He is not talking about corruption or bad decisions. He is discussing the destruction of our democratic republic, founded 250 years ago. There is no comparison - None. Trump's actions cannot be normalized. He is a clear and present danger.
This is excellent and terrifying! But I suspect that Trump’s Achilles heel (remember the bone spur!) will turn out to be that he thinks we’re living in a reality show that he can direct at his whim. There is however a real reality outside his studio of morons and sycophants. Since he and his gang have cut themselves off from serious feedback, they are bound to become more and more erratic and ineffective.
Yup I’m glad those around him are mostly (dangerously) incompetent. Plus he’s stupid. Melania says everything he touches dies. He’s touching our country. 😲
I don't think he's stupid other than being fooled by his fragile ego. To be as manipulative and shameless as he is you need a certain feral intelligence.
He certainly knows how to hone in on people’s weaknesses. Isn’t “feral intelligence “ a non sequitor? I agree with ‘feral’ but not with him being intelligent. He didn’t come up with Project 2025 - he’s following the plan other thinkers laid out for him along with his stupid thinking about tariffs & his baser instincts to seek revenge. An intelligent person is able to self reflect and he’s never shown any evidence of that. He’s a malignant narcissist, nothing more, nothing less.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I know that it is hard to think of an evil man or woman as intelligent, especially when they do things that look reckless and stupid from our perspective, but I think we risk underestimating Trump's capacity for evil if we write him off as stupid. To me, he is abysmal, amoral, and intelligent, like Hitler, Mussolini, Putin, and Netanyahu. He has no moral bonds other than stroking his frail ego and seeking to accumulate wealth and power to try to fill the black hole where a normal person's "soul" would reside.
Supposedly Congress. But as we've seen, they have been too cowed to act. We The People either take matters into our own hands to stop them at this point, or we are goners.
Michael--Invaluable analysis. Echoes what I’ve been tracking across the education and information sectors.
For those interested in how the regime is targeting universities, media, and the administrative state as part of a broader ideological purge, I’ve just released a report you might find relevant:
Degrees of Control: Liberal Democracy's Final Exam
A deep dive into the Trump administration’s strategic dismantling of academic, media, and bureaucratic legitimacy--including the IRS move to strip Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
Intelligent , critically thinking voters were definitely needed...check out what that "means" here in rural America,,,where the deepest thought is "Where will I get my next rifle or Ar-15..." Too many people...though maybe "good" as neighbors ..have no clue...this is the part of the America that has been activated against all that you and I cherish...that educational system where we are logical... to 'them' their ' logic' is still that the felon is the second 'coming' ...and they are fighting against us for our views..
and don't forget the financial corruption, the pause on enforcing anti money laundering laws, the encouragement of companies that have been found guilty under those laws, the numerous mechanisms for those seeking favours to pay money that benefits Trump and his family ....
That’s the lane I’m in as an intelligence professional. There is an oversupply of outrage analysis. But I appreciate your frustration at the analysis being cautious….
Thank you for your brilliant insights. Perhaps the recent reaction of Harvard will galvanise other institutions to unite and fight and this will further motivate other organisations to do the same ?
This could be a turning point, hopefully history will mark it as the day the trump “empire” met its match !!!
As an American who has lived in Mexico for over 25 years, I’ve watched with growing unease as democracy here has withered under the weight of autocratic ambition. Much of what you have described is happening back home in the U.S. has already happened here—and it didn’t happen in secret.
During Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency, we saw a slow but deliberate capture of democratic institutions. AMLO didn’t just criticize the press—he vilified it. Any investigative reporting that exposed corruption or mismanagement was branded “fake news.” He actively polarized the public, casting critics as enemies of the people and labeling journalists as elites working with the opposition parties conspiring against the nation.
The weakening of the INE—Mexico’s once-independent and respected electoral authority—was one of the clearest warning signs. And the attack on judicial independence, which began under AMLO, is now being cemented by his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum. With her party controlling Congress, constitutional reforms are being pushed through to reshape the system to their advantage. Sheinbaum has introduced a so-called democratic process to elect judges, but in truth, it strips transparency and centralizes power in dangerous ways. Whatever democracy Mexico had is now in retreat, possibly beyond recovery.
And yet, throughout it all, U.S. administrations—first under Trump, then under Biden, and Trump again —have said little or nothing. Why? In part because Mexico became an essential partner in controlling northbound migration. The tacit agreement seems clear: as long as Mexico helps stem the flow of migrants to the U.S., Washington will overlook the erosion of democratic norms here.
What truly unsettles me is how the same authoritarian drift has been unfolding back home—quietly, steadily, and now with alarming speed under the current regime. We should have seen it coming.
I remember the shift after 9/11. Gripped by fear and flag-waving nationalism, Americans accepted extraordinary rendition, secret prisons, indefinite detention, and torture—all under the banner of national security. The Patriot Act gutted civil liberties. Questioning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan branded you unpatriotic—“with the terrorists.”
Bush and Cheney weaponized fear, eroded public trust, and silenced whistleblowers. And most Americans? They looked the other way—so long as the bills got paid and the pursuit of prosperity stayed intact.
We’ve clung to the myth that American exceptionalism would save us—that somehow, our institutions were incorruptible, our democracy untouchable. But that myth has blinded us. Greed, vanity, and the hunger for unchecked power have hollowed out the very principles we claim to stand for.
Edward Gibbon once observed that “Rome, under the mild and generous influence of liberty, might have remained invincible and immortal.” But liberty isn’t self-sustaining. As Polybius warned, even great republics collapse—not from invasion, but from internal rot, from prosperity that dulls vigilance and vanity that replaces virtue.
Millions of Americans are not just watching history repeat—millions of other Americans are also sleepwalking through its unraveling.
I believe you are totally correct and may I say that we are very nearly becoming the "FOURTH REICH"??? Since all of your observations seem to be ON SPOT, this is where we are on the cliff's edge ready to plunge deeply into the abyss of facism. The danger is , we are all yelling and yet no actions outside of the courts' decisions...which are so far slowing but not stopping this regimes destruction of all our rights.. CAN THE COURTS HALT THIS SLIDE??? WILL THEY HALT THIS PLUNGE??? Are we all just going to keep griping??? WHAT DO WE DO?? Yes we are marching and yelling..but poor Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been dismissed...like garbage...And there are many more that are now being kidnapped to be shipped off to heaven knows where...but we can guess...Any facist dictator in cahoots with this regime will cooperate with the felon...right??? Prove me wrong!!! PLEASE!!!
We are losing not just democracy but capitalism. These two do not have to be connected but in this case, we are losing both.
Trump is now the singular picker of winners and losers. That is not how capitalism is supposed to work. (He commented that countries are calling to kiss is a** about the tariffs because he and he alone is making the calls.)
Ironically, Trump supporters ranted about communism and socialism -- where government controls the means of production -- and now we have something as bad if not worse than communism or socialism, where the power could still be distributed. This is unfettered corruption at every level and in the hands of one person.
All of what you say may be true, but you are totally excusing the last 4 yrs? The damage but Bushes did? Im waiting for the Corruption to all be found and people Prosecuted.
It might be a LONG wait...because if you go back to the history of DT's "history the facts were all there..BUT ignored...SIX bankrupsties, the suit that was judged against him for the trump univercity scandal...so many people and contractors never paid for their work...Taxes never produced for the Americam people..IT WAS ALL THERE BEFORE the 2016 Elections..WE ALL YELLED!!! I lost friends and family because of my yelling...The warnings were there...and yet, the Republicans grabbed him up...traitor that he is...The Bushes were MINOR compared to this felon!!!
He is not talking about corruption or bad decisions. He is discussing the destruction of our democratic republic, founded 250 years ago. There is no comparison - None. Trump's actions cannot be normalized. He is a clear and present danger.
He intends on combatting China an Russia with tariffs and oil. You've got to think motives!
Nonsense
This is excellent and terrifying! But I suspect that Trump’s Achilles heel (remember the bone spur!) will turn out to be that he thinks we’re living in a reality show that he can direct at his whim. There is however a real reality outside his studio of morons and sycophants. Since he and his gang have cut themselves off from serious feedback, they are bound to become more and more erratic and ineffective.
Wishful thinking.
Maybe, but note that I didn't predict the outcome, just pointed out a fundamental weakness that may or may not loosen his grip on power.
Okay.
Yup I’m glad those around him are mostly (dangerously) incompetent. Plus he’s stupid. Melania says everything he touches dies. He’s touching our country. 😲
I don't think he's stupid other than being fooled by his fragile ego. To be as manipulative and shameless as he is you need a certain feral intelligence.
He certainly knows how to hone in on people’s weaknesses. Isn’t “feral intelligence “ a non sequitor? I agree with ‘feral’ but not with him being intelligent. He didn’t come up with Project 2025 - he’s following the plan other thinkers laid out for him along with his stupid thinking about tariffs & his baser instincts to seek revenge. An intelligent person is able to self reflect and he’s never shown any evidence of that. He’s a malignant narcissist, nothing more, nothing less.
Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I know that it is hard to think of an evil man or woman as intelligent, especially when they do things that look reckless and stupid from our perspective, but I think we risk underestimating Trump's capacity for evil if we write him off as stupid. To me, he is abysmal, amoral, and intelligent, like Hitler, Mussolini, Putin, and Netanyahu. He has no moral bonds other than stroking his frail ego and seeking to accumulate wealth and power to try to fill the black hole where a normal person's "soul" would reside.
I do hope you are correct...
Who intervenes when the president and his cabinet are corrupt and willfully destroying the constitution?
Supposedly Congress. But as we've seen, they have been too cowed to act. We The People either take matters into our own hands to stop them at this point, or we are goners.
Michael--Invaluable analysis. Echoes what I’ve been tracking across the education and information sectors.
For those interested in how the regime is targeting universities, media, and the administrative state as part of a broader ideological purge, I’ve just released a report you might find relevant:
Degrees of Control: Liberal Democracy's Final Exam
A deep dive into the Trump administration’s strategic dismantling of academic, media, and bureaucratic legitimacy--including the IRS move to strip Harvard’s tax-exempt status.
https://burnafterlistening.substack.com/p/degrees-of-control
Appreciate your work and clarity. We need all of it right now!
Intelligent , critically thinking voters were definitely needed...check out what that "means" here in rural America,,,where the deepest thought is "Where will I get my next rifle or Ar-15..." Too many people...though maybe "good" as neighbors ..have no clue...this is the part of the America that has been activated against all that you and I cherish...that educational system where we are logical... to 'them' their ' logic' is still that the felon is the second 'coming' ...and they are fighting against us for our views..
and don't forget the financial corruption, the pause on enforcing anti money laundering laws, the encouragement of companies that have been found guilty under those laws, the numerous mechanisms for those seeking favours to pay money that benefits Trump and his family ....
This is a coup! Why are you using such passive language¡
That’s the lane I’m in as an intelligence professional. There is an oversupply of outrage analysis. But I appreciate your frustration at the analysis being cautious….
Exactly!!! We can theorize 'till the cows come home...or is it the cockroaches...BOTTOM LINE WE MUST STOP IT!!
Thank you for your brilliant insights. Perhaps the recent reaction of Harvard will galvanise other institutions to unite and fight and this will further motivate other organisations to do the same ?
This could be a turning point, hopefully history will mark it as the day the trump “empire” met its match !!!
As an American who has lived in Mexico for over 25 years, I’ve watched with growing unease as democracy here has withered under the weight of autocratic ambition. Much of what you have described is happening back home in the U.S. has already happened here—and it didn’t happen in secret.
During Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidency, we saw a slow but deliberate capture of democratic institutions. AMLO didn’t just criticize the press—he vilified it. Any investigative reporting that exposed corruption or mismanagement was branded “fake news.” He actively polarized the public, casting critics as enemies of the people and labeling journalists as elites working with the opposition parties conspiring against the nation.
The weakening of the INE—Mexico’s once-independent and respected electoral authority—was one of the clearest warning signs. And the attack on judicial independence, which began under AMLO, is now being cemented by his successor, Claudia Sheinbaum. With her party controlling Congress, constitutional reforms are being pushed through to reshape the system to their advantage. Sheinbaum has introduced a so-called democratic process to elect judges, but in truth, it strips transparency and centralizes power in dangerous ways. Whatever democracy Mexico had is now in retreat, possibly beyond recovery.
And yet, throughout it all, U.S. administrations—first under Trump, then under Biden, and Trump again —have said little or nothing. Why? In part because Mexico became an essential partner in controlling northbound migration. The tacit agreement seems clear: as long as Mexico helps stem the flow of migrants to the U.S., Washington will overlook the erosion of democratic norms here.
What truly unsettles me is how the same authoritarian drift has been unfolding back home—quietly, steadily, and now with alarming speed under the current regime. We should have seen it coming.
I remember the shift after 9/11. Gripped by fear and flag-waving nationalism, Americans accepted extraordinary rendition, secret prisons, indefinite detention, and torture—all under the banner of national security. The Patriot Act gutted civil liberties. Questioning the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan branded you unpatriotic—“with the terrorists.”
Bush and Cheney weaponized fear, eroded public trust, and silenced whistleblowers. And most Americans? They looked the other way—so long as the bills got paid and the pursuit of prosperity stayed intact.
We’ve clung to the myth that American exceptionalism would save us—that somehow, our institutions were incorruptible, our democracy untouchable. But that myth has blinded us. Greed, vanity, and the hunger for unchecked power have hollowed out the very principles we claim to stand for.
Edward Gibbon once observed that “Rome, under the mild and generous influence of liberty, might have remained invincible and immortal.” But liberty isn’t self-sustaining. As Polybius warned, even great republics collapse—not from invasion, but from internal rot, from prosperity that dulls vigilance and vanity that replaces virtue.
Millions of Americans are not just watching history repeat—millions of other Americans are also sleepwalking through its unraveling.
I believe you are totally correct and may I say that we are very nearly becoming the "FOURTH REICH"??? Since all of your observations seem to be ON SPOT, this is where we are on the cliff's edge ready to plunge deeply into the abyss of facism. The danger is , we are all yelling and yet no actions outside of the courts' decisions...which are so far slowing but not stopping this regimes destruction of all our rights.. CAN THE COURTS HALT THIS SLIDE??? WILL THEY HALT THIS PLUNGE??? Are we all just going to keep griping??? WHAT DO WE DO?? Yes we are marching and yelling..but poor Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been dismissed...like garbage...And there are many more that are now being kidnapped to be shipped off to heaven knows where...but we can guess...Any facist dictator in cahoots with this regime will cooperate with the felon...right??? Prove me wrong!!! PLEASE!!!
We are losing not just democracy but capitalism. These two do not have to be connected but in this case, we are losing both.
Trump is now the singular picker of winners and losers. That is not how capitalism is supposed to work. (He commented that countries are calling to kiss is a** about the tariffs because he and he alone is making the calls.)
Ironically, Trump supporters ranted about communism and socialism -- where government controls the means of production -- and now we have something as bad if not worse than communism or socialism, where the power could still be distributed. This is unfettered corruption at every level and in the hands of one person.
I wrote a bit on this:
https://open.substack.com/pub/lisasnow/p/capitalism-is-dying-but-no-one-is?r=65mfr&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true
Love your posts.
Lot to be said about getting a great and loyal team. Im starting to like a presidency over a useless PM and politicians running everything
Better than Marxism or juvenile Woke. Trump and Musk are what was needed
The Steele Dossier is fully operational.
fake,fake,fake !
You get three guesses and the first two don't count.
All of what you say may be true, but you are totally excusing the last 4 yrs? The damage but Bushes did? Im waiting for the Corruption to all be found and people Prosecuted.
It might be a LONG wait...because if you go back to the history of DT's "history the facts were all there..BUT ignored...SIX bankrupsties, the suit that was judged against him for the trump univercity scandal...so many people and contractors never paid for their work...Taxes never produced for the Americam people..IT WAS ALL THERE BEFORE the 2016 Elections..WE ALL YELLED!!! I lost friends and family because of my yelling...The warnings were there...and yet, the Republicans grabbed him up...traitor that he is...The Bushes were MINOR compared to this felon!!!