>There is nothing, absolutely nothing, mysterious about Donald Trump, his allies, or what they are going to do. They are going to try to loot this country for as much as they can grab. Those who are with them will get a pass and those who are against them will be their enemies. After they leave, we will find that our institutions are weaker, our government is half broken, our crises have compounded, our most vulnerable citizens have suffered the greatest harms. Even now, I see many people who should know better falling into the trap of telling themselves that they will be able to get on Trump’s good side, to gently cajole him into the right place on their particular issue of concern. They believe that they can take advantage of his aggressive disinterest in most things by flattering him and then steering him the right way. So the Democratic governor of New Jersey gently [proclaims](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/nyregion/new-jersey-murphy-congestion-pricing-trump.html) that he wants to work with Trump to defeat congestion pricing and the Teamsters [proclaim](https://x.com/Teamsters/status/1881433324062941563) that they want to work with Trump on a pro-worker agenda and the UAW [proclaims](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/19/shawn-fain-uaw-trump-trade/) that they want to work with Trump on good trade policy and liberal columnists [proclaim](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/opinion/trump-middle-east.html) that Trump has a chance to do good things in the Middle East. And on, and on, and on. The con man maintains just enough unpredictability to fill his marks with hope that this time, they will be the ones to find the ball lurking under the shell.
>If you think that you are a savvy politician because you got Trump on your side regarding congestion pricing and meanwhile he is stripping thousands of your citizens of their birthright citizenship, you are wrong. If you think that you are a savvy union leader because you got Trump to a little better place on trade and meanwhile he is stripping every woman in your union of her right to abortion, you are wrong. If you think that you are a savvy liberal writer because you cajoled Trump into a little better place on foreign policy and meanwhile he is telling your trans friends that the government will no longer legally recognize their identity, you are wrong. You have made a miscalculation. You have not taken in the full picture of what you are dealing with here. You have been sold a worthless little bauble in exchange for something real. You have not done the math. You are the Greater Fool.
>The bad guys are in charge right now. You can’t triangulate your way out of this. All you can do is fight.
1 Comment
>There is nothing, absolutely nothing, mysterious about Donald Trump, his allies, or what they are going to do. They are going to try to loot this country for as much as they can grab. Those who are with them will get a pass and those who are against them will be their enemies. After they leave, we will find that our institutions are weaker, our government is half broken, our crises have compounded, our most vulnerable citizens have suffered the greatest harms. Even now, I see many people who should know better falling into the trap of telling themselves that they will be able to get on Trump’s good side, to gently cajole him into the right place on their particular issue of concern. They believe that they can take advantage of his aggressive disinterest in most things by flattering him and then steering him the right way. So the Democratic governor of New Jersey gently [proclaims](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/20/nyregion/new-jersey-murphy-congestion-pricing-trump.html) that he wants to work with Trump to defeat congestion pricing and the Teamsters [proclaim](https://x.com/Teamsters/status/1881433324062941563) that they want to work with Trump on a pro-worker agenda and the UAW [proclaims](https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/01/19/shawn-fain-uaw-trump-trade/) that they want to work with Trump on good trade policy and liberal columnists [proclaim](https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/21/opinion/trump-middle-east.html) that Trump has a chance to do good things in the Middle East. And on, and on, and on. The con man maintains just enough unpredictability to fill his marks with hope that this time, they will be the ones to find the ball lurking under the shell.
>If you think that you are a savvy politician because you got Trump on your side regarding congestion pricing and meanwhile he is stripping thousands of your citizens of their birthright citizenship, you are wrong. If you think that you are a savvy union leader because you got Trump to a little better place on trade and meanwhile he is stripping every woman in your union of her right to abortion, you are wrong. If you think that you are a savvy liberal writer because you cajoled Trump into a little better place on foreign policy and meanwhile he is telling your trans friends that the government will no longer legally recognize their identity, you are wrong. You have made a miscalculation. You have not taken in the full picture of what you are dealing with here. You have been sold a worthless little bauble in exchange for something real. You have not done the math. You are the Greater Fool.
>The bad guys are in charge right now. You can’t triangulate your way out of this. All you can do is fight.