The Witness Chronicles, 5/2/25

Only two dolls?

Here is something cute: Photo by Roma Kaiuk🇺🇦 on Unsplash

The Collapse of the 100 Day Regime

There is growing panic in the White House

Yikes. I’m writing this on day 102 and the news is full of stories of Trump support evaporating on multiple fronts. From savior of the country’s economy he has gone to being the man who killed Christmas. His recent comments about kids getting by with two more expensive dolls instead of thirty, a publicist's nightmare, revealed just how out of touch he is with reality down here amongst us deplorables.

Wow, so Donald Trump is not Father Christmas. Who knew, other than all of us?

Ok, that’s the stupid story, but the spreading panic in Republican DC is very real. I’m far from a DC insider but I’d argue that these days everyone paying attention is an insider as the media dissects this administration’s every move. The question is, when will the dam break and the wall of right wing loyalty collapses? We are getting close.

One of Trump’s major threats to the disloyal was Elon Musk and his money. Anyone daring to speak out against Trump and in favor of their constituents faced being primaried and their opponent being funded by Musk’s bottomless bucket of cash.

The downfall of Musk has been the stunning story of these 100 days, a story eclipsed by Trump’s constant lying and need for the limelight. Tesla’s Board of Directors is trying to replace him as CEO. Tesla stock is down by a startling 70%. As Doge claims of billions in savings are being audited by journalists we are finding out their random slashing of the government is actually costing us money.

Yes, there are not only no reductions, their mistakes actually cost us money. And, not surprisingly, given all of this, Musk has disappeared from the White House. So much for those primarying threats. The question is when will the Republicans in Congress listen to the screaming of their voters and start questioning Trump’s insane policies?

I’m betting we are just about there. They are facing a big ask when it comes to cutting Medicaid to pay for tax cuts for the wealthy, a very unpopular move that could mean defeat at the polls. 77 million Americans would be adversely affected by any cuts and that is really basic stuff, stuff like rent, healthcare, food, and other life or death issues.

And then there are tariffs and China. We are seeing bipartisan blowback about tariffs from both big and small businesses while Trump stubbornly refuses to admit they might have been a mistake. He is literally backed into a corner on the issue with no out in sight. He backtracks but also tries to have it both ways, to be right and then weasel his way out of his claims by cutting side deals.

Those side deals are not the solution because the damage is already done in the form of long term uncertainty and a failure of trust in the reputation of the United States. In my fairly long life no President has managed to damage that on this scale. It’s stunning.

I do not think Trump ever considered that China would not give in to his threats, revealing how little he knows about the history of China. He thinks he is a negotiator but China has thousands of years of history as tough deal makers. And then there is the matter of face.

Face is the Chinese version of reputation or credibility. Make a mistake or lose public opinion and you lose face and this is not a minor thing. If Xi Jinping were to cave and call Trump to deal, he would lose major face with his people. That will never happen. He is a power broker and knows he is in a position of strength. He has called Trump’s bluff and Trump knows it.

And what does he do? He lies and claims Xi called him. A claim no one believes for a minute. That should tell us everything about how desperate his situation is. His only way of dealing with his failures is to attempt to create an alternate reality by simply making things up.

This has worked for him many times in his life but the grift is out in the open and subject to intense public scrutiny. And people appear to finally be paying attention, something Trump can’t handle. He simply cannot be wrong, ever.

It is not an exaggeration to say he has proven to be wrong about everything in the first 100 days and cannot point to one positive result of his actions, no matter his extravagant claims. They are simply not holding up. The economy is in the toilet, prices are rising, there is no peace in Ukraine, the deportations are starting to backfire as he says he will deport American citizens without due process, and his influence is affecting other right wing politicians around the world, including Canada.

Btw, that 51st state thing is a completely unnecessary side claim that no one takes seriously, another distraction. Add in Greenland, Panama, and the Gulf of America hooha and the absurdity of all of this, and no credibility remains for an administration only a few months old.

There is another major issue not getting the coverage it deserves, probably because there is so much negative news, and that is the blatant corruption running rampant in this White House. Trump is openly taking in millions in exchange for the government looking the other way when businesses break the law.

It is going to take years to uncover the extent of this corruption, if it ever is calculated. That money is going directly into Trump’s pockets in a scam of monumental proportions and the ongoing chaos generated by the right is nothing more than cover for that scam. It’s an open secret and it is working for Trump’s personal bottom line.

This has always been his endgame and nothing has changed except for the scale and arrogance. But arrogance is its own biggest enemy and it appears to be turning on Trump and his fawning lackeys. We can only hope so but one question remains and it is a biggie.

How do we get rid of this guy and the people around him, including his junior hatchet man, JD? I have no answer for that.

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Martin