Trump’s Slipping Masks

Trump has worn masks all of his life.

Yeah, Trump put on masks as genius, intellectual, historian, grass keeper, builder…

Avoiding military service, Trump went to a military school and has since pretended he’s tough as a marine, as knowledgeable as admirals and generals.

Given hundreds of millions of dollars, power, and name when he was young, Donald Trump wore a mask as a self-made businessman. Masquerading as a leader, he’s trying to become a trillionaire via grift and political corruption.

Married three times, he’s worn masks as a faithful husband and doting father. Holding a Bible, he wore a mask as a Christian and paid money to hide his affairs.

Wearing a mask as a good friend to Epstein, Trump then put a mask that he would provide the truth, and now keeps trying to put on a mask that he had little to do with Epstein.

What wouldn’t Trump do to advance himself?

Well, tell the truth. Face reality.

Trump’s masks slip off his face so fast these days, it’s almost as if the masks are rejecting him. During his inauguration, Trump tried masking himself as a unifier and peacemaker.

Since that time in 2025, Trump:

  • Established immigration policies which ordered ICE to surge multiple times, brutally rounding up people, deporting them without due cause, detaining, shooting and killing US citizens
  • Directed the US Navy to attack boats in international waters, murdering 234 people without due process or evidence
  • Ordered the US military to kidnap President Maduro of Venezuela, again without court orders, due process, or evidence
  • Commanded the US military to attack Iran in 2025 to destroy their nuclear capability
  • Began a war with Iran to overturn their government and destroy their nuclear capability — which he’d already claimed to have destroyed, despite his promise of no new wars

Trump claimed he would Make America Healthy Again. Despite that slogan, the number of rural hospitals closing continues without slowing down. The hospital closures through 2026 are highest in Texas (39), Tennessee (19), Mississippi (17), and Oklahoma (17). All of these are red states who carried Trump back into office in 2025.

Measles outbreaks is at the highest levels in the United States since 1991, thanks to Trump’s healthcare policies and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Trump campaigned against President Biden and Vice President Harris on affordability. Now affordability is a major crisis for many Americans, completely tearing the mask off the person making those claims that he cared about them and would lower prices.

The worse mask Trump wore, though, was the one that he would govern in accordance with the Constitution and the laws and norms which bind our politics. Trump tossed that mask aside on day one. He began by Installing a billionaire, foreigner, and unelected individual, Elon Musk, to an official government position. Musk, via DOGE, fired employees, cut Congressionally authorized spending and programs, and ignored the checks and balance and agencies established via 250 years of trial and error, law, and votes.

That was only the beginning. Trump has since completely abandoned the masquerade that he’s for free and open democratic elections. Through Republican surrogates and toadies, he’s pushed for lines to be redrawn to favor Republicans. Using executive orders as imperial decrees, Trump personally attacked mail-in voting and is using the USPS and DHS to reduce its effectiveness — even though Trump uses the mail to cast his votes.

Classic Trump Double Standards. He never could find a mask to hide that one.

Trump’s masks fooled enough people that he was voted into office twice. But now, approach the midterms, enough of Trump’s masks have fallen away to expose all of his corruption and ineptitude.

Anyone voting for Trump now is voting to continue that corruption and ineptitude, regardless of the reasons they give for supporting Trump.

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg of corruption under Trump. We’re not sure how much of it is concealed. Growing evidence such as Trump’s exploding wealth and the number of pardons he’s issued led many of us to think that the corruption is enormous.

Vote blue in 2026 so We the People can begin again to try to have and hold a democratic republic.

Waiting On Trump

We’re almost halfway through March of 2026 and have seen the United States attack another nation, embrace more tariffs, and see more rising prices.

After a breakneck pace, fallout is arriving. Under Trump, led by Noem at Homeland Security, ICE created recurring headlines around confrontations, court cases, and death. Now Noem is out.

On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that the administration could not use the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose sweeping global tariffs. National refunds were ordered.

It’s a $170 billion dollar refund question, and Customs and Border Protection initially said, they can’t do it — yet.

The agency estimates that there have been roughly 53 million entries subject to IEEPA tariffs as of March 4, accounting for roughly $166 billion in deposits. The agency further said because CBP personnel must validate all refund requests, it would take over 4 million labor hours to complete returns for all IEEPA tariffs.

Trump hastily swung to other rationales for the tariffs, invoking Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 to impose a new 10% tariff on imports from all countries. He later threatened to raise that to 15%.

Twenty-four states sued, arguing Section 122 requires tariffs to be applied nondiscriminatory and uniformly, contrary to Trump’s announcement. Some critics argue Section 122 has never been used for broad tariffs because it was meant for narrow, temporary financial emergencies that no longer exist.

We’re waiting to see what happens next.

More critically, we’re waiting to see what will happen next in the Trump Iran War. Israel is moving aggressively with the U.S. alongside them as a military power but costs are stacking. The war is expensive in terms of human life and financial costs. Most importantly to Trump, he’s probably realizing he’s a FAFO fool for attacking Iran, destabilizing the region, and upending the global economy.

Patterns and reminders are fast emerging that this is economy depends on shipping and cooperation. Trump was warned that before, when he broke trade agreements, arbitrarily imposed-rescinded-imposed-changed tariffs, and when he attacked allies and let the U.S. walk away from defense agreements.

Oil and gas prices swiftly went up. As oil storage tanks filled, production facilities shut down, because the shipping lanes have been impacted.

The results of all those are hurtling toward us in big ways. While ‘inflation’ is stable, that doesn’t include volatile things like food and energy prices. Food and energy are where American consumers are most affected.

More people are becoming aware that Trump promised no new wars. Now words like draft and phrases like ‘boots on the ground’ are rising in use. Polls show voters don’t like the air and naval war already in progress. They’ll like it less if large ground forces are sent into Iran.

When will it end?

We don’t know.

Neither does Trump, apparently. He has said, “We won.”

Trump also said — on the same day — it’s “ending soon.”

He also said that it’ll end whenever he says it ends.

Joe Rogan, a Trump supporter, seems like a bellwether. He’s called the Iran war, “nuts.” In comments made in an interview, Rogan pointed out that Trump is breaking his campaign promises.

“I mean, this is why a lot of people feel betrayed, right? He ran on ‘no more wars,’ ‘end these stupid, senseless wars,’ and then we have one that we can’t even really clearly define why we did it.”

Many Trump voters had already awakened to Trump’s broken promises about lowering food prices on Day One.

They’ve noticed, too, that Trump didn’t end the Ukraine War on Day One. He later claimed he was being “sarcastic”.

That response is part of Trump’s regular responses whenever something is pointed out that’s factually wrong. For example, during the early part of the Trump Iran War, a school in Iran was bombed, resulting in 165 and 175 people killed, mostly children.

Trump suggested it was Iran’s fault.

“In my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran…We think it was done by Iran, because they’re very inaccurate with their munitions, they have no accuracy whatsoever, it was done by Iran.”

When pressed by a reporter if Mr. Trump’s assessment was accurate, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded that the Pentagon was “investigating,” adding that “the only side that targets civilians is Iran.”

Investigations show a U.S. Tomahawk missile hit the school.

Trump responded, “I don’t know about that.”

The impact of Trump’s whimsical, chaotic approach is slowly adding up. I’m just waiting for the tipping point.

It can’t come too soon for me.

Lies, Plots, and Obfuscation: Another Year of Trump

The Trump trajectory is pretty much what many of us anticipated, based on his first administration and what he’s often said.

Aggressively going after immigrants, which Trump and his administration always call ‘illegals’ and categorize as criminals, he has swept up U.S. citizens and children. Right now, a 9-year-old child in a detention center wishes she was dead. She’s been locked up for eight months. That’s Trump’s soulless, uncaring nation for you, Evangelicals and all.

Under Trump, ICE killed eight people in 2025-2026.

Affordability remains a huge problem. While promising tax breaks, Trump has done little to address increasing the housing supply, which is the basis for the high housing costs. It’s simple supply and demand.

Not for Trump. Trump instead blames ‘illegals’ for high housing prices. Experts counter with a much more nuanced responses which don’t mention immigrants, no matter what their legal status is. His policies miss the mark because his policies have nothing to do with the issue.

Trump tariffs did not lead to the lower prices he promised for Day One. He did claim credit for doing it:

“Grocery prices, energy prices, airfares, mortgage rates, rent and car payments are all coming down, and they’re coming down fast,” Trump said in a wide-ranging speech, adding: “We’ve done a hell of a job in 12 months.”

As usual, Trump failed, then lied. Egg prices have dropped but chicken, beef, and coffee prices are up, along with housing, cars, beer, and insurance premiums. We the People know if, if you’re not a MAGA. We feel it.

Trump’s trademark lying continues, aided now by White House officials. One is Johnny MAGA. Johnny MAGA appears to be Wade Garrett, who works in the Trump Administration. When ICE agent Jonathon Ross killed Renee Nicole Good in Minnesota earlier this year, Johnny MAGA rushed fake news out showing the U.S. flag burning, pushing a fake narrative to justify Good’s murder.

We anticipated that Trump would gut the Department of Justice and use it to persecute political opponents. That’s exactly what he’s been doing, going after people who were responsible for investigating Trump and his crimes, including more FBI agents this week.

In 2024, Trump said, “Get out and vote! Just this time. You won’t have to do it anymore! Four more years, you know what? It’ll be fixed, it’ll be fine, you won’t have to vote anymore.”

Now many speculate that Trump is hatching a ‘national emergency’ to stop elections in 2028.

Given who Trump is and his history, there is every reason to worry about the future of our elections.

Wednesday’s Theme Music

Dry but cold and sunny, Wednesday, February 4, 2026, has begun its 24-hour Ashland residency. 50 – 46 – 37 F are Ashland’s temperatures, given by Alexa, online, and home. Sunny, with blue skies and no clouds that Papi and I can see. A high of sixty-something is projected.

I’m thinking about beats today. Give me a beat, we got the beat, we were beat, they beat him down.

Every day — every hour — has its beats. Sometimes they come out sharp and clear. Today, they’re muted background noise for me.

Reading a novel for a bit doesn’t reveal the day’s beats. Nor does reading the news. Yet the beat goes on.

Papi has his beat, moving with private style, a cool and graceful study in orange fur. Bit jealous, watching his steady gaze as he sits, looks, washes.

It’s only February and already the news beat has been manic with news that has me gritting my teeth, bracing for worse. The Neurons have offered up a Foo Fighters tune to blanket the noise. “The Pretender” plays in the morning mental music stream, driving me forward a new, harder beat. The song reminds me, same ol’ story, waiting to see what happens, waiting to hear their defense, waiting for a change back to the nation I knew.

Sample Lyrics

What if I say I’m not like the others?
What if I say I’m not just another one of your plays?
You’re the pretender
What if I say I will never surrender?

The song fits my mood because I often ask of Trump, who are you to issue decrees like a pompous king? And I ask of the MAGAs, who are you that you believe where Trump leads, not just accepting, but supporting and encouraging it?

The morning circle is done. Hope peace and grace find you, me, all of us, and take us tightly through this day and into a better tomorrow.

Cheers

Thursday’s Theme Music

Thursday, January 29, 2026, arrived in Ashland, bleakly overcast, 46 degrees. A high of 55 F is forecasted for us.

“Looks like rain,” my wife said. I nodded, agreeing. Papi meowed for food.

We need snow but it’s been a while since we’ve had serious precipitation in Ashland, invoking drought memories. With drought comes more wildfires, stirring recall of the 2020 Almeda fire, which destroyed several neighborhoods, almost wiping out entire towns. Rebuilding continues more than five years later.

It feels like it echoes Yogi Berra’s observation, “It’s deja vu all over again.”

I met with friends for beers and chats last night. As we discussed ICE in Minnesota and the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, two members reminded us of another ICE killing. Keith Porter was killed on December 31st in Los Angeles. He had a rifle and was shooting it into the air to celebrate the New Year. Not illegal, but an off-duty ICE agent shot and killed Keith Porter for it.

Three dead, all from innocuous actions. ICE’s record for killing U.S. citizens while aggressively hunting ‘illegal immigrants’ darkly disturbs me.

I hope there will be justice for Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti. I’m not sure if that’s possible in the U.S. with Trump in charge. Trump suggested that Renee Good was a terrorist who deserved to die, an allegation given without evidence.

More depressing, those three deaths are just the headline news. Other reports have ICE is responsible for the deaths of eight people in 2026. It’s not even the end of January yet.

Some glimmer of optimism was found on Daily Kos. Mark Sumner summarized how Jonathan Ross, the ICE agent who killed Renee Good, might be prosecuted, citing previous legal rulings and the courses which might be followed. I read it and took deep breaths.

I’m not overly hopeful but there is a glimmer. Part of my negativity stems from several simple facts in the cases and rulings Sumner cited: law enforcement killing citizens is more deja vu all over again.

Trying to break out of the cloud of general malaise now falling on me, The Neurons have a Cake song organized in the morning mental music stream. My friend and I were chatting last night, and I was telling him about this song, “Short Skirt Long Jacket”. He wasn’t familiar with it, though I sang it to him and everything. Should have just pulled out my phone, right? I realized that an hour too late.

Anyway, the bouncy song is now rooted in me, so let’s play it, sing along, and maybe smile a bit.

May peace and grace find us and save us from this cycle of ICE killing, and may justice be served. Cheers

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