Trump’s “enemy within” rhetoric isn’t tough talk; it’s the most un-American doctrine ever uttered by a U.S. president. And the GOP’s silence is the stain that will outlive them.
He hates us. Because hate is all he’s capable of. I completely agree, “Any American leader who calls American citizens ‘the enemy’ has forfeited the right to lead them.” LET’S MAKE IT SO!
I like your style, Audrey. Yes...Let's Make It So! And, we are very much moving along with that process. His power is getting weaker every day.
Oh, I believe some of our worst days are ahead...and...that's okay. It's happening as a RESULT of him realizing his relevance AND health are BOTH rapidly dwindling. I'll accept that temporary trade-off....because the momentum...has shifted in OUR direction.
Great article Jack!! So perfectly describes the walking nightmare we know as the Fanta Fuehrer. He has serious medical issues, perhaps a combo of undiagnosed advanced syphilis and frontotemporal dementia, with a side of unbridled inherite$ racism and narcissism. We will defeat him and his fascist ideology! 👇🏻🙏🏻 #holdfast
Thank you, Elizabeth...and you captured the central truth exactly...we’re not dealing with a normal political figure...we’re dealing with a man whose behavior has become a rolling nightmare for democratic norms...basic decency...and national stability.
I try to stay away from diagnosing him...that’s for medical professionals...but what we can say with absolute confidence is this...his public behavior...his impulsivity...his rage...his paranoia...and the way he talks about Americans as “enemies”...all point to someone who is deeply unwell...in the ways that matter most for a leader in a constitutional system.
And...you’re right about the ideology.
His movement isn’t conservative...Republican...or even political in a traditional sense.
It’s authoritarianism with an American accent ....built on fear...division...dominance...and the weaponization of grievance.
But here’s why I stay hopeful...
Every time he escalates… every time he lashes out… every time he reveals more instability… more people see what’s really happening.
His base may cheer...but the rest of the country is watching a man unravel in real time... and they know it.
We will defeat this.
Not because he is weak...but because the American public is stronger than the fear he’s trying to sell them.
Yes, I think his mask is slipping, more and more Republikkkans are noticing he has NO clothes, no teeth, diminishing power. I used to hope Republikkkans would come to their senses, now I just want them gone the way of the Whigs. It is a doomed, tarnished and corroding brand thanks to Donald J. Trump. The few who consider themselves ‘conservative’ need to brainstorm a new way forward sans Trump and his cult. Good luck there! We will defeat these lousy bastards. 👍🥰 #holdfast
I also think because the economy sucks big wankers and the MAGA nuts are impacted significantly that even some of them are realizing but not admitting that he screwed them like he f’s up everything he had any influence over. There is truth in “ everything Trump touched dies”
He is an angry baby man that is losing his grasp on control and is frightened of the consequences of that loss of his grip over his minions. Now only if the Republicans had even a wet noodle for spines we could make a bit of progress in this country that is adrift in the sea of turmoil, deception and the kleptocrats fear that the electorate will get pissed enough to act out en mass.
Thanks for your unbelievable clarity and ability to communicate what many of us see and feel but struggle to put into concise analysis as opposed to just screaming!
Jay...thank you...truly. That’s exactly why I write these the way I do. Most people see what’s happening...they feel it in their gut...but the noise and chaos make it hard to turn that into a clear... grounded analysis...instead of just shouting into the void.
If I can help give shape to that instinct...help convert the scream into something sharp...accurate...and usable...then we’re doing this right.
Jack you have just said everything I have been thinking about this deplorable situation the repugs have allowed to happen...They are nothing but a basket of weak, disgusting hateful cowards. They have no dignity and some of them are just as hateful as drumpf. There is no dignity and we know the ones that are worse than the others. They have shone themselves over and over. I will never understand females agreeing with drumpf...never as I view that as shooting yourself, they must have no respect for themselves to vote for him. I believe one of the biggest reasons is the one you stated about power and income. They don't want to give it up. Revolting is another word I have for the repugs....
Teri...you said it with a clarity...and moral force...that absolutely cuts through the noise.
What we’re watching isn’t a normal political disagreement... it’s a full moral collapse from a party...that once claimed to stand for character...responsibility...and country.
Now...it’s a collection of people so terrified of losing power...access...or status...that they’ve willingly surrendered EVERY shred of dignity to stay in Trump’s shadow.
And...you’re right...the women who defend him… it’s one of the most heartbreaking parts of this whole era.
Supporting a man who openly degrades them...dismisses them...objectifies them...it’s political self-harm...dressed up as loyalty. And...the party encourages it...because fear and obedience....are the only currencies they have left.
“Revolting” isn’t too strong a word.
If anything...it’s polite.
But here’s the important part: people see the rot. They feel it. And more of them are refusing to pretend this is normal. That’s how change begins...not quietly...but with the refusal to look away.
Thanks for validating my feelings. The chaos is exhausting if you don't step away occasionally and get out of you head and go to nature or whatever gives you solace. I felt your rage in today's post and it was visceral. #HOLDFAST
Jack:All good stuff. What I am screaming about is Medicare. Are they voting to let people DIE, and go HUNGRY? At the same time DHS gets a fleet of jets to deport more unwhite people, Argentina gets 40 BILLION💰
THEY get their paychecks, healthcare, expense accounts. The US fleet is costing BILLIONS, with 10,000 troops and shouldn't even be there
there. I know you know all of that.
It would be so simple. DON'T LET HIM DO THE THINGS HE IS DOING.
I think he shatters a mirror every time he looks into one. He is too ugly inside (especially) and out. The mirror can’t stand it, so it shatters. Too bad, he definitely needs one to look inside himself but he won’t. The closest he has ever come is when he said , “I hope I get into heaven, but I don’t think I will”.
Exactly. In the universe I inhabit, that’s a declaration of war by the commander in chief against the citizenry of the country he purportedly leads. When you couple that with the formal adoption of alliances with avowed enemies of our country, the table is set and there is but one conclusion: the next civil war has been announced and he’s aligned himself with an international coalition of terrorists to carry it out. Just ask Steve three-shirt-to-mask-the-stench Bannon.
Frank...you’re not exaggerating...you’re naming the reality that too many people are still afraid to articulate.
When a president brands his own citizens as “the enemy,”...that’s not rhetoric. That’s not campaign theater. That’s the first step...in justifying the use of state power against the population.
Every authoritarian story...EVERY single one...begins the moment a leader decides the people are the threat.
And...when he pairs that rhetoric...with public admiration for foreign adversaries...or with alliances rooted in shared grievances...rather than national interest… that’s not confusion or incompetence. That’s alignment. That’s a declaration of who he sees as allies...and who he sees as targets.
Your civil war framing isn’t melodrama. It’s a structural analysis.
Because civil conflicts don’t start with bullets...they start with categories:
Who belongs.
Who doesn’t.
Who’s loyal.
Who’s expendable.
Who the state should protect… and who the state should punish.
Trump has already drawn those lines.
His movement has already embraced them.
And people like Bannon...those ideological arsonists who fantasize about tearing down institutions... are cheering him on...because chaos is not a byproduct of their plan… it is the plan.
The good news?
People like you...are seeing it clearly...early...and without the denial that keeps democracies asleep at the wheel.
Calling it out is not hysteria. It’s vigilance. It’s patriots refusing to let the alarm bells get drowned out by propaganda and cowardice.
Sadly, what you describe goes back to Nixon and had infected every Republican since then. The Republican Party has become a cancerous tumor that needs to be excised and replaced with something different. We do need a conservative view, but not racist or hateful, and certainly not one that believes it has the right to rule even while in the minority (“rule” is the right word because they suck at governing).
Several of our institutions—the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Electoral College—are biased towards Republicans, for the moment, but it’s a distributional problem, the results of a migration from farm to city that started before we became a country. Cities have a natural advantage over rural distributions, and we need to figure ways to balance the needs of both communities even if we don’t balance the voting.
That’s all for another day. Right now, we have a tumor that’s about to consume us, and we need to get rid of it. Republicans never learn from history. Despite all the rhetoric about how violence never solves anything, it is *always* the result of one group systematically removing all of the options from another. Always.
Jack, could you tell us how you really feel? I could not agree more. But the GOP will not stand up. At the end of the day they will remain self-serving cowards. They have no interest in us or their constituents. If you are not one of their patrons you don't count. It is not going to be easy but we will prevail. Anything else is unacceptable.
As trump declines he will become more unhinged. I don’t expect the GOP to do a damn thing about it. What they need to understand is that he would throw any one of them under the bus in a heartbeat.
This article is a required reading training manual for those citizens who will protect Democracy from the jaws of Autocracy. Can I fight in your fox hole?
Thank for this Jack, it is the manifesto that we Americans need to keep America safe from authoritarians and oligarchs. Reading this helped me deal with the anxiety I have been feeling by what tRUMP and his lackeys keep spouting about anyone who disagrees with the tRUMP the dictator
The cowardice of the Republican Party was reinforced to me the day that President Zelensky sat in the Oval Office as donald and Vance insulted him. I watched Marco Rubio sitting there like he wanted to disappear…like he wanted to fade into that sofa he was sitting on. His discomfort was clearly on display and I thought how cowardly he appeared. If he had resigned after that event , maybe I would feel differently. That day I realized that the republicans would NOT stand up for democracy, for what is right or for the rule of law. Keeping their jobs and their proximity to power was their motivation. Made me sick.
He hates us. Because hate is all he’s capable of. I completely agree, “Any American leader who calls American citizens ‘the enemy’ has forfeited the right to lead them.” LET’S MAKE IT SO!
I like your style, Audrey. Yes...Let's Make It So! And, we are very much moving along with that process. His power is getting weaker every day.
Oh, I believe some of our worst days are ahead...and...that's okay. It's happening as a RESULT of him realizing his relevance AND health are BOTH rapidly dwindling. I'll accept that temporary trade-off....because the momentum...has shifted in OUR direction.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Great article Jack!! So perfectly describes the walking nightmare we know as the Fanta Fuehrer. He has serious medical issues, perhaps a combo of undiagnosed advanced syphilis and frontotemporal dementia, with a side of unbridled inherite$ racism and narcissism. We will defeat him and his fascist ideology! 👇🏻🙏🏻 #holdfast
Thank you, Elizabeth...and you captured the central truth exactly...we’re not dealing with a normal political figure...we’re dealing with a man whose behavior has become a rolling nightmare for democratic norms...basic decency...and national stability.
I try to stay away from diagnosing him...that’s for medical professionals...but what we can say with absolute confidence is this...his public behavior...his impulsivity...his rage...his paranoia...and the way he talks about Americans as “enemies”...all point to someone who is deeply unwell...in the ways that matter most for a leader in a constitutional system.
And...you’re right about the ideology.
His movement isn’t conservative...Republican...or even political in a traditional sense.
It’s authoritarianism with an American accent ....built on fear...division...dominance...and the weaponization of grievance.
But here’s why I stay hopeful...
Every time he escalates… every time he lashes out… every time he reveals more instability… more people see what’s really happening.
His base may cheer...but the rest of the country is watching a man unravel in real time... and they know it.
We will defeat this.
Not because he is weak...but because the American public is stronger than the fear he’s trying to sell them.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Yes, I think his mask is slipping, more and more Republikkkans are noticing he has NO clothes, no teeth, diminishing power. I used to hope Republikkkans would come to their senses, now I just want them gone the way of the Whigs. It is a doomed, tarnished and corroding brand thanks to Donald J. Trump. The few who consider themselves ‘conservative’ need to brainstorm a new way forward sans Trump and his cult. Good luck there! We will defeat these lousy bastards. 👍🥰 #holdfast
I also think because the economy sucks big wankers and the MAGA nuts are impacted significantly that even some of them are realizing but not admitting that he screwed them like he f’s up everything he had any influence over. There is truth in “ everything Trump touched dies”
He is an angry baby man that is losing his grasp on control and is frightened of the consequences of that loss of his grip over his minions. Now only if the Republicans had even a wet noodle for spines we could make a bit of progress in this country that is adrift in the sea of turmoil, deception and the kleptocrats fear that the electorate will get pissed enough to act out en mass.
I have wondered about tertiary syphilis also. Was it Ne Win in Burma same rumor?
Thanks for your unbelievable clarity and ability to communicate what many of us see and feel but struggle to put into concise analysis as opposed to just screaming!
Jay...thank you...truly. That’s exactly why I write these the way I do. Most people see what’s happening...they feel it in their gut...but the noise and chaos make it hard to turn that into a clear... grounded analysis...instead of just shouting into the void.
If I can help give shape to that instinct...help convert the scream into something sharp...accurate...and usable...then we’re doing this right.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Jack you have just said everything I have been thinking about this deplorable situation the repugs have allowed to happen...They are nothing but a basket of weak, disgusting hateful cowards. They have no dignity and some of them are just as hateful as drumpf. There is no dignity and we know the ones that are worse than the others. They have shone themselves over and over. I will never understand females agreeing with drumpf...never as I view that as shooting yourself, they must have no respect for themselves to vote for him. I believe one of the biggest reasons is the one you stated about power and income. They don't want to give it up. Revolting is another word I have for the repugs....
Teri...you said it with a clarity...and moral force...that absolutely cuts through the noise.
What we’re watching isn’t a normal political disagreement... it’s a full moral collapse from a party...that once claimed to stand for character...responsibility...and country.
Now...it’s a collection of people so terrified of losing power...access...or status...that they’ve willingly surrendered EVERY shred of dignity to stay in Trump’s shadow.
And...you’re right...the women who defend him… it’s one of the most heartbreaking parts of this whole era.
Supporting a man who openly degrades them...dismisses them...objectifies them...it’s political self-harm...dressed up as loyalty. And...the party encourages it...because fear and obedience....are the only currencies they have left.
“Revolting” isn’t too strong a word.
If anything...it’s polite.
But here’s the important part: people see the rot. They feel it. And more of them are refusing to pretend this is normal. That’s how change begins...not quietly...but with the refusal to look away.
#HoldFast
-Jack
Thanks for validating my feelings. The chaos is exhausting if you don't step away occasionally and get out of you head and go to nature or whatever gives you solace. I felt your rage in today's post and it was visceral. #HOLDFAST
Visceral. Yes.
Definitely
Jack:All good stuff. What I am screaming about is Medicare. Are they voting to let people DIE, and go HUNGRY? At the same time DHS gets a fleet of jets to deport more unwhite people, Argentina gets 40 BILLION💰
THEY get their paychecks, healthcare, expense accounts. The US fleet is costing BILLIONS, with 10,000 troops and shouldn't even be there
there. I know you know all of that.
It would be so simple. DON'T LET HIM DO THE THINGS HE IS DOING.
CONGRESS COULD SAY
" NO," but they will sacrifice us instead.
💯AREED
A-fucking-men!
On FIRE, Edie!
#HoldFast
-Jack
EXACTLY!!! 🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻🖕🏻
#HoldFast, CJ!
-Jack
Yes, Sir.
( This one triggered me…)
Hopefully he’s looking in the mirror when saying that.
Pamela...absolutely! (And...that poor mirror.)
#HoldFast
-Jack
Poor mirror 😂
I think he shatters a mirror every time he looks into one. He is too ugly inside (especially) and out. The mirror can’t stand it, so it shatters. Too bad, he definitely needs one to look inside himself but he won’t. The closest he has ever come is when he said , “I hope I get into heaven, but I don’t think I will”.
Exactly. In the universe I inhabit, that’s a declaration of war by the commander in chief against the citizenry of the country he purportedly leads. When you couple that with the formal adoption of alliances with avowed enemies of our country, the table is set and there is but one conclusion: the next civil war has been announced and he’s aligned himself with an international coalition of terrorists to carry it out. Just ask Steve three-shirt-to-mask-the-stench Bannon.
Frank...you’re not exaggerating...you’re naming the reality that too many people are still afraid to articulate.
When a president brands his own citizens as “the enemy,”...that’s not rhetoric. That’s not campaign theater. That’s the first step...in justifying the use of state power against the population.
Every authoritarian story...EVERY single one...begins the moment a leader decides the people are the threat.
And...when he pairs that rhetoric...with public admiration for foreign adversaries...or with alliances rooted in shared grievances...rather than national interest… that’s not confusion or incompetence. That’s alignment. That’s a declaration of who he sees as allies...and who he sees as targets.
Your civil war framing isn’t melodrama. It’s a structural analysis.
Because civil conflicts don’t start with bullets...they start with categories:
Who belongs.
Who doesn’t.
Who’s loyal.
Who’s expendable.
Who the state should protect… and who the state should punish.
Trump has already drawn those lines.
His movement has already embraced them.
And people like Bannon...those ideological arsonists who fantasize about tearing down institutions... are cheering him on...because chaos is not a byproduct of their plan… it is the plan.
The good news?
People like you...are seeing it clearly...early...and without the denial that keeps democracies asleep at the wheel.
Calling it out is not hysteria. It’s vigilance. It’s patriots refusing to let the alarm bells get drowned out by propaganda and cowardice.
-Jack
I’m grateful you’re penning these works. They inspire me and many others.
Yep three shirts and three pens
Yikes what a f’n weirdo
Sadly, what you describe goes back to Nixon and had infected every Republican since then. The Republican Party has become a cancerous tumor that needs to be excised and replaced with something different. We do need a conservative view, but not racist or hateful, and certainly not one that believes it has the right to rule even while in the minority (“rule” is the right word because they suck at governing).
Several of our institutions—the Senate, the Supreme Court, and the Electoral College—are biased towards Republicans, for the moment, but it’s a distributional problem, the results of a migration from farm to city that started before we became a country. Cities have a natural advantage over rural distributions, and we need to figure ways to balance the needs of both communities even if we don’t balance the voting.
That’s all for another day. Right now, we have a tumor that’s about to consume us, and we need to get rid of it. Republicans never learn from history. Despite all the rhetoric about how violence never solves anything, it is *always* the result of one group systematically removing all of the options from another. Always.
What a moving essay! Right on Jack. Fuck Trump and all the slimy cowards that support him! We Will Over Come! #HoldFast
Jack, could you tell us how you really feel? I could not agree more. But the GOP will not stand up. At the end of the day they will remain self-serving cowards. They have no interest in us or their constituents. If you are not one of their patrons you don't count. It is not going to be easy but we will prevail. Anything else is unacceptable.
As trump declines he will become more unhinged. I don’t expect the GOP to do a damn thing about it. What they need to understand is that he would throw any one of them under the bus in a heartbeat.
This article is a required reading training manual for those citizens who will protect Democracy from the jaws of Autocracy. Can I fight in your fox hole?
Thank for this Jack, it is the manifesto that we Americans need to keep America safe from authoritarians and oligarchs. Reading this helped me deal with the anxiety I have been feeling by what tRUMP and his lackeys keep spouting about anyone who disagrees with the tRUMP the dictator
Well said Jack,clear,concise that anyone could comprehend. #HOLDFAST
The cowardice of the Republican Party was reinforced to me the day that President Zelensky sat in the Oval Office as donald and Vance insulted him. I watched Marco Rubio sitting there like he wanted to disappear…like he wanted to fade into that sofa he was sitting on. His discomfort was clearly on display and I thought how cowardly he appeared. If he had resigned after that event , maybe I would feel differently. That day I realized that the republicans would NOT stand up for democracy, for what is right or for the rule of law. Keeping their jobs and their proximity to power was their motivation. Made me sick.