DCUM Weblog

Cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump has completely lost it. If you were not already convinced of this, the last few days have provided enough evidence to persuade all but the most dedicated cultists. Almost any time Trump opens his mouth these days, he does a disservice to our country and damages our national interests. The media's tendency to "sanewash" what Trump says and, therefore, sugarcoat his words, and Trump's cultish followers' contention that Trump's insanities are nothing more than good fun, tend to hide the reality of what passes through Trump's lips on a regular basis.

Often the bizarre statements that Trump issues are harmless, if nonsensical. For instance, two days ago Trump, for no discernable reason, "truthed" on his Truth Social social media network that "There is a new word for a TRUMP REPUBLICAN, which is almost everyone (GREAT POLICY IS THE KEY!). It is, TEPUBLICAN??? Or, TPUBLICAN???" This is a man who has clearly run out of juice. Moreover, the much more recognizable, as well as pronounceable, "MAGA" already exists and is heavily used.

I'll start today's post with a question that should have a fairly simple answer: who is responsible for the United States’ foreign policy? In any other administration, the answer would almost certainly be the Secretary of State. But in the case of the administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump, the answer is much more complex. As best as can be determined, U.S. foreign policy is being controlled by a group of rivals who spend almost as much time attempting to sabotage each other as they do working to advance American goals.

No presidential administration has ever consisted of nothing but ideological clones of the president. There have always been differing views and multiple political factions among the top officials of any American government. But in the Trump administration, factionalism is magnified by Trump's leadership style. Trump, like many of his MAGA followers, has a deep distrust of government bureaucracy. Trump tends to reject expertise in general, preferring to rely on trusted individuals regardless of their lack of credentials or potential conflicts of interest. This is especially apparent when it comes to foreign policy.

One issue that I struggle with when writing this blog is whether or not to address topics that are well-covered elsewhere. If everyone else is already writing about a topic, generally much better than I can, is there any value in me also posting about it? Probably not much, to be honest. At the same time, I feel like I shouldn't just ignore important developments. Perhaps the best thing I could do is simply provide a list of links for those interested to follow. But that seems kind of boring. I'd rather write. So, with the caveat that I am going to be covering some pretty well-trodden ground today, I want to discuss the recent revelation that a number of major MAGA accounts on X are actually based overseas.

The background to this story is that last week X revealed a new feature that shows the country in which an account is based. The feature is not perfect; if a user is using a VPN, for instance, the information might be wrong. One example of that is the Planned Parenthood account which appears to be based in Germany because the organization uses a VPN. Nevertheless, when the feature was first released, a number of popular MAGA accounts were shown to be based overseas. In some cases, the account owners have fessed up and defended their posting. Presumably, in the future, those wishing to hide their true location might employ VPNs that show them to be in the United States. But, at least for a now, we have an interesting look at the foreign influence behind many MAGA accounts.

Last week I wrote a blog post about Representative Majorie Taylor Greene, reviewing her transition from a QAnon bomb thrower to an advocate of Charlie Kirk's style of polite debate and claiming to be the most authentic proponent of the America First positions that have been fundamental to the MAGA movement. On Friday evening, surprising nearly everyone, Greene announced that she would resign from Congress on January 5. In her resignation address, Greene listed a litany of complaints with both political parties. She said that she was looking forward to "seeing many of you again," but did not reveal her future plans.

The central theme of Greene's resignation announcement was that she has been a hardworking and loyal supporter of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump, the Republican Party, and the common American people. In return, she has been betrayed. More importantly, the American people have been betrayed. She began her speech by saying that she has "always represented the common American man and woman," which is why she has been "despised in Washington, D.C., and never fit in." She then went on to say that "Americans are used by the Political Industrial Complex of both political parties," who try to "convince Americans to hate the other side.” Regardless of which party wins, nothing ever gets better for "the common American man or woman."

One repeated theme of my blog posts is that cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump has suffered such significant cognitive decline that he is not fit to hold the office of the presidency. If you had any doubt about this, all you need to do is witness Trump's response to Bloomberg News' Catherine Lucey when she asked him about Jeffrey Epstein. "Quiet, piggy," Trump responded. Trump has a history of demeaning women, particularly female reporters. Therefore, this behavior was not particularly unusual, at least for him. For anyone else, it might be career-ending. However, yesterday Trump displayed a lack of mental stability that has crossed the line to become dangerous. Trump repeatedly suggested that a group of U.S. Senators and Members of Congress should be put to death.

As I have repeatedly written in these posts, there is a common view that authoritarian governments, regardless of their other faults, are able to get things done efficiently and effectively. The reality is that such governments are so often beset by corruption and incompetence that they are actually ineffective. This is a phenomenon frequently demonstrated by the administration of cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump. Yesterday there was another example, this time involving Lindsey Halligan, Trump's handpicked U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and her case against former FBI Director James Comey.

It has become increasingly clear that Comey is going to beat the charges against him. It is not going to be a close call. As I joked with my wife yesterday, Comey is going to beat these charges harder than any charges have previously been beaten. By all appearances, Comey is not guilty of the allegations against him. More importantly, this case is unlikely to even make it to trial because of the myriad reasons for it to be dismissed.

I have previously written about the enhanced premium tax credits that were part of the American Rescue Plan Act that was passed in 2021. These credits are due to expire at the end of this year, resulting in significant premium hikes for millions of families that purchase health insurance through health insurance marketplaces. The Democrats had made extending these credits their price for voting to reopen the government. Ultimately, a handful of Democrats capitulated in exchange for the promise of a vote to extend the credits. That vote will more than likely fail. But most Republicans on Capitol Hill seem to understand the danger to their electoral prospects that will result from an expiration of the credits. Most recipients of the tax credits live in red states with the two largest populations being in Florida and Texas. Therefore, Republicans, including cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump, are eager to find a way to keep premiums affordable. Today I am going to review where things stand with Republican healthcare initiatives.

Yesterday I provided background on the fissures that have started appearing within the MAGA movement. The topics of Israel, Jews, and Jeffrey Epstein have become very divisive with MAGA personalities establishing battle lines between themselves along those issues. Moreover, cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump has significantly diverged from MAGA orthodoxy, causing some MAGA supporters to reconsider Trump's leadership of the movement. Trump's cognitive decline and likely health issues, along with his detachment from the MAGA agenda, have resulted in Trump being weaker than he has ever been. The result is that ambitious Republicans are preparing for the succession battle ahead.

One of the first major MAGA personalities to openly split with Trump, at least on some issues, was Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. Greene has undergone a remarkable transformation since entering Congress in 2021. At the time of her election, Greene was widely considered to be the first QAnon member of Congress. She was lampooned as a critic of "Jewish space lasers" after she questioned whether the Rothschilds might be starting California's wildfires with space-based lasers. She remains to this day convinced that intentional modification of the weather is responsible for many of the natural disasters that have struck the country. As a result of the many wacky conspiracy theories in which she believed, Greene was stripped of her committee assignments during her first term.

I was planning to write today about the fight that has erupted between Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump. However, while researching the topic, I realized that this is simply a battle in a larger war. Since beginning his second term, Trump has deviated sharply from MAGA orthodoxy and, in the process, provoked ruptures within the MAGA movement. We may be at a critical juncture in which MAGA adherents will reveal whether MAGA is nothing more than a cult of personality loyal to Trump or an authentic political movement based on principles. What we have seen over the past few days is that MAGA personalities are, for the most part, not yet willing to completely abandon Trump. However, Trump appears to have come to the realization that the MAGA movement does not entirely consist of blind followers of his lead and, therefore, he cannot completely abandon fundamental MAGA doctrine. The result is a movement embroiled in conflict.

Back in June, Zohran Mamdani created a bit of a shock when he won the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Mamdani's leading opponent, former governor Andrew Cuomo, had run on what might be described as a conventional centrist Democratic platform, emphasizing plans to reduce crime and support the police while promoting his experience as a political leader. Mamdani, on the other hand, narrowly focused on affordability. Almost his entire platform dealt with ways to make living in the city cheaper and more affordable. The potency of affordability as a campaign issue should not have been that much of a surprise. Even cult leader, convicted felon, and failed President Donald Trump had campaigned heavily on the issue. Who can forget how important the price of eggs had been to Trump's campaign? Yet, observers, especially among centrist Democrats, were more likely to attribute Trump's victory to Democratic support for transgender rights than to affordability. Mamdani's victory reawakened Democrats to the importance of affordability as a political issue.