Trump Marathon - Atlantic Ocean

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In the nearly three weeks since his presidential election victory, Donald Trump has more or less been nominated for Cabinet positions. And he and his representatives issued a lively announcement. The president-elect and his team spent much of November baiting and fooling opponents while also throwing red meat at MAGA believers (Trump, for example, appointed Elon Musk and Vivek Ra Maswamy is a non-existent “Ministry of Government Efficiency”. It’s an office whose abbreviation is a prank. crypto currency.) And although some of Trump’s nominees are relatively reasonable choices, But in the past few days Trump has brought out a number of unqualified and dangerous options. reiterated his grand plans for his first day in office; and Promised to punish his enemies

We’ve seen this before. As I warned last April that Stunning his opponent with too much fury to deal with them is a classic Trump tactic:

With the number of people overwhelmed by his vulgar and vulgar antics, Trump and his team are trying to burn off the part of the brain that can distinguish fact from fiction, right from wrong, good from evil… Trump isn’t worried that All of this will cause the electorate to have a mental meltdown: he counting Up there, he wants the general public to be so immersed in moral chaos and intellectually paralyzed that they cannot fathom the disaster that would occur if he returned to the White House.

However, both voters and members of the U.S. Senate You shouldn’t be in this situation. Professor Timothy Snyder of Yale University It is written that the most important way to resist increasing authoritarian regimes is not to “Obey in advance”—That is, changing our behavior in ways that we think might align with the needs of the new parent group. That’s good advice. But I might add a corollary here: people shouldn’t panic and fatigue in advance either.

In practice, this means prioritizing. My responsibility is to maintain democracy and national security. and conserving mental energy and political effort to focus on those issues and Trump’s plans for them. It’s also important to remember that Trump will not take office for another two months. (Such an oath was not important to him. But he cannot seize the machinery of government without it) If citizens and their representatives respond to every moment of rotation in the coming weeks, They will be exhausted on Inauguration Day.

Trump will now dominate the news cycle almost every day with a new smoke bomb intended to distract from his efforts to stockpile the government with bizarre hordes of demagogues. Opportunist and has its own style revolutionary– He will present plans that he has no real hope of quickly coming to fruition. At the same time, he tries to create an aura of inevitability and omnipotence around him. (For example: His vow to begin mass deportations on his first day It is logistically impossible except by mass He meant “a little more than normal.” He might start planning something on the first day. But he still doesn’t have the means to carry out a large-scale operation. And it would be some time before he had to find a way to deport many of the people who had been summoned to deportation.)

Efforts to make Trump politically unstoppable Kaiju It’s nonsense, as the unfortunate Matt Gaetz recently discovered. For Trump’s bullying and slander. Gaetz’s nomination bid ended in a matter of days. Trump’s other two nominees include Pete Hegseth for secretary of defense and Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence. Many others may face similar problems. Republican start to express doubt about them

Take, for example, Senator James Risch, a hardline conservative from deep red Idaho and the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Refusing over the weekend to offer the ritual support for Hegseth and Gabbard that Trump expected from the GOP, “ask me that question again after the hearing,” Rich said. say On Saturday, “these presidential appointments are limited by the advice and consent of the Senate. The Senate takes that matter very seriously. And we checked these things.”

What Risch seemed to say At least I hope it’s all fun and games until national security gets involved. Then people need to get serious about what’s at stake. The Senate is not a Trump rally. And the Ministry of Defense is not the backdrop for the demonstrations. Fox and friends–

Similar thinking could lead to Scott Bessent as Trump’s nominee to run the Treasury Department. Bessent might be a simple choice. In other administrations, but in Trump World, it is worth noting that hedge fund leaders are standard issue—and The man who used to work for George SorosOf all people—just defeated Howard Lutnick, a die-hard Trump loyalist. which was relegated to the commercial department which is a department with much less power The culture war seems to matter less to some on the Trump team when real money is involved.

All of this isn’t a case of complacency. Hegseth and Gabbard still have their victory confirmed. Anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. could take over the Department of Health and Human Services. Meanwhile report It has also emerged that Trump may transfer Kash Patel, the embodiment of a loyal mercenary who will follow Trump’s every order. Go to a senior job at the FBI or Justice Department. It’s a move that will raise urgent questions about American civil liberties.

But Trump can’t make things happen. Yes, “people talk,” but it is. narrowly wonAnd Trump again It looks like it’s falling down. Failing to reach 50 percent of the popular vote, just as Democrats had to learn that big margins in California couldn’t win the president. Republicans found once again that electoral votes were not the same as the popular mandate. The Senate Republican convention is full of cowards. But a handful of principled GOP senators are all that are needed to stop Trump’s worst nominee.

Another fact is that Trump has accomplished the one thing he really cares about: staying out of prison. Today, Special Counsel Jack Smith filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit against him on January 6. Whatever that is; If enough voters decide they can live with the accused in the White House. There’s nothing the rest of us can do about that.

But Trump’s return to office does not mean he can rule by court order. If the opponent responds to every bait he throws in front of them. They will lose direction. and even some Trump voters. At least those outside of the MAGA personality cult might not expect such an irresponsible scam. If these Republican voters want Trump to be held accountable for the promises he made during the campaign, They must be careful. Instead of getting caught up in Trump’s daily drama.

Let me add one personal piece of advice for the upcoming holidays: Nothing Trump tries to do will happen before the end of the week. So for Thanksgiving Give yourself some time to rest. Remember that it is a great privilege and blessing to be an American. and have faith in the American Constitution and the freedoms protected within it. If your Uncle Ned shows up and still I want to argue that Trump stole the election 4 years ago. My advice is the same every holiday. Tell him he’s wrong. I love him no matter what. Today I will not say this and pass the potatoes.

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