I'm exhausted by Melania and Donald Trump's stupidity

US President Donald Trump kisses first lady Melania Trump after signing an executive order on women's health, spearheaded by first lady Melania Trump, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, DC, US, October 19, 2026.

I am very tired of being asked to be stupid. I know that is not the most important thing right now. There are many more serious consequences to electing a criminal president who is burning up the economy. But despite the fact that I do this for a living, and have developed a high tolerance as a result, I am nonetheless exhausted. Endless stupidity wears a man out.

It’s hard to pick just one example. Luckily, the AP sent one. This morning, the White House wants me to believe First Lady Melania Trump “brokered an upcoming ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine in the war-ravaged city of Oleshky.” I am told she “initiated the discussions.” I am told “helping children in conflict [has been] one of her signature issues.”

I am also told that neither Russia nor Ukraine knows what the White House is talking about. The AP: “There was no immediate comment from the Ukrainian or the Russian governments.”

Am I to believe Melania Trump has the capacity to broker a ceasefire when her husband does not? Am I to believe Vladimir Putin cares about what she thinks? (He’s got the president wrapped around his pinky.) Even if true, am I to believe she cares about kids in need? This is the same woman who visited a migrant detention center in 2018, where there were 55 children, wearing a jacket on the back of which was written “I really don’t care. Do U?”

It’s clear what Melania Trump really cares about – her public image. She wants Americans to see her as a woman who cares about children without having to take the responsibility of actually caring for them. She embodies the idea of privatized gain and socialized losses. The truth is transparently obvious, yet the White House keeps asking me to be stupid.

The White House isn’t alone. The Washington press corps is also guilty. We are often treated as if we have no authority to arbitrate reality. If the news media does not tell us something happened, it apparently did not happen.

No one knows exactly what is going on with the president. However, everyone can plainly see that something is definitely going on. No one makes noises like that. No one makes faces like that. No one does either unless there are things we do not know about that are very bad. We deserve to know what they are with sustained coverage in granular detail, but there is nary a peep from the press corps. The AP is willing to repeat word-for-word that Melania Trump negotiated "a localized ceasefire," but not report why Donald Trump is bleating like a sheep.

The stupidity is endless. We are told the president is a patriotic American, then he sucks up to America's enemies. Worse, last week, he switched sides, joining a Russian imperialist who is helping Iran kill Americans. That was after toadying up to a Chinese imperialist who is also helping Iran kill Americans. Last time I checked, "patriotic" did not mean "treasonous."

We are told the president is a Christian man, then he says things that are shockingly blasphemous. This week, he said he will "lead us to a period of Christianity that nobody else can do.” Many of his followers are idolaters. “I want to see two people: Trump and Jesus," one said. Worse is the suggestion that he's the second coming of Christ. At a rally, before Trump's entrance, a soundtrack played: “God gave us Trump … shepherd to all mankind.” If I remember right, the New Testament has a lot to say about something called the Antichrist.

We are told the president has ushered in a new era of manly virtue, despite that he applies spray tanning, dyes his hair, wears heel lifts to make himself look taller, falls asleep during Cabinet meetings, and is perhaps the vainest man who has ever lived. He accuses LaBron James of being “a total disgrace” for warming up during the national anthem but cannot win a war that he has said he won more than 100 times (as of August). He thinks good behavior is weakness, bad behavior is strength. He treats women like real estate. No one has seen more corruption than his. Everyone hates him, especially his kids. But go on. Tell me he’s manly.

Donald Trump is exhausting us with stupidity, but fortunately, there are signs that his moment is exhausting itself. Two years in and no president has been more unpopular than he is. Another two years and it might be virtually taboo to admit voting for him. Jingoism, barbarism, conspiracism, hate – it’s not only that maga-style populism should not be part of the prevailing discourse. It’s that it can’t be for long. As powerful and enduring as it may seem initially, it is more like mushrooms in American history. It springs up all of a sudden and seems to be everywhere at once. Then it dies back, nearly as suddenly. The first Red Scare was like that. So was the second. Americans just got tired of being tired of the stupidity.

It does not go away. Parts of it go underground, back to where it belongs. But some of it takes on new forms. Enterprising Democrats like Jon Ossoff and Abdul El-Sayed are now attempting to shear off the “maga” in maga-style populism. Instead of focusing on bigotry, conspiracy theory and longing for a mythical past, there is focus on egalitarian coalition-building against the real enemy of freedom and democracy: the very obscenely rich.

We may be exhausted but it won't last.

Trump is this close to yelling at clouds

At issue is Trump's defense of an attack ad featuring Amy Acton's estranged mother, Donna Arthur. Acton is the Democratic gubernatorial candidate in Ohio. Her opponent is Republican Vivek Ramaswamy. In the late 1970s, Donna Arthur accused her daughter of lying about the fact that her husband serially raped Acton from age 12. Arthur lost custody of her and her brother. Neither has been in contact since. The stepfather was charged and faced prosecution but fled the state. Donna Arthur went with him, becoming a fugitive. Below, Trump says "this has nothing to do with the stepfather." It has everything to do with him.

Trump: A mother is saying "don’t put my daughter there, because she’s a terrible person and she’s a liar." Why shouldn’t somebody use that?

Reporter: But do the sexual abuse allegations mean nothing, sir?

Trump: Wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, slow down. Who are you with?

Reporter: I'm with NBC, sir.

Trump: One of the worst networks you have.

Reporter: But there have been very serious sexual abuse allegations, sir.

Trump: Quiet!

Reporter: They make no difference to you?

Trump: Isn't she a fresh person? You’re a horrible little reporter, aren't you? If my mother said bad things about me, you think the Democrats would put it up? I think so. But my mother thought I was wonderful. Thank you, Mom. My mother would never even say, if she thought them. This is a person, a mother, a smart woman, I watched, smart woman. She said her daughter is a disaster. Her daughter is a liar and she felt that she had an obligation and she also said her daughter lied about her opponent, which is Vivek Ramaswamy. If I had that ad, I should be so lucky to have an ad like that. Why wouldn’t you listen to a mother that says that? Why? Why would you, Miss NBC? Why wouldn’t you listen?

Reporter: She stayed with the stepfather after raping his stepdaughter in 1978, sir.

Trump: Wait a minute, quiet! I don’t know anything about a stepfather. You just keep talking.

Reporter: I'm answering you, sir.

Trump: I don’t know about any stepfather. That was many, many years ago. I know that recently a mother got on television and said that her daughter should not be governor of Ohio and she said "I love my daughter, but my daughter lies all the time and lied about her opponent and I can’t watch it." This has nothing to do with the stepfather or anything else. This has to do with the fact that a woman got out, the mother of a person running for governor of one of the greatest states, where I set records, and said that she’s a liar. Her daughter is a liar. She said her daughter lied about the Vivek and the mother couldn’t take it anymore. She basically said her daughter should not – that’s what she said – her daughter should not be the governor of Ohio. To me, that's something that's very much fair game.

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