The United States of America now seems to have officially become a banana republic. That's really the only conclusion one can draw, after the events of the past week (and the past eight months, for good measure).

The president is now openly using the Department of Justice as his own private law firm and police force. They will go after anyone Trump doesn't like, for whatever reason. Donald Trump gave a speech at the United Nations reminiscent of the days of Fidel Castro, where he spent most of the time patting himself on the back. He also told all the other nations on the planet that they were going to Hell. It was so bad one foreign diplomat texted a Washington Post reporter: "This man is stark, raving mad. Do Americans not see how embarrassing this is?"

Well, some of us do. Others, not so much. Over on the right, they were decrying the conspiracy of "sabotage" at the U.N., after Trump's escalator and TelePrompTer malfunctioned. On Fox News, this was called "an insurrection" that demanded a stern response: "What we need to do is either leave the U.N. or we need to bomb it." Which, of course is a very banana republic sort of thing to say.

The brightest news of the week came when a giant media company actually stood up to the Dear Leader and put a late-night comedian back on the airwaves. But the fact that the federal government used mob-boss tactics to have him initially suspended was exactly the sort of thing you'd expect in a country run by a thin-skinned autocrat.

Trump wants to dictate who is allowed on television and what they are allowed to say. If journalists report bad stories about him, "that's really illegal," as far as Trump is concerned. The Pentagon is now attempting to force journalists who work there to sign a loyalty pledge that they won't report on anything except what they are told to report on. Press credentials will be revoked for anyone who gathers any information -- even unclassified -- that isn't contained in a press release. They've already brought back the name "War Department," so we're just a short step away from them granting the title of "generalissimo" to Trump, really. Because that's the sort of thing banana republics do.

Remember when Trump attempted to "solve" the COVID pandemic by just halting all testing? As far as he was concerned, the problem was the news was reporting the numbers (of people infected and people who had died), which were making him look bad (after he began the crisis insisting that the numbers would go to "zero" very quickly). So the answer was obvious -- no testing, no numbers. Problem solved!

Trump didn't succeed in this tactic, back then. But he learned his lesson. The U.S.D.A. has now been ordered to cease publishing their data on hunger in America -- just before all the massive cuts to food stamps passed in the Republicans' big ugly bill start to make everything worse. Because if there's no numbers, then there's no problem, right?

The E.P.A. is ordering its scientists to stop publishing research. Tulsi Gabbard has halted the publication of the "Global Trends" intelligence assessment, since it had the temerity to actually mention climate change as a threat to this country. National parks are removing signs about climate change, slavery, and Japanese detention. They also dismantled a peace vigil across the street from the White House which has existed for decades -- because Trump didn't like it. The Smithsonian museums are also pulling exhibits on slavery.

The State Department is now going to comb through every visa holder's social media, to see whether they said anything bad about Charlie Kirk (a private citizen, not even a member of the government). Anyone who has said anything bad will have their visas cancelled. Meanwhile, the D.E.A. wants to bomb Mexico.

The Department of Justice halted an investigation into Tom Homan -- Trump's "border czar" -- even though he was caught on audio tape accepting a bag with a $50,000 cash bribe in it from an undercover agent. Instead, Trump is leaning hard on the department to go after his enemies. This led to a prosecutor being ousted and one of Trump's personal lawyers being installed, who immediately indicted James Comey. Trump was delighted by all this and is darkly warning that Comey is just the first -- there will be others. He's now threatening big Democratic donors with prosecution for racketeering and terrorism.

This week, a writer who fled Russia to protect his family wrote an article titled: "This Is The Feeling Of Losing A Country. I Know It Well," which contained the best comment we have seen in a while: "President Trump is remaking the country in his image: crude, harsh, gratuitously mean."

The Washington Post reported this week that the head of FEMA was completely incommunicado for the first 24 hours of the recent flooding in Texas, which contributed to a 72-hour delay in getting search and rescue teams on the ground. He was apparently on a vacation with his family. Despite having "top security clearance phones from the White House," he was completely out of touch as the disaster unfolded. The White House had what can only be called an Orwellian response to criticism for this dereliction of duty:

Many in the federal government including Acting [FEMA] Administrator [David] Richardson have loving families to attend to and to take care of, President [Donald] Trump and [Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem included. This administration fully supports families of public servants and appreciates the commitment and sacrifice it takes to serve America. Having a family does not diminish anyone's ability to serve their country, rather it enhances it.

Tell that to the flood victims.

Meanwhile, Trump announced that in his expert medical opinion, pregnant women should stop taking Tylenol. Well, at first he tried to tell them to stop taking acetaminophen, but he couldn't manage to pronounce it (this is at a news conference specifically called to discuss the matter -- it wasn't like some reporter surprised him with the subject or anything). Our Dear Leader had wise words of counsel for everyone while making this announcement: "Nothing bad can happen. It can only good happen. But with Tylenol, don't take it. Don't take it!" If Joe Biden or Barack Obama or any other Democrat under the sun had said: "It can only good happen," it would be the top story on Fox News for weeks on end. But because we are a banana republic now, nobody even blinks at Trump mangling the English language.

A statue appeared on the National Mall this week, part of a series by an anonymous artist (or artists). It was a statue of Donald Trump holding hands with a statue of Jeffrey Epstein. The art installation had a permit, but the park service tore it down in the dead of night (destroying the statues in the process), obviously because the Dear Leader didn't like it.

Pete Hegseth has called a gigantic meeting of all top generals and admirals, but nobody really knows why. Will he demand a loyalty oath from them, and fire the ones that don't swear fealty to the Dear Leader? At this point, that seems eminently possible.

This is all just one week's worth of news, and it doesn't even cover everything that is happening (just the low points). At this point, we only have one thing to say to sum it all up: pass us a banana.

Jimmy Kimmel certainly deserves some sort of award, but seeing as how he is an entertainer there'll be other awards for him from his own industry, one imagines. Over 400 Hollywood stars signed a letter from the A.C.L.U. supporting Jimmy, so at this point it seems inevitable that he'll get at least an Emmy out of it.

Kimmel's return to ABC this Tuesday was beyond impressive, though. He didn't back down one inch, and will not be "toned down," as many had feared. His entire monologue is well worth watching, if you haven't already, or you can read the transcript of what Kimmel had to say. Today, the two holdout conglomerates of affiliates followed ABC's lead and will be returning Kimmel's show to the airwaves on the local stations they own.

Donald Trump responded in predictable fashion, by issuing blunt threats towards ABC. Because of course he did.

South Park also deserves some credit, for also returning to the airwaves without backing down one inch. Political comedy is a crucial part of free speech, so it is worth celebrating that some are still taking advantage of the First Amendment (while it still exists).

One other impressive effort worth mentioning that is not eligible for this award is the group "Home of the Brave" (which includes prominent anti-Trump Republicans such as George Conway and former federal judge J. Michael Luttig), which is now airing an ad with "the manosphere" as its target. It consists of podcast heavyweights sounding off on Trump's attacks on free speech and the Jimmy Kimmel situation. It quotes Joe Rogan saying: "I definitely don't think that the government should be involved, ever, in dictating what a comedian can or cannot say.... That's fucking crazy." The ad will run on YouTube channels that skew male, such as football games.

But this award is for Democrats, so let's take a look at which of them were impressive this week.

California Governor Gavin Newsom continues to mercilessly troll Trump and his minions, after making an appearance on Stephen Colbert's late-night show that virtually nobody watched (because it happened to fall on the same day Kimmel returned). His best social media posts of the week included taunting Tom Homan after signing a new California law which bans all police officers (of any kind) from wearing masks while doing their duties. Homan responded "Good luck with that," to which Newsom replied: "What if we give you another $50,000 in a paper bag?"

But Newsom's best quip of the week came after Trump's disastrous U.N. visit, which Newsom reacted to by posting (using Trump's own signature style):

DOZY DON WAS DEFEATED BY THE ESCALATOR, POOR GUY! THE ENTIRE WORLD IS LAUGHING AT THE LOW IQ "PRESIDENT." NEXT STOP: THE BEST ROOM AT MEMORY MEADOWS RETIREMENT RESORT. TYLENOL INCLUDED. ENJOY YOUR STAY, DON! -- GCN.

Next week we're all going to be consumed with the government shutdown showdown, and for once it actually appears Democrats are winning the battle for hearts and minds (otherwise known as "the blame game"). They are actively running ads hammering Republicans on healthcare and tariffs, while the GOP seems splintered and unsure of what message to use. Also, Republicans have a battle brewing in their own ranks over the healthcare issue, as the anti-abortion faction flexes its political muscles.

But that'll be next week's news. This week, the Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week was Adelita Grijalva, who won a special election in Arizona to fill the seat left open by the death, earlier this year, of her father Raúl.

It was a pretty safe Democratic seat, so her victory wasn't really the most impressive thing. The House is not currently in session, but when it returns next month, Grijalva will be sworn in. She has promised that on her first day she will sign the discharge petition to force a vote on the measure that will force the Department of Justice to release all their remaining Epstein files within 30 days. And hers will be the 218th signature on the petition, which will hopefully mean that sometime next month the House will be forced to vote on the measure.

For being the pivotal signature, and for winning her dad's House seat, Adelita Grijalva is this week's Most Impressive Democrat Of The Week.

[Unfortunately, because she has not been sworn in as of this writing, Representative-Elect Adelita Grijalva does not yet have an official contact page at the House of Representatives site (there is just a placeholder page that shows the office is vacant), so you'll have to wait until the House returns to contact her to let her know you appreciate her efforts.]

We're happy to report that no Democrats disappointed us in a major way this week, so we're going to put the Most Disappointing Democrat Of The Week award back on the shelf, for now.

Volume 814 (9/26/25)

We begin this week with a few comments both from and about Jimmy Fallon. Then the next few talking points deal with how Trump is ruining the economy, and we close on the talking point of the week -- for next week, when the government shutdown fight will happen.

   Dangerously un-American

Our first two talking points are from Jimmy Kimmel. On his first night back, Kimmel issued a warning about the seriousness of what had happened to him and the dangers of allowing such things to happen in this country.

But I don't want to make this about me, because -- and I know this is what people say when they make things about them, but I really don't -- this show, this show is not important. What is important is that we get to live in a country that allows us to have a show like this.

I've had the opportunity to meet and spend time with comedians and talk show hosts from countries like Russia, countries in the Middle East, who tell me they would get thrown in prison for making fun of those in power. And worse than being thrown in prison. They know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country.

And that's something I'm embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American and it is so dangerous.

   Call him what he is

On his second night back, Kimmel had a few jokes about Donald Trump -- as he almost always does -- and he called Trump exactly what he is.

I talk about Trump more than anything because he's a bully. I don't like bullies. I played the clarinet in high school, OK? So I just don't like him. Donald Trump is an old-fashioned '80s-movie-style bully, taking your lunch money -- and if you give it to him once, he'll take it again. Two things he loves, lunch and money.

   Stand up to the bully!

Which leaves us with a pretty obvious conclusion.

"The best way to defeat a bully is to stand up to him and to laugh at him. Bullies hate that. Bullies are incredibly insecure people, and they can't stand it when people laugh at them. The most effective way to deal with Trump is the way that Jimmy Kimmel and the show South Park are doing -- ridicule him, since Trump is such a ridiculous person. And when Trump tries to silence the voices of people like Kimmel, the rest of us need to stand up and show our support for them too. And because people did so, Disney backed down. After seeing their stock take a big hit and seeing a wave of cancellations of their streaming service, Disney decided that it would be better for their company if they did the right thing. Which they did, to their credit. Because when someone stands up to a bully and laughs in his face, the rest of us need to stand behind them and cheer them on."

   Trump is hurting farmers

We're going to turn now to the economy, since this is truly Trump's weakest point. Democrats should be hammering Trump on the economy every single day, in fact, from now until the midterm elections.

"Donald Trump's trade war is hurting farmers. China stopped buying soybeans from American farmers due to Trump's tariffs, which has been devastating for soybean farmers. And it's not just the tariffs, either. Trump's crackdown on immigration is beginning to be a deep problem for farmers as well, since there's going to be no workforce ready to harvest the crops. Dairy farmers are being forced to sell off all their cows, because they don't have enough workers to milk them. Even Trump has realized that he's probably going to need to do some sort of bailout for the farmers, which would have been completely unnecessary without Trump's trade war. If you want to know the impact of Trump's tariff tantrums, go ask a farmer -- they'll give you an earful."

   Inflation hurting everyone

This one is easy, because people already feel it, every trip to the store.

"Consumers are getting hit hard by Trump wrecking the economy too. I don't have to explain that, since all of you know it every time you get the sticker shock at the grocery store checkout. Ground beef is up 13 percent. Eggs cost 11 percent more than they did last year. Coffee prices are through the roof. The only thing that has come down is consumer confidence. Rent is more expensive, electricity is more expensive, and pretty much everything Trump does just makes it all worse. So what did he do this week? Slapped a huge tariff on prescription drugs. That's going to make all your prescription costs go through the roof. You know, I've talked to a lot of Trump voters and none of them have told me that this is what they voted for -- they thought Trump was going to fix things, not make everything worse."

   Longterm unemployment spiking

The labor market is rough these days, too.

"The numbers of unemployed workers who have been out of work for half a year or more is spiking dramatically. In fact, it is hitting post-pandemic highs, with 1.9 million Americans out of work for six months or more in August. That's double what it was in 2023, folks. As any parent of a recent college graduate already knows, the job market is pretty brutal. And that's before artificial intelligence wipes out whole sectors of jobs Americans do."

   Republican healthcare crisis

This seems to be the official Democratic talking point for next week, so we thought we'd highlight it here at the end.

"Republicans are willing to shut the government down rather than hold negotiations with Democrats. So what are Democrats asking for? It's simple. We want to avert a crisis. As things stand, we're all heading straight for a Republican healthcare crisis in this country. At the start of next year, insurance subsidies will be slashed, which will hike Americans' health insurance costs by 75 percent or even more. Then the Republican Medicaid cuts are going to take place, which is going to cause rural hospitals to close all over America. Not only will rural residents have to pay a lot more for insurance, but when they need to use it they'll have to drive hours just to get to a hospital. But you know what? This is all an avoidable crisis. We don't have to suffer through the Republican healthcare crisis at all! And that is precisely what Democrats are asking for in the budget negotiations. Because we will fight hard to stop Trump and his Republicans from causing a healthcare crisis that doesn't need to happen."

-- Chris Weigant

Follow Chris on Twitter: @ChrisWeigant

Cross-posted at: Democratic Underground