I've been saying since Trump's first term we are witnessing the Jacobinization of the Republican Party. It's nice to see the French Revolution reference in this article.
"And so history is not just a tale of self-destructive revolutions. It’s also a story of successful resistance to the forces of destruction, and impressive reconstruction after they have temporarily prevailed. It would be good to relive that history."
Apologies for stating what ought to be beyond obvious to everyone. It WILL be good if we - Never-Trumpers from the Liz Cheney right to the Bernie Sanders left - MAKE it so. It will NOT be good if all we do is gasp at how much the cult has been getting away with to dismantle the Republic and its Constitution.
"and yet a bewildering number of people still seem to be caught totally by surprise every time it happens"
This is just one manifestation of how the cowards in the press gift-wrapped Trump in the last election, before, and since. Fox would have lead every hour for 48 with Biden ping-ponging through a Japanese ballroom of soldiers, while the rest of the American media - for the most part - won't even show it at the close where they usually plant the late night comedy review. Maybe (maybe) they'll file it under the fold on p. 34 with the funny human interest note. Cause at best, it's just so cute: our demented, vindictive, gutter-trash president just maybe being a smidge confused (totally understandable!) about what the hell he's doing as he, day after day after day, cops a feel on the American body politic like it's a teenage girl in the back of a limo. "Too bad for you, honey: I've earned it."
Trump is a pedophile. Oh, and he tried to overthrow the govt., which makes him a traitor. Shame that the American people are morons and need so much help to figure that out. Worse shame that they don't get it. Cause he might say mean things to them? Not let them fly on the big boy plane with the rest of the cool kids?
Morons and cowards. What a country. Too stupid and arrogant to know how much of a stain they've left on what others worked so hard to build. Meanwhile, let's just ignore the House taking a three month vacation so they don't have to vote on the Epstein files. It's just a disagreement among friends.
I really like your passion here. I wonder why Fox decided to pull out of the Pentagon with the rest of the "legacy" media. I also wonder why no one ever asks Trump why he lies. He so clearly lied for all the world to see about "not touching the White House" and then went ahead and demolished the East Wing. Is it just because he thought someone might try to stop him in the beginning? Or just because he's a pathological liar? I know it's no consolation and I know you know but not everyone voted for Trump. I reserve some of my harshest criticism for those who didn't vote at all. What's worse---willful ignorance or apathy? I'm not sure.
Hi Sharon. They don't ask because they're afraid of him. And their bosses are, so it's gotta be policy. Can't hold that coveted White House gig if the White House tosses you. The holes in our democratic structure were wide enough to drive a truck through, and it took the MAGA Teamsters to leverage them.
Trying to understand what goes on in that fools head is a fools errand. I suspect he can still handle multiple motivations, with the top two being distract and abuse.
I'd say willful ignorance is worse, apathy is probably less decisive. Apathy and ignorance are the circulatory system of the American electorate: arteries and veins. A lot of people are far lazier than they should be. The ones who don't vote have at least that much respect for the privilege.
I think we need a Friday (or Saturday) Cheap Shots listicle/newsletter highlighting all of the high minded Bulwark Social Media Dunks from the week. One per day is NOT enough - but this - from Tim - is a great one.
This is a great point - J.J. McCullough had a thought-provoking take yesterday on Trump’s constant flirtations with the concept of running for a third term. “I think there’s a problem with the way the press frames this,” he wrote on X. “They always ask him ‘are you going to run’ like it’s his choice. I feel a better framing would be like ‘do you understand this is illegal?’”
Given the current composition of the White House Press Corps and the current state of traditional media, I don't see a reframing happening...
The problem in the US at the moment is that MAGA demands a tyranny of the PLURALITY, and the more pain there is for outsiders the better. Trump didn't produce this. He's just surfing the wave in idiot savant style.
Re Border Patrol and their controversial immigration enforcement operations, this morning, Federal
Judge Ellis blasted Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino for violating her excessive force order. She has ordered him to meet with her daily, at 6pm CT, so he can report to her on any incidents of excessive force that occur. He said, "Yes, ma’am." I will be checking each day to see if he violates her order.
"And so history is not just a tale of self-destructive revolutions. It’s also a story of successful resistance to the forces of destruction, and impressive reconstruction after they have temporarily prevailed." And Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are supposed to lead us to that promised resistance? Please. Dems have fumbled and dropped the ball so many times it is excruciating. The best sign of life/hope are groups like Indivisible, the Lincoln Project and the Save America Movement, many of which enjoy the serious talent and drive from former Republican operatives. We simply cannot rely on our Donkey electeds to rise to the moment.
God helps those who help themselves. Right now I hear Him shouting "Meet me halfway, people. Do what it takes to remove this cult from power!" Heck, we had all the information we ever needed, if not right after the insurrection, at least a year later after the stealing of classified documents and obstruction of their return. Specifically, that it was not just one spoiled coward (& convicted felon) who already did all that damage and threatened much more, but an entire army of traitors, who didn't even pretend to have any allegiance to anything other than their perfect "useful idiot."
I comment a good while back that The Trump Administration was acting more like the Trump Regime and that there were a ton of similarities between what Trump was doing and what Hitler and the Nazi Regime was doing. Some people pooh-poohed that comment but I think those comments in retrospect were reflecting a lack of historical knowledge of WW2.
For the average American, WW2 started on Dec 7th, 1941. I suspect if you were to quiz people on the street with questions along the lines of “How did Hitler come to power in Germany” for example, most people probably do not realize that the German people ELECTED Hitler. There was no coup.
I had started reading William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich back in December of 2024, before Trump was sworn in as president. For those not familiar with that book or William Shirer, the book is long and Shirer was the 1930’s version of a foreign correspondent and his beat was Europe.
His book is good as a historical reference but it is not a history book. He wrote it as a journalist and he opines occasionally but it is similar to todays crop of journalist books in the vein of “I was there and this is what I saw”
I’m sticking with my opinion that there are a ton of things that Trump is doing that are spot on what Hitler and the Nazi regime did. This is our lived experience. We see what Trump is doing. I’d suggest that people go read that book before they pooh-pooh the opinion that the Trump Regime is behaving like the Nazi Regime.
If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, maybe it’s a duck.
Hitler and Nazi party have the most documentation/history associated with it. Apparently Miller read William Shirer’s book, The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich because it is damn near a perfect match.
No need to contort any of the things Trump has done to make Shirer’s examples fit. Go read the book. You’ll see. As Trump gets more comfortable with killing people that will likely pick up and I expect there will shortly be an effort to rig thee 2026 election.
Key characteristics of Fascism
Authoritarian rule Trump running by country by EO
Extreme nationalism: America First. MAGA Patriotism. Obvious the Red Hats have never cracked an American History book in their life, even in high school. Which is pretty typical. Waving the flag does not mean you are patriotic. Believing in The Constitution, even the parts you don’t like. Attacking the Capitol tops the list here because the election was not rigged and there is no evidence the election was rigged. The way they ripped Hunter Biden apart is an example. If they actually had the evidence, they would show. Didn’t happen is why there is no evidence.
Militarism and expansion: ICE expansion towards being the federal law enforcement agency with the largest number of gun toters.
Most documentation, most public recognition, plus most psychological reaction is probably it. The question still remains, from historical or contemporary parallels, why not Mussolini, why not Franco, why not Orban, why not India during the two-year emergency, why not the Shah of Iran, etc., etc., etc. ? Why not Jefferson Davis & the Confederacy? (an American racial “democracy”)
FYI, I read Shirer’s The Rise and Fall as a teenager, and again recently.
Last, an observation, the more I learn about the world, the more I realize the illusion of understanding it. Oh, we understand the physical world better and better. But on people, we don’t.
Go look up the word Fascist. Fascism is derived from Mussolini’s political party. I’m not being snarky here. I looked up the word when I was reading this book “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” which I had started reading before Trump was sworn in this second go round.
It is a new word and words have lives, just like people.
Mussolini was the original fascist, fascist is derived rom an earlier but Italian word. Hitler’s methods are based on Mussolini’s method. Mussolini created fascism, and Hitler did fascism better than the original Fascist, Mussolini.
So you have a coin-flip choice. Fascism lived and died based on an example set of two. Mussolini and Hitler, who were concurrent rulers. They lived, they died, and the movement died with them, coin got flipped and Hitler landed face up.
Trump is resurrecting fascism and he is following Hitlers version pretty closely
I've been saying since Trump's first term we are witnessing the Jacobinization of the Republican Party. It's nice to see the French Revolution reference in this article.
"And so history is not just a tale of self-destructive revolutions. It’s also a story of successful resistance to the forces of destruction, and impressive reconstruction after they have temporarily prevailed. It would be good to relive that history."
Apologies for stating what ought to be beyond obvious to everyone. It WILL be good if we - Never-Trumpers from the Liz Cheney right to the Bernie Sanders left - MAKE it so. It will NOT be good if all we do is gasp at how much the cult has been getting away with to dismantle the Republic and its Constitution.
"and yet a bewildering number of people still seem to be caught totally by surprise every time it happens"
This is just one manifestation of how the cowards in the press gift-wrapped Trump in the last election, before, and since. Fox would have lead every hour for 48 with Biden ping-ponging through a Japanese ballroom of soldiers, while the rest of the American media - for the most part - won't even show it at the close where they usually plant the late night comedy review. Maybe (maybe) they'll file it under the fold on p. 34 with the funny human interest note. Cause at best, it's just so cute: our demented, vindictive, gutter-trash president just maybe being a smidge confused (totally understandable!) about what the hell he's doing as he, day after day after day, cops a feel on the American body politic like it's a teenage girl in the back of a limo. "Too bad for you, honey: I've earned it."
Trump is a pedophile. Oh, and he tried to overthrow the govt., which makes him a traitor. Shame that the American people are morons and need so much help to figure that out. Worse shame that they don't get it. Cause he might say mean things to them? Not let them fly on the big boy plane with the rest of the cool kids?
Morons and cowards. What a country. Too stupid and arrogant to know how much of a stain they've left on what others worked so hard to build. Meanwhile, let's just ignore the House taking a three month vacation so they don't have to vote on the Epstein files. It's just a disagreement among friends.
I really like your passion here. I wonder why Fox decided to pull out of the Pentagon with the rest of the "legacy" media. I also wonder why no one ever asks Trump why he lies. He so clearly lied for all the world to see about "not touching the White House" and then went ahead and demolished the East Wing. Is it just because he thought someone might try to stop him in the beginning? Or just because he's a pathological liar? I know it's no consolation and I know you know but not everyone voted for Trump. I reserve some of my harshest criticism for those who didn't vote at all. What's worse---willful ignorance or apathy? I'm not sure.
Hi Sharon. They don't ask because they're afraid of him. And their bosses are, so it's gotta be policy. Can't hold that coveted White House gig if the White House tosses you. The holes in our democratic structure were wide enough to drive a truck through, and it took the MAGA Teamsters to leverage them.
Trying to understand what goes on in that fools head is a fools errand. I suspect he can still handle multiple motivations, with the top two being distract and abuse.
I'd say willful ignorance is worse, apathy is probably less decisive. Apathy and ignorance are the circulatory system of the American electorate: arteries and veins. A lot of people are far lazier than they should be. The ones who don't vote have at least that much respect for the privilege.
I think we need a Friday (or Saturday) Cheap Shots listicle/newsletter highlighting all of the high minded Bulwark Social Media Dunks from the week. One per day is NOT enough - but this - from Tim - is a great one.
This is a great point - J.J. McCullough had a thought-provoking take yesterday on Trump’s constant flirtations with the concept of running for a third term. “I think there’s a problem with the way the press frames this,” he wrote on X. “They always ask him ‘are you going to run’ like it’s his choice. I feel a better framing would be like ‘do you understand this is illegal?’”
Given the current composition of the White House Press Corps and the current state of traditional media, I don't see a reframing happening...
If Trump is even on the ballot, the United States is over. I agree with you Ashley. Let's fucking go.
The problem in the US at the moment is that MAGA demands a tyranny of the PLURALITY, and the more pain there is for outsiders the better. Trump didn't produce this. He's just surfing the wave in idiot savant style.
I don't believe he's leaving.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/28/us/trump-news-japan#trump-white-house-commission-fine-arts
“A Warthog, for the Haloheads following along.”
I don’t know, I think it looks more like a puma.
Re Border Patrol and their controversial immigration enforcement operations, this morning, Federal
Judge Ellis blasted Border Patrol boss Greg Bovino for violating her excessive force order. She has ordered him to meet with her daily, at 6pm CT, so he can report to her on any incidents of excessive force that occur. He said, "Yes, ma’am." I will be checking each day to see if he violates her order.
"And so history is not just a tale of self-destructive revolutions. It’s also a story of successful resistance to the forces of destruction, and impressive reconstruction after they have temporarily prevailed." And Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries are supposed to lead us to that promised resistance? Please. Dems have fumbled and dropped the ball so many times it is excruciating. The best sign of life/hope are groups like Indivisible, the Lincoln Project and the Save America Movement, many of which enjoy the serious talent and drive from former Republican operatives. We simply cannot rely on our Donkey electeds to rise to the moment.
Amen. And with which the just posted comments of J. Michael Luttig in the Atlantic are worthy of pride of place:
“President for Life — Donald Trump has amassed the powers of a king, won’t give them up easily”
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2025/12/trump-third-term-authoritarianism/684616/?gift=pKutguRJK2117ArxixO7oazvKEIuckqG35NW2Ved_yc&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share
z
Hard to keep up with all the near putches, these days. G-d save the country.
God helps those who help themselves. Right now I hear Him shouting "Meet me halfway, people. Do what it takes to remove this cult from power!" Heck, we had all the information we ever needed, if not right after the insurrection, at least a year later after the stealing of classified documents and obstruction of their return. Specifically, that it was not just one spoiled coward (& convicted felon) who already did all that damage and threatened much more, but an entire army of traitors, who didn't even pretend to have any allegiance to anything other than their perfect "useful idiot."
I comment a good while back that The Trump Administration was acting more like the Trump Regime and that there were a ton of similarities between what Trump was doing and what Hitler and the Nazi Regime was doing. Some people pooh-poohed that comment but I think those comments in retrospect were reflecting a lack of historical knowledge of WW2.
For the average American, WW2 started on Dec 7th, 1941. I suspect if you were to quiz people on the street with questions along the lines of “How did Hitler come to power in Germany” for example, most people probably do not realize that the German people ELECTED Hitler. There was no coup.
I had started reading William Shirer’s The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich back in December of 2024, before Trump was sworn in as president. For those not familiar with that book or William Shirer, the book is long and Shirer was the 1930’s version of a foreign correspondent and his beat was Europe.
His book is good as a historical reference but it is not a history book. He wrote it as a journalist and he opines occasionally but it is similar to todays crop of journalist books in the vein of “I was there and this is what I saw”
I’m sticking with my opinion that there are a ton of things that Trump is doing that are spot on what Hitler and the Nazi regime did. This is our lived experience. We see what Trump is doing. I’d suggest that people go read that book before they pooh-pooh the opinion that the Trump Regime is behaving like the Nazi Regime.
If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, maybe it’s a duck.
Why is the Nazi regime the template of a dictatorship? Aren't there a huge number of examples to choose from as the exemplar?
Hitler and Nazi party have the most documentation/history associated with it. Apparently Miller read William Shirer’s book, The Rise and Fall of The Third Reich because it is damn near a perfect match.
No need to contort any of the things Trump has done to make Shirer’s examples fit. Go read the book. You’ll see. As Trump gets more comfortable with killing people that will likely pick up and I expect there will shortly be an effort to rig thee 2026 election.
Key characteristics of Fascism
Authoritarian rule Trump running by country by EO
Extreme nationalism: America First. MAGA Patriotism. Obvious the Red Hats have never cracked an American History book in their life, even in high school. Which is pretty typical. Waving the flag does not mean you are patriotic. Believing in The Constitution, even the parts you don’t like. Attacking the Capitol tops the list here because the election was not rigged and there is no evidence the election was rigged. The way they ripped Hunter Biden apart is an example. If they actually had the evidence, they would show. Didn’t happen is why there is no evidence.
Militarism and expansion: ICE expansion towards being the federal law enforcement agency with the largest number of gun toters.
Most documentation, most public recognition, plus most psychological reaction is probably it. The question still remains, from historical or contemporary parallels, why not Mussolini, why not Franco, why not Orban, why not India during the two-year emergency, why not the Shah of Iran, etc., etc., etc. ? Why not Jefferson Davis & the Confederacy? (an American racial “democracy”)
FYI, I read Shirer’s The Rise and Fall as a teenager, and again recently.
Last, an observation, the more I learn about the world, the more I realize the illusion of understanding it. Oh, we understand the physical world better and better. But on people, we don’t.
Go look up the word Fascist. Fascism is derived from Mussolini’s political party. I’m not being snarky here. I looked up the word when I was reading this book “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich” which I had started reading before Trump was sworn in this second go round.
It is a new word and words have lives, just like people.
Mussolini was the original fascist, fascist is derived rom an earlier but Italian word. Hitler’s methods are based on Mussolini’s method. Mussolini created fascism, and Hitler did fascism better than the original Fascist, Mussolini.
So you have a coin-flip choice. Fascism lived and died based on an example set of two. Mussolini and Hitler, who were concurrent rulers. They lived, they died, and the movement died with them, coin got flipped and Hitler landed face up.
Trump is resurrecting fascism and he is following Hitlers version pretty closely
"Donald Trump has spent so many years flouting every rule that’s supposed to restrain him,"
He doesn't flout them, he just has been told all his life that the rules and laws done apply to him. He is special.