It should be clear that Donald Trump wants to be America’s king. He doesn’t want to work with Congress or respect their power (of the purse) as a co-equal branch of government. Although we don’t know whether he will defy the Supreme Court and risk a constitutional crisis, he’s made it clear he doesn’t have much respect for the judiciary either. Trump has no interest in working within our democratic system of government; no, he wants to be America’s king and rule by decree. At the rate we’re going, all we’re missing are chicken bones flying over his shoulder (or maybe McDonald’s leftovers) and shouts of “off with their heads.” Trump already gave us “Hang Mike Pence,” so we shouldn’t be too surprised if one day there’s a guillotine in front of the Whitehouse with one of his henchmen serving as executioner. (Or at the very least, Elon Musk wielding a big ax!)
That’s hardly an exaggeration of how Trump exercises his power. The success of his mostly unqualified, in some cases downright dangerous, cabinet nominees was based on Republican senators’ fear of being “primaried” by the MAGA base if they didn’t fall in line. Although Trump won just short of 50% of the vote and his base constitutes at most a third of the electorate, the primary process gives them the power of the majority, the source of King Trump’s power. But far uglier than losing a primary is the ever-present threat of violence on the part of Trump’s MAGA supporters, those proud to serve as his henchmen. We know that members of Congress, along with their families, have received death threats to influence their votes, something usually associated with a third world banana republic. Indeed, we’re talking about the threat of the guillotine hanging over our democracy. Former President Nixon gave us All the President’s Men, but Trump’s henchmen, including the Capitol insurrectionists he pardoned, are potentially much more dangerous.
Trump constantly reminds this humble sprit of the adage, “if someone shows you who they are, believe them.” Trump has repeatedly shown us he is a mafia boss at heart, a real mafioso through and through. He clearly sees the world from the standpoint of a crooked real estate developer who wants to make “deals.” Have you ever counted how many times he uses the word “deal”? He seemingly has no concept of governing within a democracy, for him it’s all a matter of deals. Case in point, the man seriously believes he’s going to make a deal to develop the Gaza strip into an international beach resort, regardless of whether the Palestinian people are expelled to. . . somewhere. It doesn’t occur to him that the rest of the world—such as Egypt, Jordan, and the Saudis— have kingdoms of their own and might not share his vision.
There is No Reason for ANYONE to Honor Confederate General Braxton Bragg.
If there’s anything this former Confederate officer knows inside and out it’s the Civil War, and especially the Confederate military. Renaming Fort Liberty after an obscure World War II hero with the last name Bragg is a silly ploy, but it’s not nearly as ridiculous as having named it after Confederate General Braxton Bragg in the first place. Never mind that he fought on behalf of the Slave Power for the worst cause that ever was, Bragg was one of the most incompetent generals of the Civil War, losing almost every battle he fought (Chickamauga being the notable exception), and thus playing a major role in the Confederacy’s defeat. Defense Secretary Hegseth may have meant to throw his worst MAGAs a bone, but not even those who support the Confederacy’s white supremacist cause should pay tribute to an all-around loser like Braxton Bragg—even his own men hated him!