Ten and a half long months ago, America began spiraling in a terrifying direction. We knew Trump was bad; his first term had been a calamity. But few of us were prepared for the catastrophe that awaited us in the second.
Part of it came because Republicans gained control of both chambers of Congress, and Trump was able to intimidate and browbeat them into submitting to whatever he wanted to do.
Now, finally, the ground is shifting.
Some congressional Republicans are turning hawkish on the budget and reject Trump’s zany notion of $2,000 “tariff dividend” checks, as well as his stated desire to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years.
Russian hawks dislike Trump’s love fest with Putin on Ukraine.
Nor did they appreciate his happy meeting with Zohran Mamdani.
Or his refusal to release the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Some are demanding to know more about Trump’s and Hegseth’s bombing (and re-bombing) of boats in the Caribbean.
When Marjorie Taylor Greene decided to pick up her bigotry and leave Congress, I assumed it was because she had picked a fight with Trump and lost. But other Republican members are threatening to depart too — potentially leaving Trump and his puppet Speaker Mike Johnson without enough votes to stop the Democrats.
Could it be — is it really possible? — that a few congressional Republicans are now feeling their backbones?
Yes — which is enough for other congressional Republicans to realize they, too, have vertebrae.
Why now?
Because the MAGA base that every congressional Republican is so afraid of and solicitous toward is falling apart.
They’re finally seeing Trump for what he is: a man without principle except getting richer and more powerful and engraving his name on buildings.
A lame-duck president who said he’d make life better for MAGA starting on “day one” but has made life worse for MAGA by month 10.
He doesn’t even believe in lowering prices. He calls the affordability crisis a “con” job.
Democrats swept last month’s off-year elections and performed better than usual in Tuesday’s House race in a bright-red Tennessee district.
If you’re taking some satisfaction from the MAGA crackup, don’t let your guard down.
It’s when Trump feels he’s in trouble that he does the biggest and craziest things to deflect attention.
So, my friends, beware.
Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at https://robertreich.substack.com/