. Since the election, Biden has treated Donald respectfully. But Donald has returned the favor with boorishness and rudeness. The speech yesterday was a case in point. Donald trashed the work of the Biden administration with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris sitting there. Donald sounded as if he was speaking at one of his rallies. There was no need to do that. Donald lacks common decency and humanity. Of course, we all have known that for ten or fifteen years.
That alone is a good reason to not vote for him. I don't understand why any decent person would vote for him.
Re: your last paragraph: I think we’re finding out just how many indecent citizens inhabit this country. The hate and ignorance is staggering.
I don’t think decent people did vote for him. Voting for a person would be the definition of indecency.
Try talking to someone who voted for him.
I did.
Talk to more. I’d have voted for him if I live in the country and I do my best to be a decent person.
Possibly because the alternative was something they considered worse. Kamala Harris was a corrupt and cruel puppet candidate of the worst order for neo-cons and worse. At least Trump is an evil they can see and understand (or think they can). Not nearly enough criticism is levelled at the democrats for encouraging weak candidates, discouraging real competition within its party, and trying to sell us all a dud candidate when it thought it could (first Biden, then Harris). Worth considering that perhaps some blame ought to go their way.
Nope, sorry, not buying it. Harris's "faults" were gender, skin color, and Israel, none of which she could do anything about. Everything else is just weak rationalization of naked desire for power to control others.
Kamala Harris is a cruel puppet? Care to provide some fact based evidence for this risible nonsense?
Kamala's only mistake was not being endorsed by Fox News. The sensational, emotional slant provided by right wing outlets will always appeal more than critical thinking and facts to the strapped, stressed undereducated tribes of working people. Biden and Harris both understand this, but he is better at that emotional connection. And Faux News really played up his declining mental status. If only she had had more time...
What do the Democrats do going forward? The republicans have locked up the white male working class, white conservative Christians, and all of the people who are motivated by racial/cultural/religious antagonism.
That leaves out all of the liberals of different races, many women and most of the people who are not white, people who believe in facts and reality and education. But apparently this group will continue to lose to the first group on election day. That happened in 2016 and 2024.
Of course, some Democrats have the tendency to think of reasons to not vote. Remember in 2016 some women said that they saw no difference between Ms. Clinton and Donald. Some said that she did not exhibit sufficient empathy.
Does Donald exhibit empathy? Three differences between Ms. Clinton and Donald are Kavanagh, Gorsuch, and Barret. These people would not be on the Supreme Court if Ms. Clinton had won and Roe would probably still be the law of the land.
But I am concerned about how the Democrats overcome the republicans skillful use of the culture wars and their help from right-wing media such as FOX which runs propaganda for the republican/religious right wing 24/7.
I agree that Ms. Harris did about as well as she could considering the circumstances.
I love the Democrats, but they have trouble pulling it together on election day.
But in politics if you don't win on election day, you don't win at all.
I'm sorry to say that I am as depressed as Prof Krugman at this point and I have no idea how the Dems can fight the right wing's alternative reality.
This kind of comment is exactly the reason Trump won. To anyone outside of the Democratic echo chamber Harris presented as a cruel, corrupt, cowardly, idiotic puppet of the corrupt warmongering institution which attempted to put an enfeebled old man with dementia in charge of the nuclear arsenal. I’m sorry but it’s absurd beyond words to say this, and shows a complete lack of respect for half of your country and much of the rest of the world, let alone a deep absence of critical thinking on your own part.
LOL. Echo chamber? I live in a very red rural area and Trump voters are my friends, neighbors, community. I know whereof I speak. My point was the outsized part played by right-wing media/influencers in the election, given that Trump is a PR genius.
This is ridiculous. But ridiculous with a grain of truth.
Democrats joined with Republicans in hollowing out the working class, and then were dismissive at best and condescending at worst when the working class sounded the alarm. They now believe, correctly, that Trumpism is a departure from the Democrat/Republican policy consensus. And he is the only one directly speaking at all to the legitimate fears of the working class.
Harris was no more 'weak' than any other candidate that would have been put forward by the Democrats under a more competitive process. Just like anyone else they would have put forward if Biden hadn't run, she was saying all the wrong things in the campaign. She was absolutely typical of what Democrats think win elections. They are wrong. Wrong because Democrats don't even understand what is wrong.
But, Trump is the wrong answer to the right question. Trump understands far better than Democrats what is wrong, but he is nevertheless the wrong person to address it. He will likely just make things worse for the working class.
But it is ridiculous to believe she was a 'puppet candidate'. 60% of the Democratic party simply doesn't understand what's wrong, and she's just representative of that 60%. That's not 'puppet'. That's representation.
If she wasn’t a puppet candidate there would have been a primary, there would have been even a semblance of difference between her policy platform and Biden’s, and she would’ve fielded live interviews. You’ll probably argue that those things are a result of incompetence rather than malicious intent, and I’d respond that if one of the two most powerful sub-national political institutions in the world can’t do better than her then we’re all in way more trouble than we think. When the elderly man with dementia didn’t work out they put forward the controllable front candidate (the neo-cons did it with Bush Jr, and not with Harris?).
I agree with you about most everything else you said btw.
What you are trying to do is make sense of the fact the Democrats fielded a bad candidate, and it seems like you're convinced the Democrats would have fielded a better candidate had there been a competitive or "real" process. I am saying, "no they wouldn't have". I am saying she is representative, that she is on par with the best the Democrats are capable of doing, and that 'yes', we are in more trouble than we realize.
Democrats cannot win elections without the working class, period. And none of the candidates they would have fielded besides Harris would have made the slightest dent in the shift of the working class across demographics to Trump. This is because the working class is a profound blind spot for Democrats, so they have no plan for them, and therefore no (genuine) message for them. And the working class correctly knows it. They may not be the most sophisticated thinkers, but after a while they figure out when institutions like the Democratic party don't care about them.
Never forget that what trump says he will do includes anything at all that has already happened under Biden- if it helps trump he will claim HE did it !!! The man cannot be trusted for anything but lies, cheating & stealing to enhance HIMSELF ! The public are just too ignorant to see what he is doing. He is the most tiresome & revolting human on the planet !