21 Comments
User's avatar
Johan's avatar

This is symbolic desecration…a leader fantasizing about defiling dissent, turning protest into a punchline. People exercised their democratic rights, and the response was not policy, not dialogue, but a grotesque wish to bury them in filth. Pure authoritarian theater.

I just wrote about Voice of My People, where a disabled citizen in Zürich enters Parliament through joy, inclusion, and democratic trust.

That is also the America worth amplifying.

The media’s euphemisms are part of the problem. When spectacle becomes normalized, clarity becomes resistance.

I stand with those who name the grotesque and ritualize the plural.

—Johan

Expand full comment
Ellen J Anderson's avatar

Well done. The media has carefully ignored black men and women, white women, people of every shade and ethnicity in favor of less than a third of the population. Older people are automatically considered Trumpers despite the fact that many of us fought hard for Civil Rights, Women's Rights, Voting rights etc in our youth. In spite of what people think of us, many of us became more liberal, not less, as we aged. I am on substack because nothing I see on the so called nightly news feels true anymore. Thanks for putting it so well.

Expand full comment
Sarah Ann Gilbert (she/her)'s avatar

Yes! I just posted this too! It ties together with the Eipstein story. 💯

Expand full comment
Marycat2021's avatar

I saw it too. Share widely, and wonder why his niece never wrote about this. I sense she is afraid of him.

Expand full comment
Steven Branch's avatar

Noah, I am a big fan of yours so it pains me disagree with you about one point. Long ago, the current POTUS lost any legitimate right to be referred to as the "leader of the free world." He is an abomination to all who respect the freedoms guaranteed by our Constitution. For an hour, he went to the 80th session of the UN General Assembly and ranted about American exceptionalism, took laughable credit for ending 7 "un-endable wars," continued his Nobel Peace Prize campaign (pahleeze), blamed the UN for "creating new problems for us (whoever that is---comment added) to solve," trashed immigrants, whined about Christianity being the "most persecuted religion on the planet," attacked climate policy and renewable energy. I'll stop with the litany here.

If he continues on his current path, he will achieve his ultimate goal of ending the American experiment in democracy forever. No free speech. No free and fair elections. Unlimited tax breaks for the wealthy. Destruction of healthcare.

I don't know who the leader of the free world is right now but it sure as hell isn't the orange-faced madman who is literally destroying the White House to build a monument to his putrid ego even as I write this post.

Expand full comment
CE's avatar

Amen, amen.

Expand full comment
Steven Branch's avatar

CE, I have read and heard about him being erroneously referred to as "leader of the free world" time and time again. Noah's was the last straw. He is not even leader of a free America much less the free world. That moniker needs to be added to Jennifer Rubin's list of Words & Phrases We Could Do Without. I might suggest that to her. Thanks for reading.

Expand full comment
DebbieM (OH)'s avatar

Hillary warned us, Kamala warned us, Joe warned us, Barack warned us. Now trump literally and figuratively shits on us. WHEN will people wake up???

Expand full comment
DebbieM (OH)'s avatar

Yes, Mikey Johnson, trump has made a point.... that he has the mental maturity of a 12-year-old delinquent; that he believes he’s king (i.e., fascist/dictator/authoritarian); that he believes in an "America where only those who kiss his ass are worthy, and everyone else deserves a pile of dung on their head".

What an embarrassing disgrace. Not just old don, but every single one of you trump supporters.

Expand full comment
Steve's avatar

Trump shits on America. Why doesn’t the media care? Isn't it obvious that they are part of the plan? Big tax cuts for media CEOs buys a lot of indifference in the news coverage.

Expand full comment
Marycat2021's avatar

Does no one understand how seriously mentally ill it is for a US president to post such a video in response to peaceful protests? Trump is mentally unfit to be president, yet no one talks about it. Instead, they marvel at how he gets away with the most bizarre and inappropriate behavior, even to the point where they're amused. I implore people to stop laughing, because Trump isn't funny. He's dangerously sick, delusional, and a catastrophe waiting to happen. Trashing the east wing is an external manifestation of what's going on in Trump's mind.

Expand full comment
Potter's avatar
7hEdited

It looks like Trump's own shit is being dumped on us; this is true. It literally goes directly from his rear right out of the plane. He is doing everything a two year old can do, one that has not been trained yet, even tearing up the house, *our White House*, without permission..destroying the "East Wing.... Symbols galore.. as well as his blatancy. I mean what else can he do to get attention? When are we going to put a stop to this "enfant terrible"?

"A republic if you can keep it"

Expand full comment
Andrew's avatar

Democrats have to carry the burden of the deplorables comment forever - and are constantly reminded of it (multiple mentions in comments on a local news story this morning) but we're all expected to minimize and memory hole January 6th. Two standards, always.

Expand full comment
janinsanfran's avatar

Yup. It's racism all the way down.

Expand full comment
Alexandra's avatar

Did Trump really lose in 2020? It seems to me that he ran a shadow government in parallel with the Biden Administration. I fault Biden for not taking care of this threat when he had immunity to do so.

Expand full comment
Potter's avatar
6hEdited

I watched the video. Really disgusting but above all disrespectful and offensive to Americans... ( as is the demolition of the EW of the White House). Snopes Yahoo Fact Check does not define the substance Trump & helpers drop on people below- cruelly. They are still investigating this, asking the creator. Oh thank you but never mind we already know.. the general perception is all that matters. Mud? I don't think so. Interestingly the "fighter pilot" King Trump is in the jet is wearing a mask that covers his mouth only partly, but not his nose. Again this appeals to people who need to feed their cruelty. "A bad, very bad person" must have done this.

Expand full comment
Potter's avatar

Hilary Clinton's "deplorables" quote still works.

Expand full comment
Richard Brody's avatar

Trump shits on America and suddenly changes his color from orange to brown. And the old bad joke that if it looks like shit, smells and tastes like shit, then, well, it must be shit. If his true color is brown, we’re in for a long haul and few will be exempted from his evil ministrations.

Expand full comment