This doesn’t add up
Donald Trump gave his address to Congress. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) decided after hearing Trump’s speech that he is “out of his mind.” Tell us how you really feel, Durbin. Hell, most people thought he was out of his mind long before Tuesday. Durbin pointed to Trump’s determination to extend his tax cuts for the rich while pledging to balance the budget. Durbin’s response was: “He’s going to balance the budget by charging people $5 million to buy their citizenship. He says that will balance the budget. He’s out of his mind.” Durbin is correct that none of this adds up. Of course, most of us are not on Trump’s wavelength. Likely, it all makes perfect sense to him, as does his declaration that we’re going to Mars.
Nothing has changed about Donald Trump. He’s still the unprofessional useful idiot that he has always been. During his speech, he referred to Elizabeth Warren as “Pocahontas.” It’s hard to see how anyone can take the man seriously, but Warren was able to turn it in her favor, calling Trump’s address his “fantasy” and that he’s determined to prop up Vladimir Putin, who started the war against Ukraine. Social media users came immediately to Warren’s defense, with some calling her response “dignified” and Trump’s “disgusting.” Others called his speech “utterly bonkers” and pointed out how much he lied. Well, his mouth was open.
While Trump claims to have won a “mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” New York Times reporter Kenneth Vogel made the point that Trump won the popular vote by 1.48%. He may think that’s a mandate, but it’s certainly not. No one is surprised when Trump spouts a lie. That’s all he does. We’re also not surprised when Democrats are treated with less respect by Republicans. Mike Johnson ordered that Rep Al Green (D-TX) be removed when he shouted, “he has no mandate to cut Medicaid.” Recall that Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert made complete asses of themselves during President Biden’s State of the Union, but they were not removed. That’s because Democrats recognize someone’s right to speak, even if they are speaking foolishness. Al Green was speaking on behalf of his constituents, but because he spoke truth that Republicans don’t want to hear, he was escorted out of the room. It probably doesn’t help that he’s Black. Look, I’m not one to cry racism at every turn, but it is clearly prevalent in the Republican party.
Trump also used the moment to continue about “massive fraud and waste” in Social Security. They want control of that agency for some reason. Even though we don’t know the reason, we can bet its nefarious. Everyone knows it. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) wrote on Bluesky: “Trump is making up stats about Social Security so he has an excuse to cut your benefits” while Alex Lawson called Trump “a fucking liar who is coming to steal our Social Security.” Trump and Musk are up to no good, but the $64,000 question is: How in the hell do we stop them?
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years