And you did not even mention any of the lawyers he has gone through except for Jeff Sessions, which is a very long list…. Anyone works with Trump at their own peril, and without a net…
The only time the military isn't majority moron is when there's a national emergency and the Proud Fuckin' Civilians who want nothing to do with a military career who got drafted see the only way they get out is to go kick whichever ass needs kicking - which they do "toute suite". When the military is "all volunteer," that element isn't there and it becomes the career of choice for those without alternatives. (I say the above as both a veteran and a military historian)
Have to disagree about the military vote. There is always a faction who joined the military to do just what the former president is advocating. They are not the majority, but like other of these idiots, they are loud.
I keep thinking of how Tim Scott, Elise Stefanik and JD Vance are in a contest to see who can debase themselves the most so Trump will pick them as vice president, yet Trump was totally okay with people calling for his last vice president to be hanged!
The really amazing thing about what Chris has written here is that there are STILL people lining up to board the Trump train. If Donald J Trump and his Party want the RNC to raise more money, where on EARTH is it supposed to come from? Trump bleeds the base and the RNC coffers dry for his legal expenses and then blames Ronna “Romney” McDaniel that there is not more cash? Mr. And Mrs. MAGA have stretched their social security checks to the limit already, and Trump is not likely to get any new megadonors. If the Party wants to have any money left to help candidates other than Trump in 2024, then they had better come up with a way to tell him that his legal gravy train is over. And find a way to get Republican voters to send donations to them instead of directly into the bottomless pit that is Donald J Trump’s legal defense fund. Pity the next head of the RNC. It will be a grueling, thankless, and ultimately humiliating task.
I heard that the co-chair takes Ronna’s place if she leaves and he’s indicated he’s not stepping aside for the election denier Trump wants to install. I hope that’s all true for the minor kerfuffle value.
Another great piece, Chris. Loved the analogy, too. It just amazes me the hold that Trump has on everyone, until he doesn’t. It’s all transactional, yet they still clamor to work for him. I could be offered an insane amount of money to work for him and would run the other way. He’s despicable.
Great article! It's yet another thing Dems have never understood about the loyalty to Trump. It's a short term bargain with the devli that you will ALWAYS lose. And I absolutely love your comparison with taking a 2 year old to dinner! Perfect analogy!!
Trump's test for his inner circle: Will they willingly mix the Kool-Aid when he gives the order? He realizes now he had too many on his team in the first administration who would not do that.
Great piece, Chris! For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would hitch their wagon to his “star.” I am in a constant quandary as to why he, who is only a candidate at this point, bullies the House and Senate re : passing aid bills for Ukraine and Israel and ordering them to sink the border package. Even more egregious, is that they listen to this megalomaniac!
Can’t wait to see what kind of spell he casts over the Supreme Court next!
This clown is being afforded too many loop-holes and it is time to put a stop to it!
"I do not get it. Do you?" No, but I'll give it my best shot (adapted from a comment I dropped to your colleague JVL):
Don't want to go too far out on the conspiracy theory limb but, in the absence of any other rational explanation, might it just be attributable, at least in part, to DIRT -- and who holds it?
Rove was a master (and he somehow managed to get the contract to set up the House internal email system!). Bill Barr's DOJ raided all of Epstein's cubbyholes before the corpse was cold. Where did all that "useful" information wind up? Then you've got Putin himself and his KGB/FSB. My guess is a fair amount of it ended up with Trump.
Isn't it just maybe possible that these terrified, Trump-fearing Republicans are being held in line by blackmail? As Al Franken found out, there's always a photo, always a note somewhere. And these careers go back decades, long before MeToo and the "cleaning up" of lifestyles. Trump has had uncanny "immunity" but the rest of them, from Lindsay Graham on down, probably live in a state of constant fear.
Then there's always the fools who believe the serial monogamist who coos to them "You're the ONE."
"What truly amazes me is not that Trump is who he is (we KNOW who he is!) but rather that people keep convincing themselves that they are unique."
I have zero sympathy for these people, as they know exactly what kind of bargain they are striking and with whom. Read Faust; he knew exactly what bargain he was striking with Mephistopheles, yet Faust was willing to sell his eternal damnation for short-term glory and riches.
McDaniels is just the latest Faustonian example of being seduced by the short-term illusion of power & prestige. Clear-eyed, she was/is more than willing to pay the last full measure of devotion when Trump came to collect.
It helped Ronna M that she was running against the MyPillow Guy...haha.
Historians will grapple with the way that the Trump appointees lined up like lemmings..groveling as they got in that line..knowing that the cliff awaited. Astounding.
You are so right about the historians. I spent all my history classes wondering how the German population actually rationalized systematically KILLING people. I mean, wtf?! I realize this isn't the same extreme as that, but I still don't understand what folks think and how they get there in these mass cult following situations.
It's power and money, Chris. Plus, these goofballs have become interchangeable, like actors in a comic universe. All of it is performative, with the last thoughts going to the needs of a nation, if at all. Newt Gingrich’s vision is playing out, and a political party now stands opposed to democracy. That's where the money is.
And you did not even mention any of the lawyers he has gone through except for Jeff Sessions, which is a very long list…. Anyone works with Trump at their own peril, and without a net…
Everything Trump touches dies
Yep!
And note his use of "I". ""I" knocked out ISIS. "I" defeated ISIS.........."I" did it in a period of like four weeks." As always, it's all about him.
He completely dismisses what the military did. And even more ironically, he will still likely get an overwhelming majority of the military vote.
I noticed that too.
The only time the military isn't majority moron is when there's a national emergency and the Proud Fuckin' Civilians who want nothing to do with a military career who got drafted see the only way they get out is to go kick whichever ass needs kicking - which they do "toute suite". When the military is "all volunteer," that element isn't there and it becomes the career of choice for those without alternatives. (I say the above as both a veteran and a military historian)
The suckers and losers didn’t do it. Donnie Rambo did.
Have to disagree about the military vote. There is always a faction who joined the military to do just what the former president is advocating. They are not the majority, but like other of these idiots, they are loud.
With each of your essays I keep thinking you cannot outdo yourself but you keep proving me wrong!
Ha! That is VERY kind.
You're really finding your "inner journalist" with this Substack, Chris. You're doing work you would never have been allowed to at CNN. Their loss.
MAGA joke (maybe coined by Steve Bannon)…Q: “What do you call a Republican who supports Trump 99% of the time?” A: “Traitor!”
Perfect!
Thank you for writing this, Chris.
I keep thinking of how Tim Scott, Elise Stefanik and JD Vance are in a contest to see who can debase themselves the most so Trump will pick them as vice president, yet Trump was totally okay with people calling for his last vice president to be hanged!
You also forgot a funny one, Mo Brooks:
https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-mo-brooks-richard-shelby-donald-trump-congress-b3f811f42a898cba6d903b25287b53b3
The really amazing thing about what Chris has written here is that there are STILL people lining up to board the Trump train. If Donald J Trump and his Party want the RNC to raise more money, where on EARTH is it supposed to come from? Trump bleeds the base and the RNC coffers dry for his legal expenses and then blames Ronna “Romney” McDaniel that there is not more cash? Mr. And Mrs. MAGA have stretched their social security checks to the limit already, and Trump is not likely to get any new megadonors. If the Party wants to have any money left to help candidates other than Trump in 2024, then they had better come up with a way to tell him that his legal gravy train is over. And find a way to get Republican voters to send donations to them instead of directly into the bottomless pit that is Donald J Trump’s legal defense fund. Pity the next head of the RNC. It will be a grueling, thankless, and ultimately humiliating task.
Yes! That's what amazes me too!
I heard that the co-chair takes Ronna’s place if she leaves and he’s indicated he’s not stepping aside for the election denier Trump wants to install. I hope that’s all true for the minor kerfuffle value.
Another great piece, Chris. Loved the analogy, too. It just amazes me the hold that Trump has on everyone, until he doesn’t. It’s all transactional, yet they still clamor to work for him. I could be offered an insane amount of money to work for him and would run the other way. He’s despicable.
Great article! It's yet another thing Dems have never understood about the loyalty to Trump. It's a short term bargain with the devli that you will ALWAYS lose. And I absolutely love your comparison with taking a 2 year old to dinner! Perfect analogy!!
Trump's test for his inner circle: Will they willingly mix the Kool-Aid when he gives the order? He realizes now he had too many on his team in the first administration who would not do that.
Great piece, Chris! For the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would hitch their wagon to his “star.” I am in a constant quandary as to why he, who is only a candidate at this point, bullies the House and Senate re : passing aid bills for Ukraine and Israel and ordering them to sink the border package. Even more egregious, is that they listen to this megalomaniac!
Can’t wait to see what kind of spell he casts over the Supreme Court next!
This clown is being afforded too many loop-holes and it is time to put a stop to it!
"I do not get it. Do you?" No, but I'll give it my best shot (adapted from a comment I dropped to your colleague JVL):
Don't want to go too far out on the conspiracy theory limb but, in the absence of any other rational explanation, might it just be attributable, at least in part, to DIRT -- and who holds it?
Rove was a master (and he somehow managed to get the contract to set up the House internal email system!). Bill Barr's DOJ raided all of Epstein's cubbyholes before the corpse was cold. Where did all that "useful" information wind up? Then you've got Putin himself and his KGB/FSB. My guess is a fair amount of it ended up with Trump.
Isn't it just maybe possible that these terrified, Trump-fearing Republicans are being held in line by blackmail? As Al Franken found out, there's always a photo, always a note somewhere. And these careers go back decades, long before MeToo and the "cleaning up" of lifestyles. Trump has had uncanny "immunity" but the rest of them, from Lindsay Graham on down, probably live in a state of constant fear.
Then there's always the fools who believe the serial monogamist who coos to them "You're the ONE."
Very good point! Putin almost certainly has dirt on tRump, which explains his subservience to the tyrant.
Kevin McCarthy
Tom Emmer
Mike Johnson - you're next
"What truly amazes me is not that Trump is who he is (we KNOW who he is!) but rather that people keep convincing themselves that they are unique."
I have zero sympathy for these people, as they know exactly what kind of bargain they are striking and with whom. Read Faust; he knew exactly what bargain he was striking with Mephistopheles, yet Faust was willing to sell his eternal damnation for short-term glory and riches.
McDaniels is just the latest Faustonian example of being seduced by the short-term illusion of power & prestige. Clear-eyed, she was/is more than willing to pay the last full measure of devotion when Trump came to collect.
Fear. It’s fear. He’s a mob boss.
It helped Ronna M that she was running against the MyPillow Guy...haha.
Historians will grapple with the way that the Trump appointees lined up like lemmings..groveling as they got in that line..knowing that the cliff awaited. Astounding.
You are so right about the historians. I spent all my history classes wondering how the German population actually rationalized systematically KILLING people. I mean, wtf?! I realize this isn't the same extreme as that, but I still don't understand what folks think and how they get there in these mass cult following situations.
It's power and money, Chris. Plus, these goofballs have become interchangeable, like actors in a comic universe. All of it is performative, with the last thoughts going to the needs of a nation, if at all. Newt Gingrich’s vision is playing out, and a political party now stands opposed to democracy. That's where the money is.