Ukraine: "Resilience That Inspires the World"

 

🔥 December 27 Attacks — Civilians Once Again Targeted On December 27th, Russia launched another wave of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine, striking civilian infrastructure and residential areas. Homes were damaged, energy facilities hit, and families were once again forced to endure fear and uncertainty. As winter deepens, civilians continue to bear the brunt of Russia’s aggression. ✈️ Ukraine Strikes Back — Major Military Assets Hit Ukraine carried out a series of successful strikes against Russian military targets in occupied Crimea. Fighter jets at airfields were reportedly damaged, and a Russian submarine was struck — delivering a significant blow to Russia’s air and naval capabilities in the Black Sea. These actions directly reduce Russia’s ability to terrorize Ukrainian cities and demonstrate Ukraine’s growing defensive strength. 🚀 Attacks on Russian Territory — Strategic Counterpressure Ukraine also expanded operations inside Russia, using domestically produced long-range drones and British Storm Shadow missiles to strike oil and gas facilities and military assets, including a Black Sea port and an oil refinery. In Moscow, a senior Russian general was killed by a car bomb — an incident the Kremlin is investigating as a possible Ukrainian operation. These developments underscore Ukraine’s ability to impose real costs on Russia’s war machine. 🕊️ Zelenskyy’s 20-Point Peace Plan — A Clear Path Forward President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continued pushing his 20-point Peace Formula, calling for the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity, accountability for war crimes, food and energy security, and lasting guarantees to prevent future aggression. Ukraine has made it clear: peace is possible — but only one that is just and durable. 🤝 High-Level Diplomacy — Zelenskyy Meets with Donald Trump This week also included a significant meeting between President Zelenskyy and former U.S. President Donald Trump. The discussion highlighted Ukraine’s continued efforts to engage leaders across the political spectrum and emphasize the importance of sustained international support for Ukraine’s defense and sovereignty. 💙 Resilience That Inspires the World Despite relentless attacks, exhaustion, and loss, Ukrainians continue to stand strong — defending their land, caring for one another, and refusing to surrender their future. This fight is not only for Ukraine, but for freedom, dignity, and the right of nations to exist without fear. Thank you for standing with Ukraine. Your support truly matters. Slava Ukraini 💙💛 from "Ukrainian Apparel": Ukrainian Clothing Online Shop | Ukrainian Apparel

The Week Ahead

 

The Week Ahead: We started the week with questions about the incomplete release of the Epstein Files and whether Jack Smith’s behind-closed-doors testimony on the Hill would be made public. There was also interesting news about the aggressive approach Senator Mark Kelly’s lawyer took with Pete Hegseth in a letter demanding that the Secretary communicate with him about the investigation. To date, Hegseth had been using it for political talking points in the media. All of these issues will continue to be live in the coming week.

A Conviction, Two Orders, and A Lawsuit: We reviewed the conviction of Judge Hannah Dugan in Wisconsin and the likely issues on appeal. Then there were a pair of interesting judicial rulings. In D.C., Judge Boasberg certified a class action for people the Trump administration deported to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. In Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon entered an order that will permit the government to drag out the delay before Volume II of Jack Smith’s special counsel report is released to at least February, despite an 11th Circuit ruling that was critical of her for not ruling in the matter earlier. Special counsel reports are routinely released. And finally, there was news of a lawsuit over Trump’s renaming of the Kennedy Center.

Live with Norm Eisen and Joyce Vance: One of the lawyers behind the lawsuit challenging Trump’s ability to add his own name to the Kennedy Center, Norm Eisen, joined us to explain the lawsuit and how they’ve threaded the needle on the sticky issue of who has the right to sue.

Which Side Is DOJ On: The Epstein Files: We tracked the most interesting information released by DOJ. If you’ve been out of the loop for the holiday, this is a piece you’ll definitely want to take a look at. DOJ is behaving more like Donald Trump’s lawyer than the people’s—and certainly not the victims’/survivors’ lawyer—in this matter... 

Five Questions with Criminal Justice Reform Leader Adam Gelb: This week, Donald Trump took credit for the drop in crime in the country, claiming it was the result of closing the southern border. In this very timely interview, CCJ’s Adam Gelb discusses the organization’s report, which fills in the four-year gap since the feds stopped publishing detailed arrest data and shows that the arrest rate has fallen by 25% since 2019, with a 50% drop in drug arrests. In other words, crime is down despite the decrease in arrests. We discuss what data-driven criminal justice policy could look like, and Adam offers some important insights as we head into a midterm election cycle where Trump is going to try to take credit for events set in motion by others.

He Looks Like A Witness To Me: Trump’s Christmas Day post “to the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein” on Truth Social was more than just the sort of predictable trash this president. As I read through it, it struck me that Trump sounds like a witness. While Pam Bondi’s DOJ protects the president like a client, there’s a possibility of congressional hearings or even civil cases down the road. Whether he ever takes the stand or not, Trump clearly knows a lot more about Epstein’s conduct than he’s ever made public.

These are complicated legal times, and it’s easy for the truth to get lost in the chaos. Civil Discourse doesn’t just track today’s headlines—it connects them to the legal and political history that explains why they matter. We won’t forget what’s at stake or let Trump and his allies rewrite the past.

You can subscribe to Civil Discourse for free and get clear analysis that helps you see the whole picture, delivered straight to your inbox. If you’re in a position to, your paid subscription helps me devote the time and resources it takes to write the newsletter. That means everyone has access to information they can share with friends and family—a constructive act we can all participate in right now, helping more Americans understand how critical this moment is.

We’re in this together,

Joyce Vance

 

"Merry Christmas!" Declares Trump Moments After Threat to Destroy Broadcasters Who Air Criticism of Him

 

President Donald Trump sent out a cheery Christmas greeting early Wednesday morning just three minutes after threatening to shut down US broadcasters if their programs did not provide him with more positive coverage. In a Truth Social post sent out at 12:36 am, Trump renewed his threat to once again strip broadcast licenses from networks that cover or portray him and his administration in a negative light.

“If Network NEWSCASTS, and their Late Night Shows, are almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump, MAGA, and the Republican Party, shouldn’t their very valuable Broadcast Licenses be terminated?” Trump wrote. “I say, YES!”

Just three minutes afterward, at 12:39 am, Trump posted an all-caps message that read, “MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!”

It is unclear what sparked Trump’s latest threat, although shortly before it was posted he lashed out at comedian Stephen Colbert, whose time hosting CBS’ “The Late Show” is set to end in May 2026.

“Stephen Colbert is a pathetic trainwreck, with no talent or anything else necessary for show business success,” he wrote. “Now, after being terminated by CBS, but left out to dry, he has actually gotten worse, along with his nonexistent ratings. Stephen is running on hatred and fumes. A dead man walking! CBS should, ‘put him to sleep,’ NOW, it is the humanitarian thing to do!”

While Trump frequently delivered angry rants about media coverage throughout his first term, his words appear to be carrying significantly more weight during his second term.

For example, the announcement of Colbert’s cancellation raised eyebrows earlier this year because it came shortly before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) signed off on an $8 billion deal for CBS parent company Paramount to be bought by Skydance Media, the company founded by David Ellison, son of Trump ally Larry Ellison.

Weeks after this, Trump-appointed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr threatened to rescind broadcast licenses for Disney-owned ABC unless it took late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, a frequent Trump critic, off the air. Hours after Carr’s threat, Kimmel’s show was suspended before being put back on the air days later amid a public outcry.

Over the weekend, CBS News boss Bari Weiss spiked a segment on the network’s flagship news program “60 Minutes” that cast a critical eye on the Trump administration for sending hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants to a notorious El Salvadoran prison where they were allegedly subjected to abuse and torture.

Weiss’ decision to at least temporarily quash the story came as Larry Ellison is making a hostile bid to buy Warner Brothers Discovery that will once again need FCC approval in the future in order to succeed.

-Brad Reed, Common Dreams

"Merry Christmas to all, including the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly. We no longer have Open Borders, Men in Women’s Sports, Transgender for Everyone, or Weak Law Enforcement. What we do have is a Record Stock Market and 401K’s, Lowest Crime numbers in decades, No Inflation, and yesterday, a 4.3 GDP, two points better than expected. Tariffs have given us Trillions of Dollars in Growth and Prosperity, and the strongest National Security we have ever had. We are respected again, perhaps like never before. God Bless America!!! President DJT"

"When you ship human beings into a place built for cruelty, you own the cruelty"

 

Let’s be clear: this IS Trump’s immigration machine — and just because the torture is on foreign soil doesn’t wash the blood off American hands. This report wasn’t meant to be seen. Inside CECOT, a vetted 60-Minutes investigation, was yanked hours before broadcast and later leaked online anyway. So, what exactly didn’t they want us to know?

They didn’t want ordinary people to connect the simplest dots: when you ship human beings into a place built for cruelty, you own the cruelty. The leaked reporting centers on testimony that reads like a history lesson we were promised would never repeat. People describe being beaten routinely, forced into stress positions, thrown into dark cells, and treated like their bodies are just objects to move, bend, break.

In the leaked video clip circulating, one detainee says: “After they locked us in, they came to beat us every half hour.” That’s not “detention.” That’s a gulag with better lighting. And here’s the part that needs to be said in plain language:

If you know a place tortures people and you send people there anyway, THEN YOU ARE HELPING TORTURE HAPPEN. It doesn’t matter if the fist belongs to a foreign guard. The decision belongs to us. That’s what “outsourcing brutality” means.

One of the men reported on by Reuters is Andrés Guillermo Morales, a Colombian Venezuelan migrant with no criminal record who had no gang ties at all. He was deported anyway, reportedly flagged based on vague and disputed indicators like tattoos, and sent straight into El Salvador’s CECOT prison without a trial.

Once inside, that innocence meant nothing — Morales was subjected to the same beatings, isolation, and dehumanization described by other detainees, because in that system there is no mechanism to correct mistakes once the U.S. hands someone over.

This is also why the censorship matters. According to multiple reports, CBS’s new leadership pushed to hold the segment back, with internal conflict over demands for additional on-camera responses from Trump officials — even after the story team had pursued comment.

The correspondent reportedly called the move political, not editorial. You don’t have to love the media to understand the incentive here: powerful people don’t want a mainstream broadcast putting America’s fingerprints on a human-rights horror show.

So ask your conservative neighbors and friends something simple, without yelling: Are you okay with “border security” that relies on sending people into a prison system that tortures and beats innocent people? If the answer is yes, at least be honest about what you’re defending.

Because if we let this story be buried, we’re not just losing a TV segment. We’re normalizing a policy that will be remembered the way we remember the worst chapters — with the same question hanging over it: Who knew, and stayed quiet?

 

Lawmakers Who Deserve Recognition

 

We have spent the year commiserating with you over the shortcomings of most congressional Democrats. However, we have also seen profiles in courage and political excellence. These lawmakers have demonstrated that the minority is not without influence or power. These politicians consistently revealed not just the evils of the Trump regime, but the cowardice and irresponsibility of Trump’s MAGA pawns on the Hill. These lawmakers deserve a shout out.

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) inspired the country with a 25-hr. speech on March 31-April 1, which broke Strom Thurmond’s anti-civil rights filibuster. 

Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) delivered his own marathon masterclass in October on the threats to democracy.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Cal.), in June, was manhandled, thrown to the ground, and hustled out of the room when he simply tried to question Homeland Security Department Secretary Kristi Noem about federal immigration forces’ acts of brutality. He then delivered with immense dignity this speech on the Senate floor.

Six Democratic lawmakers, veterans of the military or intelligence services, produced a video reminding military personnel of their obligation to refuse to follow plainly illegal orders. They thoroughly rattled Trump, who went so far as to write a Truth Social post suggesting their behavior was “seditious,” the punishment for which is death, and set the stage for a furious debate on the extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) has been a force of nature—inspiring protestors, inveighing against autocracy, and restating fundamental principles on which the country was founded. If you ever need to recharge your batteries and lift your spirits, check out her BlueSky account. One hopes she will replace Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) sooner rather than later in the Senate.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) in April had the courage to go to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He helped debunk the lie that Abrego Garcia was a dangerous gang member. More than any lawmaker, he focused the public’s attention on the illegal and inhumane effort to deport migrants to CECOT. He remains a forceful voice and fighter against the Trump regime, most recently co-sponsoring the Prohibiting Unauthorized Military Action in Venezuela Act of 2025.

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) has effectively become the constitutional law tutor for the nation throughout the Trump era. He consistently reveals and denounces Trump’s assault on the Constitution. He uses what power he has to investigate Trump outrages and put out searing reports on misconduct, corruption, and policy failures. He is a favorite at resistance events and here at The Contrarian. Rakin’s appearances at committee hearings are invariably effective and memorable, and he is not afraid to litigate against the lawless Trump regime. What’s more, he does it all with good cheer, humanity, and wit.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I), in dozens of floor speeches over the years, has exposed the Supreme Court justices’ ethical misconduct, the role of dark money that influences the high court, and the weaponization of the Justice Department. In more than 300 speeches, he has shined a light on the dangers of climate change as well as climate change denial.

While not the chairman (yet), Whitehouse is the most prominent figure on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He uses his position to denounce the abusive conduct of federal immigration forces, skillfully grill and slam incompetent and dangerous Trump officials or nominees (leading the charge against Emil Bove’s nomination), demand evidence to expose wrongdoing, elevate the pedophile-coverup scandal, and drill down on corruption. Without question, he should take over as chairman/ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee when Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) retires.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Cal.) has adeptly served as point man for Democrats in investigating Trump’s involvement with Jeffrey Epstein and foot-dragging in the release of files in which Trump is repeatedly mentioned. From his perch as ranking member on the House Oversight Committee (since June), Garcia has been confronting the regime on Trump’s corruption, shutdown shenanigans, FCC lawlessness, DHS abuses, and interference with (or firing) inspectors general. Imagine what he could (and hopefully will) do in the majority with the power of subpoena.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) champions pro-worker and pro-consumer policy as she leads the ongoing fight against Trump’s corrupt oligarchy. She has been a ferocious critic of Trump’s corruption and his utter failure to lower prices. Faced with Trump’s dismantling of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Warren doggedly defended the entity she helped create. She has consistently skewered OMB director Russ Vought who has dismantled the CFPB and explained how its destruction encourages scams and abuse and forfeits billions of dollars that could be returned to taxpayers.

She has demanded an investigation into Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director William Pulte’s possible misconduct and misuse of federal funds in his quest to cook up a specious, vindictive claims against Trump’s enemies. She has fearlessly condemned the ballroom travesty, denounced deregulation of banks, fought against media monopolies, and slammed Trump for pricing millions out of healthcare coverage. Should Democrats win the Senate, Warren would likely chair the Finance and Banking Committees. That alone is reason to fight for the majority.

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The Physics of Christmas: How Could Santa Visit the Whole World in Just 24 Hours?

 

Santa Claus’s annual gift-giving journey is a feat that has long captivated the imagination of children and adults alike. But while it’s not necessarily rooted in science, is it in fact possible? Let’s break down the monumental task facing jolly old St. Nick and explore the mind-boggling physics behind his globe-trotting gift delivery.

With the awesome power of science and perhaps a sprinkling of Christmas stardust, let’s look at the frightening feat facing Father Christmas. Will he get it all done in time? When you boil it down, the task is pretty simple. Santa Claus and his nine reindeer – Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph – have to deliver presents to children all over the world on Christmas Eve.

However, when you find out how many homes they have to visit, how far and how fast they have to travel, and how many servings of milk and cookies he has to eat, the job gets a little more complicated. Well, a lot more complicated.

The Assumptions: For these calculations, we’re going to have to make some assumptions. Back in 2018, three physics students from the University of Leicester did some math. They estimated that there are around 715 million Christian children around the world, and assuming an average of three per household, Santa is going to have to visit somewhere around 238 million homes.

Now, those 238 million homes aren’t all next door to each other (we wouldn’t like to be the postman lumbered with that particular round). They’re spread over an area of roughly 30 million square kilometers (11.5 million square miles), so he’ll need to cover a distance of about 160,000,000 km (99.4 million miles) – farther than the distance from Earth to the Sun.

Time & Speed: Luckily for Santa, he has a little more than the standard 24 hours to play with. Starting at the International Date Line and working east to west, he has between 31 and 34 hours to complete his monumental mission, thanks to the earth’s rotation, variations in the times of sunrises and sunsets (and children’s bedtimes), as well as different locations and latitudes. But assuming we give him the maximum available time of 34 hours, or 2,040 minutes, or 122,400 seconds, then how fast does he actually have to travel?

To recap, we know Santa has to visit 238 million homes, and he’s got 34 hours to do it. So, he’s going to have to visit seven million households per hour, 116,667 households per minute, or 1,944 households every second.

A hard enough job as it is, but it gets even harder when you take into account that at each house, Santa has to decelerate from staggeringly high speeds, get off his sleigh and get into each house undetected (very few houses these days have chimney flues), he has to deliver all the presents, eat the cookies and drink the milk, get back out of the house undetected, back on his sleigh, and accelerate to the same high speeds. He may have to do all this, at each house, in under two microseconds (that’s two millionths of a second).

Now we come to Santa’s speed. He needs to travel 160 million kilometers in 34 hours, which is around 4.7 million kilometers per hour, or 0.44% of the speed of light, way beyond our current technical capabilities, but it’s Santa, so anything’s possible….

The Physical Limitations: Santa will need a top-of-the-range sat-nav to know where he's going...  In a journey of such magnitude, there are a few logistical challenges to overcome…

Air Resistance: At such colossal speeds, the air resistance would be enough to vaporize Santa, his sleigh and all the presents.

Payload: Santa’s sleigh would need to carry presents for hundreds of millions of children. The weight of books, toys, bikes, games consoles and chocolate would be enormous, requiring an extraordinary amount of energy to move.

Navigation: Santa would need a seriously sophisticated sat-nav system to visit every home efficiently without going to the same house twice. Not great for Santa, not too bad for the kids who get two lots of presents!

Aerodynamics: The University of Leicester students calculated that Santa’s sleigh would need aero foils of approximately 1.26 x 10-3 m² to stay airborne at these speeds. That’s some seriously magical engineering!

In Theory, Is It Possible? Could St Nick use a Christmas wormhole to make his deliveries?  Several scientific concepts could potentially explain Santa’s ability to get to each house.

Time Dilation: At speeds approaching that of light, time would slow down for Santa relative to Earth, effectively giving him more time to complete his journey.

Wormholes: These theoretical shortcuts through space-time connecting distant points could allow Santa to cover vast distances almost instantaneously.

Quantum Superposition: Santa might exist in multiple places simultaneously, delivering gifts to millions of homes at exactly the same time.

Artificial Intelligence: Advanced AI could help Santa optimize his route and manage gift requests efficiently.

Super-Advanced Sleigh Technology: His sleigh may use ultra-futuristic tech, letting it zip around at impossible speeds and drop presents invisibly. Think of it as a super-fast, high-tech delivery drone.

Super Santa! So, each year, as children around the world drift into dreams filled with expectation, Santa embarks on his extraordinary voyage, defying logic and time to deliver joy. And while the physics of Santa’s journey may seem impossible, perhaps that’s what makes the magic of Christmas so special. 

-Discovery

 

What will guide us going forward?

 

We can draw important lessons from looking back on 2025 and reviewing the assault of our democracy and the debasement of American society as we knew it—as well as the victories for democracy, decency, and inclusion. There is plenty to digest as we steel ourselves for another year.

First, most politicians do not lead. They follow. We began Donald Trump’s second term with a chorus of credulous Democrats insisting they could find “common ground” with Donald Trump and Republicans. Senate Democrats caved in March on the continuing resolution. A rump group did it again in November. Too often, Democratic leaders still cannot help themselves in excusing Trump. They too frequently shy away from issues they imagine that they cannot win. What moves them to do their job, as we saw repeatedly, was fulsome, angry, and mass public opposition.

Second, Republicans care not one bit about their own constituents. Pointing out that slashing Medicaid and SNAP, zapping Affordable Care Act subsidies, messing with vaccine guidelines, and enacting cost-raising tariffs disproportionately hurt red states, especially rural residents, falls on deaf MAGA ears. They, apparently, do not care. They wish away reality to double down on radical policies, conspiracies, and downright lies to avoid Trump’s wrath and the prospect of a primary challenge. They hide from scrutiny inside the right-wing propaganda bubble. Democrats can appeal to voters on these issues; but this gang of Republicans appear prepared to lose before crossing Trump or adjusting their policies to help their own people.

Third, the Supreme Court is beyond public shaming. No matter how transparent the “Calvinball” jurisprudence, how egregious the misuse of the shadow docket, and how outraged the lower courts may be, the six justices on the MAGA majority simply keep doubling down on partisan hackery. They seem entirely indifferent to criticism from scholars and the general public. Their rulings and oral arguments shrug off consistent, serious legal analysis in favor of ideological diktats. They remain defiant, cushioned by the security of lifetime jobs, utterly cut off from the real lives of Americans. We can address their partisan hackery and assault on our constitutional system through comprehensive reform—including a mandatory ethics regimen, term limits, jurisdictional limits (they can keep original jurisdiction plus, say, maritime cases), and court expansion.

Fourth, winning requires moving public opinion to further the cause of democracy. The right-wing has understood that many battles are generational (e.g. control of the courts), and that losing battles or blips in criticism in the short-term (e.g. nixing immigration reform under President Biden) nevertheless can increase their chances of gaining power and/or undermining the other party. Democrats must take the same stance (i.e. the fight is the point), whether it is a fight to preserve ACA subsidies, filing suits to challenge lawlessness, breaking quorum in Texas and fighting the re-redistricting fight, or opposing deployment of ICE, CPB, and the national guard. Such efforts may not change the outcomes immediately, but they collectively fuel the campaign against autocracy. Americans gravitate to those who fight on their behalf.

Fifth, “electability” is a pundit-created myth. Neither elite pundits, donors, nor political operatives really know who is electable. On paper, few in those categories thought Donald Trump, Zohran Mamdani, or Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) were “electable.” The candidates proved otherwise. By the same token, “safe” candidates, especially lifelong professional politicians, lose when they prove unable to galvanize voters (e.g., Terry McAuliffe in 2021 Virginia governor’s race, Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. in 2024). A disciplined, articulate politician who can authentically connect with people on issues they care about deeply will get elected. The voters decide electability.

Sixth, religious appeals do not work with White Christian nationalists. As we have discussed many times, White Christian nationalists generally do not seem interested in good works, helping the most vulnerable, or personal character. This is a movement seeking power, not redemption. Its adherents are motivated to remake America into a white, Christian dominated nation. Lacking the votes to bring their goals about through democracy, they are all too willing to suppress voting and rely on other anti-democratic measures. Blowing up people on the high seas, separating children from parents, brutalizing Hispanics, and taking away SNAP benefits are features, not bugs for people lacking empathy who seek racial and religious dominance.

Seventh, moderate Republicans are nonexistent. The myth of moderate Republicans willing to make deals on a bipartisan basis dies hard. But when the Senate Republicans near-unanimously rubber stamps the most extreme, unqualified nominees; Republicans in both houses pass the big, ugly big slashing Medicaid and SNAP to partially pay for tax cuts for the rich; do not demand that RFK, Jr. or Pete Hegseth resign; and instead overwhelmingly condone an abusive, chaotic immigrant scheme. It is time to stop applying the label “moderates” to the likes of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.), and others who enable their MAGA colleagues’ agenda.

Eighth, no lie is too ridiculous for MAGA cultists to reject. Nothing Trump says (e.g., denying the affordability crisis, claiming he inherited the worst inflation in history, blaming windmills for killing whales) is so absurd as to trigger guffaws—let alone objections—from MAGA Republicans in the base, Congress, or the right-wing media. Like any cult, MAGA is a closed circuit without room to question the leader’s infallibility. The right-wing media bubble certainly helps to insulate MAGA voters from reality, but it is human nature to stick with a fraudster or con man rather than admit you’ve been duped. Educating those Americans outside of the cult is possible; reaching those inside is a waste of time.

Ninth, Americans may have voted for Trump, but they overwhelmingly reject what he is doing. As obvious as it may have been to many of us that Trump was unhinged and intent on doing exactly what he said (deporting millions of people, enacting an international trade war, selling out our allies, aspiring to become a dictator), with each passing week more Americans are rejecting him and his agenda. That development should inspire confidence that Americans are not irretrievably hooked on a racist, pro-totalitarian, and pro-oligarchy agenda. We can still achieve a pro-democracy electoral majority.

Tenth, the public is the key to saving democracy. The courts matter. Opposition politicians matter. Reality (e.g., rising prices) matter. But ultimately, we have learned that only when millions of Americans get engaged, turn out to protest and vote, and take ownership of our democracy can we collectively defeat autocracy. Speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi’s favorite Lincoln quote—“Public sentiment is everything. With public sentiment, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed”—has never been more apt.

What does this all add up to? Pro-democracy forces will not shame or argue MAGA Republicans into capitulation or retreat. With a helping hand from diligent lower courts, an organized electorate can end the authoritarian nightmare. New leaders will emerge along the way, but only ordinary Americans who dedicate themselves to exposing the evils, unpopularity and failures of the MAGA movement can achieve a decisive victory next November. Everything rests on the midterms. 

-Jennifer Rubin, The Contrarian

The Contrarian is reader-supported. Thank you! To enable our work, help with litigation efforts, and keep this dedication to democracy engaged through 2026 and beyond, please join our community as a free or paid subscriber.