An estimated 7 million Americans peacefully protested Saturday against the breakdown of our checks-and-balances democracy into a Trump-driven autocracy rife with resentment but few civil rights.
Trump's response? An AI video of himself wearing a crown inside a fighter jet, dropping what appears to be feces on these same protesters. In a later interview, he called the participants of the “No Kings” events “unhinged” and “not representative of this country.”
I'm starting to fear that he's right. What if most Americans truly believe that this type of behavior by our president, or anyone else, is acceptable? Even funny? A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that 81% of Republicans approve of the way Trump is handling his job. Seriously, the vast majority of Republicans agree with Trump's policies and behavior.
According to MAGA, non-MAGA people are too uptight these days.
Vice troll JD Vance has become a relentless force in not only defending the most vile and cruel behaviors, but also celebrating them. House Speaker Mike Johnson has made an art form of flimsy justification for these behaviors.
Between the two approaches to groveling to Trump's ego and mendacity is everything you need to know about the future of the Republican Party. He will stop at nothing to degrade and dehumanize any opposition, openly acknowledging that he dreams of burying even those who peacefully oppose him in excrement.
Not even singer Kenny Loggins is safe. His “Top Gun” hit, “Danger Zone,” was used in the video. When he objected with a statement of unity, saying, “Too many people are trying to tear us apart and we need to find new ways to unite. We are all Americans and we are all patriotic. There is no 'us and them,'” the White House responded with… a dismissive meme, clearly the new norm when responding to criticism.
It may seem obvious, and even old hat, that this administration lacks accountability. But the use of memes and AI videos as communication, devoid of truth or consequences, adds a new level of danger to the disconnect.
These failures to respond not only remove reality from the equation, they eliminate the need for a real response, creating a ruling class that feels no obligation to explain or defend its actions to the governed.
Politico published a story last week detailing the racist, misogynistic and hate-filled back and forth of an official party-sanctioned “Young Republicans” group. Since most of our current politicians are part of the gerontocracy, that youth is relative (they are adults, in their 20s and 30s) and they are considered the next generation of party leaders, in a party that has already leaned so far to the right that it defends the secret police.
Here you have a sample.
Bobby Walker, former vice president of the New York state Young Republicans, called the rape “epic,” according to Politico.
Another member of the chat called African Americans “watermelon people.”
“Great. I love Hitler,” another wrote when told delegates would vote for the most right-wing candidate.
There was also gas chamber “humor” and a blunt one: “I'm ready to watch people burn now,” from a woman in the conversation, Anne KayKaty, a Young Republican national committee member from 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 vein of racism dedicated to the idea that Indians smell bad, in case you don't know.
Speaking of a woman mistakenly believed to be South Asian, one member of the group, Vermont state senator Samuel Douglass, wrote: “She just didn't bathe often.”
While some members of the Republican Party have, albeit half-heartedly, denounced the comments, others, including Vance, have gone on the attack. Vance, whose wife is Indian, says everyone is making a big deal out of nothing.
“But the reality is, kids do stupid things. Especially little kids, they tell bold, offensive jokes. That's what kids do,” Vance said. “And I really don't want us to grow up in a country where a kid telling a stupid joke, a very offensive and stupid joke, is a reason to ruin their lives.”
Not to be outdone, Johnson responded to the poop squirt video by somehow implying that it has an elevated meaning.
“The president was using social media to make a point,” Johnson said, calling it “satire.”
Satire aims to shame and humiliate, to denounce the indefensible through humor. I'll buy the first part of that. Trump intended to embarrass and humiliate. But protesting, of course, is anything but indefensible, and using feces as a weapon is a way to demean the “No Kings” participants so that Trump doesn't have to respond to their anger, no different than degrading black people and women in that group chat.
Those 7 million Americans who demonstrated on Saturday simply don't matter to Trump or the Republicans. Not their healthcare, not their ability to pay the bills, not their concern that a country they love is becoming one where their leader literally illustrates that he can defecate on them.
But not everyone can be king.
While young Republicans believe they share their leader's immunity, it turns out that is not the case. That Vermont state senator? He resigned after pressure from the Republican governor.
7 million Americans angry at Trump may not be able to convince him to change his ways, but enough angry Vermont voters can bring about change in their corner of the country.
That's why the only thing Trump does fear is the midterm elections, when voters shape our little corners of America and, by extension, whether Trump will be able to continue using his throne.
