#trumpocracy

[goldislops]

[reddanceragain]

"Democracy Dies With the First Amendment"

A president who jails authors, attacks media, and bullies truth-tellers isn’t defending America—he’s dismantling it, one silenced citizen at a time. I was the first, but sadly, I will not be the last!

Michael Cohen and MeidasTouch Network

Apr 24

“I’ve never seen such a clause in 21 years of being a judge.”

That’s not hyperbole. That’s not a political pundit’s take or an MSNBC talking head getting dramatic. That’s U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, during a teleconference ruling in my own case; the moment when the federal government under Donald J. Trump tossed me back into prison—not for committing a crime, but for writing a fuckin' book.

Let that sink in.

Judge Hellerstein continued: “I make the finding that the purpose of transferring Mr. Cohen from furlough and home confinement to jail is retaliatory, and it's retaliatory because of his desire to exercise his First Amendment rights to publish a book and to discuss anything about the book or anything else he wants on social media and with others.”

Retaliatory. Because I exercised my constitutional right to speak.

The judge called it unprecedented. He said it plainly: the Trump administration’s actions were an attempt to coerce me into silence, essentially telling me, “You toe the line about giving up your First Amendment rights, or we’ll send you to jail.”

And they did.

This isn’t North Korea. This isn’t Iran. This isn’t Russia. This is the United States of America—allegedly. Because under Trump, that sacred First Amendment, the very heartbeat of democracy, is nothing more than an obstacle to bulldoze.

And now, once again, the Trump camp is gearing up to bring it all back—only this time, if we don’t pay attention, it won’t just have been me. It’ll be you.

Don’t believe me? Just look at what they’re already trying to do:

Start with Voice of America—a U.S. government-funded news outlet broadcasting factual, uncensored journalism across the globe since 1942. A symbol of American ideals and freedom, used to puncture authoritarian disinformation. Trump and his cronies tried to turn it into their personal Pravda. The courts, again, had to step in. But what happens when the courts stop holding the line?

The banning of press credentials. The open lawsuits against ABC, CBS, and 60 Minutes. The legal intimidation of Ivy League schools for “radicalizing” students. The targeting of protestors labeled “illegal” for speaking out. Trump’s war on speech isn’t metaphorical; it’s a live wire, and it's burning through every institution that used to safeguard truth.

He even went after law firms—not because they broke laws, but because they dared represent clients he didn’t like. Chris Krebs, who told the truth about the 2020 election, got fired and slandered. Myles Taylor, who penned an anonymous op-ed calling out Trump’s recklessness, got harassed. These weren’t political disagreements; they are acts of war against dissent.

What happens as Trump seeks to increase the power of the presidency—this time using the judiciary he packed with loyalists instead of constitutionalists? What happens when there’s no Judge Alvin Hellerstein to say, “Enough is enough”?

I’ll tell you.

You lose your ability to protest. Your press gets gutted. Investigative journalism becomes espionage. Student protests become terrorism. Books are banned—or worse, never written. The line between "illegal speech" and "unflattering truth" disappears.

A satirical tweet? Jail. A peaceful protest sign? Felony. A critical op-ed? Sedition.

And the First Amendment? It becomes a memory. A relic of a once-great democratic experiment.

What follows is not democracy—it’s Trumpocracy. One where he is judge, jury, and algorithm. One where loyalty to him replaces loyalty to the Constitution. One where fear, not freedom, controls speech.

Imagine a country where every newspaper reads like Truth Social. Where comedians are charged with treason. Where journalists must register with the state to be “approved.” Where students are investigated for “un-American ideologies.” Where your group chat becomes evidence, and your silence is assumed guilt.

This is not a movie script. This is where we’re headed if this keeps going.

Because when the First Amendment dies, the Second doesn’t protect you. Nor the Fourth, the Fifth, the Fourteenth. You cannot defend democracy if you are forbidden from speaking about it.

This is not alarmism; it’s history repeating itself, wearing a red hat and holding a Sharpie. This is real—I lived it. Lived it in solitary confinement.

So ask yourself: When the courts can no longer stand between your voice and Trump’s vengeance, what will be left of America?

Nothing but the echoes of a failed republic. A 250-year experiment snuffed out. Not by war, not by foreign invasion—but by a man with a microphone, a vendetta, and an army of enablers.

And we let it happen.

Unless we speak. Loudly. Now. While we still can.

[truthaholics]

Trumpocracy 2.0, the Collapse of the American Dream and the Battle for the Next System! #Hubris #Hegemony #Ecocide #GazaGenocide #RuleOfLaw #BDS

Simultaneously, the prevailing liberal governance paradigm including the postwar institutional order which evolved (including through the use of imperial violence) to manage this industrial system is unravelling

Trumpocracy 2.0, the Collapse of the American Dream and the Battle for the Next System | Nafeez M Ahmed | Age of Transformation | 11 Feb 2025 13 min read Elon Musk is launching an authoritarian coup within the 2nd Trump presidency. Seen through planetary phase shift theory, this is a backslide into collapse. The battle lines are drawn. All humanity holds dear is at stake. We fight back by…

[anti-encomiums]

Synonym: trumpocracy.

[aunti-christ-ine]

  @mattresstagging    @davidfrum   

[larrywilmore]

Here’s video of Larry’s podcast with David Frum at Live Talks Los Angeles from earlier this month.

[eideard]

What is that smell?

What is that smell?

Thanks, gocomics.org

[garudabluffs]

Jack Ohman cartoon

It’s come to this: Trump vs. American democracy                        Nov. 12, 2020        

READ MORE https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/It-s-come-to-this-Trump-vs-American-democracy-15720879.php

Letter of the Week

Jan Bonfilio of San Rafael summed up the reaction to Joe Biden’s victory, ever so simply:

“When democracy loses, Lady Liberty cries. When democracy wins, she dances in the streets.”

[culvermccall]

This week in Trumpocracy.

[celmore-me]

Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic by David Frum

Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republic by David Frum

David Frum’s Trumpocracy: The Corruption of the American Republicshould be mandatory reading for every voting American, particularly anyone who did or would even consider voting for Donald Trump. Frum is intelligent, rational, thorough, and clear-headed. This is not the crazed manifesto of a dogmatic liberal. It is an impassioned but excruciatingly well-documented indictment of Trumpism and its…

[friedartstudio]

“Trump Wall Speak” #friedart #artistsagainsttrump #thewall #illustration #drawingoftheday #dailydrawing #trumpocracy #immigration #debate #american https://www.instagram.com/p/BsZrlKkh9av/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=16pjqg5zcwtls

[muddypolitics]

[phoenixwrites]

I haven’t seen this on Tumblr much, just a quick friendly note that Donald Trump’s first approved military operation resulted in the deaths of two Navy Seals and an 8-year-old American-Yemeni girl.   

Reuters is reporting that there are possibly more civilian deaths as well.  

[dragoni]

Whenever Trump screams "Fake News" at reporters, they should scream back, "Fake Election.”, Andy Borowitz

The Borowitz Report from Andy Borowitz - The New Yorker