Trump’s Last 24 Hours: A President Spiraling Out of Control

“Any document signed by Sleepy Joe Biden with the Autopen, which was approximately 92% of them, is hereby terminated, and of no further force or effect... Joe Biden was not involved in the Autopen process and, if he says he was, he will be brought up on charges of perjury. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” -Donald J. Trump, November 28, 2025, 2:37 PM

“The seriously retarded Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz, does nothing, either through fear, incompetence, or both, while the worst ‘Congressman/woman’ in our Country, Ilhan Omar, always wrapped in her swaddling hijab, and who probably came into the U.S.A. illegally in that you are not allowed to marry your brother…” -Donald J. Trump, November 27, 2025, 11:27 PM

In just the last 24 hours, the President of the United States threatened perjury charges against a former president and bragged that he had voided that president’s pardons, despite legal experts saying he has no legal power to do so. He also used a slur meant to mock disabled people when referring to a sitting governor, then launched a hate-filled attack on a Muslim congresswoman built on lies and conspiracy theories. It is impossible to look at this and pretend that Donald Trump is fit for office. His speech and behavior show growing signs of confusion and disorganization that many medical observers interpret as cognitive decline. This is the person who holds the nuclear codes, creating real danger for every single one of us, yet far too many people refuse to acknowledge what this means for the country we are still trying to save.

We’ve had presidents who failed. But through war, scandal, and crisis, there was still some shared understanding that the presidency itself carried a level of dignity. Nixon resigned not because he was a hero, but because even he knew that the presidency couldn’t survive that kind of corruption without consequence. That era is gone. There is no dignity left in the White House. There is only Donald Trump, lashing out, unraveling in public, showing the world he no longer cares about the Constitution or where the limits of his power are.

His physical decline is just as visible. Recent footage shows him dragging one leg and struggling with basic walking, even as his official medical report insists he is in excellent health. Every recent clip shows him slouched and seated. When he speaks, it’s a mix of grievance, confusion, and rage. And yet the people around him don’t step in, because they’re not trying to protect him or our country. They’re using him because he’s the perfect cover for what they’re really doing. This isn’t a presidency anymore. It’s a puppet show, and the people pulling the strings aren’t loyal to him; they’re loyal to an agenda. Stephen Miller. The Heritage Foundation. The architects of Project 2025. They’ve written it all down, a plan to dismantle the federal government and replace democracy with permanent authoritarian control. Trump isn’t running the country. He’s the face of an extremist movement. And behind him is a machine that knows exactly what it’s doing.

That’s why distraction matters so much. The worse things get for Trump with the Epstein Files, low ratings, or severe mental decline, the more chaos is stirred up. This week, the focus is on Venezuela. His administration is now talking about military land strikes there, claiming it’s to stop drug trafficking. But if this was really about stopping drugs, why did Trump just say he plans to pardon Juan Orlando Hernández, the former president of Honduras who was convicted in a U.S. court of trafficking drugs to the United States and is serving 45 years in prison right now? This isn’t about drugs. It’s about power and oil. Venezuela gives Trump a crisis to point at, an enemy to blame, and a way to flood the news with headlines that distract from the real problems. And Trump would never turn away from an opportunity to use American power to grab foreign oil.

And Trump’s enablers and ideological foot soldiers, like Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Secretary of “War” and former Fox News host, are just as intoxicated with the power and cruelty as he is. According to reports, Hegseth is now directly tied to a military strike that may amount to an international war crime. He reportedly gave the personal order to fire a missile at a boat off the coast of Trinidad, allegedly tied to drug trafficking. After the first missile hit and the smoke cleared, two survivors were seen clinging to the wreckage. According to the Washington Post, Hegseth then issued a second order: “the order was to kill everybody.” A second missile was launched, killing the survivors.

Under international humanitarian and maritime law, people who are shipwrecked and no longer fighting must be rescued and cared for, not targeted again and certainly not executed. The U.S. military quietly changed its internal protocols afterward to require the rescue of survivors in future strikes, a tacit admission that this was not an accident but a breach of law and basic human decency. And even if Hegseth was unaware of the legal obligations, which is terrifying enough for someone leading the most powerful military on earth, what he did was inhumane. We don’t know who those people were or if they were even involved in the drug trade, because they were not given trials or allowed to defend themselves. But we know this: clinging to the wreckage of a sinking boat is not a crime punishable by death.

This is what leadership under the Trump Presidency looks like now: cold and calculated brutality. Not a moment of remorse. Not a word of comfort. Just violence, chaos, and the erasure of anything that once resembled decency.

Presidents used to mark Thanksgiving with words of unity. Even in the hardest years, there was still some attempt to comfort the country, to remind people what we share. Ronald Reagan once wrote about his gratitude for the American spirit. Barack Obama thanked families opening their homes to strangers. George W. Bush reminded Americans of their common blessings. Joe Biden talked about grace and resilience. Even Nixon, days before resigning, asked Americans to remember the good in each other.

Donald Trump posted a disgrace to the presidency.

He spent the holiday attacking immigrants, mocking the disabled, using slurs, and spreading conspiracy theories. He called Governor Tim Walz “seriously retarded.” He smeared Ilhan Omar with lies about incest and citizenship, invoking her hijab as a punchline. He invented statistics about refugees on welfare. He claimed Somali gangs had taken over Minnesota. He ended with a threat: “You won’t be here for long.”

This isn’t just offensive. It’s dangerous. Because when a president talks like this, people act on it.

And with all the indecency rotting the presidency from the inside out, there’s something Trump didn’t expect: a rise in resistance from within. A sitting Republican state senator in Indiana, Michael Bohacek, stood up and said no. No to Trump’s slurs. No to the rigged redistricting map designed to hand the state over to him. And no to a movement that sees cruelty as strength.

Bohacek didn’t speak like a politician. He spoke like a father.

“Many of you have asked my position on redistricting. I have been an unapologetic advocate for people with intellectual disabilities since the birth of my second daughter. Those of you that don’t know me or my family might not know that my daughter has Down Syndrome. This is not the first time our president has used these insulting and derogatory references and his choices of words have consequences. I will be voting NO on redistricting. Perhaps he can use the next 10 months to convince voters that his policies and behavior deserve a congressional majority.”

When Bohacek pushed back, he wasn’t just rejecting a slur. He was rejecting the entire machine. The corruption. The manipulation. The idea that Trump is owed anything or is something to fear.

And whether he meant to or not, he exposed what Trump fears most: his grip on power is weakening, and everyone can see it.

There is no dignity left in the White House, but that doesn’t mean there’s none left in this country. Because dignity isn’t granted by a title or a desk. It’s shown in the choices we make, especially when it’s hardest. It’s shown in the communities that continue to resist even when the odds feel impossible.

That’s what makes this different than any other authoritarian movement in modern history. Trump may have power. He may have the military, the money, and the media megaphone. But we still have each other. We still have people who remember what this country is supposed to be. And we’re not giving up.

The cracks are growing. And every day, more people are starting to see what’s behind it.

We don’t know what comes next, and we need to brace for a very rocky year ahead before the midterms. But we still have the freedom to speak the truth. We still have the power to resist. And we still have time to reclaim what’s been taken and protect what’s left.

I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather

P.S. If you’ve made it this far, chances are we see things the same way. You can help keep this work going by subscribing to my Substack; there’s a free option, or you can become a paid subscriber for just $5 a month. Paid subscriptions help me reach more people, cover more ground, and keep telling the truth about what’s happening to our country.