This has been a shock-and-awe presidency, with Donald Trump’s relentless assault on our values, norms, traditions, and institutions. Unlike his first term, when at least a handful of establishment Republicans erected guardrails to limit the damage, Trump made sure this time to surround himself with incompetent sycophants willing to enable his worst impulses.
This past week, that supporting cast took center stage, testing boundaries across every facet of government—legal, military, cultural, and personal. In the process, they even challenged a foundational question: What does it mean to be an American?
The 14th Amendment isn’t ambiguous: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” That this is even before the Supreme Court is an affront to basic reading comprehension, and it shows just how far these ideologues are willing to go to remake the country outside its democratic framework.
Trump may scream on Truth Social, “We are the only Country in the World STUPID enough to allow ‘Birthright’ Citizenship!” But he’s wrong—32 other countries, including much of the Western Hemisphere, do the same. And if he wants to change that, there’s a process: Propose a constitutional amendment. But that requires persuasion, not fiat—and persuasion isn’t the goal.
While Trump sows chaos at home, he’s doing similar damage to America’s global standing. And the Fox News personality he put in charge of the Pentagon is amplifying the problem.
Trump has a long record of failure, but unlike his business ventures, he can’t declare bankruptcy or litigate his way out of consequences. His unnecessary war with Iran is spiraling out of control, and no one is eager to clean up the mess. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth blusters, threatens, and performs toughness as if that alone projects strength. It doesn’t. It makes the United States look comically sad and pathetic.
Don’t expect Trump to fire him. Loyalty and optics matter more than competence. Notably, the only Cabinet officials pushed out so far have been women. The news of now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s firing has obviously been big, but it is former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem who continues to deliver the best comedy.
Noem’s husband, Bryon Noen, was outed this week as an apparent cross-dresser who reportedly sent at least $25,000 to fetish models. Notably, he doesn’t seem embarrassed by any of it—which, honestly, is refreshing. He should live his most fabulous life! Heck, leave South Dakota for San Francisco, where no one will bat an eye. He’d be an instant icon. But it does raise the obvious question: Why do so many conservatives feel the need to hide who they are in the first place?
Now we’re supposed to believe Kristi Noem knew nothing, even as she carried on a rumored relationship with former Trump aide Corey Lewandowski—one she refused to deny under oath—and reportedly had a private space built on a DHS plane for their use. Seems to me that Kristi and Bryon had an arrangement. Fine. What consenting adults do is their business. But it’s hard to square that with a political movement obsessed with imposing its version of morality on everyone else.
Speaking of morality …
The fixation on women’s appearances, the constant boundary-crossing behavior, the indulgent vanity projects—it all points to the same underlying dynamic. The expression of power via humiliation. Entitlement defended as grievance. Excess reframed as strength.
Everything gets pulled into that orbit. And the cumulative effect isn’t just offensive—it’s corrosive. Trump’s assault on all that is good and holy has been stunningly effective, and the cleanup, when it blissfully arrives, will take years.
