By Ben Meiselas
This morning offered yet another sobering snapshot of a country in crisis under Donald Trump. While world headlines focus on the Trump’s visibly deteriorating physical and mental condition, including Der Spiegel documenting Trump nodding off during a disastrous cabinet meeting, new economic data paint an equally alarming picture of national decline. And as the fallout grows, Trump and his allies are scrambling for scapegoats, spinning conspiracy theories, and doubling down on racist rhetoric in a way that endangers not just our democracy, but the safety and dignity of millions of Americans.
Let’s start with the numbers. You all know I am a data guy. The latest ADP private payroll report shows the U.S. shed 32,000 private-sector jobs in November, a staggering miss from Wall Street’s already tepid expectations. This isn’t a one-off blip. It’s part of a sustained pattern of weakness under Trump: four negative payroll months in the last six, with small businesses, traditionally the backbone of the American economy, getting absolutely gutted, as the report plainly states.
The losses cut across critical sectors, including manufacturing, information services, professional and business services. Virtually every forward-looking industry is hemorrhaging jobs. The only categories still adding workers, hospitality and health care, are themselves under attack from Trump’s policies.
And we know what’s driving it. Tariffs. Chaos. Instability. A White House that wakes up angry, issues threats, calls it economic strategy, and then lies about what’s actually going on.
Even Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick couldn’t keep the story straight. On CNBC he initially admitted, “as you deport people that’s going to suppress private job numbers,” an extraordinary concession that Trump’s mass-deportation agenda is harming the economy. Then, he pivoted to blaming a “Democratic shutdown,” ignoring the reality that tariffs and uncertainty are crushing small businesses.
While legitimate outlets like CNBC showed charts illustrating severe small-business attrition—120,000 jobs lost in that category alone—Fox “News,” acting as the Trump regime’s propaganda arm, declared the report “great news” because Wall Street hopes it may prompt an interest-rate cut. That celebratory tone, juxtaposed against American workers losing their livelihoods, exposes exactly how Trump’s media ecosystem sees the public: collateral damage in the pursuit of lower borrowing costs for the wealthy.
Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attempted his own spin campaign, falsely claiming inflation is worse in blue states. CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin immediately corrected him: “the highest inflation… has been in red states, especially Florida.” Presented with the truth, Bessent simply shrugged and doubled down. “I don’t think that’s right,” Bessent said. To which Sorkin replied, “We can go through the math.”
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Now let’s move onto some other topics aside from the economy.
In Congress and on Trump-aligned media, MAGA officials engaged in some of their most alarming rhetoric yet. Trump’s Department of Homeland Security spokesperson refused to dispute his claim that Somali immigrants are “garbage,” instead spewing vague allegations of “widespread fraud” while offering zero data. Representative Tom Emmer went further, falsely claiming “80% of crimes” in Minneapolis are committed by Somalis, an outright lie that echoes some of history’s most dangerous dehumanization campaigns.
This is not accidental. Trump, seeing his support plummet among Latino voters, is casting around for a new group to demonize. This week, he chose Somali Americans. It is a cynical and racist strategy designed to distract from policy failure. And it puts real people in danger.
As all this unfolded, new bipartisan pressure emerged on Attorney General Pam Bondi to comply with the scheduled December 19 release of Jeffrey Epstein’s long-sealed files. Lawmakers are demanding assurances now, not after excuses appear, that the public will receive the full, unredacted truth. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee this morning released grim, never-before-seen images of Epstein’s island, underscoring why transparency is essential.
And in yet another example of Trump weaponizing presidential power to normalize corruption, this morning he pardoned Texas Democratic Representative Henry Cuellar, who is under indictment for a $600,000 bribery scheme involving Azerbaijani officials and a Mexican energy company. The Biden administration prosecuted Cuellar because the law applies to everyone, regardless of party. Trump’s pardon sends the opposite message: bribery is acceptable as long as you pledge fealty to him.
This is the through-line of Trump’s America: instability, dishonesty, cruelty, and an unwavering instinct to reward corruption while attacking truth-tellers.
Then there’s the latest breaking news from CNN: that a classified Inspector General report set to be released to the public on Thursday shows that Pete Hegseth risked endangered troops’ lives when he shared sensitive war plans over the Signal app.
The country deserves fact-based leadership, real economic stewardship, and a government that treats every community with dignity. As always, we’ll continue tracking every development, exposing every lie, and bringing you the truth with evidence and clarity.
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