President Trump for several days this month It has been declared CNN and MSNBC were not just biased – no, it's too pedestrian, but in fact it's illegal.
He posted that former President Biden's pardon “is declared blank, vacant and no further power or effect.” All Cap Submission A true society.
He declared a federal judge You need to have each bulletnot to break the law, nor to the seriousness of illegal activities, nor to issue a ruling Trump.
Still, for his base, this is just a week in Trump's amazing world.
No, Trump is not the first politician to be true and fast loose, and he is not the last. And yes, most Americans don't trust mainstream media accurately. CNN and MSNBC have been carrying water for the Democrats for years. If they had more in the tank, they would need scuba gear.
So when Trump says, “They are really corrupt, they're illegal, what they do, it's illegal,” you need to wonder what he has in mind. Is this a big deal? Not his supporters who don't worry about stupid things like the First Amendment. They laugh, nod and move on.
It's the same pardon made when Biden finally left his oval office. They were not for low-level drug offenders who received a raw deal. They were for family and political friends. Trump knows that giving these pardons resonates.
And the judge's ruling? Did Trump say he could not simply expel foreign criminals without justification? Well, most Americans hear that and wonder what's wrong? If you are illegally in the countryside and committing a crime, why should you play a legal battle that was drawn out? Again, Trump is suppressing real frustration.
But then we get the bigger question: is this Trump burning the base or is there something more going on?
No one is confused about Aristotle and Trump – it's unfair to both of them…it's unfair. Still, he is not a small thinker. He simply didn't want to win the election. He wanted everyone to know how big his victory was. So he said in a joint session of Congress he won the popularity vote “by big numbers.”
He didn't. He defeated former vice president Kamala Harris by 1.5 points in the popularity poll. He claimed he “winned an order like this.” [one] I haven't seen it for decades. “As the kids say – anything.
Trump doesn't want to be another US president. He wants future generations to speak, like the historical power of nature. If he can add his image to Mount Rushmore, he could.
And this is where things get even more interesting.
He might have been joking when Trump came to the idea of making Canada our 51 state. I think he was serious because it was worth it. But whatever it was, it was a classic Trump. We raised the volume to 11 just to control another news cycle.
Would you like to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico? It's straight from the Trump Branding Playbook. This is the guy who draws his name on everything from skyscrapers to steaks. If he could slap the giant gold “playing cards” logo at the Grand Canyon, he would probably do that too.
So, does Trump want to rename the country “Donald Trump's United States”? It's probably not literal. But does he want a country shaped by his image, a country that is bent at his will? Yes, I think that's all.
Because for Trump, almost everything is really about him. His world is binary. You are against him or against him. And if you are against him, you are not just wrong – you are corrupt and perhaps a criminal – you are an enemy.
It's not a small change of thinking. It is a fundamental reshaping of how power works in democracy.
And my friends, my friends, don't take what you just read as Democrat approval. Trump can think of himself as controlled by his enormous ego, not believing that Biden is a great president. That would be… crazy!
Maybe Trump really believes everything he says. Perhaps he can persuade Canadians to renounce their sovereignty and become our 51st state. Maybe he really believes CNN is illegal and that federal judges should be fired each for his decision.
If so, our president is separated from reality. Or, as I say, this is to fire the base. There are certainly things I know. Whenever the president gets unhappy, it's not just noise, it erodes trust in our facilities, it burns paranoia and encourages the idea that political opponents are not wrong.
So, no, I don't think Trump is literally trying to change the name of the country. But is he trying to create a system in which the United States bends to his will?
It's a question worth asking – and the answer is more than passing thoughts.
Bernard Goldberg He is an Emmy Award and an Alfred I. Dupont Columbia University Award-winning author and journalist. He is the author of five books and has exclusive weekly columns, audio commentary, and Q&As. Subsack page. Follow him @bernardgoldberg.
