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

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Will Trump Pardon Ghislaine Maxwell? What His 10 Worst Pardons Teach Us

No president in American history has used–and abused–the constitutional clemency power quite like Donald Trump. It’s not just that he’s used his authority to pardon people who probably shouldn’t be pardoned; other presidents have done that, although in smaller quantities.

What’s unique about Trump’s abuses is the sheer number–and how brazenly self-interested they’ve been. Thus far in his second term, he’s used the constitutional pardon prerogative in support of his larger vision of a government that’s set up to help him make money, reward loyalty, and undermine his perceived political enemies.

For our final Top 10 Worst of 2025, we detail the most egregious of Trump’s abuses of the pardon and other clemency powers. They are atrocious–so much so that we cannot rule out even worse pardons ahead, such as of Jeffrey Epstein’s co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. Neither does Trump rule it out; when asked after the Supreme Court rejected her final appeal in October whether he would consider a pardon for her, Trump dodged the question by stating “I’d have to take a look at it.”

As the country reviews the Justice Department’s most recent Epstein files document release, more light might be shed upon the matter. Or not, if as it so far appears, material has been over with held. Thanks to you, we won’t have to take the DOJ’s word for it. 

In the meantime, let’s have a look back at Trump’s 10 worst pardons of 2025, followed by our usual round up of all the Contrarian coverage of the week.

Capitol Clemency Catastrophe

We begin our putrid pardon-palooza on Day One of Trump, when he granted clemency to over 1,500 insurrectionists who stormed the capitol in his name on Jan. 6, 2021. Among those pardoned for their crimes on the “day of love,” as he puts it, were 608 people who were charged with violent crimes and approximately 174 who were “charged with using a deadly or dangerous weapon or causing serious bodily injury to an officer.” Trump defended the pardons on the grounds that “these people have already served a long period of time” and that many sentences were “ridiculous and excessive.” Tell that to the cops who were targeted.

Juan Orlando Hernández

Despite all his bluster about fighting drug trafficking in Central and South America, Trump pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was serving a 45-year sentence for pumping poison on a “cocaine superhighway” into our communities. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the prosecution was the result of a “weaponized” Justice Department, which brought the case because Hernández was “opposed to the values of the previous administration.” But the case was pushed by then-prosecutor Emil Bove, later Trump’s defense lawyer, senior DOJ official, and now Third Circuit judge!

Ross Ulbricht

More drug hypocrisy: Ross Ulbricht, who operated the Silk Road, a notorious underground online market used by drug dealers, landed one of the first pardons Trump signed. Ulbricht was sentenced to life in prison for his role in facilitating the flow of heroin and other illicit drugs into our communities. Trump defended the pardon because Ulbricht was put in jail by “the same lunatics who were involved in the modern day weaponization of the government against me.” Yet Trump just declared that illicit fentanyl is a “weapon of mass destruction.”

Changpen “CZ” Zhao

As we discussed last week, CZ is one of Trump’s crypto cronies. That includes CZ’s crypto exchange Binance using a Trump-supported table coin, USD1, to finance a $2 billion transaction (potentially generating huge revenue for the Trumps). CZ, who spent nearly four months in jail for money laundering issues at Binance, scored clemency a few months after the USD1 deal. Binance announced that it would launch trading of the USD1 stablecoin and another Trump-linked crypto product on its exchange a week after Trump signed CZ’s pardon. When asked about the pardon, Trump said, “I have no idea who he is. I was told that he was a victim, just like I was and just like many other people, of a vicious, horrible group of people in the Biden administration.” Sure.

Giuliani, Meadows, and the Election Co-Conspirators

Trump’s decision to issue pardons for 77 people involved in the scheme to overturn the 2020 election results and keep Trump in power was no surprise. His pardon attorney, Ed Martin, revealed the clemencies by replying to his own May post on X in which he said, “No MAGA Left Behind.” The only real shock here is that it took so long for Trump to protect Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell, and company from future accountability (none is facing federal charges). Just like the Jan. 6 mass pardons, this grant of clemency was yet another attempt to re-write the history of the attempted coup–and convey to future would-be plotters that they will not face consequences if they try again.

Rep. Henry Cuellar

Trump suggested that his decision to pardon Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife for allegedly engaging in a bribery scheme was mostly about politics: namely, hoping the congressman would switch parties or retire. But when Rep. Cuellar refused to jump ship, Trump exploded in a Truth Social rant, accusing Cuellar of “a lack of LOYALTY, something that Texas Voters, and Henry’s daughters, will not like.” For his part, Cuellar clapped back by paraphrasing the words of his fellow Texan and former president Lyndon B. Johnson, with Cuellar saying, “I’m an American, I’m a Texan, and I’m a Democrat, in that order … and I think anybody that puts party before their country is doing a disservice to their country.”

Todd and Julie Chrisley

It is possible that Trump saw some of himself in Todd and Julie Chrisley, former millionaire stars of the reality show Chrisley Knows Best, who received pardons after being convicted of fraud by an Atlanta jury in federal court in 2022? The pardon follows lobbying from the Chrisleys’ daughter Savannah, including a prime-time appearance at the 2024 Republican National Convention, where she argued that her parents were the victims of (you guessed it) political persecution. Trump’s pardon also fully relieved the Chrisleys of the more than $22 million they owed to victims of their tax fraud and tax evasion scheme. Not a bad deal– except for the victims.

BitMEX Co-Founders–and BitMEX

Trump appears to have made history in March when he used the pardon power to grant clemency to a corporation: crypto exchange BitMEX. The exchange pleaded guilty to “wilfully” failing to “establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering” program; Trump’s pardon coincided with a surge of activity on the exchange. The grant also extended to the exchange’s founders, Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes, and Samuel Reed, and employee Gregory Dwyer for their participation in similar schemes to flout U.S. laws. For its part, the company celebrated the pardon, thanking the president and boosting itself as “the safest, most trusted, financially-stable, and professionally operated crypto derivatives exchange.”

Scott Jenkins

Trump’s decision to pardon Scott Jenkins, an ardent MAGA supporter who was convicted of bribery and honest services fraud for running a “cash for badges” scheme, is one of the best examples of Trump’s putrid pardon philosophy. If you’re a MAGA official convicted of corruption offenses, you’re pardon eligible. Jenkins “displayed a shocking disregard for his ethical and legal responsibilities,” according to prosecutor Zachary T. Lee (who was then Trump’s acting U.S. Attorney before resigning in October). No matter. The day before the pardon was announced, Martin dropped his infamous “No MAGA left behind” post on X. Trump, as usual, defended the pardon because Jenkins “is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice”--even though it was his DOJ that secured Jenkins’ 10-year sentence.

Trevor Milton

Trevor Milton, convicted of defrauding investors in his electric car startup in 2022, received a pardon in March. Trump labeled Milton, who was represented at his trial by Attorney General Pam Bondi’s brother, Brad Bondi, as yet another victim of persecution: “the thing that he did wrong was he was one of the first people that supported a gentleman named Donald Trump for a president.” He certainly did support Trump and his agenda–to the tune of at least $930,000 to the Trump campaign or Trump-aligned PACs and $750,000 to the MAHA Alliance, a PAC designed to convince Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supporters to vote for Trump in 2024. Milton bombastically declared that the pardon is really about “every American who has been railroaded by the government.”

Dishonorable mention: George Santos

Trump loves those who have made their support for him clear. And few people have been better at that than George Santos, the disgraced former congressman and conman whose sentence Trump commuted in October. Santos was serving a seven-year sentence for wire fraud and identity theft. The commutation also relieved him of his requirement to pay more than $370,000 in restitution to his victims. Trump even called him “somewhat of a ‘rogue’” who “lied like hell”--but there are “many rogues throughout our Country that aren’t forced to serve seven years in prison.” This commutation, despite not technically being a pardon, makes the list as a dishonorable mention… .

-The Contrarian and Norman Eisen

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"Will it be the cruelty, or the corruption, or the sex scandals, or the bullying, or the war crimes?"

 

The cracks in the Trump regime are showing, and one has to wonder which will offend the voters most. Will it be the cruelty, or the corruption, or the sex scandals, or the bullying, or the war crimes? We’ll find out soon enough.

The opposition, though, has weaknesses too, most spectacularly at the level of their leadership. Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen was asked recently who is leading the Democratic Party, to which he responded, “grassroots groups around the country;” groups like “No Kings.” That is sobering, coming from the top.

It’s no surprise then, that Trump’s DOJ is seeking to slow the money flow to non-MAGA organizations like Indivisible–the group behind the historic Hands Off and No Kings protests. US Attorney General, Pam Bondi, has apparently instructed law enforcement officials to investigate “antifa” and other supposed “domestic terror” groups, specifically directing them to search for “tax crimes”. This follows reports from earlier this fall, that the Trump administration plans to install allies in the IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) division and weaken the role of IRS lawyers in screening criminal cases, specifically to “pursue criminal inquiries of left‑leaning groups more easily.”

All of which sounds scary. If you’re a small, or even a large non-profit organization, lawsuits, and tax audits drain time and money. Political targeting throws missions off track. But before funders freak out, let’s remember that the Trumpists’ favorite tactic is threat, and as Timothy Snyder has taught us, authoritarian threats work because people comply in advance. It is also true that the IRS has seen mass layoffs thanks to Musk. There’s no evidence yet, at least, that audits are up.

Besides, if you really want to worry about politicized audits, how about racism? Multiple large‑scale studies and Treasury’s own advisory bodies have found that Black taxpayers are audited far more often than non‑Black taxpayers, by roughly a factor of three to five – probably because it’s easier, algorithmically, to audit low‑income returns over high‑income, more complex ones. Reporters have written about that phenomenon for years. Such stories have landed with a non-resounding hush.

Before liberal donors head for the hills this season, it’s also worth remembering what my guests on Laura Flanders & Friends emphasized this week. Anti-fascist activists from two different continents, Ezra Levin of Indivisible and Laszlo Upor from the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest Hungary, stressed the importance of staying creative.

“You have to laugh at them, not be afraid of them,” Upor said of authoritarians. “They don’t understand mirth.”

“That is true. They want to be feared. They want to be accused of being an authoritarian, of being a strongman, they like that. What they can’t afford is to be ridiculed, to be made fun of.” Agreed Levin. Besides, the IRS can’t actually audit your gifts of time, or attention, or creativity. 

So, stay creative, and don’t become a Trump-fearing Scrooge. Detect any self-interest here? Not one bit. If you want to hear my full uncut conversation with Levin and Upor, including their questions of each other, you can get that through subscribing to our free podcast or this Substack. All the information is at our website. Till the next time, stay kind, stay curious.

CounterPunch, Laura Flanders interviews forward-thinking people about the key questions of our time on Laura Flanders & Friends, a nationally-syndicated radio and television program also available as a podcast. A contributing writer to The Nation, Flanders is the author of several books, as well as a column on Substack.  

 

Famous Quotations

     

“We suffer more in our imagination, than in reality.” -Seneca

“It’s never too late to be what you might have been.” -George Eliot

“Our life is what our thoughts make it.” -Marcus Aurelius

“Thinking is difficult; that’s why most people judge.” -Carl Jung

“Care about what others think, and you’ll always be their prisoner.” – Lao Tzu

“A fool is known by speech, and a wise man by silence.” -Pythagoras

“If you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room.” -Confucius

“The quieter you become, the more you’re able to hear.” -Rumi

“The wisdom of the ancients isn’t meant to be admired; it’s meant to be lived. Knowledge means nothing without practice.” -Stoicism    

“What are you gonna do?” -Bertha Brown

 

"It is true: the American public does not like Trump"

 

If you watched the president’s address on Wednesday, you know it was less a speech than it was a harangue — an unbroken stream of angry shouting, as Donald Trump berated the American people for its ingratitude. “One year ago, our country was dead. We were absolutely dead,” Trump said. “Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.” He might have added, “so why don’t you people like me?”

It is true: the American public does not like Trump, his administration or his agenda. A solid majority of all Americans disapprove of his job performance. They disapprove of his handling of trade and immigration. 

They especially disapprove of his handling of jobs and the economy. In a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey, 33 percent of Americans said that they approved of the president’s handling of “the economy” and only 27 percent approved of his handling of the “cost of living.” 

Majorities of Americans say that Trump’s policies have made the economy worse, and most voters hold the president responsible for declining economic conditions.

Eleven months ago, Trump was triumphant — a conquering hero who would reshape the nation in his image. He would trample the opposition, punish his enemies and make America MAGA for good.

In their pursuit of power, Trump and his allies have done a lot of damage to the United States, and the world. But as this year comes to an end, I think it’s clear that they’ve reached the limits of what they can accomplish through brute force alone. 

More important, Trump’s attempt to consolidate authoritarian power has inspired a large and ferocious backlash, from mass protests and organized efforts to stymie his most draconian plans to election results that show a voting public ready for change.

The 2024 presidential election wasn’t a plebiscite in favor of regime change; it was just a vote over the choice of chief magistrate. And when Americans put Trump back in office, they expected him to turn the page back to the pre-pandemic status quo, not make the country his personal fief. 

A more able president would recalibrate, take control of his administration and try to salvage what is left of his standing before he loses the trust of everyone but his most devoted followers. Trump is not an able president.

He interrupted prime time television to yell at the American people this week because he does not know what to do besides yell. He can’t convince and he can’t persuade and so he demands, in the hope that he can browbeat the public into giving him the praise he thinks he deserves.

I think he’ll find that this isn’t going to work.

-Jamelle Bouie, NY Times

I Miss You!

     
John E. (1895 - 1976)   
Johnny B. (1961 - 1987)
Bertha B. (1896 - 1987)        
Dorothy B. (1925 - 1990)
Bob B. (1942 - 1994) 
David B. (1922 - 2013) 
Jim L. (1951 - 2018)
Rich Z. (1950 - 2021) 
Brian B. (1947 - 2023)
Terry J. (1948 - 2023)
Joe O. (1951 - 2024)
Binoy M. (1959 – 2025)

    

"Jack Smith calmly destroys Trump’s “witch hunt” fantasy in testimony before Congress"

 

Yesterday, Jack Smith walked into the lion’s den of a Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee meeting and calmly laid out Trump’s crimes for the world to see. Behind closed doors on Capitol Hill, former Special Prosecutor Jack Smith did what Republicans desperately hoped he wouldn’t: he methodically, unapologetically, and calmly reminded them why Donald Trump was charged in the first place — and why no amount of political revenge can erase the facts.

In an hours-long deposition before the Committee, the former special counsel made one thing crystal clear: Trump is responsible for Trump actions. Not Joe Biden. Not Democrats. Not the “deep state.” Just Trump. “The decision to bring charges against President Trump was mine,” Smith told lawmakers, “But the basis for those charges rests entirely with President Trump and his actions.” Translation: if Trump didn’t want indictments, he shouldn’t have committed the crime (allegedly).

Smith didn’t hedge. He didn’t flinch. He said his team uncovered evidence proving “beyond a reasonable doubt” that Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the 2020 election and block the lawful transfer of power — a stunning reminder of just how close the country came to losing its democracy. On the classified documents case, Smith said the evidence was “powerful” and that Trump “repeatedly tried to obstruct justice.” Not misplaced papers. Not a misunderstanding. Obstruction.

And for Republicans screaming “witch hunt,” Smith torched that talking point too. He said he would have brought the same charges if Trump were a Democrat or a Republican. Facts and law, not politics, guided the investigation — a concept that seems increasingly foreign to today’s GOP. 

Smith also defended his team’s decision to seek phone records from Republican lawmakers, explaining that Trump and his allies were calling members of Congress to further their criminal scheme to delay certification. “I didn’t choose those Members,” Smith said. “President Trump did.” That line alone should haunt every lawmaker in the room.

Meanwhile, Republicans are openly targeting Smith himself, cheering on an unprecedented retaliation campaign that has included sanctions against his law firm and calls for his prosecution — all because he dared to apply the law to a powerful man. Smith wanted to testify publicly. Jim Jordan said no. Transparency is dangerous when the truth cuts this deep.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, called the deposition “boring,” but that’s because in Jack Smith’s hands the facts don’t scream — they indict. Jack Smith walked into a hostile room knowing the hunters were circling. And instead of blinking, he calmly reminded them: the evidence speaks for itself.

We can only hope that Donald Trump will someday face justice for the crimes that the former Special Prosecutor so meticulously detailed. Whether that happens while he’s still alive, given his apparently dubious medical conditions, remains to be seen.

-Occupy Democrats