The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

 

The good:

... Donald Trump, like many of history’s villains, has extraordinary political talents. His authoritarian menace stems from these talents being married to a deep, primal lust for power — a desire to wield full authority over others without constraint or restriction. In his first term, these impulses were checked by a coterie of advisers who saw restraining him as part of their job description. This time, there are no guardrails.

Yet, at the same time, Trump is an impulsive man with little understanding of the actual levers of policy and administration. His statements on the topics are marked with intentional lies, to be sure, but also feature seemingly genuine (and profound) misunderstandings about basic issues, such as how trade deficits work. He is also showing signs of age, with fewer public appearances and a noticeably compressed daily schedule. The advisers who step up to shape policy are not always the most competent, and sometimes have agendas of their own that clash with both Trump’s public statement and their fellow aides’ agendas.

Haphazardism emerges from the interaction of these dynamics. [snip]

Trump’s desires here do not reflect a coherent view of how to take over the American state. Rather, they reflect particular cases where the president wants maximal power or personal control without any deeper understanding of whether his desires are feasible or strategically wise. Trump’s aides and lawyers have little choice but to act on the boss’s desires and are often set up to fail.

This is the central way that haphazardism manifests: the sheer inconsistency or short-sightedness of Trump’s personal judgment leading to authoritarian setbacks. It’s a pattern that has repeated throughout the Trump presidency and produced some of its most notable and enduring failures.

The most important example is the “Liberation Day” tariffs. In that case, Trump’s personal obsession led him to assert extraordinary powers — to raise a tax seemingly at will — that would amount to a shocking revision of the constitutional order. On paper, that looks like a win for a president who wants to grab greater and greater personal power over the economy.

But, in the long run, the tariffs have done far more harm to Trump than good. They have been immensely unpopular and done damage to the real economy, both of which have fueled Democratic election gains and made it harder to convince others in society that resistance is futile. Moreover, they seem very likely to be overturned by the Supreme Court, meaning that Trump’s temporary gains for executive power will likely prove ephemeral... (our emphasis)

Beauchamp's premise that the Malignant Fascist's "haphazardism" is helping defeat his war on democracy is intriguing.  Someone has said fascism is inherently for dummies.  Could it be that an incompetent, ignorant, arrogant, amoral moron leading millions of dummies isn't the optimal way to overthrow a democracy?

The bad:

U.S. President Donald Trump is preparing for a more aggressive immigration crackdown in 2026 with billions in new funding, including by raiding more workplaces — even as backlash builds ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Trump has already surged immigration agents into major U.S. cities, where they swept through neighborhoods and clashed with residents. While federal agents this year conducted some high-profile raids on businesses, they largely avoided raiding farms, factories and other businesses that are economically important but known to employ immigrants without legal status.

 

ICE and Border Patrol will get $170 billion in additional funds through September 2029 - a huge surge of funding over their existing annual budgets of about $19 billion after the Republican-controlled Congress passed a massive spending package in July.

 

Administration officials say they plan to hire thousands more agents, open new detention centers, pick up more immigrants in local jails and partner with outside companies to track down people without legal status.

 

The expanded deportation plans come despite growing signs of political backlash ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

 

Miami, one of the cities most affected by Trump’s crackdown because of its large immigrant population, elected its first Democratic mayor in nearly three decades last week in what the mayor-elect said was, in part, a reaction to the president. Other local elections and polling have suggested rising concern among voters wary of aggressive immigration tactics.

 

"People are beginning to see this not as an immigration question anymore as much as it is a violation of rights, a violation of due process and militarizing neighborhoods extraconstitutionally," said Mike Madrid, a moderate Republican political strategist. "There is no question that is a problem for the president and Republicans."... (our emphasis)

The Malignant Fascist and his white nationalist co- president Stephen Miller are determined to purge America of as many brown and black people as their DHS/ ICE goon squads can brutalize.  More families will be cruelly separated, more productive and law-abiding people will be deported to who knows where, while the sewage of this country -- the MF and his fascist bootlickers -- remain.  America turned upside down.  (More pushback may be coming from formerly friendly quarters.)

The ugly:

Vice President JD Vance made some startlingly racist remarks Sunday during a speech at a conservative conference in Arizona.

The 41-year-old vice president spoke Turning Point USA conference, where the slain organization founder Charlie Kirk's widow Erika Kirk endorsed him for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination, and made a number of controversial statements during his address.

Vance, according to journalist Aaron Rupar, drew the biggest applause of his speech when he claimed "by the grace of God we always will be a Christian nation."

"Wow: Overt, unapologetic Christian nationalism from the Vice President here," marveled Jack Jenkins, national correspondent for Religion News Service. "Even Trump has stopped short of saying something this explicit on the topic while President."

"Again, Vance smuggles in a false premise: That America was EVER a Christian nation," argued Bluesky user Dr. Tea, Cake, & Revolution. "He’s such a weasel."

"In the United States of America," Vance said, "you don't have to apologize for being white anymore."

That comment drew widespread criticism for its blatant racism. [snip]

"I don’t think the mainstream news can possibly report on just how vile & dangerous this JD Vance diatribe is," said journalist Jennifer Schulze. "Some will gloss over the extremism, others will both sides it. So people need to watch the actual video to see/hear for themselves the white nationalist venom spewing from this monster."

"This tells you that Vance thinks the MAGA base isn’t just full of diehard racists; he thinks it’s full of diehard racists who are also too cowardly to be openly racist if they think people might disapprove," posted historian Kevin Kruse.

"Imagine looking in the mirror every day, seeing J.D. Vance looking back at you, and STILL being a white supremacist," sighed author Aram Sinnreich. "It must be cognitively exhausting."

"The vice president is a klansman," opined New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie.

"Worried that the base is upset about the child raping, JD Vance lures them back into the fold by reminding them that they are loved for their racism," replied retired math professor Scott Farrand.

"Jefferson Davis Vance," added Bluesky user William Smith. (our emphasis)

Another racist remark the beardo made at the conference concerned Texas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett:

“Jasmine Crockett!” Vance said, speaking at Turning Point USA’s annual America Fest conference in Phoenix. “Oh, Jasmine Crockett, the record speaks for itself. She wants to be a senator, though her street-girl persona is about as real as her nails!” (our emphasis)

Who's writing your speeches these days, little man?  David Duke?  Nick Fuentes?   Junior Dick got a rousing round of applause for that last line, btw.

Again, kudos to Oprah for launching this shitstain into national prominence (along with Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil and other charlatans).