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Perhaps it was because the week ends on Friday the 13th, but whatever the real reason was, Donald Trump didn't have a great week this week. Which, of course, is good news for everyone else! There was actually a lot of good news in the political world this week -- so much that we're not even going to bother with the other news that wasn't so good.
The freedom of speech in America just got two big confirmations from the judicial system, which is good news for everyone who cherishes their constitutional rights. Both of these were related, since they both stemmed from the same cause: the video that six members of Congress (all of whom had previously served either in the military or for the nation's intelligence services) released last year informing serving military members that it was their right and their duty to refuse to follow illegal orders. This is the indeed the law (in the Uniform Code of Military Justice), and all the members of Congress did was to reiterate what the law says.
Today Donald Trump proved yet again that he is nothing short of a stone-cold racist. He reposted a message on social media that depicted Barack and Michelle Obama as apes. That's really all you need to know about it, other than the fact that (for once) it was so unbelievably offensive that, hours later, it was deleted. The White House blamed an unnamed "staffer," to which Black voters everywhere responded: "Yeah, right." Trump's hatred for the Obamas is well-known, of course, but even some Republicans complained at this latest racist outrage from Trump.
We're going to begin today with a prediction that is completely unrelated to what happened last week. Because next Friday the 2026 Winter Olympics will begin. Our prediction: the U.S.A. is going to get booed. Loudly. It'll probably be most noticeable during the opening ceremonies, but will likely sporadically pop up throughout the games. Perhaps this is why Donald Trump decided to skip the whole thing and send JD Vance in his place? Maybe Vance -- who is not as well-known worldwide -- won't get booed as loudly as the catcalls would have been if Trump had been there?
Today marks the end of the first year of Donald Trump's second term in office. One down, three to go.
Looking back, the most notable thing about Trump's first year back was how he has thrown himself fully into the Silicon Valley maxim to "move fast and break things." Trump has indeed moved fast, and he has indeed broken many things -- some of which will take a very long time to put back together and some of which may just stay broken forever.
Welcome back to the second of our year-end awards columns! And if you missed it last Friday, go check out [Part 1] as well.
This article is mind-bendingly long enough, so we're not going to bother with any other introductory words at all. Instead, let's just get right to the awards, shall we?
It seems that James Carville has seen the light, and as a result he's now channelling his inner Bernie Sanders. In an opinion piece in today's New York Times, Carville calls on Democrats to focus on what he calls "good old-fashioned economic populism, both in message and measure." In some ways, this is Carville circling back to an earlier time for him, since he was the one who came up with the slogan: "It's the economy, stupid" during Bill Clinton's first successful presidential campaign. You might call it Carville's "It's still the economy, stupid" moment.
So, let's review, shall we? Last weekend, seven million Americans took to the streets to protest Donald Trump, in the biggest political protest this country has ever seen. The theme of the protest was: "No Kings!" So this week, Trump responded by acting in what can only be described as kingly fashion, in as many ways as he could dream up -- including a rushed demolition of one-third of the White House, without consulting anyone or even attempting to get anyone's permission. He sent the demolition crews in, and within a few days the entire East Wing was nothing more than a pile of rubble. All because a royal decree had been issued.
Tomorrow could be the biggest day of mass protest America has ever experienced. The "No Kings" rallies planned for Saturday could, collectively, add up to more than the five million who turned out earlier this year for the same reason: to protest that America was founded on the idea that we do not want to be ruled by a king who holds himself above the law, but instead by laws that all people -- even the country's highest leaders -- have to follow. That's a pretty basic premise, really. And the organizers of the rallies have reportedly gotten a much larger signup than occurred at their earlier rally, so the signs are pointing to tomorrow breaking records as well. There will be over 2,500 locations of these rallies across all 50 states, so go to their site and check out where the closest one to you is!
On the National Mall, with the United States Capitol as a backdrop, democracy is dying. Or... well... melting, to be more pedantic and less poetic. A brilliant art installation funded by Ben Cohen (of "Ben and Jerry's" fame) was erected this morning and unveiled at noon, consisting of an ice sculpture spelling out "DEMOCRACY" in capital letters five feet high. They lucked out on the day chosen, since it is reportedly a sunny 70 degrees in Washington today, which means the sculpture is not going to last very much longer (there's a live feed of it available, which at roughly 5:00 P.M. Washington time had been reduced to the "D", the first "C", and the "Y", with a portion of the second "C" and nubs of a few other letters still hanging on). The message is as simple as it is brilliant: Democracy is melting away before our very eyes. Or, to rework the now-laughable banner slogan of the once-vaunted Washington Post: "DEMOCRACY" dies in broad daylight.