But they touch upon 2 key nerves in the body politic: The tension in a #democracy about how & to whom credit for #public works & programs should be given, & narratives of gratitude particular to #US history, including the gratitude freely offered by #immigrants & #refugees, & the forced gratitude demanded from #enslaved people.

#Trump #narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing

…Compared with the giant banners of Trump’s glowering image hanging on federal office buildings, including the once-independent #DOJ, & the renaming for #Trump of public #landmarks & #memorials such as the #KennedyCenter for the Performing Arts, these banners are a relatively small #authoritarian incursion into the public realm.

#narcissism #megalomania #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing

A spox for the #Interior Dept didn’t respond to questions about how many banners have been hung, whether they are appearing outside of Washington, or how much the new ad campaign is costing.

They are a bitter topic in a city that gave #Trump’s opponent Kamala Harris >90% of the vote in the 2024 election. “I assume this is what North Korea looks like,” one critic wrote on the Globalist website.

#narcissism #vanity #authoritarianism #autocracy #despotism #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #MadKing

"According to aides and confidants, his focus in a potential second term has shifted away from short-term political concerns toward building a lasting legacy, even as allies worry about political fallout from policies like the Iran conflict and rising costs."

Sure you are, Donald — greatest man who ever lived, reincarnation of Jesus, Buddha, Mohammed wrapped into one. And the white jacket they're strapping on now is a new nightgown.

#Trump #megalomania #narcissism #MentalDecline #MadKing
/2

"I wonder how much he's on his phone. Do you think he has to charge it like three times a day or does he have an extra battery that goes on the back?

~ Heather Lofthouse

"I think he has batteries."

~ Robert Reich

"You know what's required to make batteries? Oil. Oil. ... he is obsessed with being online. And I wonder how he gets his dopamine hits, what he's looking at."

~ Lofthouse

#Trump #Hegseth #Pentagon #Iran #war #StraitofHormuz #oil #gas #MadKing
/3

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-dire-straits-the-coffee-klatch

"There is no point in trying to predict Donald Trump's demise; he has proven adaptable and fluid, again and again. But his Iran adventure (coming as it does with a partnership with Netanyahu) has put him into a position where he must sacrifice the coalition that has kept him in power."

~ Dave Troy

#Trump #Iran #war #instability #MentalDecline #madman #MadKing #megalomania
/13

https://america2.news/the-unraveling-of-donald-trump/?ref=america-2-0-newsletter

"Our idiot president 'can’t even surrender right.' … Over the weekend Paul Krugman quipped that Donald Trump “can’t even surrender right.”

This is correct. …

This guy couldn’t even get his shit sandwich plated and out the door.

Which has now left us at another brink."

~ Jonathan V. Last

#Trump #instability #MentalDecline #Iran #war #megalomania #MadKing #madman #ceasefire #negotiations
/10

https://www.thebulwark.com/p/our-idiot-president-cant-even-surrender-right-iran-strait-hormuz