I will spend the rest of my days wondering first how people thought a phony TV carnival-barker with nothing but a long history of shady real estate deals was the perfect follow-up to the first two-term African-American president in history, then re-elect a demented freak screaming about Haitians eating cats and dogs in Springfield (as though he ever had a pet in his life) sure this would bring down the price of eggs or something....
I unequivocally blame American voters for Trump's second term. Voters may have thought Trump represented something new or different in 2016. They had no excuse in 2024. Trump had proven he incapable of governing in a democracy. He had proven every day, and practically every time he opened his mouth, that he lies like a rug. Finally, he refused to accept the election results in 2020. He organized a self-coup and then sent a mob to the Capital to prevent counting of the ballots and certification of election results. We reelected him inspite of his awful record. I hang my head for the apparent ignorance of the American electorate.
It’s not ignorance. It’s a deep-seated loathing of people of color and uppity women and a willingness to sacrifice their benefits as long as others are hurt more.
Susan, you said what I have been saying for a long time. The Trump voters continue to go against their own best interest. They KNOW who he is and still defend him. Of course there is another reason. They want to go back to the old days of white male entitlement. Ain’t gonna happen!
That got him some votes, but I believe the bigger reason he won is because they all knew he was a liar and they foolishly believed he would not attempt to deliver on most of those promises, except for making costs go down. It clearly was stupid reasoning given his track record of failure. Kamala was clearly infinitely superior, but she also represented more of the same and that worked against her since voters have unrealistic ideas of what any one politician can deliver. Civics needs to be returned to school curriculums to avert repeating this with future generations and politicians need to educate voters on civics in a way that they are not immediately tuned out by the listener.
Why were voters so selective in which lies they believed? They thought all the retribution garbage was lies because they wouldn't do it, but they believed the lies about bringing costs down. The president has limited control over the economy. The president has huge control of illegal, immoral actions, like retribution, that he does.
Biden did a good job with the power he had to lower inflation, despite the Republicans in Congress and on the Supreme Court opposition. I don't believe Trump ever cared about bringing costs down for regular Americans. He promised it for votes, and now he lies about doing it to try to save his cratering approval ratings.
The 2024 election debacle would never have happened had voters who didn't want either candidate declined to exercise their right to vote. Turnout was very poor as I recall. Now we MUST work hard to secure a big voter turnout in the midterms and forever going forward.
I to will spend the rest of my days pondering the same. A lot of the mindless knuckle draggers who wanted this fat felon were and are bigots because they hated having a black President. Ignorance breeds ignorance.
I spent about 12 months researching this from a psychological perspective, so maybe I can spare you some future anguish. Trump says the quiet parts out loud...what the people are thinking but before him, haven't had anyone to emulate. Outside of the republican politicians and wealthy oligarchs who are benefitting financially from his rotten presidency, the reason he has such a strong supporter base is because as wealth inequality has shifted over the years, many Americans find themselves at the bottom of the "hierarchy" they perceive they should be above others on. This leads them to blame immigrants, minorities, women, and anyone else who they think they should rise above on the social hierarchy chain.
Along comes Trump, who represents an authoritarian figure and promises to remove those folks they are threatened by. So they climb on board. Then Trump fails at all the things he is good at failing at, and is almost certainly a pedophile, he steals, he cheats and how do they justify that? They either shift to things others have done (whataboutism) or say they support his politics, not him personally, or internalize our attack against their beliefs as a personal attack, one which they will defend at all costs, because admitting they were wrong is akin to attacking everything that identifies who they are.
Don't waste time wondering why or how anymore. They are not going to change, not worth the effort and if they do, it will be because they had to (money, healthcare, housing) not because they wanted to. Instead, we should think about how to help all Americans have equality, a chance to have all the essentials and education to teach children at a young age that they need to accept diversity, embrace compassion and display empathy because happy people don't fall for con men and bullshit as readily.
If it is possible to feel worse than I already did, this makes me feel worse. Not disagreeing with you, but the shame of being American is going to sting for a very long time.
I understand that feeling, because there are 77 million or so people among us, who could vote against their own interests and look away from all the atrocities Trump causes because of their own xenophobic, racist or misogynistic views. We are not the only country with citizens like that, it happens in other nations too, but right now, our example is really coming to light for the rest of the world to see.
I find myself wanting to know now, when I go to the doctor, when I have a repair person in my home, or if I start talking to a stranger..."are you a Trump supporter?" It isn't just a matter of one party or the other, these days, one party is clearly okay with killing innocent people and pulling up the ladder to success and happiness that allowed them or their ancestors to prosper here. Their morals are so abhorrently repulsive that it makes wanting to associate with them in any capacity unfathomable.
I always think of that Irish proverb:
"May those who love us, love us; and those who don't love us, may GOD turn their hearts; and if he doesn't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping."
Thanks. A lot there. I was speaking metaphorically -- I don't think I'll waste another second wondering how -- the question is how do we now undo as much of the damage as we can in the time some of us have left.
Well, I don't know if "we" and I assume you mean senior citizens not in politics, news media or lawyers, can do much other than write, donate, protest and spread information, but I think the young voters, the ones who spread information like wildfires on social media is a good place to start and getting minorities to vote (especially those who feel that the system doesn't work for them or care about them) and other disinterested voters (not MAGA's--waste of time IMO).
I'm sorry I didn't catch your metaphoric reference, I thought you genuinely wanted to know and so did I, when Trump started his 2nd term, so I spent a lot of time trying to satisfy that question (and had many useless debates) and wished someone had the answer for me to save me all that time!
If the Democrats take control of the midterms and ultimately the presidency in 2028, they will undoubtedly have their hands full trying to undo all the damage and institute fail safe provisions to make sure we don't find ourselves in the same predicament.
If they manage to raise the minimum wage, offer some type of universal healthcare, and make housing more affordable (address the basic needs), those Trump supporters will be less vocal or active, but their deep seated values won't change. If they hope to keep them quiet enough to make good progress, they'll have to address immigration on some front, without all the horrific tactics like ICE, removing due process, detention centers, etc., but enough to continue to allow talent, services and productivity to continue to enter.
The Germans after World War I faced severe economic ruin, political chaos, and deep social humiliation, which contributed to them tolerating Hitler. If the MAGA base is doing better financially and Trump and republican control is gone and they believe the government is addressing immigration better than the former democratic predecessors, it might be enough to keep them quiet so the new leaders can make good progress on new checks and balances.
Or we just repeat the same cycle of republicans screwing up the economy and promoting more concentrated wealth and democrats having 4 years to undo some of the damage and lather, rinse, repeat.
While I agree with you, it has been really distressing since he first slimed down that escalator to have to realize how many people in this country support such hideous attitudes toward other human beings. The refusal of so many to take personal responsibility, to refuse accountability for their actions, to give up our country to an ignorant con man crook and his minions stealing as much from the American people as they can while violating their oath of office and our Constitution - those are not people I can respect. Knowing they won't change because that would require admitting they were wrong is certain, but knowing there are so many of "them" is not exactly heartening.
America has been through "stupid" and "inhuman" politics before. Think no further than the Civil War, or as the insurrectionist South called "The War of Norther Aggression".
This was a war against the moral abomination of human slavery in the USA. It was fought to create a morally just society in America.
Read the lyrics of Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to understand the level of godlessness and evil at which Northern abolitionist held the oligarchs of the Southern plantation system. We can say the same of MAGA. We cannot let them hide behind the "freedoms" guaranteed in the Constitution or White nationalism is just "another point of view." It is a morally evil movement and must be erased from American life
Another great essay and absolutely precise. I just hope enough Americans are cognitively capable enough to understand and vote accordingly. It appears that we Democrats must be truly authentic, hammer on the economic woes of average citizens, and emphasize the control exercised by billionaires, especially on their pushing AI to take over our lives. Protecting democracy, Trump's corruption and destruction are incredibly important but drag discussions off track and fail to motivate some of the needed voters.
After the 2024 election, a friend of mine who is a good but sometimes pessimistic Democrat (he didn’t think Biden could beat Trump and I told him Biden would win) finally told ME something positive when I was the one shattered by Trump’s return. “Well dude,” he said, “Now the Republicans are in total control. And now they’re going to have to own this shit.” Jen’s column beautifully outlines what my friend meant. The utter incompetence, ignorance, arrogance, lack of empathy and a million other misguided disasters can be hung around Trump and the gutless GOP enablers in Congress like a dog collar. And like future President Jon Ossoff keeps repeating, they all need to be held accountable for their actions. I’m telling my good but pessimistic friend that I’m now seeing a 50-year sea change, where Democrats, having finally solved their messaging problem, take control and lead us to that more perfect union the Founders foresaw and that a majority of Americans not only want, but desperately need. VOTE BLUE IN NOVEMBER up and down the ballot!
I hope Democrats repeatedly communicate about this as well as all of the other issues readily available to them. When Trump torpedoed the bipartisan immigration reform bill because he wanted to use it as a campaign issue, I recall President Biden stating that he would remind the voters every day of what Trump and Republicans in Congress had done. I don’t recall President Biden or anyone else reminding the voters and using it as a campaign issue. I hope Democrats are getting better at campaigning. Senator Ossoff gets it.
I agree 100%! The fastest, easiest way to shut down my Republican friends about "the border" is to remind them that the Lankford bill had every single thing they claim to want for border control and immigration. Biden promised to sign that bill. But no, their guy Trump shut it down. Why this circumstantial case isn't being pounded harder mystifies me.
Trump did not present and sign a new immigration bill to resolve the chaos. Instead, he ignored the legislative solution and went straight to authoritarian beat-downs and straight up political assassinations in the street, ie Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Americans are not on board with that at all. Democrats should be connecting the dots like I just did.
This issue is just one of hundreds that can be hammered. As with any mess, it usually is overwhelming and there are far too many places to start. The simplest solution is to just point out the total mess he and his maga enablers have created and pick a few examples to illustrate. When they flood the zone with so much bullshit it is easy for anything to get lost. The Epstein files are one of the few things that haven't faded away along with the Iran war and continually increasing costs. Democrats just need to grab onto the things that are sticking and hammer away through November and the blue tsunami.
The Ds have all then need in terms of talking points and issues to persuade the public. All they have to do is read Jen, HCR, Joyce Vance, Miles Taylor, and a few others. It's not hard. All the issues are there, clear and laid out!!
Correct. Trump's motivations have nothing to do with public service. He is a criminal and he thinks like one. All he sees is that his position gives him the power to loot and extort for personal enrichment. He doesn't really hide this fact. Talarico does a pretty good job of pinning this on Paxton and by implication, on all Republicans.
"the Lankford bill had every single thing they claim to want for border control and immigration."
And what has been the response from the Trump regime? To gun down American citizens in the streets and to throw children into into inhumane detention camps with their law abiding parents for months on end.
I don't blame Biden for much anymore...he was clearly in no condition to run (recall debate) nor was he in any condition to govern, and his staff knew it.
As usual, Jen, you hit the nail on the head. Your articles are always so concise and timely. I do miss you on coffee with contrarians. It’s not the same without you.
Thank you…. Written with every ounce of your experience, intelligence, knowledge, command of both facts and history and, of course talent . These are dreadful truths. I am 90 years old and remember times of hope and generosity. My grandchildren cannot even remember a less misbegotten Government.
And might the War to distract from the disastrous war on Iran be in the making. A Texas oil company has offloaded drilling materials into NE Greenland without their permission and to the great consternation of the Populace. We cannot survive 2 1/2 more years of this chaos, corruption, cruelty and incompetence. The Orange Odium needs to be removed from office.
Everything Trump touches turns to garbage. The previous stalemate with Iran, in which it was not attacking its neighbors nor interfering with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, looks pretty good now. We will be years rebuilding alliances and showing our friends in Asia and Europe that we are reliable.
I think restoring credibility with U.S.'s ex-allies will take generations rather than years. Who knows whether after four or eight years of a democrat presidency the children of today's MAGA will not elect another republican nutcase?
Yep! I remember when Biden had his first meeting with our European allies. He said "America is back". One European president/prime minister responded with perhaps the most accurate and pointed quote I've ever heard:
"Yes, but for how long?"
You're right that it will take a generation, maybe more, to restore our credibility on the world stage. And the chances of having sane adults continuously running the government, regardless of their party affiliation, are about the same as the chances that the sun will rise in the west tomorrow morning!
Remember it takes only one administration populated by idiots and nutcases to wreck decades worth of good, smart actions.
Nancy, that makes it all the more worrisome, doesn't it. It may take a couple of decades of good behavior to rehgain the esteem and trust we once deserved
Thank you Jen. After the Iran disaster, we need a thorough review of our military and what we need to do to better prepare for the future. Let’s put the military leaders Trump got rid of back to work.
Yeah, he fits right in to the administration of Don the Con. At least during Term1 there were people like Tillerson, Mattis, Kelly, McMaster, etc to keep him from going completely off the rails, at least in foreigh policy
I am so fed up with Republicans and their so-called leader, I could spit. They have proved their incompetence over and over again and WeThePeople are expected to foot the bill for fools. I’m not buying it.
In holding Republicans responsible for the Iran war, it's helpful to translate the cost of Trump's war into things such as the price of gas, cuts in healthcare, higher food prices. Maps are ideal for this because they let the reader see the impact locally in their county and the Republican rep for that district to hold accountable. Check out these maps/infographics which can be freely shared.
Follow Trump’s war with this 3D map and the cost of his senseless war with Iran, price of gas and more with these real-time dashboards.
This app honors those who had died in Trump's war with Iran. Search by name, age, state where they're from and follow a link to details on their death.
What does Trump's love of inflation mean for you? Remember what happened to gas prices the last price America went to war in the Middle East for Israel?
The Democrats must investigate and expose all the enablers from the spineless cowards in the GOP too the various media outlets and journalist who dutifully report every damn lie as if it was handed down by God on a stone tablet. There has to be a truth and reconciliation commission to uncover all the lies and force those living in the GOP delusion to confront the truth and their role in owning this disaster. There also needs to be legislation similar to what Germany enacted regarding the Nazis to prevent a return to this kind of bullshit. We can only move forward once we confront the hard truths of how we allowed this to happen. Jen Rubin has done a masterful job of laying out a road map, now those that are in power need to flesh out the map with the details and execute it. I want the America that my father fought for in 1945 when he was an 18-year-old shipped off to Germany to ensure that we wouldn't have a return to Hitler and Nazis.
The war is, as always in the Middle East, about oil. Take away renewables and the dependence on oil increases and the effort to preserve and protect supply only increases. We should see both of these—the war for oil and the war against renewables as two sides of the coin. And Trump’s actions as one long and large shill for the oil industry.
Your suggested responses make sense, but I think more thought need be given to the President's ability to initiate any military response. This Iran conflict is a perfect example of how an Executive action, in such a short period of time, can cause lasting damage to our national security. At the very least, the president should have the concurrence of the top Congressional Leadership (even if in secret) prior to any action. True, it's always easier to ask forgiveness than ask for permission, but not in cases like this. And it needs to be enforceable. We're not putting this genie back in the bottle - not for a long time.
Trump admin's corruption & incompetence is beyond shocking. Having started a catastrophic war of choice, Trump & Co are desperate to escape the escalation trap with no viable options.
Trump & Co money laundering, extortion, fraud, weaponization of government against critics…? The Trump brand.
GOP normalizes sociopathy & serial criminality elevating some of the most corrupt to positions of power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYUEw-EMPpk Resist depraved, demented, gangster grifter authoritarianism! #VoteBlue!
“Trump’s utter stupidity, rotten judgment, and incompetence…”
Yep—-that’s our boy! Which Americans….with their faulty electoral college system CHOSE to inflict upon themselves——TWICE!
What a sad, sad state of affairs!
I will spend the rest of my days wondering first how people thought a phony TV carnival-barker with nothing but a long history of shady real estate deals was the perfect follow-up to the first two-term African-American president in history, then re-elect a demented freak screaming about Haitians eating cats and dogs in Springfield (as though he ever had a pet in his life) sure this would bring down the price of eggs or something....
I unequivocally blame American voters for Trump's second term. Voters may have thought Trump represented something new or different in 2016. They had no excuse in 2024. Trump had proven he incapable of governing in a democracy. He had proven every day, and practically every time he opened his mouth, that he lies like a rug. Finally, he refused to accept the election results in 2020. He organized a self-coup and then sent a mob to the Capital to prevent counting of the ballots and certification of election results. We reelected him inspite of his awful record. I hang my head for the apparent ignorance of the American electorate.
It’s not ignorance. It’s a deep-seated loathing of people of color and uppity women and a willingness to sacrifice their benefits as long as others are hurt more.
Susan, you said what I have been saying for a long time. The Trump voters continue to go against their own best interest. They KNOW who he is and still defend him. Of course there is another reason. They want to go back to the old days of white male entitlement. Ain’t gonna happen!
Let's hope it ain't!!!
He represents abject, unadulterated racism. That’s what got him elected.
That got him some votes, but I believe the bigger reason he won is because they all knew he was a liar and they foolishly believed he would not attempt to deliver on most of those promises, except for making costs go down. It clearly was stupid reasoning given his track record of failure. Kamala was clearly infinitely superior, but she also represented more of the same and that worked against her since voters have unrealistic ideas of what any one politician can deliver. Civics needs to be returned to school curriculums to avert repeating this with future generations and politicians need to educate voters on civics in a way that they are not immediately tuned out by the listener.
Why were voters so selective in which lies they believed? They thought all the retribution garbage was lies because they wouldn't do it, but they believed the lies about bringing costs down. The president has limited control over the economy. The president has huge control of illegal, immoral actions, like retribution, that he does.
Biden did a good job with the power he had to lower inflation, despite the Republicans in Congress and on the Supreme Court opposition. I don't believe Trump ever cared about bringing costs down for regular Americans. He promised it for votes, and now he lies about doing it to try to save his cratering approval ratings.
Yes. I just made a similar remark but added the misogyny angle.
The 2024 election debacle would never have happened had voters who didn't want either candidate declined to exercise their right to vote. Turnout was very poor as I recall. Now we MUST work hard to secure a big voter turnout in the midterms and forever going forward.
I to will spend the rest of my days pondering the same. A lot of the mindless knuckle draggers who wanted this fat felon were and are bigots because they hated having a black President. Ignorance breeds ignorance.
I spent about 12 months researching this from a psychological perspective, so maybe I can spare you some future anguish. Trump says the quiet parts out loud...what the people are thinking but before him, haven't had anyone to emulate. Outside of the republican politicians and wealthy oligarchs who are benefitting financially from his rotten presidency, the reason he has such a strong supporter base is because as wealth inequality has shifted over the years, many Americans find themselves at the bottom of the "hierarchy" they perceive they should be above others on. This leads them to blame immigrants, minorities, women, and anyone else who they think they should rise above on the social hierarchy chain.
Along comes Trump, who represents an authoritarian figure and promises to remove those folks they are threatened by. So they climb on board. Then Trump fails at all the things he is good at failing at, and is almost certainly a pedophile, he steals, he cheats and how do they justify that? They either shift to things others have done (whataboutism) or say they support his politics, not him personally, or internalize our attack against their beliefs as a personal attack, one which they will defend at all costs, because admitting they were wrong is akin to attacking everything that identifies who they are.
Don't waste time wondering why or how anymore. They are not going to change, not worth the effort and if they do, it will be because they had to (money, healthcare, housing) not because they wanted to. Instead, we should think about how to help all Americans have equality, a chance to have all the essentials and education to teach children at a young age that they need to accept diversity, embrace compassion and display empathy because happy people don't fall for con men and bullshit as readily.
My 2 cents...for what it is worth.
If it is possible to feel worse than I already did, this makes me feel worse. Not disagreeing with you, but the shame of being American is going to sting for a very long time.
I understand that feeling, because there are 77 million or so people among us, who could vote against their own interests and look away from all the atrocities Trump causes because of their own xenophobic, racist or misogynistic views. We are not the only country with citizens like that, it happens in other nations too, but right now, our example is really coming to light for the rest of the world to see.
I find myself wanting to know now, when I go to the doctor, when I have a repair person in my home, or if I start talking to a stranger..."are you a Trump supporter?" It isn't just a matter of one party or the other, these days, one party is clearly okay with killing innocent people and pulling up the ladder to success and happiness that allowed them or their ancestors to prosper here. Their morals are so abhorrently repulsive that it makes wanting to associate with them in any capacity unfathomable.
I always think of that Irish proverb:
"May those who love us, love us; and those who don't love us, may GOD turn their hearts; and if he doesn't turn their hearts, may he turn their ankles, so we'll know them by their limping."
Brilliant proverb--I will give you credit next time this subject comes into conversations! ☮️💜
I love that Irish saying. Keeping that one!
Thanks. A lot there. I was speaking metaphorically -- I don't think I'll waste another second wondering how -- the question is how do we now undo as much of the damage as we can in the time some of us have left.
Well, I don't know if "we" and I assume you mean senior citizens not in politics, news media or lawyers, can do much other than write, donate, protest and spread information, but I think the young voters, the ones who spread information like wildfires on social media is a good place to start and getting minorities to vote (especially those who feel that the system doesn't work for them or care about them) and other disinterested voters (not MAGA's--waste of time IMO).
I'm sorry I didn't catch your metaphoric reference, I thought you genuinely wanted to know and so did I, when Trump started his 2nd term, so I spent a lot of time trying to satisfy that question (and had many useless debates) and wished someone had the answer for me to save me all that time!
It remains a critical question for future historians. It must, of necessity, be asked and grappled with.
If the Democrats take control of the midterms and ultimately the presidency in 2028, they will undoubtedly have their hands full trying to undo all the damage and institute fail safe provisions to make sure we don't find ourselves in the same predicament.
If they manage to raise the minimum wage, offer some type of universal healthcare, and make housing more affordable (address the basic needs), those Trump supporters will be less vocal or active, but their deep seated values won't change. If they hope to keep them quiet enough to make good progress, they'll have to address immigration on some front, without all the horrific tactics like ICE, removing due process, detention centers, etc., but enough to continue to allow talent, services and productivity to continue to enter.
The Germans after World War I faced severe economic ruin, political chaos, and deep social humiliation, which contributed to them tolerating Hitler. If the MAGA base is doing better financially and Trump and republican control is gone and they believe the government is addressing immigration better than the former democratic predecessors, it might be enough to keep them quiet so the new leaders can make good progress on new checks and balances.
Or we just repeat the same cycle of republicans screwing up the economy and promoting more concentrated wealth and democrats having 4 years to undo some of the damage and lather, rinse, repeat.
While I agree with you, it has been really distressing since he first slimed down that escalator to have to realize how many people in this country support such hideous attitudes toward other human beings. The refusal of so many to take personal responsibility, to refuse accountability for their actions, to give up our country to an ignorant con man crook and his minions stealing as much from the American people as they can while violating their oath of office and our Constitution - those are not people I can respect. Knowing they won't change because that would require admitting they were wrong is certain, but knowing there are so many of "them" is not exactly heartening.
Right on!
Jung -- collective racial subconscious. Antihero with a thousand fecies.
racism my boy, pure and not so simple
don't think it's that simple. Nothing's that simple -- or pure. It's all mixed together.
I said not so simple, just for the record !
Like all carnival barkers and con men. He sold enough of the electorate a dream and gave them a nightmare!
Yes, but what does that say…..and PROVE……about our fellow electorate?
America has been through "stupid" and "inhuman" politics before. Think no further than the Civil War, or as the insurrectionist South called "The War of Norther Aggression".
This was a war against the moral abomination of human slavery in the USA. It was fought to create a morally just society in America.
Read the lyrics of Julia Ward Howe's "Battle Hymn of the Republic" to understand the level of godlessness and evil at which Northern abolitionist held the oligarchs of the Southern plantation system. We can say the same of MAGA. We cannot let them hide behind the "freedoms" guaranteed in the Constitution or White nationalism is just "another point of view." It is a morally evil movement and must be erased from American life
God, you said it!
"I will spend the rest of my days wondering..."
Here's one view:
https://www.welcomestack.org/p/deciding-to-win-how-we-got-here
It makes me so sick, everyday.
Democrats should connect threats to democracy with the lives of the people. It doesn't have to be democracy or kitchen table.
Another great essay and absolutely precise. I just hope enough Americans are cognitively capable enough to understand and vote accordingly. It appears that we Democrats must be truly authentic, hammer on the economic woes of average citizens, and emphasize the control exercised by billionaires, especially on their pushing AI to take over our lives. Protecting democracy, Trump's corruption and destruction are incredibly important but drag discussions off track and fail to motivate some of the needed voters.
After the 2024 election, a friend of mine who is a good but sometimes pessimistic Democrat (he didn’t think Biden could beat Trump and I told him Biden would win) finally told ME something positive when I was the one shattered by Trump’s return. “Well dude,” he said, “Now the Republicans are in total control. And now they’re going to have to own this shit.” Jen’s column beautifully outlines what my friend meant. The utter incompetence, ignorance, arrogance, lack of empathy and a million other misguided disasters can be hung around Trump and the gutless GOP enablers in Congress like a dog collar. And like future President Jon Ossoff keeps repeating, they all need to be held accountable for their actions. I’m telling my good but pessimistic friend that I’m now seeing a 50-year sea change, where Democrats, having finally solved their messaging problem, take control and lead us to that more perfect union the Founders foresaw and that a majority of Americans not only want, but desperately need. VOTE BLUE IN NOVEMBER up and down the ballot!
Hope you're right!!
The midterms are coming. That's our chance, so YES, let's make them own that shit.
I hope Democrats repeatedly communicate about this as well as all of the other issues readily available to them. When Trump torpedoed the bipartisan immigration reform bill because he wanted to use it as a campaign issue, I recall President Biden stating that he would remind the voters every day of what Trump and Republicans in Congress had done. I don’t recall President Biden or anyone else reminding the voters and using it as a campaign issue. I hope Democrats are getting better at campaigning. Senator Ossoff gets it.
I agree 100%! The fastest, easiest way to shut down my Republican friends about "the border" is to remind them that the Lankford bill had every single thing they claim to want for border control and immigration. Biden promised to sign that bill. But no, their guy Trump shut it down. Why this circumstantial case isn't being pounded harder mystifies me.
Trump did not present and sign a new immigration bill to resolve the chaos. Instead, he ignored the legislative solution and went straight to authoritarian beat-downs and straight up political assassinations in the street, ie Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Americans are not on board with that at all. Democrats should be connecting the dots like I just did.
This issue is just one of hundreds that can be hammered. As with any mess, it usually is overwhelming and there are far too many places to start. The simplest solution is to just point out the total mess he and his maga enablers have created and pick a few examples to illustrate. When they flood the zone with so much bullshit it is easy for anything to get lost. The Epstein files are one of the few things that haven't faded away along with the Iran war and continually increasing costs. Democrats just need to grab onto the things that are sticking and hammer away through November and the blue tsunami.
And the issues that are sticking and standing out are obvious! I hope the Ds have the smarts to grab them and hammer them over and over again!
💯
people associated with the epstein files keep turning up dead...
The Ds have all then need in terms of talking points and issues to persuade the public. All they have to do is read Jen, HCR, Joyce Vance, Miles Taylor, and a few others. It's not hard. All the issues are there, clear and laid out!!
Because he was able to get billions to create his own secret police…
Correct. Trump's motivations have nothing to do with public service. He is a criminal and he thinks like one. All he sees is that his position gives him the power to loot and extort for personal enrichment. He doesn't really hide this fact. Talarico does a pretty good job of pinning this on Paxton and by implication, on all Republicans.
"the Lankford bill had every single thing they claim to want for border control and immigration."
And what has been the response from the Trump regime? To gun down American citizens in the streets and to throw children into into inhumane detention camps with their law abiding parents for months on end.
I don't blame Biden for much anymore...he was clearly in no condition to run (recall debate) nor was he in any condition to govern, and his staff knew it.
As usual, Jen, you hit the nail on the head. Your articles are always so concise and timely. I do miss you on coffee with contrarians. It’s not the same without you.
Thank you…. Written with every ounce of your experience, intelligence, knowledge, command of both facts and history and, of course talent . These are dreadful truths. I am 90 years old and remember times of hope and generosity. My grandchildren cannot even remember a less misbegotten Government.
So… thank you.
And might the War to distract from the disastrous war on Iran be in the making. A Texas oil company has offloaded drilling materials into NE Greenland without their permission and to the great consternation of the Populace. We cannot survive 2 1/2 more years of this chaos, corruption, cruelty and incompetence. The Orange Odium needs to be removed from office.
Everything Trump touches turns to garbage. The previous stalemate with Iran, in which it was not attacking its neighbors nor interfering with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, looks pretty good now. We will be years rebuilding alliances and showing our friends in Asia and Europe that we are reliable.
I think restoring credibility with U.S.'s ex-allies will take generations rather than years. Who knows whether after four or eight years of a democrat presidency the children of today's MAGA will not elect another republican nutcase?
Yep! I remember when Biden had his first meeting with our European allies. He said "America is back". One European president/prime minister responded with perhaps the most accurate and pointed quote I've ever heard:
"Yes, but for how long?"
You're right that it will take a generation, maybe more, to restore our credibility on the world stage. And the chances of having sane adults continuously running the government, regardless of their party affiliation, are about the same as the chances that the sun will rise in the west tomorrow morning!
Remember it takes only one administration populated by idiots and nutcases to wreck decades worth of good, smart actions.
That really is the awful result of what we've done; proved to the world that we will elect a fascist idiot.
Twice....
Nancy, that makes it all the more worrisome, doesn't it. It may take a couple of decades of good behavior to rehgain the esteem and trust we once deserved
I think we can do it in years purely because of the survival aspect of it. For us and Europe
Thank you Jen. After the Iran disaster, we need a thorough review of our military and what we need to do to better prepare for the future. Let’s put the military leaders Trump got rid of back to work.
Hegseth doesn't understand that in the modern world, you win conflicts with brains, not with testicles.
Agreed, not only does he not have any brains, but he is also nothing more than a spineless drunk.
Yeah, he fits right in to the administration of Don the Con. At least during Term1 there were people like Tillerson, Mattis, Kelly, McMaster, etc to keep him from going completely off the rails, at least in foreigh policy
Thanks
I am so fed up with Republicans and their so-called leader, I could spit. They have proved their incompetence over and over again and WeThePeople are expected to foot the bill for fools. I’m not buying it.
In holding Republicans responsible for the Iran war, it's helpful to translate the cost of Trump's war into things such as the price of gas, cuts in healthcare, higher food prices. Maps are ideal for this because they let the reader see the impact locally in their county and the Republican rep for that district to hold accountable. Check out these maps/infographics which can be freely shared.
Follow Trump’s war with this 3D map and the cost of his senseless war with Iran, price of gas and more with these real-time dashboards.
https://arcg.is/1XfTiL4
Patriot Missiles vs. Medicare Coverage: We Did the Math
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/08/05/medicare-costs-vs-patriot-missile-math/
Mapping Iranian cyberattacks against U.S. water plants as Hegseth fires top security experts
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/08/04/iranian-water-hacks-hegseth-pentagon-chaos/
This app honors those who had died in Trump's war with Iran. Search by name, age, state where they're from and follow a link to details on their death.
https://makeitfast.org/AmericanDeathsInIranWar
Where are Americans going hungry to buy more bombs for Pete Hegseth? Check this map.
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/07/22/hegseth-over-budget-iran-war-food-benefits-cut/
Follow the hostilities inTrump's endless Iran war with this 3D Map
https://arcg.is/1O8X4C1
How much will Trump’s EPIC DEFEAT in Iran cost you? Check this infographic.
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/06/19/iran-war-household-financial-cost-infographic/
What does Trump's love of inflation mean for you? Remember what happened to gas prices the last price America went to war in the Middle East for Israel?
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/06/11/gas-prices-inflation-soar-trump-war/
Mapping the farmers ruined by Trump’s war with Iran and the MAGA reps to hold accountable.
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/06/08/fertilizer-diesel-prices-soar-iran-war/
The Democrats must investigate and expose all the enablers from the spineless cowards in the GOP too the various media outlets and journalist who dutifully report every damn lie as if it was handed down by God on a stone tablet. There has to be a truth and reconciliation commission to uncover all the lies and force those living in the GOP delusion to confront the truth and their role in owning this disaster. There also needs to be legislation similar to what Germany enacted regarding the Nazis to prevent a return to this kind of bullshit. We can only move forward once we confront the hard truths of how we allowed this to happen. Jen Rubin has done a masterful job of laying out a road map, now those that are in power need to flesh out the map with the details and execute it. I want the America that my father fought for in 1945 when he was an 18-year-old shipped off to Germany to ensure that we wouldn't have a return to Hitler and Nazis.
The war is, as always in the Middle East, about oil. Take away renewables and the dependence on oil increases and the effort to preserve and protect supply only increases. We should see both of these—the war for oil and the war against renewables as two sides of the coin. And Trump’s actions as one long and large shill for the oil industry.
As always Jen, clear, concise and powerful assessment of where we are and what we must do. Thank you!
Your suggested responses make sense, but I think more thought need be given to the President's ability to initiate any military response. This Iran conflict is a perfect example of how an Executive action, in such a short period of time, can cause lasting damage to our national security. At the very least, the president should have the concurrence of the top Congressional Leadership (even if in secret) prior to any action. True, it's always easier to ask forgiveness than ask for permission, but not in cases like this. And it needs to be enforceable. We're not putting this genie back in the bottle - not for a long time.
Voters to to hold GOP accountable...
Trump admin's corruption & incompetence is beyond shocking. Having started a catastrophic war of choice, Trump & Co are desperate to escape the escalation trap with no viable options.
As the economy sheds jobs, inflation rises, the deficit explodes, Trump transfers wealth to the wealthiest & proclaims a Golden Age. https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08/07/business/jobs-report-economy?smid=url-share
Trump & Co money laundering, extortion, fraud, weaponization of government against critics…? The Trump brand.
GOP normalizes sociopathy & serial criminality elevating some of the most corrupt to positions of power. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYUEw-EMPpk Resist depraved, demented, gangster grifter authoritarianism! #VoteBlue!