America Fucked Around, And We're Already Finding Out

Trump's proposed cabinet is a rogue's gallery of extremists, sycophants, Reeks, and hard-line hawks. Why is anyone shocked or surprised by the chaos that is about to be unleashed?

(ALAIN JOCARD ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS CHIP SOMODEVILLA BRETT CARLSEN DREW ANGERER POOL MANDEL NGAN YUKI IWAMURA | Credit: AFP)

America had one job and one job only last week: to elect Kamala Harris and defeat a twice-impeached criminal who incited a violent insurrection, assaulted a woman, and promised to terminate the Constitution and be a dictator for a day.

That was it. A simple assignment. It didn’t matter if you liked Harris or the Democratic Party. It didn’t matter if you were a third party fan or apathetic or a Bernie bro. You just had to vote for Harris to ensure this flawed democratic experiment could move forward and be protected from a right-wing authoritarian who has promised cruelty, vengeance, and economic disaster.

Well, a majority of American voters suffered from amnesia, delusion, racism, misogyny, and disinformation and decided, “Nah, let’s give that incompetent criminal another shot because my eggs cost too much and trans people exist and it all bothers me and stuff.”

They chose unwisely.

A week later, we are already in the “Find Out” portion of this never-ending nightmare reality TV show that is a cross between IDIOCRACY and VEEP.

Trump has committed to his disastrous tariffs which will increase the average cost for American households by about $2,500. He is against DEI and Affirmative Action but wants to give reparations to white students. He wants to eliminate the Department of Education. His HR9495 proposal to crush any non-profit without due process failed in the House but it will return with the new GOP House majority. His deportation plan will go into effect and as articulated by his new “Border Czar” Thomas Homan it will include deporting citizen children with undocumented family members. I don’t think Trump voters realized Grandma was going to be booted out of the country, but, hey, this is what they voted for in addition to the economic catastrophe that will befall both local communities and the nation once we lose a massive workforce that also spends money and pays taxes. 

This is the price for feeling “great again.”

Trump is considering an executive order that would create a board to purge 3 and 4-star generals “deemed unfit for leadership,” which is rich considering he dodged the draft and said his personal Vietnam was avoiding STDs. He doesn’t believe in climate change so he wants to pull out of the Paris climate agreement which is so extreme that even perennial super-villain ExxonMobil is begging him not to do it.

When even ExxonMobil tells you that you’re losing the plot…

Our once and future King is already pushing Republicans to abdicate the Senate’s constitutional role in vetting his nominees and holding hearings. He wants to bum-rush his appointments. Why would he do that, you think?

Well, let’s take a quick look at some of his delightful picks. They’re all so diverse.

Today, Trump announced Matt Gaetz as Attorney General. Yes, Mr. Botox who is accused of being a sex criminal and isn’t a lawyer will now be our nation’s top cop. Our Secretary of Defense will be Peter Hegseth, a Fox News host who admitted on air he hasn’t washed his hands in 10 years, believes women shouldn't be in combat, and almost killed a musician while throwing an ax on live TV. In his book, he calls himself an extremist, promotes a civil war against Democrats and liberals, and supports paramilitary forces. Trump’s Director of National Intelligence might as well be a Russian asset, but he decided to go with a home-grown, compromised Putin lover in the form of Tulsi Gabbard. We also have budget Goebbels, Stephen Miller, as his deputy Chief of Staff who sent white nationalist memes and talking points to a Breitbart reporter during Trump’s first term and is a committed hate-monger.

When it comes to foreign policy, Trump remains committed, yet again, to the most hawkish neocons who have an undying loyalty to Israel and its most extreme settlers and policies. Our new Ambassador to Israel will be white Christian nationalist Mike Huckabee who doesn’t believe there is an occupation, refers to illegal settlements as communities, and refuses to acknowledge Palestinians. There might be war in the Middle East but as long as Jews control Jerusalem then Huckabee and other Christian nationalists believe they can experience the Rapture. Our ne Secretary of State Marco Rubio never met a conflict in the Middle East he didn’t wholeheartedly embrace. He’s also a pro-Israel hawk who wants Netanyahu to finish the job which would include ethnically cleansing Palestinians in Gaza.

Speaking of security, Governor Kristi Noem is tapped to be our new DHS secretary. Hide your dogs, Americans! Lee Zeldin is the head of the EPA even though he doesn’t believe in climate change. RFK Jr. is angling to be the head of Health and Human Services so he can make measles great again and get rid of vaccines. Perhaps Marjorie Taylor Greene can head the Department of Education and make all of our kids dumb again?

And, finally, Republicans and Trump voters decided to take out the elites and establishment by rewarding billionaires. Trump’s new first lady, Elon Musk, the richest man on Earth, is now co-heading DOGE, the Department of Government Efficiency, with fellow rich bro Vivek Ramaswamy. Nothing says efficiency like having two heads of an agency dedicated to gutting regulations and the government to make the rich even richer.

I realize you are exhausted, but none of us should be shocked or surprised. What else did you think would happen? This was all inevitable and staring us in the face. It’s a redux of 2016 except this time Trump has even fewer to no guardrails. The compromised Supreme Court has given him “absolute immunity” for actions done within the scope of his executive role. The Senate and House now belong to him as well. The fourth estate, journalism, is dominated by the right-wing and corporate media, which has already bent its knee for the sake of access, ratings, and profit.

This is just the beginning. 

The purpose of fascism is to overwhelm, exhaust, distract, and ultimately dominate you. It demands you tap out and feel helpless and powerless. We’re on a long walk together. It will be uphill and perilous. Take your breaks. Take care of your health. Stay informed. Speak up. Be loud.

Don’t give up.

We’re only in Season 1 of the shit show.