By Ben Meiselas
Hi all, Ben here. I hope you don’t mind, but I need to be perfectly blunt with you this morning, because Trump’s authoritarian threats and actions are escalating. What we are seeing is an increasingly unstable authoritarian lashing out as Americans refuse to submit to his dangerous tactics. Now is the time for all of us to speak with the moral clarity this moment demands.
Trump is now openly threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act or even declare martial law. Whether he uses one term or the other makes no practical difference, because he is already deploying ICE and Border Patrol into Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and cities across the country to terrorize peaceful communities. This is not a response to an actual threat. It is designed to provoke conflict, create chaos, and manufacture the pretext he wants: a justification to deploy the military domestically and suppress blue states before the midterms.
Shortly before I recorded, Trump posted: “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT…Thank you for you attention to this matter! President DJT”
This is the plan. Terrorize communities, escalate violence, then claim the chaos justifies further crackdowns. They want this in Minnesota, and they want it in every major blue city heading into November.
Part of this is distraction. The Epstein files and the growing evidence of a cover-up involving the largest child sex trafficking ring in modern history are closing in on Trump’s Department of Justice. Trump needs a smokescreen. And he needs a mechanism to interfere with the upcoming elections in Democratic strongholds. This strategy does both.
Speaking of the midterms, a new article from Reuters features a chilling quote from Trump buried within the piece. “When you think of it, we shouldn’t even have an election,” he told them.
At the same time, we uncovered video from Mar-a-Lago showing a bizarre party where guests wore dog masks, in scenes that looked like a twisted real-world version of Kubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut. That’s what is happening inside Trump’s palace while Americans struggle with the highest grocery prices in years and inflation continues to rise. Instead of addressing any of this, the Trump regime is telling Americans they should be satisfied with a diet of “one piece of chicken, one piece of broccoli, and one corn tortilla.” That’s a direct quote from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. So in Trump’s America, you will own one doll, one pencil, and have one piece of broccoli. Enjoy, peasants. That’s the message coming straight from the regime.
Meanwhile, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem is on television endorsing an increased ICE and Border Patrol presence in Minnesota and admitting she has discussed the Insurrection Act directly with Trump. She said the president “certainly has the constitutional authority” to use it and that it remains an option.
Then you have MAGA figures like Randy Fine going on state regime media to talk about invading Greenland and withdrawing from NATO, suggesting Congress should “stand behind the president” as he tries to absorb Greenland into the United States. This isn’t fringe chatter. These are coordinated talking points from individuals aligned directly with Trump.
Others in Trump’s orbit continue to play their roles. Senator Roger Marshall is teasing a “major health care package” coming on Friday. MAGA House members are demanding investigations into the Clinton Foundation rather than the Epstein files themselves. It is all reruns of the same propaganda loop, meant to distract from the real threats unfolding in real time, and to cover for the regime’s criminality.
Then, without any irony, Trump posted that Iranian protesters “will no longer be sentenced to death after Trump’s warnings,” citing Fox “News” as his source. This is the President of the United States claiming credit for halting executions abroad while ignoring the thousands reportedly slaughtered by the Ayatollah since Trump’s January 2 pledge that “if a single protester was killed, America would intervene.” His reckless words emboldened protesters who believed him, and now he shrugs it off. He led these protestors on, then took the side of the Iranian regime.
Behind the scenes, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and other countries are pleading with Trump not to attack Iran. They fear the regional consequences, including retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases and destabilization of their own governments. For now, Trump appears to be holding back, not because of any strategic thinking, but because neighboring regimes told him to stop.
At the same time, conflict between Saudi Arabia and the UAE is escalating, adding another volatile flashpoint to a global map already destabilized. Russia has intensified its attacks on Ukraine. Tensions are rising between Thailand and Cambodia. Congo and Rwanda continue to clash. China is pressing harder around Taiwan. Venezuela is spiraling as Trump props up Delcy Rodríguez. And through all of this, Trump continues threatening to invade Greenland and undermine NATO. The world is destabilized, and it’s all thanks to Trump and his enablers.
We will continue to cover every development. Thank you to everyone who supports our work and helps us expose what Trump is trying to hide. Make sure you’re subscribed so we can keep growing, keep reporting, and keep shining a light on what this regime wants kept in the dark.
