Greg Sargent writes in The New Republic that the Supreme Court’s invalidation of the Trump tariffs is “not only a major legal setback,” but is also “another sign that the pillars of Trump’s right-wing nationalist agenda are crumbling in a much broader and deeper sense — so much so that it’s posing a serious threat to the long-term durability of the ideology know as Trumpism.” Sargent names the two most essential pillars in his ideology as the sweeping tariffs, which were to unleash a domestic manufacturing renaissance, and the campaign to deport all undocumented immigrants, designed to ethnically and culturally purify the country. Both are in crisis, with invalidation of tariffs, and the discrediting of deportations in the aftermath of the ICE invasion of Minneapolis, the two now seen as Trump’s worst abuses of power. Sargent concludes, “In short, they constitute perhaps the most important reasons that his entire presidency is sinking deeper and deeper into utter, monumental failure.”

Tomaž Vargazon answers a question posed by a reader on Quora: “What is the Trump administration’s end game?” Vargazon posts, “They don’t have the concept of an end game. Trump’s second cabinet doesn’t have people who make plans, nor do they have a concept of a plan. Cabinet position? Good, they want cabinet positions. That’s the extent of their planning. All of their actions are intended to do one thing and one thing only, keep them in the cabinet position. To that end, Pam Bondi made a mockery of herself and the Justice Department in a recent hearing, committing several counts of perjury — all in one session. The others aren’t any better. What they have now is their idea of an endgame, they’re in power and wielding it as they see fit: by licking the boots of the president. They are not intelligent enough to consider what happens when he’s gone, and they’re once more vulnerable to the long hand of justice. If Trump isn’t replaced by a fascist criminal, they will be sacrificed by the Republican Party.” Vargazon suggests hoods and candles be involved in the rites.

Now that the Supreme Court has ruled the tariffs/tax hike was illegal — $290B stolen from the US consumers, Democrats and the business community are clamoring for their money back. The New York Times said the government collected triple the custom duties of the previous year, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York issued a report saying more than 90% of that came out of the pockets of US consumers, leading to collapse of consumer confidence, now at its lowest level since 2014. John Stoehr of The Editorial Board writes, “So the court probably stopped Trump from burning up the rest of the American middle class, and sparking a broad-based backlash against him in this year’s midterms, threatening to take his party down with him. Still, in saving Trump from himself, the court made something clear to Americans that may not have been clear — tariffs are taxes. Not only that, thanks to the court, everyone now knows the biggest tax hike since the Clinton administration was illegal.”

Stoehr goes on to say, “So, you could say the court saved Trump, but you could also say it gave his enemies strong grounds for accusing him of pulling off the biggest heist of the 21st Century, and because of the massive scale of the burglary, the economy came to a crawl.” He also says that the $290B figure widely used is estimated by others to be upwards of $1T. Justice Kavanaugh inadvertently mentioned there are robbery victims who are entitled to just compensation, but in his dissent he claims Trump’s tariff scheme is too complicated to unwind — the primary complication being “refunds.” Kavanaugh wrote: “One issue will be refunds. Refunds of billions of dollars would have significant consequences for the US Treasury. The court says nothing today about whether and if so how, the government should go about returning billions of dollars that it has collected from importers, but that process is likely to be a ‘mess,’ as was acknowledged at oral arguments.” Stoehr calls out Kavanaugh’s referral to ‘importers,’ saying, “They didn’t ultimately pay! We did!”

Stoehr believes Democrats should dare the GOP to codify Trump’s tariffs and risk the allegation, entirely justified, that not only did the president pick the people’s pocket but his party now want to make pickpocketing legal. He points out that people accuse Trump of not understanding tariffs, but he really gets it, and gets what they are really for — leveraging against the rich, corporations, and countries he seeks to extort; so, the court set back his agenda, but it also took away his most powerful tool for seeking bribes. His intent was made clear in his press conference when he was asked why he didn’t work with Congress to establish import taxes, answering, “Because I don’t have to.” Even with the tariffs being ruled illegal, the criminal intent behind them hasn’t changed, with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declaring, subtly, that the thievery will continue throughout the year; and as for refunds he boldly says, “I got a feeling the American people won’t see it.”

The New York Times columnist, Michelle Cottle, described in a recent column how Donald Trump is on a “renaming crusade” from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to his threats to only release federal funding to complete the rail tunnel under the Hudson River in exchange for naming New York’s Penn Station and Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC after himself. Cottle says his moves are “aimed not at building a legacy so much as appropriating those of others. He seems to find that approach easier.” She explains that since Trump’s power won’t last forever, neither will his “presidential graffiti,” following the trends in other countries that have removed the names of “discredited authoritarians from the public square.” “As president, the real estate mogul and self-proclaimed builder of great things has turned out to be not much of a builder at all; he tears stuff down,” says Cottle, with an eye toward the East Wing of the White House — something meaningful and historical, to be replaced with a bigger, golder version to fit his imperial tastes, showing his lack of vision to create institutions or monuments built to endure. His political legacy of the MAGA cult of personality is not likely to endure beyond a few elements once he is gone, and that expiration date is coming soon. Cottle writes, “Removing presidential graffiti promises to be one of the easier repair jobs, but Trump’s grubby fingerprints across agencies, programs, democratic norms, and the rule of law will have to be slow and steady — no quick fixes, just a long and daunting process.”

The Raw America blog points to yet another easily removable piece of Trump graffiti, a banner just placed on the Department of Justice headquarters, similar to those now gracing the Departments of Labor and Agriculture buildings. More taxpayer-funded acclaim for the cult of personality’s dystopian figurehead! The accompanying slogan reads: “Make America Safe Again,” as a tribute to the puppet agency which bears the banner. MS NOW’s Steve Benen writes, “You’ve probably noticed in movies or television shows the ways in which directors take steps to let audiences know the kind of environment in which stories are being told — the visual aesthetics are key. For example, when audiences see a dreary environment, with armed troops patrolling civilian streets, and a giant banner of a strongman leader being unfurled, resting on the front of a government building, viewers immediately recognize the environment as a totalitarian dystopia.”

Benen says the obvious problem is with the nation’s increasingly authoritarian president embracing a self-glorifying fascistic aesthetic, in the vein of Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and Iraq’s Hussein, a timely reminder that the wall between Trump and the federal law enforcement department has fared about as well as the walls of the East Wing. Benen suggests, “Indeed, the banner was helpful in removing a pretense that no one took seriously anyway. The DOJ’s official statement was explicit and unambiguous: ‘The department works at ‘Trump’s direction’ — as opposed to the direction of the attorney general, who’s supposed to lead federal law enforcement.'” The banner doesn’t signal Trump’s strength — it reflects his desperation. A failing president wants to convey authority, so he and his team scramble to impose symbols like these in public. They appear intended to convey questions Trump seems reluctant to ask out loud: “Don’t I appear imposing? Isn’t it clear how powerful I am? Shouldn’t my opponents feel an overwhelming sense of fear?” By trying too hard, the Trump team’s posturing delivers the opposite of the intended message — it shows a flailing politician, only pretending to convey confidence and strength.

CNN’s Katie Hunt reports from the Munich Security Conference that many of the Democrats in attendance want to be the next US president, but even if one should win the White House in 2028, they will find they can no longer claim the title every American president since the 1940s has borne: leader of the Free World. California’s Governor Gavin Newsom acknowledged in an interview that leaders he met with believe Trump’s damage to the transatlantic alliance is irrevocable — “they see us as a wrecking ball.” Many Democratic senators who hoped to demonstrate their foreign policy bonafides ahead of possible presidential bids, felt quite awkward with the Danish prime minister, as they tried to dismiss the contentious assertion of GOP Senator Lindsey Graham that Trump still has his eye on Greenland. Conspicuous in their absence were House Republicans whose attendance was pulled by Speaker Mike Johnson. Secretary of State Marco Rubio was given a brief standing ovation, as his speech was more conciliatory than that of VP Vance’s of last year. However, it was telling that Rubio left the conference to visit the two strongmen leaders of Slovakia and Hungary.

The Security Conference was opened by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who in his remarks summed up European countries having to deal with the reality of a post-American century. Merz contended that “a divide has opened up between Europe and the United States, with the United States’ claim to leadership being challenged and possibly lost. The international order based on rights and rules is in the process of being destroyed. This order — imperfect even in its best times — no longer exists in this form.” Arizona Senator Mark Kelly’s opinion is that “even if we are able to repair these relationships, it’s going to take generations before they feel comfortable.” The context of the Munich conference bears hardly any resemblance to the days of Republican Senator John McCain, who made attendance consequential for those seeking to have a role as a free world leader. The dinner bearing his name, held on the first night of the conference at the historic Bayerischer Hof hotel, uses his photo and a 2017 quote hung on the wall. It reads: “I refuse to accept the demise of our world order. I am a proud, unapologetic believer in the West. I believe we must always, always stand up for it. For if we do not, who will?”

Executive director of The American Conservative, Curt Mills, told MAGA influencer Steve Bannon on the War Room podcast, that Trump had received poor guidance prior to hitting Iran, accusing him of “an open betrayal” of his base in this “out-of-control war.” “We got here, frankly, at the behest of the foreign power,” Mills maintained. “I’m not entirely clear or not entirely sure, the appetite of the American people to absorb fatalities. Three Americans have been killed. Five apparently have been grievously wounded. And that’s just what the government is conceding. Very notably, they’re not telling us how they died.” Bannon jumped in telling Mills, “Hang on, take a deep breath,” asking him to consider that Iran’s defenses and leadership are being taken down. Mills wasn’t too sure of that criticism, pointing out that our Fifth Fleet took a hit, and that though the bombings were less severe than the June attack, the Iranian counter-attacks were much more severe.

Mills continued to call the action a betrayal of the base, asking, “And now there’s an argument that this is different than the Bush-era neocon wars. But I will flag: What Bush-era neocon is not for this today?” He challenges Bannon to find him one person — “name one,” pointing out that John Bolton was “pleased as hell about what we’re doing.” He recalls that the never-Trumpers were the Neo-conservatives, with Trump’s rise in 2016 being “opposed to these folks.” Mills says the polling concerning the strikes is overwhelmingly negative, as the majority of Republicans ask “why we are doing this?” — it looks a lot like the Iraq War — same arguments for the Iraq War, an argument mired in the past.

NBC’s Saturday Night Live had two explanations for Trump’s 2:00 a.m. Saturday announcement for the Iran incursion. The show’s ersatz Trump announced, “One: it’s after the stock market closes for the weekend. And two: it’s to cause immeasurable fear, rage, and chaos in the Saturday Night Live writers’ room. Those guys were going crazy.” He joked that the original cold open to the show “would’ve been about the State of the Union address, but the writers were forced to rewrite it with less than a day before showtime.” “Put the whole thing in the trash and start fresh. We love that for them.” ‘Weekend Update‘ co-anchor Colin Jost observed, “This attack might be a bad idea. I don’t know. I’m not really an expert on Iran, so let’s hear from someone who can explain why we might have done it…” He then played a 2011 video of Trump angrily speculating over then-President Obama’s foreign policy regarding Iran, when he predicted, “Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He’s weak and he’s ineffective.” Jost sarcastically pronounced, “See, now that’s the Trump I voted for. I’m starting to worry that President Trump might not win that Peace Prize.” Co-host Micheal Che zeroed in on Israel’s heavy involvement with Trump’s action, reporting, “Detractors are saying that Trump had no authorization for this war. But he actually did — Netanyahu said it was OK. I can’t believe our leader could just attack Iran with no vote, no permission from Congress or anything. I mean, what are we — Iran?”

Dave Gardner writes on The Swamp, “Even for a man with such a tenuous hold on the truth, Donald Trump may come to regret his spurious justification for going to war with Iran.” Even US intelligence experts believe Trump’s claims about Iranian threats are greatly exaggerated, yet he claims in his video message, “We are going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground,” accusing the regime of building missiles that “could soon reach the American homeland.” That charge is tenuous at best — ten years away — since it has already been established that only medium- and short-range missiles make up their vast arsenal, strictly for defense. White House officials are also trying to justify the war by claiming that Iran was just days away from producing nuclear weaponry, which has been soundly debunked since their nuclear grade materials lie beneath tons of debris resulting from the June attack.

“Trump’s suck-up MAGA cheerleader Lindsey Graham has suggested the attacks on Tehran will be Trump’s ‘Cold War Moment,’ comparing him to Ronald Reagan,” writes Gardner, “But the president he will likely be compared to is George W. Bush, who waged war on Saddam Hussein on the basis of another falsehood — that Iraq had a hidden stash of weapons of mass destruction. That war would claim more than 4,500 American service members’ lives, with another 31,000 injured. All based on a lie.” It conjures up Andy Borowitz’s refresh of the Reagan campaign phrase: “It’s Moronic in America” — or something like that. The American people were under no imminent threat from Iran,” writes John Stoehr on The Editorial Board blog. “Its government does not have nuclear weapons. It was no more threatening to Israel or any other US ally than it normally is. The decision to attack Tehran has nothing to do with ‘freedom for Iran,’ as Trump told the Post. He’s not going to ‘raze their missile industry’ or ‘annihilate their navy.’ Why? Because that’s not the point.”

“The point,” Stoehr says, “is creating a made-for-TV war that makes Trump look like a big, tough war president. He’s doing this for obvious reasons: things are going badly for him, very badly, at home. Freedoms are being violated. The middle class is being immiserated. There’s a sense that the rich — the Epstein class — can act with impunity while everyone else pays the price. If Donald Trump doesn’t change the subject, his presidency, and perhaps more than his presidency, will cease to be as it is, once the Congress is turned over to the Democrats. Trump believes Americans will ‘rally around the flag,’ thus boosting his poll numbers among people who only pay attention to the news if there’s a war going on. This is not an Israel-Iran war. This is not a US-Iran war. Those titles give this moment too much dignity. This is little more than a militarized political stunt, with the real consequences being murdered Iranians.”

Stoehr goes on to say that this stunt, as such, has to be as brief as it is spectacular to watch on Fox News. There can’t be any US casualties, or not so many that it looks bad on video screens. While Trump makes his titanic declarations about his indomitable will to achieve objectives at any cost — “freedom for the people, a safe nation” — it’s just part of the performance. Stoehr writes that as soon as something goes sideways, “and it will go sideways given enough time,” TACO Trump will chicken out — he will end it quickly to prevent what is so far a carefully managed stunt from blowing up in his face. Any convenient reason to declare victory over Iran, even if victory falls far short of regime change, is acceptable.

“I will defer to authorities on Middle East politics, but from where I’m standing, Trump today ended the democratic spirit that had been rising up from the Iranian people. Iran’s government has been crushing dissent for months. Trump is acting like he’s enabling a regime change, as if he were the Great Liberator. In reality, he’s justified more repression by an already repressive government. More than that, he’s undermining the credibility of dissidents. Who’s going to be seen as American allies after the US bombed a girls’ school?,” asks Stoehr. Who can forget Trump’s message to the dissenting Iranians in the streets who were being beaten and killed just a few weeks ago — “help is on the way”  — but offering no details as he encouraged them to stay strong in their protests?

After the US/Israeli incursion, Iran’s government benefits twice: It can justify more violent suppression in the name of national security, and it can also defeat ‘The Great Satan‘ with a lucky punch. Stoehr says Trump hasn’t the will to do what it takes to “liberate‘ the country, which would take an occupation similar to that of George W. Bush’s in his Iraqi debacle. All it will take to bloody Trump’s nose is bombing of a US military base, sinking of a Navy ship, or any humiliation to portray his declarations as farcical, which would allow Iran to declare victory before going back to repressing their own population. Trying to make a TV spectacle, The Donald doesn’t see — yet — that he lacks control: the enemy gets a vote, also! Netanyahu can lead Trump along, pretending that he’s concerned about safety and security for both invaders, but his top priority is to extend the emergency in Israel to prevent his own prosecution and possible imprisonment. Americans are looking askance at his questionable and bloody leadership in light of the destruction of Gaza and the murders of thousands of Palestinians.

There is no reason for Democrats to accept the lies of both Trump and Netanyahu regarding the dangers posed by Iran, so why can’t we expect that party to combine Trump’s wagging-of-the-dog with all the other high crimes he committed against the Constitution? However, had it not been for the Democratic Party and the pro-Israel lobby, Netanyahu would be in jail by now. Many now see that Biden’s position on Gaza could have been a factor in Kamala Harris‘ defeat in 2024, as many Americans have come to sympathize with Palestinians. Stoehr concludes, “Whatever the American consensus on Israel used to be, it clearly no longer is. The more Netanyahu exploits Trump’s vanity to stay out of jail, the wider that gap will grow, to his and Trump’s detriment.”

Raw America’s Thom Hartmann conducted a disturbing interview with retired Major General Paul Eaton, commander of Iraqi military training years ago during Operation Iraqi Freedom, who says that this new Trump war is not only illegal, our troops are Saudi proxies — US military fighting for the benefit of the Saudis! Eaton claims that the American attack on Iran will most benefit the Saudis at a time when the Trump Crime Family is cutting billion-dollar deals across the Middle East. The general draws a ruinous parallel to the misadventure of the George W. Bush administration in Iraq, when Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld disallowed CENTCOM from planning for the occupation of that country, and now we’re observing the same fatal arrogance evolving in Iran. Eaton told Hartmann, “I have no evidence that the Trump administration has thought this through.” He also sees SecDef Hegseth’s purges of experienced military personnel as neutralizing any internal reluctance toward unconstitutional orders, not to mention the gutting of the legal infrastructure to prevent formal objections. Everyone accepts that our troops volunteered to serve their country, but Eaton offers, “They did volunteer, but they did not volunteer for stupid.” Making the rounds on the internet: Donald Trump isn’t the stupidest person alive as long as there is one person stupid enough to believe a goddam word he says!

Jack Revell writes on The Daily Beast, “Nothing about Trump’s surprise war on Iran has gone well — including the name of the illegal attack. So-called ‘Operation Epic Fury’ has been ruthlessly mocked by commentators who have ripped into the administration for giving the outward appearance of being staffed by children.” Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a statement on social media posted, “Overnight, on President Trump’s orders, the Department of War commenced OPERATION EPIC FURY — the most lethal, most complex, and most precision aerial operation in history.” “‘Operation Epic Fury’? So, Hegseth personally named this, huh?” posted one commentator. Said another, “‘Operation Epic Fury’ is the kind of name a particularly dim 12-year-old comes up with, so right on brand for Trump and Hegseth.” “It’s called ‘Operation Epic Fury’ because it tested well with a panel of 6-year-olds and Steven Seagal,” wrote Russ Jones on Bluesky. “‘Operation Epic Fury’ because ‘Operation Epstein Diversion’ didn’t sound warfightery enough,” said Keith Olbermann on X. One commentator wrote on Bluesky, “We the people still demand the full, unredacted release of the Epic Files.”

Satirist Andy Borowitz submits his report from Tehran: “In a surprise that has rattled the White House, on Saturday morning the Iranian Air Force dropped unredacted copies of the Epstein files on the US. Iran’s Supreme Leader said that its aircraft dropped the files over most major media outlets in the US but skipped CBS and CNN. ‘Like Bari Weiss is going to run with this story?’ he scoffed. ‘Good one.’ The Ayatollah added that Iran had not bothered to drop files over the US Capitol, stating, ‘We have seen no evidence that Congress still exists.‘”