What I’ve noticed are: fewer MAGA hats, fewer trucks hanging either US or TRUMP flags out of their beds, and neighbors who voted for Trump either avoiding me (their loss), or not filling me in on the latest Fox talking point when I run into them. Who knows if it means anything, but it sure makes shopping at Walmart less aggravating. 😂
Believe his ability to throw globs of his crappy mojo and have it continue to blind his followers to truth, has ended. He doesn't get that yet. Sincerely hope the Gulf States realize they fell for it, cut their loses and freeze out Kushner-Witkoff, period.
Actually, I believe that MBS is operating as Trump's handler at this point. The Saudis are wayyy too invested in Trump to lose this war. The Saudis want to get their hands on the natural resources in Iran, and if there's any nuclear material left behind, the Saudis can use it to build/expand their own nuclear program. And in exchange for sending our young men and women to fight on foreign soil, Trump will not only be cleared of any prior debts with the Saudis, but his family business will be allowed to pursue business interests there, and throughout the Arab nations. (As an aside, I also believe that the middle east provides a new source of young girls and boys to sexually abuse for those who are so inclined.) I'm now sick after writing this, and I need to 🤮.
I'm also seeing a lot of explanations of what's going on from Anonymous. While some of it seems to be way out in left field, there are some things they've said that align with what you've written, Jack. These are scary bad times, but we all need to stick together. #holdfast
Jack’s piece on the confidence trap is a stark reminder of how often leaders mistake certainty for competence. Public messaging promises clean victories and decisive action, yet the reality on the ground — chaotic, asymmetric, and unpredictable — rarely aligns with those statements. The danger comes when officials believe the comforting narrative more than the evidence in front of them. That gap between perception and reality is where miscalculations happen, risks escalate, and strategic failures become inevitable. Understanding this dynamic isn’t just theory — it’s essential for anyone following the trajectory of current conflicts and the policies driving them.
The people that get all of the press coverage are the committed ones. The media sites pole numbers and tries to frame them as realistically or as pro their view as they can. But when people are put on to show Trump support, they come across as desperate. The show this by being loud, fast taking and unwilling to ket an interviewer get a word in or a question . I see this on CNN and fox all the time. MsNow, not so much, but they too have their moments. I totally agree with Jack, when everything is the greatest or the worst ever, then noting is great or really bad. His message loses his audience with the first superlative.
He has gone radio silent this week, ‘cause the chickens are comin’ home to roost and he cannot understand why his schtick isn’t working with the entire world. He has declared “victory” in Iran, and the Iranian people are unequivocally calling him out on his utter bullshit. It’s giving other leaders permission to do the same. If he had confined his “I won” strategy to within the borders of the United States, he might have been able to maintain the illusion for a longer period. At the same time, he and his family are banking billions. All of that money needs to be frozen and taken to be used for reparation payments in the Middle East and South America, and to all of the people ICE has deported and/or put in concentration camps.
Thanks, Jack, for helping me understand what I already felt in my lizard brain.
Jack, your statement that we don't process facts, we process certainty, will stick with me. I've noticed Trump being more insistent recently as in this quote from an NPR article this week, ""We've won this. This war has been won," Trump declared in the Oval Office Tuesday." Hard to imagine anybody is still falling for his act any more.
His confidence is starting to come across as desperation. His messaging is contradictory. He wants to maintain the illusion that he’s a winner. The problem is that he has no concept of what the reality is for most of us & people are starting to see through the BS.
This has really helped me understand the MAGA mentality. I’ve been searching my mind to figure out how anyone who has any ability at all to function as a human here can still support him. But I was reminded of a radio show by Garrison Keeler, Prairie Home Companion, that my husband and I used to listen to late in the evenings as college students in the 1980s. His dry humor about life in a fictitious rural Minnesota town was charming. “Lake Woebegone: where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the CHILDREN ARE ALL ABOVE AVERAGE.” An example of overuse and lies, but in this case, sweet because it was kind, and definitely for entertainment that caused no harm. I would like to live there now.
Jack, email on my phone screen is my only option for viewing your newsletter and people’s comments. Thank you for everything that shows. I tried to absorb it all as I read it, and I certainly can match various people to your defined degrees of support for him.
I never understood why anyone believed anything he said, and even after the podcast interview a few years ago when he admitted his loss, they continued to promote the lie, just as he did and still does in order to rile people and to create hatred and anger, division and cruelty, all to promote himself and his grifting. He had responded to a question about the 2020 election loss, with, “We lost that one by a whisker.”
I am wondering when that recognition will happen for the first category of supporters. What a horrible feeling that would be for anyone who has believed him in his lies all along! Do you think anyone or most people will begin to see through it all? (It seems that the realization, although it would promote a completely different feeling, is similar to a four year old realizing about Santa Clause, and in the next second realizing that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Ferry are in the same category. That was exciting, but for followers of his, the realization of having been duped in so many ways, and for so long, must be terribly painful. I am sorry for anyone to have to suffer that realization about his lies and the truth of his lack of character, plus the fact that they have been used and led to be rude to people who knew and know the truth, but at the same time, I want everyone to realize and understand the truth.
It seems that anyone who has remained a follower up to the current time, or very recent time, would wake up when they are being told that he won this war he started, especially if they or any of their family members are being sent, after that declaration, to the scene, and some people are not living to come back home. That is tragic, but surely they would grasp the reality.
I think that at that point, if reality begins to strike, other lies and their fallacies would come to mind and fall over like dominoes in fast succession. Then we would know the finishing point was in those particular minds, if they express their thoughts. If they simply internalize it, the evidence would come out at the polls, although he told them they would “never have to vote again.”
I still will need to review the precious explanations you included, Jack, in order to remember and apply them in the future, but I am so grateful to have them.
What I’ve noticed are: fewer MAGA hats, fewer trucks hanging either US or TRUMP flags out of their beds, and neighbors who voted for Trump either avoiding me (their loss), or not filling me in on the latest Fox talking point when I run into them. Who knows if it means anything, but it sure makes shopping at Walmart less aggravating. 😂
I love this! I've noticed fewer signs of MAGA in my neighborhood, too.
Believe his ability to throw globs of his crappy mojo and have it continue to blind his followers to truth, has ended. He doesn't get that yet. Sincerely hope the Gulf States realize they fell for it, cut their loses and freeze out Kushner-Witkoff, period.
Actually, I believe that MBS is operating as Trump's handler at this point. The Saudis are wayyy too invested in Trump to lose this war. The Saudis want to get their hands on the natural resources in Iran, and if there's any nuclear material left behind, the Saudis can use it to build/expand their own nuclear program. And in exchange for sending our young men and women to fight on foreign soil, Trump will not only be cleared of any prior debts with the Saudis, but his family business will be allowed to pursue business interests there, and throughout the Arab nations. (As an aside, I also believe that the middle east provides a new source of young girls and boys to sexually abuse for those who are so inclined.) I'm now sick after writing this, and I need to 🤮.
I'm also seeing a lot of explanations of what's going on from Anonymous. While some of it seems to be way out in left field, there are some things they've said that align with what you've written, Jack. These are scary bad times, but we all need to stick together. #holdfast
Jack’s piece on the confidence trap is a stark reminder of how often leaders mistake certainty for competence. Public messaging promises clean victories and decisive action, yet the reality on the ground — chaotic, asymmetric, and unpredictable — rarely aligns with those statements. The danger comes when officials believe the comforting narrative more than the evidence in front of them. That gap between perception and reality is where miscalculations happen, risks escalate, and strategic failures become inevitable. Understanding this dynamic isn’t just theory — it’s essential for anyone following the trajectory of current conflicts and the policies driving them.
Fantastic article!
#HOLDFAST
It’s hubris. It’s inevitable.
The people that get all of the press coverage are the committed ones. The media sites pole numbers and tries to frame them as realistically or as pro their view as they can. But when people are put on to show Trump support, they come across as desperate. The show this by being loud, fast taking and unwilling to ket an interviewer get a word in or a question . I see this on CNN and fox all the time. MsNow, not so much, but they too have their moments. I totally agree with Jack, when everything is the greatest or the worst ever, then noting is great or really bad. His message loses his audience with the first superlative.
Excellent article!
Thank you!
Respect 🙏🏻(bow)
He has gone radio silent this week, ‘cause the chickens are comin’ home to roost and he cannot understand why his schtick isn’t working with the entire world. He has declared “victory” in Iran, and the Iranian people are unequivocally calling him out on his utter bullshit. It’s giving other leaders permission to do the same. If he had confined his “I won” strategy to within the borders of the United States, he might have been able to maintain the illusion for a longer period. At the same time, he and his family are banking billions. All of that money needs to be frozen and taken to be used for reparation payments in the Middle East and South America, and to all of the people ICE has deported and/or put in concentration camps.
Thanks, Jack, for helping me understand what I already felt in my lizard brain.
Jack, your statement that we don't process facts, we process certainty, will stick with me. I've noticed Trump being more insistent recently as in this quote from an NPR article this week, ""We've won this. This war has been won," Trump declared in the Oval Office Tuesday." Hard to imagine anybody is still falling for his act any more.
His confidence is starting to come across as desperation. His messaging is contradictory. He wants to maintain the illusion that he’s a winner. The problem is that he has no concept of what the reality is for most of us & people are starting to see through the BS.
It’s similar to the boy who cried “wolf” so much that people eventually ignored him.
You are absolutely correct about Trump locking himself into a blind alley with a very reduced audience in his coterie.
Trump is a dangerous ,out of control vicious Montebank.
Trump is adhered to a Malefic mind set.
This has really helped me understand the MAGA mentality. I’ve been searching my mind to figure out how anyone who has any ability at all to function as a human here can still support him. But I was reminded of a radio show by Garrison Keeler, Prairie Home Companion, that my husband and I used to listen to late in the evenings as college students in the 1980s. His dry humor about life in a fictitious rural Minnesota town was charming. “Lake Woebegone: where all the women are strong, the men are good looking, and the CHILDREN ARE ALL ABOVE AVERAGE.” An example of overuse and lies, but in this case, sweet because it was kind, and definitely for entertainment that caused no harm. I would like to live there now.
Yes, we must now prepare for the inevitable collapse…38 trillion and counting…
Jack, email on my phone screen is my only option for viewing your newsletter and people’s comments. Thank you for everything that shows. I tried to absorb it all as I read it, and I certainly can match various people to your defined degrees of support for him.
I never understood why anyone believed anything he said, and even after the podcast interview a few years ago when he admitted his loss, they continued to promote the lie, just as he did and still does in order to rile people and to create hatred and anger, division and cruelty, all to promote himself and his grifting. He had responded to a question about the 2020 election loss, with, “We lost that one by a whisker.”
I am wondering when that recognition will happen for the first category of supporters. What a horrible feeling that would be for anyone who has believed him in his lies all along! Do you think anyone or most people will begin to see through it all? (It seems that the realization, although it would promote a completely different feeling, is similar to a four year old realizing about Santa Clause, and in the next second realizing that the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Ferry are in the same category. That was exciting, but for followers of his, the realization of having been duped in so many ways, and for so long, must be terribly painful. I am sorry for anyone to have to suffer that realization about his lies and the truth of his lack of character, plus the fact that they have been used and led to be rude to people who knew and know the truth, but at the same time, I want everyone to realize and understand the truth.
It seems that anyone who has remained a follower up to the current time, or very recent time, would wake up when they are being told that he won this war he started, especially if they or any of their family members are being sent, after that declaration, to the scene, and some people are not living to come back home. That is tragic, but surely they would grasp the reality.
I think that at that point, if reality begins to strike, other lies and their fallacies would come to mind and fall over like dominoes in fast succession. Then we would know the finishing point was in those particular minds, if they express their thoughts. If they simply internalize it, the evidence would come out at the polls, although he told them they would “never have to vote again.”
I still will need to review the precious explanations you included, Jack, in order to remember and apply them in the future, but I am so grateful to have them.
#HOLDFAST!