If you’re feeling that the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States has been hijacked by a narcissistic, political hack, you’re not alone. Instead of a joyous event for all Americans, our holiday has been plagued by vicious attacks on those who haven’t drunk the Make America Great Again Kool-Aid. And the results are proof positive that we, the people, are not going for it.

Not one bit.

One of the primary “celebrations” was the Great American State Fair held on the National Mall this week. Supposedly showcasing the history of the 50 states, a whopping 20 states decided to skip the event entirely. Not because they’re not proud of their state or didn’t want to tell the wonderful tales about the vast diversity and beauty of this place we call home, but because President Donald Trump turned it into a political rally for himself instead of a birthday party for all Americans.

Most of the musicians and entertainers who were booked cancelled as it morphed into a staged event for Trump. Those few that didn’t cancel had very sparse crowds sprinkled over the lawn in one of the most embarrassing displays of just how historically unpopular our current president and his attempts to divide, not unite, Americans are with the populace.

Despite Trump claiming a crowd of 45,000 people, about 1,000 showed up. Of course this is totally in line with his self-aggrandizing exaggerations across the board since he lives in a fantasy world where he is worshipped and adored.

But the stunning failure of the Great American State Fair isn’t alone in demonstrating the fact that Americans have grown very tired of this particular reality TV show clown. Consider these events of the last week:

• The Supreme Court ruled against Trump’s executive order attempting to overturn the Constitution’s guarantee of birthright citizenship. It’s not where we came from, it’s where we are; and those born here are Americans.
• The president’s former attorney, Ty Cobb, reflecting on the financial declaration showing the president and his sons have garnered more than a billion dollars from sketchy crypto sources called it “the greatest onslaught of corruption in the history of mankind” adding “he creates policies that can only enrich himself and his family, is something that I think the average American should be staggered by.”
• A federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order that the U.S. Postal Service could not deliver mail ballots in states that had not surrendered their voter role information to the federal government, thus halting one of his most obvious and odious attempts to rig the coming elections in which his MAGA allies are predicted to lose badly.
• Even the Social Security Administration’s latest list of popular baby names puts “Donald” at its lowest point since the 1880s.

The takeaway is clear — Americans are not happy that our nation’s birthday has been hijacked and degraded. We are not happy with being intentionally divided instead of united in celebration of our history. We are not happy that those who fought and died to establish this nation — and all those who have struggled to keep democracy alive since then — have been shoved to the side by a gilded grifter.

Trump is not who we are as Americans and Montanans. We are the nation of “all men are created equal” and on this 250th celebration of our founding the great challenge is to live up to that promise, to be the united, not the divided, states — and to continue to forcefully reject these self-serving, despicable efforts to drive us apart.

Faced with a revolt among his MAGA faithful over his decision to join Israel in starting a war with Iran, our increasingly demented and delusional president declared this week that “MAGA is Trump.” He was responding to, among others, MAGA stalwarts Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly who rightfully called him out for abandoning his vow to “abandon the failed policy of nation building and regime change” and his endlessly repeated lie of an “America First” agenda.

Indeed, the nation and world watch in stunned disbelief and overwhelming opposition as two-out-of-three American disapprove of this haphazard war. That’s no surprise given the fiascos over the Weapons of Mass Destruction that didn’t turn up in Iraq, the long, bloody, and losing effort in Afghanistan, and the recent kidnapping of Venezuela’s president and wife in a blatant attempt to take over the world’s largest known oil reserves.

Even worse is what seems to be utter confusion about what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. First Trump claimed an attack by Iran was “imminent” — which has been proved false even by his own intelligence agencies. Then it was necessary to “take out” Iran’s nuclear capability, which even those with short memories will recall he claimed to have “obliterated” in last year’s Israel-U.S. attack on Iran. Then it was for regime change to get rid of what he dubbed “the lunatic” 87-year old ruler. But then it was we had to attack because Israel was going to attack first — and being the stalwart ally in Israel’s Gaza genocide, our Middle East assets would also be attacked.

MAGA politicians can’t even agree if it’s a war. MAGA Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, claims “We’re not at war right now. They have declared war on us.”

Meanwhile, Montana’s own cluster of muddled MAGAs, masquerading as our congressional delegation, have all backed the bombing — a commitment which is rather specious now that half of the delegation, Rep. Zinke and Sen. Daines, have announced they will not seek reelection.

In the meantime, Montana’s super-patriot junior senator Tim Sheehy is so MAGA gung ho he physically attacked Brian McGinnis, a Marine veteran in full dress blues, who was protesting that “no one wants to go to war for Israel” during a senate hearing. The incident was captured in videos that have now gone viral.

In the meantime, gas prices are skyrocketing and are now higher than when Trump took office, the global economy is threatened by the closure of the Straits of Hormuz through which 20 percent of the world’s oil and natural gas are transported. The closure is now used as the latest justification for going to war…which, ironically, resulted in the closure.

Toss in the continuing inflation exacerbated by rising energy prices, the incredible blunders of Trump’s illegal tariffs, his radical attacks on long-time allies, the brutality of his war on immigrants, and the picture of MAGA madness comes into full focus.

Chaos is what’s emanating from the White House now and has been doing so since Trump re-claimed the presidency a year ago. But chaos is not what businesses want or need. Commerce thrives on stability where supplies, costs, and distribution are consistent and profit margins are predictable. Same goes for citizens who are trying harder every day to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

Has MAGA made America great again? Absolutely not. The utter chaos has done just opposite — which is no doubt why the MAGAs are terrified of the outcome of November’s elections.

Those of us who came of age during the ’60s well remember the Vietnam War, its horrific toll of human life, its cost, the division it caused, and its long-term effects upon those who served and survived.

We also remember the phony incidents and propaganda that threw our young men and women into combat in what became our nation’s longest war…which we lost.

As noted in 2008 by the U.S. Naval Institute in reference to the Gulf of Tonkin incident: “But once-classified documents and tapes released in the past several years, combined with previously uncovered facts, make clear that high government officials distorted facts and deceived the American public about events that led to full U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.”

Combined with the propaganda that the “Domino Theory” would see all of Southeast Asia under communist rule if the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, also known as “North Vietnam,” overthrew the government of South Vietnam, the Dogs of War were unleashed.

We saw a similar concocted reason for the Iraq War in the assurance from President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney that “Weapons of Mass Destruction” – or WMDs – existed, just awaiting use against the United States. It was a flat out lie — but again, with horrifying consequences of death, destruction, cost, and long-term mental and health effects on the nation’s men and women in the military — all to virtually no positive outcome.

Comes now the next attempt to push our nation into yet another fabricated war — this time with Venezuela, which just coincidentally happens to have the largest proven reserves of oil on the planet at 303 billion barrels.

This time around it’s Trump’s propaganda machine that declares drugs from Venezuela are a threat to our nation on such a scale that we now have dozens of warships, planes, and 15,000 troops in the region as the president threatens to invade that sovereign nation and has already drawn international condemnation for blowing up suspected drug boats and killing more than 80 individuals — without releasing a scintilla of verification to the public.

Which begs the question: Given that three of the four members of Montana’s Congressional Delegation are veterans, and that two of them – Rep. Ryan Zinke and Sen. Tim Sheehy are former Navy SEALS – how can they stand silent while this deadly charade unfolds?

This is particularly poignant since other members of Congress — both Republican and Democrat — are openly questioning the fabricated rationale for the war. They’re also critical of a violation of the international Law of Armed Conflict by a “double tap” by SEAL Team 6 that killed two survivors left clinging to the wreckage of an alleged drug boat in the middle of the ocean.

As reported by the Associated Press: “I can’t imagine anyone, no matter what the circumstance, believing it is appropriate to kill people who are clinging to a boat in the water,” said Michael Schmitt, a former Air Force lawyer and professor emeritus at the U.S. Naval War College. “That is clearly unlawful.”

Given our past involvement in disastrous foreign wars fueled by propaganda and false information one would expect the veterans in Montana’s Congressional delegation to speak up, demand answers and proof, and honor the Oath of Office they took as soldiers and elected officials to uphold the Constitution’s mandate that only Congress may declare war.

Moreover, they have not even bothered to ask Montanans about sending their sons and daughters to yet another foolish foreign war — a “war” which they are aiding and abetting through their unconscionable silence. .

Late-night comic Jimmy Kimmel could barely get the words out of his mouth when he had to say: “I agree with Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

It was his second time this month, he noted, and added “I need something to wash out my mouth.” But in truth, the issue at hand, which is access to health care, is no laughing matter.

Greene’s latest defection from the MAGA cult of loyalty for which she has been a leading figure popped up in an exclusive interview with CNN in which she didn’t beat around the bush concerning the effect of the House-passed budget bill that, due to not reauthorizing Affordable Care Act subsidies, has caused the shutdown of the federal government.

“Everybody is just getting destroyed” Greene told reporters. “This cliff is coming for millions and millions of Americans where their health insurance premiums are about to skyrocket. Republicans, you have no solutions. You haven’t come up with a new plan in place, and we’re not even talking about it, and it is hurting so many people.”

Greene’s concerns are at odds with the narrative the GOP is trying to spin on the shutdown — namely that it’s all the fault of Senate Democrats. Instead, Greene says the healthcare crisis now facing millions of Americans, including her kids and constituents, is a direct threat to Republicans in the polls and voting booths.

It’s worth noting Greene is also one of four Republican House members who signed the discharge petition to force the release of the Epstein files, telling The Hill: “I think when it comes to women being raped, especially when they were 14 years old, that’s pretty black and white.” Moreover, she said Speaker Johnson’s attempts to keep the House shut down was “wrong” and they should reconvene to take care of the vast spectrum of Congressional business.

For his part, Johnson doesn’t want to reconvene the House due to the recent election of a Democrat who, when sworn in, will provide the final signature to force Johnson to deal with the “Epstein bomb”.

What could this MAGA rebellion by Greene have to do with Montana? Well, it’s not so dissimilar from a group of nine Republicans who broke with their own leadership over any number of issues. Chief among them was health care, and support for a bill by fellow Republican Ed Buttrey to lift the pending expiration of Medicaid expansion for low income people that the Senate’s GOP President, Matt Regier, opposed.

Like Greene, Buttrey noted that healthcare was critical and Republicans had no other plan: “We have 10 years’ worth of data that shows that the program we designed is working and working well. There’s no need to change it, it’s a savings to our budget, it is providing help for people all across the state, it’s helping save our rural health care facilities. Why would you want to change that or come up with another plan?”

It’s fair to say the GOP tends to “keep its soldiers in line” when it comes to supporting or opposing leadership positions. Yet, just as Greene defied Johnson on Medicare funding and Trump on the Epstein files, Buttrey and his nine “rebels” defied their own leadership and governor to support Medicaid expansion.

None of this spells the end of MAGA, of course. But it shows that when it comes down to the critical issues that affect the citizens of our nation and state, party affiliation is not and should not be the determining factor — especially when it comes to taking care of each other.

Every kid has heard “No means no!” when they want something their parents don’t think they should have. This week that phrase got a couple high profile uses when Canada’s new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, told Donald Trump right to his face that Canada was not and never would be for sale and Montana’s Congressman Ryan Zinke forcefully said “no” to the sale of public lands in the West.

In this day and age seeing U.S. politicians keep their campaign promises — or honor their oaths of office — is becoming increasingly rare. But on “keeping public lands in public hands,” Rep. Zinke did just that.

The measure in question was part of the “big, beautiful bill” touted by Trump to give yet more tax breaks to the already wealthy. The new twist was to sell hundreds of thousands of acres of federal lands in Nevada and Utah for mining, logging, drilling and development to finance those tax breaks.

Doug Burgum, the Secretary of the Interior, has publicly declared public lands and resources as “natural assets” that can be used to pay down the national debt. Consequently, GOP Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Celeste Maloy of Utah inserted the public land sale as an amendment since it was not contained in the original draft of the bill due to bipartisan opposition.

Montana’s Congressman and former Secretary of the Interior called the move to sell public lands “a red line” and was adamant: “It’s a no now. It will be a no later. It will be a no forever.’’ As Zinke explained his firm opposition: “I prefer the management scheme and I give as an example a hotel. If you don’t like the management of a hotel, don’t sell the hotel; change the management.”

At almost the same time, Canada’s Prime Minister, Mark Carney was using almost the same words in his White House meeting. After listening to Trump’s blather about how Canada should be our 51st state, how much he “loved Canada” and how erasing the “artificial” border line would make one beautiful piece of real estate, Carney used Trump’s own real estate line to fire back: “As you know from real estate, there are some places that are never for sale. We’re sitting in one right now. Having met with the owners of Canada over the course of the campaign the last several months, it’s not for sale, won’t be for sale,” adding: “Canada’s not for sale. It never will be for sale.”

Carney won office largely on his opposition to Trump’s intentions to take over Canada, saying during the election that: “America wants our land, our resources, our water, our country. But these are not idle threats. President Trump is trying to break us so that America can own us. That will never ever happen.”

Both Zinke and Carney are dead right. Polls show 74% of Americans oppose the sale of our public lands — and Carney’s election speaks for itself. He won by fighting Trump’s nasty threat to take over our northern neighbor that 77% of Canadians oppose.

For a guy who’s always been told he can have everything he wants, the double-barrel blast should be a wake up call. The world is not one big real estate sale to be marketed solely to make greedy billionaires even more money. Kudos to Zinke and Carney — and hopefully a sign to the rest of Congress and the world that it’s time to tell our spoiled child of a president “No means no!”

Editor’s note: This column has been updated to reflect the proper committee assignments for Rep. Ryan Zinke.

Daily Montanan is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com.