The Conversation -- January 26, 2025
Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian: “The bombardment of executive orders, decisions and declarations has been unrelenting, a shock-and-awe display of presidential action that has left its targets reeling.... [The orders] have come in a blizzard and the media, both conventional and social, cannot keep up. It simply doesn’t have the bandwidth. It means voters can barely absorb, let alone scrutinise, what’s being done.... What we are witnessing is an assertion of raw power and an attempt to exercise it without limit. That, surely, is the way to understand his attempt to revoke birthright citizenship.... Similar thinking surely motivates the sweeping pardon for the insurrectionists of 6 January 2021, those Trump unforgivably refers to as 'the J6 hostages'... The picture that emerges ... [is] of a president and his ruling circle asserting their power and, in so doing, exposing the weakness, or absence, of anybody willing and able to curb them.... Whether it’s the obvious abuse of power involved in stripping a former adviser and ally of personal security because he dared criticise Trump or in profiting from high office by issuing a cryptocurrency meme coin on the eve of the inauguration, the picture is clear: the most powerful office in the world is becoming the court of an emperor, untrammelled by alliances, the constitution or the law.”
Peter Baker of the New York Times: Donald Trump has shocked the nation by way of “norm-shattering, democracy-testing assertions of personal power that defy the courts, the Congress and the ethical lines that constrained past presidents.... Mr. Trump in effect declared that he was willing and even eager to push the boundaries of his authority, the resilience of American institutions, the strength of the nearly two-and-a-half-century-old system and the tolerance of some of his own allies. Even more than in his first term, he has mounted a fundamental challenge to expectations of what a president can and should do, demonstrating a belief that the rules his predecessors largely followed are meant to be bent, bypassed or broken.... He dominates his own party as no president in generations.... Mr. Trump has forced technology billionaires, Wall Street tycoons, corporate executives and media owners who previously opposed him to show newfound deference and, in many cases, flood his political accounts with millions of dollars. The resistance that sprang up when he was first inaugurated eight years ago has faded....”
The Way We Were. Last week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to remind Americans that in this country, "We hate Nazis." Friday Heather Cox Richardson went into some detail on that topic. A fine read. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: What we're seeing now is a metaphorical Battle of the Bulge. The fascistic forces who championed the Lost Cause of the Confederacy are prevailing to the extent that they feel emboldened to demand our surrender. There's no doubt they're "bulging." But it's up to us to say "NUTS!"
Here's how it works: the president makes decisions. He's the Decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home. Get to know your family again. Make love to your wife. Write that novel you got kicking around in your head. You know, the one about the intrepid Washington reporter with the courage to stand up to the administration. You know - fiction! -- Stephen Colbert, White House Correspondents Dinner, 2006 ~~~
~~~ David Nakamura, et al., of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Saturday night defended his removal of a slew of inspectors general Friday night, as lawmakers in both parties raised concerns about the late-night purge and questioned a decision that appeared to violate federal law. 'It’s a very common thing to do,' Trump claimed to reporters on Air Force One traveling to Florida, in his first comments after a decision that caused alarm among government watchdogs and members of Congress. 'I don’t know them,' he said, even though many of those he fired were people that he appointed during his first term. 'But some people thought that some were unfair or some were not doing their job. It’s a very standard thing to do.' The White House removed the independent inspectors general of nearly every Cabinet-level agency in an unprecedented purge that could clear the way for Trump to install loyalists in the crucial role of identifying fraud, waste and abuse in the government.'... The top Democrats from nearly two dozen House committees signed a joint letter to Trump on Saturday afternoon defending the independence of the federal watchdogs and pointing out that removing them without notifying Congress violates the law.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: That is, Trump claims it's "very common" and "very standard" to do something that is in fact "unprecedented," AND he claims he "doesn't know" IGs he hired. So, two lies in a few short sentences. What I want to know is, how many of those intrepid White House reporters flying across the country with Trump on AF1 called out his lies? The reason Trump gets away with lies passing as "answers" to questions is that reporters accept the lies and record them. A report somewhat obliquely pointing out the lies in an obscure newspaper story published many hours later is not sufficient. Moreover, the very title of the report -- "Trump defends oustings..." -- suggests that Trump's defense was successful or at least presented justifiable explanations. Not true. If this headline doesn't read, "Trump defends oustings with lies," then the headline itself is a kind of lie.
The Aspiring Emperor. Ian Aikman of BBC News: "... Donald Trump has said he believes the US will gain control of Greenland, after showing renewed interest in acquiring the autonomous Danish territory in recent weeks. 'I think we're going to have it,' he told reporters on Air Force One on Saturday, adding that the island's 57,000 residents 'want to be with us'. His comments come after reports that Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen insisted Greenland was not for sale in a fiery phone call with the president last week."
Will Weissert & Thomas Beaumont of the AP: “... Donald Trump came to Las Vegas on Saturday to crow about his campaign promise to eliminate taxes on tips, signaling to allies in Congress the importance of the policy but stopping well short of offering details for making the slogan a reality. Instead, Trump spent most of his 40 minutes speaking to roughly 1,000 supporters in a casino ballroom lauding his November election victory, mocking former President Joe Biden’s administration and touting his torrent of executive actions since taking office Monday.... The victory lap, Trump’s first swing-state rally since taking office, came after he won Nevada’s six electoral votes in November, becoming the first Republican since George W. Bush in 2004 to carry the state. It was part of Trump’s sweep of all seven of the most competitive states that gave him a healthy electoral majority and a second, non-consecutive term.”
Dan De Luce of NBC News: “... Donald Trump’s decision this week to revoke the security clearances of more than four dozen former intelligence officials is an unprecedented move, underscoring his willingness to break decades-old norms to please his supporters and punish his perceived opponents, legal experts say. 'This is the most politically saturated security action since the Oppenheimer case in the 1950s,' said Dan Meyer, a Washington-based lawyer who specializes in security clearance cases.... In an executive order issued hours after his inauguration on Monday, Trump stripped 49 former senior officials of their security clearances for signing a letter more than four years ago that Trump said showed 'misleading and inappropriate political coordination' with Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign. The former senior officials have repeatedly denied Trump's claim.... In the 2020 campaign, more than 200 retired military officers endorsed Trump in an open letter.... None of their security clearances were [MB: was!] revoked.” MB: The article is worded in a way that is extremely hard to follow (at least for me). I think what De Luce means is that Trump objected to the letter the officials signed, & he claimed that the officials had signed the letter after discussing it with Biden's 2020 campaign officials.
Marie: Here's something I missed in all the excitement over Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Thanks to Jeanne for the heads-up: ~~~
[It is my hope that the president] exercises his presidential authority so the Council can continue to advocate for fitness and good health for all Americans. These are bipartisan issues … nonpartisan issues.... May God give you the wisdom, Mr. President, to put politics and name calling aside…and instead lift up the everyday people working to bring America together. Let’s build longer tables.... -- José Andrés, responding to Donald Trump's false claim that he had fired Andrés ~~~
~~~ Kelly McCarthy of Good Morning America/ABC News: "Humanitarian and chef José Andrés spoke out Tuesday after ... Donald Trump claimed he had 'fired' Andrés from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition shortly after being sworn in for his second term. Andrés served as co-chair of the federal advisory committee for two years, having been appointed to the position on March 23, 2022. Trump posted what he called a 'Official Notice of Dismissal' on social media early Tuesday morning, stating that his office would be 'identifying and removing over a thousand Presidential Appointees from the previous Administration, who are not aligned with our vision to Make America Great Again.... Let this serve as Official Notice of Dismissal for these 4 individuals, with many more, coming soon: Jose Andres from the President's Council on Sports, Fitness and Nutrition, Mark Milley from the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, Brian Hook from the Wilson Center for Scholars, and Keisha Lance Bottoms from the President's Export Council -- YOU'RE FIRED!'...
"Andrés responded in his own social media post later on Tuesday morning, stating that he had already submitted his resignation earlier in the month, at the conclusion of his two year term. Less than three weeks ago, the Spanish American chef and World Central Kitchen founder was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in part due to his work providing relief to 'communities affected by natural disasters and conflict around the world,' the White House stated at the time." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I cannot figure out what upside even a cartoon villain like Trump sees in publicly insulting someone who is best known for providing humanitarian aid in the worst of conditions. We know Trump is the biggest jerk in the world but does he want more recognition for it? Or what??? Update: RAS provided a t least a partial answer in yesterday's Comments. Still, I recall when Trump tried to join New York's posh set by at least pretending to donate to their proverbial "worthy causes" (usually he reneged on his splashy pledges). Here he is openly snearing at humanitarian efforts. Of course that is in keeping with the comic-book villain image he is projecting.
Peter Nicholas of NBC News: “A question that loomed over Trump’s 2024 campaign was whether he’d use presidential powers for retribution against his perceived political foes. For some, the answer has arrived. 'There are plenty of early warning signs that confirm the worst fears of people who were concerned about a second Trump administration and what it would mean for the rule of law,' David Laufman, a former senior Justice Department official under Republican and Democratic administrations, said in an interview. 'The real question remains what checks and balances will there be to prevent the creeping establishment of an authoritarian state in the United States.'”
Here's a Guardian's story on the same topic as a Politico story linked yesterday: “The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has ordered a halt to virtually all foreign aid, but made an exception for funding to Israel and Egypt, according to an internal memo to staff at the US state department.... [The underlying executive order, issued by Trump on Monday,] is unlawful, argued a source, [because]... the US Congress sets the federal government budget.... 'Organizations will have to stop all activities, so all lifesaving health services, HIV/Aids, nutrition, maternal and child health, all agriculture work, all support of civil society organizations, education,' said [a USAid] official.” P.S. Take a look at the Guardian's new(ish) fundraising pitch at the bottom of the article. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Okay, Trump & Rubio may be acting illegally, but who would have standing to sue? Foreign governments who expected aid? Maybe. But their case is kind of embarrassing: you promised us a gift; now you must send it. Or the Congress whose powers Trump & Rubio have usurped? Uh, would Bible Mike's Congress have the nerve to sue Trump?
BOLO, Puppies & Goats. Tim Balk of the New York Times: “The Senate voted on Saturday to confirm Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary, putting a former South Dakota governor in charge of the department at the heart of President Trump’s agenda to crack down on immigration. The vote was 59 to 34. Ms. Noem, a longtime ally of Mr. Trump who was once seen as a contender to be his running mate, issued a statement on Saturday thanking him and vowing to 'work to make America SAFE again!'” Politico's story is here.
Heil, Musk! Angie Hernandez of the Washington Post: “Greeted with loud cheers, Elon Musk virtually delivered a short speech Saturday at a rally for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, where he urged the crowd to not be ashamed of their country’s history. Musk’s appearance comes amid debate over whether a gesture he made twice during an inauguration rally was a Nazi-style salute, which he denies[*].... 'There is too much focus on past guilt, and we need to move beyond that. Children should not be guilty of the sins of their parents, let alone their great-grandparents,' Musk said, seeming to reference the country’s history when the Nazis rose to power.... [Musk] reiterated his praise for AfD, telling supporters, 'I think you’re the best hope for Germany.'” Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Perhaps he did so sub rosa, but I am not aware Musk has actually denied he made a Nazi salute at the inauguration day rally; rather, he said the controversy was "tired" and he has joked about it. Because invoking Nazism is so funny (see Heather Cox Richardson's essay linked above). That is, Musk has deflected questions about his Nazi salute; he has at best issued a non-denial denial. My personal opinion, based on Musk's history (including his support of the AfD) is that he made a Nazi salute -- twice -- and he's good with it.
Clash of the Titans. Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: “It’s a remarkable spectacle watching an entirely new power center flock to Washington, fight for Trump’s attention, jockey to prove their loyalty, post groveling encomiums to Trump, throw money at him, clamor for eight-figure mansions around town....The colliding egos of Silicon Valley have joined the colliding egos on the Potomac, but the president is not perturbed. Mixing it up, stirring conflict for its own sake, this is just how Donald Trump has fun.”
2024 Election. It's the Maps, Stupid. Nick Corasaniti & Michael Wines of the New York Times: “A New York Times analysis of the nearly 6,000 congressional and state legislative elections in November shows just how few races were true races. Nearly all either were dominated by an incumbent or played out in a district drawn to favor one party overwhelmingly. The result was a blizzard of blowouts, even in a country that is narrowly divided on politics. Just 8 percent of congressional races (36 of 435) and 7 percent of state legislative races (400 of 5,465) were decided by fewer than five percentage points, according to The Times’s analysis.... Roughly 90 percent of races are now decided not by general-election voters in November but by the partisans who tend to vote in primaries months earlier. That favors candidates who appeal to ideological voters and lawmakers who are less likely to compromise. It exacerbates the polarization that has led to deadlock in Congress and in statehouses.... While it is easy to focus on the candidates, the money, the message or the economy, increasingly it is the maps that determine the outcome.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: The obvious (if only partial) solution to a Congress legislatures full of nutters is to outlaw gerrymandering. Not. Going. to. Happen.
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel's Wars. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in Israel's wars are here: “Israeli forces opened fire on Lebanese citizens returning to their villages in southern Lebanon on Sunday, killing at least 11 and wounding 83 others, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry, as the 60-day deadline for Israeli troops and Hezbollah to withdraw from the area under a ceasefire agreement expired. The Lebanese army said one soldier was killed and another injured. The Israel Defense Forces said that it fired “warning shots” toward 'suspects' and that it apprehended an unspecified number of people. The IDF described the unfolding situation earlier as Hezbollah’s sending 'agitators' to inflame tensions in southern Lebanon....
“... Donald Trump told reporters his government lifted a hold by the Biden administration on the supply of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. They had been paused over concerns about the ballooning scale of civilian casualties in Gaza. 'They’ve been waiting for them for a long time,' Trump said.” ~~~
~~~ Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Andrés Martínez of the New York Times: “... [Donald Trump said he told King Abdullah II of Jordan during a phone call Saturday that he would like Jordan and Egypt to take in more Palestinians from Gaza, an idea that is likely to reignite debate about the future of nearly two million Palestinians. 'I said to him, ‘I’d love for you to take on more because I’m looking at the whole Gaza Strip right now, and it’s a mess,’” Mr. Trump told reporters on Air Force One. He added that he would also like Egypt to take in more Palestinians and that he would speak to the country’s president, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, on Sunday. Mr. Trump made the remarks on an evening flight after a rally in Las Vegas....” The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump vehemently opposes taking "Muslim" refugees into the vast expanse of the U.S., but he thinks tiny Jordan should accept them. Seems fair & reasonable (well, at least as fair & reasonable as pressuring Denmark into ceding Greenland to the U.S.).
South Korea. Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: “South Korea’s impeached and arrested president, Yoon Suk Yeol, was formally indicted on Sunday on charges of leading an insurrection last month when he briefly imposed martial law. Mr. Yoon’s indictment means that his trial is likely to start soon. It follows the indictments of a former defense minister and several military generals and police chiefs, all of whom face criminal charges of helping Mr. Yoon commit the same crime.”
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Reader Comments (18)
Kristi fucking Noem? I thought Trump wanted to save the dogs.
I have uncovered video footage of Fat Hitler signing a few of the dozens of Egg-zecutive Orders he personally researched. On the left is Leonard Leo handing him the orders Project 2025, er, I mean FH personally composed. On the right is one of Trump’s highly qualified assistants chosen for her, um, talents. I’m guessing she’s his new pants steamer.
I’m confused. On one hand the Muskrat is telling Germans to fuggedabout all that Nazi stuff. No biggie. On the other, he’s sieg heiling and going after Jewish groups who complain about his support for neo-Nazis. Then there’s all this stuff.
So which is it?
Oh, wait. I get it. He’s saying don’t worry about old Hitler, we have a new Hitler! Yeah, that’s it.
Now the only question is which new Hitler he’s talking about. Him or Trump.
Both?
@Akhilleus: Yup, President Fartface von Clownstick is just as stupid & incompetent as Gov. William J. Le Petomane. Unfortunately, it turns out that when life imitates comedy it ain't necessarily funny.
AK, we could be heading for a modern day triumvirate of #47, Musk, and JayDee. Not much difference really. Roll them all downhill in a barrel and there would always be a SOB on top.
Once again....
We've come to expect the Pretender to lie so that's always one explanation for what he says, but it's also possible that when he claims he doesn't know someone or had never heard of something, he might be telling the truth. After all, there's a lot the Pretender doesn't know, hasn't thought about, and never will.
In most cases he simply does what his handlers tell him to do and say. He's a puppet for the Right and with his IG massacre he's only following the dictates of Project 2025 which he's said he's never read (likely true) and had never heard of (likely a lie). The idea of an IG runs directly counter to the personal loyalty test the Project and the Pretender demand.
@Ken Winkes: I don't disagree. We are once again in a situation where we must aks every day, usually more than once, "Was the president* lying or is he just ignorant?" Sad.
I've been curious whether he truly believes the Springfield immigrants are 'eating the dogs! eating the cats!' or that California is failing in water management because they won't close the faucet:
Very large faucet
and other nutty, outrageous things. How can he assert these things without laughing? (Have we ever heard him laugh in any context?)
David French writes a Sunday sermon on our political moment and moral divide
He quotes Benjamin Cremer, “'When you worship power, compassion and mercy will look like sins.'" and notes that
"Over the last decade, I’ve watched many of my friends and neighbors make a remarkable transformation. They’ve gone from supporting Donald Trump in spite of his hatefulness to reveling in his aggression."
laura,
My take:
Most of us want to feel that we count, that we somehow have an effect on our world, call it agency or power or whatever.
But many don't have that feeling. It's missing from their lives largely because that's the way we've structured our society, with all the power (i.e., money) held by the few and more recently asking that we share our agency with others, like women and minorities, not to mention that with population growth alone, each of us becomes less important every day.
The Pretender supplies that missing feeling of agency. All we have to do is hitch our wagon to him and go along for the ride.
And the last thing the Right will ever do is address the social and economic causes of that feeling of helplessness and impotence that so many apparently share. For the Right, it's money in the bank.
Marie,
The questions would more usefully be “lying, ignorant, or corrupt?”.
The answer, in all cases, maybe all at once in many instances, is “Yes”.
The MAGA way: mendacious, stupid, and criminal.
@laura h. French makes the caveat that Team Trump are not Nazis. Oh, sure they are.
As French (and Schmitt, apparently) acknowledge, Schmitt's "friend-enemy distinction is ultimately incompatible with the liberal democratic project." What French doesn't quite get to is that you can't have "equal protection under the law" AND support the friend-enemy distinction.
IMO, weak-minded people -- like, say, Trump, Alito & Stephen Miller -- fall into what I would call a "friend-enemy trap" or "IOKIYAR on steroids." Someone like Alito may (or may not, I'm not sure) maintain a certain consistency in their friends-and-enemies list, whereas someone like Trump is not able to do that because even the teensiest of what Trump reckons are slights move a person from the "friend" column to the "enemy" column.
But in no case can any of these morons caught in the friend-enemy trap mete out or appreciate or acknowledge or perhaps even understand the liberal-democratic norm of the rule of law. They think "justice" is helping their friends and hurting their enemies. And that's a very fascistic theory: you will do things my way, you will think my way, OR you are my enemy and I have a natural (or god-given) right to punish you.
Peter Baker, in the piece linked above, says Fat Hitler has “shocked the nation!” with his “norm-shattering, democracy testing” blah, blah, blah.
Just figuring this out, Pete?
This evil prick shocked the nation almost every day of his first chance to destroy the country and he topped it off with a violent attempted coup that featured thugs sent to strangle the Vice President! He followed that up with a flurry of court trials in which he was found guilty of things like rape and business fraud involving banging a porn star days after his wife gave birth. Not shocking enough? He’d have been found guilty of insurrection had the rubber stamps he shoved onto the Supreme Court not given him TOTAL IMMUNITY!!
Of COURSE he shocked the nation.
What was the response? We voted him back in (some of us)! And your paper HELPED!
This just in: it’s cold in wintertime!!
Thanks for the investigative reporting. Don’t know what we’d do without it.
@Akhilleus: Well, yes. It's quite reasonable to apply all of these adjectives to Trump: lying, ignorant, corrupt, mendacious, stupid, and criminal. In Trump's case, we have gathered quite enough evidence to move those characterizations from the "opinion" column to the "fact" column.
Indeed, our knowledge of Trump is such that defining him in terms that otherwise would be derogatory are simply statements of fact.
While I never aspired to be a White House correspondent, were I one, I believe my every question would be prefaced with, "Since you're a well-known liar, Mr. Trump....," or "Inasmuch as you too are a convicted criminal...," or whichever particular character trait applied to the question I wished to pose. And I would feel not slightly abashed by employing these preambles. Would that we had White House reporters with my imagined aplomb.
Laura,
Trump laughs when he steps on powerless people, or when powerful people line up to kiss his fat ass because his long con is working.
Left something out…
Ol’ Pete, in his “Stop the presses!” report on Hitlerian perfidy from the Fat Felonious Fascist also sez:
“Mr. Trump has forced technology billionaires, Wall Street tycoons, corporate executives and media owners who previously opposed him to show newfound deference and, in many cases, flood his political accounts with millions of dollars.”
Anhhhh! (WRONG buzzer sound)
Nope. He din’ “force” nobuddy to do nuthin’.
These masters of the universe practiced obedience in advance because they are all—to a person—cowardly unprincipled sheep. That Masters of Universe crap can be dispensed with permanently. What makes these sheep line up, without even being asked, to be shorn, shit on, and shoed up the ass?
Greed. And fear of losing their Potemkin power. The thought of the loss of a single farthing is what makes these losers get in line. As for the power? It’s only Potemkin power if they refuse to use what real power they had.
“The lord hates a coward.”, a line used several times by the fiercely right-wing playwright and film director (formerly liberal) David Mamet.
Don’t know if that’s true, but we know one thing for sure. Trump loves ‘em. And Cadet Bone Spur knows all about cowardice in the service of making money.
Jesus, will this ever end?
No, Laura, we have never heard him laugh, and the only smiles are smug little squinched smirks with no lips...
I agree with everything everyone said about greed and power and the "Lords of the Universe." I think Fatso would like to BE one of them, and he certainly "checks a lot of the boxes..." (lots of money, not enough real education, no ability to becompassionate, selfishness, the sense that no one has rights except them, lots of money, greedy for more money and all the power, ability to crap on employees like those of Amazon and Starbucks, imaginary crowns on their ugly heads...etc etc etc) but he knows he's never been smart, so he keeps telling everyone how smart he is, how little he reads or knows how to, how much he dreams of ruling the world in a rich fantasy in his echoing head, and all the other reasons he feels inferior, so he keeps telling everyone how great he is...
And this is the guy the matrons of the suburbs preferred even more this time...What's wrong with women who voted for this loser? I read that article mentioned yesterday or the day before, about how young men really despise women for being smart or "liberated" or able...and how these young men are growing up to be unbearable-- how weird that none of the young women want to marry or date them-- The piece by Toby something was quite revealing-- from RAS maybe? No wonder the hispanic vote from young men already steeped in disregard for women arrived at supporting a lying rapist busily stealing everything he can get his fat paws on...
"Shocked the nation?" No. He's been telling us, even through the lies, that he would do all this. And we have known for four years that hatred for Democrats would cause whole shudders and desire to meet and destroy everything possible, and those meetings have gone on all this time. The biggest loss is no guardrails, and the highest court in the land turning into liars themselves have wrecked things, joining Peter Baker and his colleagues and Mitch McConnell. Perfect storm.
Well, everyone with the coffee habit better pick up a can or two before the prices rise. Trump has reacted to Columbia refusing two military planes loaded with deportees by slapping a 25% tariff on all exports from Columbia as well as a slew of restrictions on Columbian officials.
How high can a cup of Starbucks go?
Money and power can corrupt even decent people and I don't think most of our billionaire class were decent to begin with. There are too many compromises you have to make to accumulate the obscene wealth they have. I don't think they are compromising with the Orange Turd, they are being allowed to be their true selves. They always wanted to dominate the little people and they don't want to do the performative steps of pretending to care for their lessers anymore. That is why they are so quick and eager to get rid of the DEI programs and the like. Trump's second term was a green light to drop the acts because their money can buy them nearly anything they desire and the media landscape means that they can impose almost any narrative they choose on the public. These people are a danger to all of humanity. I hope the Blue States can slow down these monsters as much as possible. And I hope when Democrats get in power again they remember what awful pieces of shit these people are and punish them with every single lever of power available to them.