An estimated 7 million Americans came out on Saturday to peacefully protest against the disintegration of our democracy of checks and balances into a Trump-led autocracy rife with fraud but lacking in civil rights.
Trump's response? An AI video of itself wearing a crown in a fighter plane and dumping what looks like feces on these protesters. In a later interview, he called the No Kings protesters “split off” and “not representative of this country.”
I'm starting to fear he's right. What if a majority of Americans actually think this kind of behavior by our president or anyone else is acceptable? Even funny? A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that 81% of Republicans approve of how Trump is doing his job. Seriously, the vast majority of Republicans are completely fine with Trump's policies and behavior.
According to MAGA, non-MAGA people are too nervous these days.
Vice Troll J.D. Vance has become a tireless force, not only defending the most vile and cruel patterns of behavior, but also glorifying them. House Speaker Mike Johnson has turned the spineless and feeble excuse for such behavior into an art form.
Everything you need to know about the future of the Republican Party lies between these two approaches: ego destruction and Trump's mendacity. He will stop at nothing to humiliate and dehumanize any opposition, openly admitting that he dreams of burying even those who peacefully object in excrement.
Even singer Kenny Loggins isn't safe. His “Top Gun” Became a Danger Zone Hit was used in the video. When he countered with a message of unity, saying, “Too many people are trying to tear us apart, and we need to find new ways to come together. We are all Americans, and we are all patriots. There is no 'us and them,'” the White House responded… dismissive memeapparently the new norm in responding to criticism.
It may seem obvious, even outdated, that the current administration lacks accountability. But the use of memes and AI videos as communication tools devoid of truth and consequences adds a new layer of danger to disconnection.
This lack of answers not only removes reality from the equation, but also removes the need for a real answer, creating a ruling class that feels no obligation to explain or defend its actions to the governed.
Last week, Politico published an article detailing racist, misogynistic and hateful back and forth. the official, party-sanctioned Young Republicans group. Since most of our current politicians are part of the gerontocracy, these youth are relative – they are adults in their 20s and 30s – and they are considered the next generation of party leaders in a party that is already so skewed to the right that it protects the secret police.
Here's a sample.
Bobby Walker, former vice chairman of the New York State Young Republicans, called the rapes “epic,” Politico reported.
Another chat participant called black Americans “watermelon people.”
“Great. I love Hitler,” another wrote when told delegates would vote for the most far-right candidate.
There was also “humor” about the gas chamber, and one blunt: “I'm ready to watch people burn now,” from the woman in the conversation, Anne KayKathy, a member of the national committee of the Young Republicans of New York. according to Hill.
Members of the group insulted South Asians, another popular target of the far right these days. There's a whole wave of racism dedicated to the idea that Indians smell bad, in case you weren't aware.
Speaking of a woman who was mistaken for being South Asian, one of the group's members, Vermont State Senator Samuel Douglas, wrote: “She just didn't wash often.”
While some members of the Republican Party condemned the comments, albeit half-heartedly, others, including Vance, went on the attack. Vance, whose wife is Indian, says everyone makes a big deal out of nothing.
“But the reality is that kids do stupid things. Especially little boys, they tell harsh, offensive jokes. Like, that's what kids do,” Vance said. “And I really don’t want us to grow up in a country where a child telling a stupid joke — telling a really hurtful, stupid joke — causes their life to be ruined.”
Not to be outdone, Johnson responded to the jet video by somehow implying that it had a higher meaning.
“The president used social media to get his point across,” Johnson said, calling it “satire.”
Satire is intended to confuse and humiliate, to evoke the unjustified through humor. I'll buy the first part. Trump wanted to embarrass and humiliate. But protesting is certainly not justifiable, and weaponizing feces as a way to humiliate No Kings members so Trump doesn't have to respond to their anger is no different than humiliating black people and women in this group chat.
The 7 million Americans who demonstrated on Saturday simply don't matter to Trump or the Republicans. Not their healthcare, not their ability to pay their bills, not their concern that the country they love is turning into a country where their leader literally shows he can defecate on them.
But not everyone can be a king.
While young Republicans believe they share their leader's immunity, it turns out they don't. This Vermont State Senator? He resigned after being pressured by the Republican governor.
The 7 million Americans angry at Trump may not be able to convince him to change his ways, but enough angry Vermont voters can force change in their corner of the country.
That's why the only thing Trump fears is the midterm elections, when voters will be able to shape our own little corners of America – and, by extension, whether Trump can continue to use his throne.
