Shortly after the Trump regime’s illegal military occupation of Los Angeles, Governor Gavin Newsom began relentlessly trolling the 47th President, mocking his serially absurd social media posts.

The MAGA community came predictably unhinged.

Fox News personality Dana Perino said Newsom “has to stop it with the Twitter thing. I don’t know where his wife is. If I were his wife, I would say you are making a fool of yourself, stop it.”

Perino continued.

“He’s got a big job as governor of California, but if he wants an even bigger job, he has to be a little bit more serious.”

Psssttt … Dana … many of us have said the same thing about Trump, his tweeting, and his spouse for practically a decade. But as I often say, MAGA is a “Do as I say, not as I do” movement that repeatedly fails its own litmus test.

In my column last week, I deliberately used grandiloquent words to prove a point. MAGA readers took the bait -- hook, line, and sinker.

As a matter of personal policy, I don’t respond to reader messages -- positive or negative. Likewise, I refrain from reading comment threads. For my experiment, I asked my publicist to keep an eye on the feedback and pass along some of the more hilarious responses.

MAGA didn’t disappoint.

“I can’t even read this. I may know what these words mean, but the message loses meaning when one has to think so hard to understand it,” wrote a woman who lists her occupation as an English instructor at a community college in the middle-of-nowhere.

Though I will take her advice into consideration, I have an average weekly audience of 374,000 readers. Dumbing down my commentaries would be an insult to my target demographic.

“This person, can’t force myself to call him a man, is so clueless about so much when it comes to to [sic] conservatives! Or people with Christian morals or morals period,” exclaimed another reader.

Really? I pointed out a lack of altruism among some members of the MAGA community and THAT was her rebuttal? How about addressing the points I made about how conservatives delight in accepting social handouts but decry socialism?

“Good Lord!!! I cannot believe you published this,” lamented a reader in a comment evidently directed at the newspaper’s publisher.

I applaud the publisher for including a diverse assortment of viewpoints in their newspaper. They're evidently a proponent of the First Amendment. Rather than calling on the publisher to restrict the free press, you would think a person who belongs to the so-called "party of limited government” would celebrate it.

Not so with MAGA.

Free speech isn’t embraced; it’s punished. Even Republicans who disagree are labeled as “RINOS.” As I mentioned in a column earlier this summer, MAGA employs a Stepford approach. Like most cults, whether out of fear or ignorance, Trump loyalists will rarely drift from parroting the assigned talking points.

One of my favorite responses came from a reader who wrote, “LMAO! Thats funny! Now wright [sic] about the democrats! SMH.”

It’s probably best that the individual stick with acronyms considering spelling is not his strong suit. He’s obviously not a regular reader of my work, either. Were he acquainted with my writing, he would know that I have been a registered independent for a decade and that my columns, which are all archived at www.dannebohm.com, call out both the left and right when the situation warrants.

Though I’m glad my website’s submission form served as a release for a clearly triggered reader, I’m not caught up in the cult of personality. Therefore, insults against Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Kamala Harris don’t bother me. In fact, there have been occasions when I’ve criticized each of them in previous columns.

Nice try, though.

While they love to label voices of opposition as “snowflakes,” MAGA is a fragile, delicate movement that is especially sensitive to intellectualism, tough arguments, mocking, irrefutable facts, and criticism.

If you see a blindly obedient Trump loyalist on the street, be sure to give them a consoling hug. Though history will brand them as hoodwinked buffoons, they no less deserve our compassion. In the words of Voltaire, “It is hard to free fools from the chains they revere.”

NOW READ: Arkansas farmers are facing catastrophe — and Trump is the reason why

J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, former Kansas legislator and intelligencer. His website is www.dannebohm.com. Mr. Dannebohm is a member of the Virginia Press Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He writes from the Washington DC metro in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

I used to think the backbone of America ran right down the middle -- from the Dakotas to Texas. Sadly, if recent events have taught me anything, it’s that red states are spineless. The obsequious manner in which conservative voters capitulate to an untelegenic mountebank is either cultism, cowardice, or a combination of the two. It’s certainly not the backbone that built our great nation.

It's important to bear in mind these are the same gullible saps who thought the arrival of a Dollar General in their communities would save Main Street rather than eviscerate the local economy entirely. They're notorious for supporting flimflammers who delight in hoodwinking them.

These are likewise the same degenerates who think the prospect of a cage fight on the White House lawn is a fitting means by which to commemorate the semiquincentennial of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The irony doesn't escape the intellectual mind. Juvenal’s “bread and circuses” idiom is obscenely fitting.

I recently happened upon a comment written by a Gravy Seal residing in a Kansas town made famous by right-wing terrorist Timothy McVeigh. The self-proclaimed Christian Nationalist applauded Trump’s “crackdown,” saying “if Martial law is what it takes, so be it.”

“The communist demotards are lying,” he wrote. “I’m glad Trump is gettin rid of the homeless. I’m tired of seein all these stolen Walmart carts all over town.”

For a Christian, the gentleman evidently suffers a lack of altruism.

Of course, when it comes to the question of where exactly transients are being relocated, nobody seems to know, and few “Christians” appear to care.

As for the eradication of the unhoused in the Sunflower State?

The individual could just as well wish in one hand and spit in the other. Though Junction City is a stone’s throw from a military base, Trump’s “crackdown” isn’t likely to occur in ruby-red Kansas.

That doesn’t negate the fact that 15 of the 25 cities with the highest violent crime rates in the U.S. are in red states. As usual, Trump is going after the low hanging fruit to gammon his gullible base.

Though conservatives allege that blue states are havens for inequity, communism, and violence, without the funds paid into the federal revenue by blue states, America’s red states would be crippled.

Referring to the left as communists seems mordacious considering anti-intellectualism is a communist tactic. A vacuous society occupied with gladiator-inspired sports and made-for-television spectacles is more easily controlled. Last time I checked, it wasn’t the Democrats banning books or threatening universities. Perhaps if school systems in red states didn’t consistently fall dead last in national rankings, their voters wouldn't be so inept.

I’m reminded of the adage, “Republican voters will usher in fascism to avoid socialism because they don’t know the definition of either term.”

-- The North Dakota roughneck who decries socialism while his “tradwife” stays home with their children, reaping the benefits of socialist programs like SNAP and WIC.

-- The South Dakota boomer who delights in “owning the libs,” but happily cashes her social security check, a program that incorporates elements of democratic socialism.

-- The Nebraska corn farmer who laments socialists but eagerly accepts a subsidy check, which is literally a form of socialism.

-- The Kansas Christian Nationalist who opposes abortion but supports the death penalty, eradication of the homeless, and the inhumane treatment of migrants.

-- The Oklahoma Superintendent who insists on the presence of a Holy Bible in every classroom while being caught with lewd imagery on a computer screen.

-- The Texas cattle rancher who loathes “the illegals,” but snivels about having his brown-skinned, all-cash, under-the-table workforce taken away.

Their benightedness is only surpassed by their hypocrisy and their pathetic spinelessness.

Donald Trump isn’t draining any swamp. He’s the embodiment of D.C. corruption. His every move is being dictated by K Street. The irony is that most of the chumps who believe he is “draining the swamp” won’t understand that reference and sure as hell won’t look it up – that’s precisely what K Street is counting on. Having said that, if you’re genuinely interested in learning more about “the swamp” rather than merely parroting a campaign slogan, brothers Brody and Luke Mullins have written a phenomenal book entitled “The Wolves of K Street” that was recently released by Simon & Schuster.

The MAGA movement haplessly takes fraudster bait and consistently fails its own litmus test. Just look at who they anointed as “Dear Leader.” There’s a reason he “loves the poorly educated.”

---

J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, former Kansas legislator and intelligencer. His website is www.dannebohm.com. Mr. Dannebohm is a member of the Virginia Press Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He writes from the Washington DC metro in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In most cults, having an independent opinion is discouraged and even punished. Group leaders often suppress critical thinking and skepticism, viewing them as a threat to the movement's unity and control. Members who express doubts or disagree are often viewed as "traitors" and a threat. Finding themselves forbidden from drifting off script, they are forced to parrot talking points handed down to them by the cult lieutenants.

Bertrand Rusell once observed, “As soon as we abandon our own reason and are content to rely upon authority there is no end to our troubles."

When the TACO gestapo descended on Los Angeles to conduct ICE raids, three MAGA “influencers” - Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobiec, and Matt Walsh - all posted the same message to X within a few hours of each other:

“It's time to ban third world immigration, legal or illegal. We've reached our limit and we have a huge cultural, educational, housing, financial, and essential services problem to fix now because of it. We need a net-zero immigration moratorium with a ban on all third worlders.”

It wasn’t long before MAGA armchair soldiers started posting the same message, verbatim, in comment threads across multiple platforms.

Granted, the rhetoric was far more articulate than what had been peddled by the cult leader himself. Regarding the first “50501” rallies that took place in the spring, Harris Faulkner of Fox News asked Mr. Trump, "What do you think they [protestors] need, right now, from you?”

"Protesters for different reasons. You're protesting also because, you know, they just didn't know. I've watch - I watched very closely. Why are you here? They really weren't able to say, but they were there for a reason, perhaps,” the 47th President of the United States replied. "But a lot of them really were there because they're following the crowd. A lot of them were there because what we witnessed was a terrible thing. What we saw was a terrible thing. And we've seen it over the years. We haven't, you know, this was one horrible example, but you've seen other terrible examples. You know that better than anybody who would know it. And I know it. I've seen it, too. I've seen it before I was president. I've seen it. I think it's a shame. I think it's a disgrace. And it's got to stop."

When the second round of rallies, known as the “No Kings” protests, made headlines, it was obvious the lieutenants handed out the official response. Once again, cult member upon brainwashed cult member took to comment threads offering the same line: “If a king were in power, you wouldn’t have the right to protest.”

The French Revolution was, in part, a protest against King Louis XVI. It stemmed from widespread discontent with the monarchy's absolute power as well as social inequalities and economic hardships faced by the common people.

It’s mildly ironic that on June 11th, just days before the protests, Mr. Trump attended a performance of Les Misérables, a musical about the French Revolution. It’s downright humorous that some patrons paid $2 million to sit in a performance box, attend a VIP reception with the President, and take a photo with him; while others paid no less than $100,000 to attend the performance, a reception and receive a photo of the demagogue.

A week or so later, following the unprovoked strike on Iran, the official response posted by the Proud Boys, Gravy Seals, and Meal Team Six read: "If you're no longer MAGA because Trump wiped out Iran's nuclear sites, you were never MAGA to begin with."

Henry David Thoreau wrote, "Think for yourself, or others will think for you without thinking of you."

Ezra Klein seems to agree.

"Trump is acting like a king because he's too weak to govern like a president. He is trying to substitute perception for reality. He is hoping that perception becomes reality. That can only happen if we believe him,” the New York Times columnist observed.

The MAGA movement, on the other hand, believes and says what they’re told, when they’re told. Theirs is a Stepford approach. To observe this, one only needs to revisit the faces, void of emotion, that sparsely lined Constitution Avenue for Trump’s military parade-charade.

Attempting any form of dialogue with a member of MAGA is often like trying to communicate with a brainwashed clone. Whether out of fear or ignorance, they’ll rarely drift from the assigned talking points. Hence, most efforts to foster understanding are futile.

NOW READ: 'The cognitive dissonance is frightening': Inside the manipulation of Trump's supporters

J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, former Kansas legislator and intelligencer. His website is www.dannebohm.com. Mr. Dannebohm is a member of the Virginia Press Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He writes from the Washington DC metro in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Catholics and non-Catholics alike are riding high on emotions over two words: "Habemus papam." (We have a pope.) However, once the honeymoon is over and reality sets in, enthusiasm for Pope Leo XIV will likely subside as some supporters of the papal concept, particularly non-Catholics, discover he isn't ‘exactly’ a carbon copy of Francis.

The new leader of the Catholic Church reportedly aligns very close to the late Pope Francis’ social views regarding the environment, outreach to the poor, the dignity of migrants, and being a shepherd who meets people on their level. As a Cardinal, the newly elected pontiff supported his predecessor's change in pastoral practice, allowing divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion.

Like Francis, Pope Leo XIV appears to oppose the Trump regime on matters relating to social justice and immigration. As a Cardinal, Robert Prevost used his social media account to criticize Mr. Vance's views on Catholicism and the gospel, he posted an article opposing Mr. Trump's immigration policies, and he retweeted a criticism of Trump for his heckling of the wrongly imprisoned Kilmar Abrego Garcia.

When asked about homosexuality, the late Pope Francis famously said: "If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?"

However, Leo XIV is considerably less favorable to the LGBTQ+ community.

While serving as a bishop in Peru, Prevost opposed government plans to add teachings about gender in school, calling "the promotion of gender ideology confusing" since they "create genders that don't exist." In 2012, Prevost spoke about the "sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel," citing "homosexual lifestyle" and "alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children."

Pope Francis made clear his desire for women to take on more active roles in the ministry of the Church. In 2023, Prevost said that “clericalizing women” would not solve issues in the church:

“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this, interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem,” Prevost told journalists at a news conference.

Democrats might be disappointed to learn that Illinois voting records show that Pope Leo XIV is registered to vote in the Chicago suburb of New Lenox, voting in the Republican primary in 2016, 2014 and 2012. (He likewise voted in the general election in 2024, 2018, 2014 and 2012.)

Regarding the ongoing crisis of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, there have likewise been "grave concerns" raised about the new pope. As Provincial (administrator) of the Augustinians, Prevost allowed Father James Ray, a priest accused of abusing minors, to reside at the order’s friary in Chicago, despite its proximity to a Catholic elementary school. In 2022, when Prevost was Bishop of Chiclayo (Peru), three victims reported allegations of abuse to civil authorities after they claimed there was no movement on their canonical cases through the diocese.

Radical Catholic traditionalists are placing their hope in the new pope’s choice of name. Pope Leo XIII was considered the founder of Catholic social teaching and supported many progressive social views. However, like others who bore the name Leo, he was considered doctrinally and morally conservative.

Though many loved the late John Paul II, some Catholics grew weary of his lengthy pontificate. Being 69 years old, it stands to reason that Leo XIV will have a similarly long papacy.

Those expecting the new pope to be a sort of Francis 2.0 are in for a slight disappointment. While Leo XIV will likely have some of the same views as Francis, he will almost certainly lack the late pontiff’s signature charisma and off-the-cuff approach. All indications suggest he will be a bit more of a doctrinal hardliner and less outgoing. In other words: Leo XIV will more than likely be a cross between Francis and Benedict XVI.

Ahead of the conclave, Prevost was promoted as a possible compromise candidate if leading candidates were unable to obtain enough votes. In essence, he was seen as someone who could navigate the complex and divisive environment within the Church, demonstrating a balance between different theological and political positions.

Many Catholics are of the opinion that a pontificate of balance is precisely what their divided Church needs right now. So, while outsiders (even those of us who have sworn off religion entirely) are free to have our opinions, Catholics are the ones with a new pope: Leo XIV.

---

J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, former Kansas legislator and intelligencer. His website is www.dannebohm.com. Mr. Dannebohm is a member of the Virginia Press Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He writes from the Washington DC metro in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

In the days leading up to the 2025 Presidential Inauguration, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman made a pilgrimage to Mar-a-Lago in an effort to pay homage to President-elect Donald Trump. Luckily, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s latest beau, MAGA “journalist” Brian Glenn, wasn’t on hand to ask the senator known for wearing hoodies, “Why don’t you wear a suit?"

On February 25th Democratic strategist James Carville penned an op-ed for the New York Times wherein he suggested the best strategy for Democrats was to do … nothing.

“Already, many Democrats across the party are itching at their seams for a showdown. Instead of gearing up to fight them — as we love to do — the most radical thing we can do is nothing at all,” Carville wrote. “Let the Republicans disagree with themselves publicly. Do not offer a single vote. Do not insert yourself into the discourse. Do not throw a monkey wrench into the equation. Simply step away and let them flirt with a default.”

A few weeks later, Fetterman would join with Democratic Senators Chuck Schumer, Catherine Cortez Masto, Maggie Hassan, Brian Schatz, Gary Peters, Dick Durbin, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Jeanne Shaheen, voting with the GOP to approve a reckless budget aimed at preventing a government shutdown.

Discontent with Carville’s advice and frustrated that his colleagues were seemingly rolling over to the GOP, on March 31st, Democratic Senator Cory Booker set out to protest the Trump Administration and inadvertently break Senator Strom Thurmond’s record for the longest recorded floor speech in Senate history. Thurmond spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

"Our constituents are asking us to acknowledge that this is a crisis. So, I am going to stand here until I no longer can,” the Senator from New Jersey said as he began his marathon protest speech.

On April 1st, having spoken for over 25 hours, the black Senator, who would have never been afforded the opportunity to serve in the Senate had men like Thurmond gotten their way, broke the floor speech record.

Over the next few weeks, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont teamed up with America’s Evita – New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – taking their “non-partisan” socialist, not quite Peronist (though just as internally conflicted) show of resistance on the road.

Around the same time, DNC Vice Chair David Hogg, who rose to fame in the aftermath of the tragic Parkland High School Shooting, vowed that his Leaders We Deserve PAC would dump $20 million into primary campaigns for younger candidates against “older Democrats.” The PAC endorses candidates for state House seats who are 30 years old and younger as well as candidates who are 35 years old and younger for federal races. The group spent $12 million in the 2024 general election cycle.

James Carville wasn’t impressed with Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, or Hogg.

On his "Politics War Room" podcast, "The Ragin' Cajun" said Democrats have candidates who are "staggeringly more talented" than Sanders or AOC. Later in his tirade, Carville argued that Democrats don't need a "sterling message," asserting that his characterization of the Republican Party will "manifest itself" in the economy, tax cuts, and healthcare.

In a comment on NewsNation, Carville referred to Hogg as a "contemptible little twerp.”

Hogg responded on CNN a short time later.

"Carville believes in a politics of being timid, of hiding. I believe in fighting," Hogg said during an interview with Jake Tapper. "We can't simply just hide, as Carville repeatedly promotes, not to mention the fact that, frankly, he has not won an election since before I was born. I think it's time for some new voices in our party."

Top brass in the DNC have been calling for Hogg to step aside, citing a conflict of interest with the organization’s policies. Democratic voters are torn. Some applaud Hogg, citing the DNC’s notorious reputation for cutting off its nose to spite its face. Others have reservations about Hogg’s PAC and his wildly progressive platform that calls for, among other things, defunding the police.

One thing is certain: Democrats need to get their act together – and fast.

Infighting takes precious time away from strategizing. Thus far, the only strategy Democrats seem to agree on is: “Vote blue because we’re not aligned with Donald Trump.” However, that strategy failed to secure an election victory for their anointed candidate Kamala Harris. Though Trump 2.0 has been a veritable dumpster fire, it is imperative that Democrats offer something tangibly different or face certain demise in the midterms.

J. Basil Dannebohm is a writer, speaker, consultant, former Kansas legislator and intelligencer. His website is www.dannebohm.com. Mr. Dannebohm is a member of the Virginia Press Association and the National Society of Newspaper Columnists. He writes from the Washington DC metro in the Commonwealth of Virginia.