TRUMP’S WEEK OF WOE

What is supposed to the Administration’s showpiece of the year in a dreary Congress, President Donald J Trump, who was mired in controversy and scandal, pitched up to give his State of the Union address. The Republicans were hoping for some lift as they faced a disastrous midterm election largely due to Trump’s outrageous first year in office. The good news for them was that Trump stayed more or less on script arguing that America had entered a “Golden Age”. The bad news is that only his sycophantic cult believe him. The week ended with an attack on Iran which is not on the agenda of the MAGA base.

But before going onto the speech, which once again illustrated the hold Trump has over the Republican legislators who dutifully and spinelessly handed him standing ovation over ovation which was particularly jarring when he was speaking palpable rubbish, “Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much we really don’t know what to do about it".

TRUMP’S TALE OF WOES AND THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS - THE WEEK THAT WAS

Before the President even started he was coping with an historic Supreme Court Ruling which axed his pivotal tariff policies; a revelation that there had been a serious allegation against him by a teenager in the Epstein files, the latter becoming an ever increasing international crime scene; the Republican Congressional women who were demanding the resignation of a colleague that was revealed to have had a sordid relationship with a staff member who had subsequently committed suicide - if indeed he bowed out it would bring the Republican majority to two in the House; a whistleblower, who was a a trainer of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, (ICE) recruits, who with documentation showed that they were hopelessly undertrained and instructed to break the law such as with arrests and entering property without a warrant; another whistleblower from the National Institute of Health, (NIH), who discussed the destructiveness of halting research and the fact that this leads to a brain drain and to cap it all his approval rating was crashing to a record low at 36 percent. 

And there was much more such as in that up to a third of the cases brought against the administration by the immigrant detainees grabbed off the streets, the Courts found that the Bondi Department Justice were defying or not obeying court orders. The problem is that an avalanche of prosecutors in the Justice Department have either been fired or resigned. Judges have been threatening contempt of court rulings and one finally did so. A prosecutor probably fearing such a stain asked a Judge to lock her up for the night as she was unable to provide the Court what had been asked for. 

 On the other end of spectrum Trump was backing himself  into a corner on starting a war in the Middle East. He, according to his retreaded fellow transactional real estate operator morphed into a diplomat negotiator, could not understand why Iran’s Khamenei had “not folded”. This naive childish assessment of the Supreme Iranian Leader's belief system and consequently how he might act is mind boggling and could plunge America and the region in a prolonged war. Khamenei is not dealing in real estate in New York. Trump with all America’s military hardware in the Mediterranean Sea would commit American troops into a senseless war.

And so it goes, there was even more. Trump was put out that the Democrats finally realized they were not dealing with a normal situation, 70 of their legislators not pitching up to his address. He screamed “sabotage”. Those present were hardly defferential, one holding up a poster, “Black people aren’t apes”, in reference to Trump posting a picture on his “Truth Social” of the Obamas on the bodies of apes. A few screamed that he was killing people and they all refused to stand at the behest of his crony patriotism. So the Dems had got the message that they needed to show some spine and forget the standing rules of order. 

PROTEST ADDRESSES

There were 5 simultaneous State of the Union protest meetings the largest of which was organized by the now number one podcaster MeidasTouch and an activist movement Move On. This was held on the steps of the Capitol. Democratic lawmakers made appearances usually accompanied by a victim of one sort or another who had an inspiring story to tell.This program exceeded the two hours of the Main Event up the road but somehow held a large crowd as the production was remarkably slick particularly bearing in mind that it had been put together in the past few days. It also garnered a sensational 2.1 million views on line.   

But Trump’s most significant set back was the Supreme Court decision on his Tariffs “which he loved”. This  means that any tariffs now imposed have to end up in Congress. The tone of the ruling signaled that the love fest between the Judiciary and the Executive could be over.

THE SUPREME COURT AND TRUMP’S TARIFFS

What seemed obvious, namely that tariffs are a tax, had not hindered Trump initiating the former as central to his fiscal policy. The Constitution specifically states that “the power of the purse” is the prerogative of the Legislature, not the President. Nevertheless it was regarded as a massive deal when the Supreme Court unceremoniously threw Trump’s capricious tariffs out. The reason for the enormous import of the 6- 3 decision was that tariffs were the major thrust of the President’s economic policy. Pundits were comparing the Court’s response to a 1935 ruling which reigned in FDR’s New Deal and a 1952 outcome which undid Harry Truman’s attempt to nationalize the steel industry while the country was at war with Korea. So once again Donald J. Trump is up there with the greats. However that decision heralded a disastrous few days for Trump and his Administration. 

Following the announcement of the Court’s ruling Trump began on script, whining how “deeply disappointed” he was. Then he attacked the judges personally, “I’m ashamed of certain members of the court. Absolutely ashamed for not having the courage to do what is right for the country”. Inter alia in his 45 minute rant he opined, “They.re just being fools and lapdogs for the Rhinos and radical left Democrats…. The court has been swayed by foreign interests” and “It’s an embarrassment to their families and to one another.” 

Trump went on for days posting  a half a dozen diatribes on his “Truth Social” attacking his former enablers on the Court, while what passes for his moral compass, The Dow Stock Exchange Index and his poll numbers dived. At least in his El Duce’s State of the Union address to the nation he merely reflected “disappointment” at the four of the nine judges who pitched up. 

Trump said the quiet part out loud when he shared that he wanted to do away with income taxes and replace them with tariffs.Thus he wanted the entire financial burden of the State to be carried by those in the lower income groups as opposed to the billionaires. 

However Trump was having far more success with creating the infrastructure to effect his so called Border or Immigration policy.

“BORDER OR IMMIGRATION”  POLICIES.- MAKE AMERICA WHITE AGAIN

Trump trumpeted his border and immigration policies by arguing that, “….the United States had the strongest and most secure border in history…”. Rather than defend the gestapo like actions of the Immigration and Custom Enforcement, (ICE), and Border Patrol Agencies and the fact that they were untrained and were instructed to ignore the law, he detailed in gruesome detail the crimes committed by illegal immigrants. He ignored the cold blooded murders committed by ICE. The 47th President ranted on and on attacking former presidents, excepting himself presumably, “It is the first duty of the American Government to American citizens not illegal aliens”. He also used the occasion for a racist attack on American Citizens of Somali origin - Trump’s newest worst friends.

Trump made no reference to the massive build up of detention centers which were the going to Make America White Again, or to coin a phrase MAWA. He basically declared victory for his new “army”. Presumably he felt that the near universal protests, the fact that they had been kicked out of LA, Chicago Minneapolis and the others didn’t mean he had lost the war against Americans. For one thing for sure both borders were secure!

AT THE END OF THE DAY

Trump’s address couldn’t have helped his woes. Viewing was down 11 percent from last year and there was no blip up in his miserable 36 percent approval numbers.  So he is just going to rely on voter suppression to MAWA. It didn’t pass unnoticed that during nap time in his marathon that he made a serious plug for his “Save American Voter Eligibility Act”. 

There are armies of Democratic lawyers ready to file motions against executive orders or legislation to restrict voting.  Elections are in the Constitution to be run by States just like the “power of the purse” belongs to the Legislature. 

The protests continue daily. Another No Kings national rally on March 28.  Organizers hoping to smash the 7 million record attendance of last time.

One fact is for sure Trump won’t give up trying to avoid a crushing defeat in November. He is on record for supporting insurrectionists in 2020 in addition to, inter alia, pleading and threatening the Republican Secretary of State of Georgia that all he needed “to find was 11,800 votes which was one more than he lost by”.

Expect increasing vitriol, hate, anger, fear mongering, executive orders, strategies to restrict voting, cries that there is cheating, attempts at creating emergencies till it all reaches a crescendo at the Midterms when the wannabe dictator throws in ICE into the mix. 

There is everything at stake for both sides. -investigations into Trump and his thugs if the Democrats win, the end of Democracy for a long long time if the Republicans win.

Someone should whisper in Trump’s ear that America is diverse and he is 250 years too late to unscramble the omelette and MAWA - let alone MAWMA - Make America White Male Again to coin another phrase. 

Bill and Hillary Clinton, albeit reluctantly, gave the country a lesson in civics adding to the administration's problem with the Epstein files. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY THIS WAS ALL TOO COMPLICATED TO RESOLVE AND WAR WITH IRAN APPARENTLY WAS FAR MORE URGENT! For the record no one can mourn the loss of the brutal Khameini. Iran incidentally has as a constitutional objective the destruction of Israel.

TRUMP v BAD BAD BUNNY

The half time show at the American Football Super Bowl is a legendary extravaganza that is the subject of great anticipation usually featuring the entertainer of the moment. There is no dispute that is the 31year old Pueto Rican, “Bad Bunny”, also known as Antonio Bonito Martinez Occasio. He smashed records at the recent Grammy awards becoming the first winner of the year for “Best Album”, amongst the seven Grammys he garnered, entirely in Spanish. In 2025, as in 2022 and 2023, he was the most streamed rapper, singer, arranger, in the world. The next day following his blow out performance he chalked up the highest number of streams ever on Spotify, 180 million and Apple 271 million. 

So what was the problem? The problem was that Bad Bunny represented everything that TRUMP was trying to eliminate to Make America Great Again, (MAGA).

BACKLASH TO ANNOUNCEMENT OF 2026 HALF TIME ARTIST

Bad Bunny gained humongous political significance when receiving his most prestigious Grammy award. In his acceptance speech, he emotionally began, “Before I say thanks to God, I am gonna say out with ICE” (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). He represents everything that Trump believes that an American should not be namely. Trump has said so in so many words, and more. (Presumably what he has going for him is that he is Christian and male). 

Trump warned weeks before that “Bad Bunny was a terrible choice and divisive for our country. I am anti them all it does is sow hatred”. Needless to say he was joined by his choir, led by Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Homeland Security, who had just conducted a vicious campaign with ICE to round up and deport “illegal immigrants”,who just happen to be brown, Spanish speaking, South American Latinos. Secretary Noem told a right wing podcaster that “They suck and we will win. They won’t be able to sleep at night, because they don’t know what they believe. And they are so weak, and we will fix it’. And then there were more…….

THE NFL AND THEIR RATIONALE FOR TAKING ON TRUMP

The NFL is the centerpiece of American sport and even culture with the network TV stations bidding up to close to 3 billion a year for a share of games in the short 16 week normal season and a Super Bowl every 4 years, This makes it the most lucrative sport in America. To give readers some idea what the reason for this is, it is the viewership which reached 125 million for the recent Super Bowl. For a weekly game the number watching is nearly 20 million on average. The NFL is traditionally considered “conservative” but with most of the players black political pressure, such as the "Black  Lives Matter" movement  has driven them to modify their behavior. After all the owners are those who pay billions of dollars for the teams and they get their percentage of the honey pot.

The NFL Commissioner, Brian Goodsell, is one inordinately powerful guy in terms of the game and it’s commercial success. He faced the opposition of no less than the President who had now backed an alternate show put on by the late Charlie Kirk’s “Turning Point”, unimaginatively titled, “All American Half Time Show”.(The show garnered 6 million of the faithful. Many criticisms followed and Kid Rock blamed “Turning Point”. He also admitted that the show was not live).

Goodsell responded first with the obvious Bad Bunny and his group were number one in the world of entertainment. When he first floated the idea to the owners they were hesitant, but the billion dollar business had hit the roof. (Bad Bunny’s viewership was subsequently up there with the highest but not by much). The tv audience is the basis of what the networks will pay. The latter charge about 10 million dollars per 30 second advertisement There were 66 in the 2026 Super Bowl! So the objective is to expand the horizon which for the last 10 have stuck at about between 110 and 120 million viewers. So where can the NFL go?

 Bad Boy has repeatedly publicly attacked ICE. This is the reason than other than for The Super Bowl he has refused to perform in America. Goodsell had to have commissioned a study on the demographics playing, attending and watching particularly the Super Bowl. So where had to have been the biggest potential for growth? The answer is the brown Latinos, who are thwarting Trump’s vision of Making America Great Again, (MAGA). There are 45 million Latinos in America and 440 million on the South American continent. Europe and the rest of the world too could be ensnared. To give one an idea of the scope of growth Real Madrid, one of Europe's top Soccer teams, had a TV audience of 450 million in perhaps the equivalent of the Super Bowl.

It is not that the Latinos aren’t obsessed about football or have thought of America football as repressive. Rather their game is with the round ball, Association football or soccer as it generally known throughout the world. How to begin to court them was to celebrate their icon and symbol against the Trump government on America’s greatest stage. It is obvious too that the NFL knew ahead the content of the his spectacle that was about to unfold. Just in case there was any doubt as to where the NFL Commissioner stood, after the show he hugged Antonio Bonito Martinez Occasio before the cameras.

So what was “Bad Bad Bunny’s” half time statement ?

BAD BUNNY’S SYMBOLISM

It had to have helped Goodssll that Mr. Occasio was an NFL fan. The number 64 on his Zara designed outfit had a special meaning. It was the date that his uncle Sam was born. The latter had introduced the artist to American football. Sam, had passed a few years ago, was a keen follower of the San Francisco 49ers and his celebrity nephew followed. The Super Bowl was being held on the very same field of their team in San Francisco.

The NFL Super Half Time show is always a happening. Never was this one more historic. It was the first one entirely in Spanish.There were no white men only a white woman, Lady Gaga who also sung in Spanish,This production was dripping with symbolism. It opened in the sugar fields of Puerto Rica or anywhere in the area for that matter with the underpaid workers or even slaves threshing away. It was an attack on colonialism and a tribute to those who had survived. Light blue was the color featured in the Puerto Rican flag. America has made it dark blue to match it’s flag. Lady Gaga too wore a light blue dress.

Puerto Rico became American territory in 1898 together with Hawaii. Occasio spelled out as the tight production rolled on that Puerto Rico wanted Independence rather than statehood. The majority of the 13 minutes was devoted to his charming home island and its traditions. There was also an acknowledgement to the diaspora living mainly in NY. Focus too was on the continual blackouts Puerto had faced with the hurricanes, particularly Hurricane Maria in 2017 where Trump threw paper towels at them.Thus implicit in all this was the poor services America provides for its colony. (Puerto Ricans are Americans but they can’t vote!). Men were climbing up electricity poles risking their lives to create fixes as was enacted on the football field. 

The Latino icon made it clear that his vision of America stretched from Chile to Canada. “We are all Americans” as was musically presented ending with him proffering an American football with the names of all countries. To add to the jam packed program, there was a real wedding!.

This all taking place while ICE was rounding up alleged “illegals”- brown Latinos, the opposition of which is the centerpiece of Occasio’s passionate political message.

All that remained was the game and the reaction.

TRUMP’S RESPONSE TO THE SUPER BOWL HALF TIME SHOW

Trump issued on his alt - tech social medium platform, “Truth Social”, a vitriolic response to “Bad Bunny’s” sensational tour de force. Here it is in full including whatever else was on his mind. I

“The Super Bowl Halftime Show is absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER! It makes no sense, is an affront to the Greatness of America, and doesn’t represent our standards of Success, Creativity, or Excellence. Nobody understands a word this guy is saying, and the dancing is disgusting, especially for young children that are watching from throughout the U.S.A., and all over the World. This “Show” is just a “slap in the face” to our Country, which is setting new standards and records every single day — including the Best Stock Market and 401(k)s in History! There is nothing inspirational about this mess of a Halftime Show and watch, it will get great reviews from the Fake News Media, because they haven’t got a clue of what is going on in the REAL WORLD” — And, by the way, the NFL should immediately replace its ridiculous new Kickoff Rule. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! President DONALD J. TRUMP”

A few MAGA representatives are calling for an investigation into the alleged obscenity of the show. Truth be told there were a few MAGA who disagreed with Trump. Generally the reception was what might expect from this tour de force. 

AT THE END OF THE DAY

With Trump approval figures in the mid thirties, with the fall out from the Epstein files metastasizing, Trump doesn’t need any further loss of his Latino vote. Isn’t this just a one off? Jay H. Ell doesn’t believe so because it will increase the revenues of the NFL which was much of what all this was about. Apparently the tech bros have a different paradigm. Just pay Trump off and then the world is their oyster.  

2026 TRUMP THE END?

What a difference a year makes, America in one year morphed from the arbiter of world order, to an unashamed avatar of the law of the jungle. At home Might is right was hammered onto the Trump meme coin, The Kennedy Memorial Center was unceremoniously changed to the Donald J. Trump AND the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center. Trump’s anarchist in chief, Steve Bannon hailed him as “an instrument of G-d." Trump himself has been more modest merely rating himself equal or better to George Washington. 

The US President fancies himself as a dictator and bizarrely stated at Davos, in front of the world, “The 2020 election was rigged …..people will soon be prosecuted for what they did. That is probably breaking news”. What is breaking news is on account of the protests against his storm troopers, who have  murdered two American citizens on the streets of Minnesota,  he is going to have to back track on the gestapo like tactics. Fantasies of declaring an Insurrection, sending in the military and suspending the midterm elections have to be thrown out of the window.

With the world and America in a Trump induced turmoil the question is where will the tired undisciplined incoherent authoritarian and his deformed MAGA Republican Party be at the end of 2026? Mercifully the midterm elections are due in November. Hopefully for America and the world his exhausting crusade is coming to an end.  

Trump has made it clear to the world that maybe there shouldn’t be elections. Currently there are 80 litigations against Trump’s Administration where the latter are attempting to tilt the outcome their way. Pam Bondi, Attorney General, in a letter to Governor Walz of Minnesota stated that one of the ways to resolve the issue of thousands of the Executive’s thugs in the streets was to provide his state’s voter rolls! A Federal Judge is adjudicating whether or not such an offer is rather a quid pro quo move than ridding the country of "the worst of the worst" illegal immigrants.

Whichever way this is diced and sliced the year 2025 was Trump’s. That was the year, among many other feats, he made more money than he has in his entire bankruptcy and criminal life. But what about 2026?

2026 THE YEAR THAT COULD HAVE BEEN

What more could a megalomaniacal individual hope for? In 79 years of frenetic pursuit, Trump, if he had any insight, would answer there isn’t anything that could be enough. 2026 was gonna be the year that he would qualify for Mount Rushmore. This was America’s 250th Anniversary since it declared its Independence, an irony lost on Trump. There will be the World Soccer Cup which was being organized by FIFA, the organization arguably the most corrupt in sport. They had already awarded Trump their first Peace Prize. Trump had falsely claimed that he was responsible for the championship being awarded to the Americas.

Then there were so many options available for him to become the 21st Century Churchill. Iran needed to be sorted out and only he could do it. He was still in the game to effect peace in the Middle East and only he could do it. According to him he had already been responsible for resolving 8 wars and deserved the Nobel Peace Prize. He could establish America’s dominance in the Western hemisphere including Greenland, Canada and Cuba with the diplomacy and cunning that he had illustrated with Venezuela. All this even though he hadn’t sorted out the Russian - Ukraine war on Day One…. He operated that he was feared by all so they would bow to his will.  

But Trump’s real legacy was to be to "make America white and Christian again", like The Founders apparently really intended. In the process he would sort out the Immigration “problem”.  Surely he could do it any way he liked, that’s what the people had voted for. He would also inter alia create an oligarchy. Trump didn’t even pretend that the real people that mattered were the Tech and AI bros who were in the front row at his inauguration, ahead of his sycophantic ignorant cabinet. His newest best friend is only the world’s second richest man who incidentally has shelled out a fortune to control chunks of the legacy media and the insanely popular internet “Tik Tok”.

So what could go wrong? 

2026 - WHAT IS GOING WRONG?

The 47th President became a standing joke on the international scene and back home his plight is much worse. He is behind in the polls big time. While Harris the Democratic Presidential candidate only won 19 States in 2024, in 2026 the Democrats are ahead in 40 - all seven “swing” states and former blood red states such as Texas and Florida had Democratic polling majorities. So what went wrong?

Trump went to the economic forum at Davos “cock of the hoop”. He was still demanding Greenland but the NATO allies were ganging up against him so the best he could do was stick to the 1951 deal with Denmark and just declare victory. Zelensky was no longer with cup in hand handing out the praise and thanks. Trump’s biggest slap in the face was when his Board of Peace for the Gaza/Israel crisis couldn’t gain one respectable leader, not even Israel would enlist. 

Trump as his want in these situations lashed out only to receive a Churchillian response from Premier Carney of Canada who let him know in no uncertain terms that Canada was not America’s poor cousin. Adding insult to injury Carney went to Beijing and did a deal with Xi Jinping on electric cars. (Incidentally the German Chancellor Merz, UK's Keith Swarmer and others also have deals pending with the “more reliable” Chinese. The cherry on the top was the broadranging deal Europe and India signed that followed Davos. 

In his 70 minute address he smeared the NATO partners lack of bravery in America’s war in Afghanistan this time evoking a dressing down from the mild mannered British Prime Minister Swarmer. Trump completely out of character had to backtrack the next day heralding the British bravery in that prolonged battle.

At home the time had come to raid the Democratic cities to remove “the worst of the worst” illegals. It soon became evident that the policy was rather to fulfill a daily quota of 3000 arrests and as the months passed the violence and cruelty of the newly bolstered Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency, (ICE), and the Border Protection Agency who according to Vice President Vance had absolute immunity, escalated. Different permutations of repression were tried in the various blue cities. It is fair comment to say that between the Governors, Mayors, the Courts and chiefly through, We The People, the undisciplined and untrained thugs were driven out, from Los Angeles to Columbus Ohio to Chicago. 

The major onslaught began in January 2026 where between 2,000 to 3,000 untrained and undisciplined thugs descended onto Minneapolis- St Paul in Minnesota wreaking havoc. They were met by ever increasing numbers of protestors bracing the icy subzero temperatures. Warrantless arrests, unbridled violence and invasions of property were the norm of these marauding gangs, many of whom had been paid a 50,000 dollar sign on bonus. These obscene activities engendered protests throughout the country. Sooner or later the inevitable happened and three protestors were shot, two fatally. 

The immediate reaction of the administration was to claim the officers’ lives were in danger but in this day and age there are cell phones that can communicate and record. The protestors had become organized with whistles to indicate the presence of ICE and followers to document the illegal behavior. In both homicides there were multiple camera angles resulting in a mockery of the officials 1970 like explanations. The faces of those responsible for these bogus explanations in the Administration were Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security and Greg Bovino, Border Patrol Chief.

The pressure was piled onto the Governor, Mayor and State Attorney General, the Minnesotan officials, who were allegedly inciting the mob. They were to be criminally investigated by the Department of Justice. The protestors were paid, leftist lunatics, terrorists, communists and either were attacking the agents or obstructing their lawful arrests. Neither side’s spokespeople were backing down till the death of the second victim. The latter was a well loved and respected Intensive Care Nurse at the local Veteran Administration Hospital. 

Like in so many historic situations a contentious issue can be crystalized by one person or one event. Such was the moment that the death of 37 year old Alex Pretti, a white American male, caused.

ALEX PRETTI - DECEASED JANUARY 20, 2026

What triggered the nation wide protest was the savage death of Alex Pretti at the hands of immigration enforcement officers. The Minnesota operation had been already going for 6 weeks. Already the nightly news was focussed on what was going on in Minnesota and the recriminations of another victim of the “illegal” immigrant raids, Renee Good, had barely died down. The patent rubbish that was the “official” version of the fatal incident was repeated by Kristi Noem even when several videos taken from separate angles told the true story. The Trump Administration hung onto the fact that a gun which Pretti was legally entitled to carry had been brandished at the officers. The state supporting media are still smearing him in one way or another,

Once the "official" story had been rebutted they argued that maybe that gun went off by mistake and caused another 9 shots to be fired at the ICU nurse. The fact that the Trump Administration has argued that the local authorities cannot be involved in the investigation is neither here nor there as the die was now cast that this was more than the American public were prepared to accept.

There were bipartisan calls for Noem to resign. Republican legislators saw this as the final nail in their November elections chances so they publicly and privately pressured Trump.Trump who really was responsible for all of this had kept out of the melee and threw Bovino, the Border Chief, under the bus. Suddenly the Minnesota officials were no longer being investigated rather Trump was having productive discussions with them. Trump would be sending a real bureaucrat Tom Homan to take over the operation and would “de- escalate”.Also a “fair” investigation would follow. 

It was all too little too late. Besides the ongoing “We The People” protests the National Nurses Association organized a “Week of Action”. Sixty commercial enterprises registered their concern, finally getting off the fence. The Second Amendment backers including the NRA were furious that Trump is attacking RN Pretti for lawfully carrying a gun. Religious leaders got involved. 

But the real problem was with the legislature. Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Minority Leader in the House, who is not known for  taking chances, has threatened that either Noem resigns or he will move for impeachment. He only needs three Republican votes in The House and 23 have already have indicated their concern. That would put The Senate Republicans in a bind - Trump or their constituencies? In addition without the Democrats the budget cannot be passed if more money for ICE is included. 

MORE BAD NEWS

Trump is preparing for a ruling from The Supreme Court declaring his tariffs illegal. Depending on the wording of the ruling will be the size of the financial calamity. At worst he will have to pay the vendors back every penny they paid to the treasury. COSTCO, the country’s largest retailer has already initiated litigation. The irresponsibility of Trump to unilaterally impose tariffs when it is as clear as day that the Constitution unambiguously states that the Legislature had “the power of the purse," is testimony to his immaturity and unsuitability to be President. It is a pity that “We The People” don’t exhibit the same common sense at the ballot box as we do in the streets.

AT THE END OF THE DAY

The Republicans generally bow to Trump’s will. The latter will do whatever he can not to lose the midterm elections. While there are many hands to be dealt between now and November there is little doubt that the Minnesotans specifically, the protestors generally have struck a blow for democracy. The Indivisible group are planning for their “No Kings” protest in March. They are aiming to beat their record of 7 million attendees.

One fact is for sure, Trump is not having a great 2026. Hopefully at least the beginning of the end.