THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES

This is an eight foot statue called The Orange Plague by Danish sculptor Jens Galschiot placed in the European Parliament building in Strasbourg. It depicts a nude Donald Trump sitting on the shoulders of a smaller man with Trump holding a golf club and small scale of justice and covered in 23 karat gold leaf. The artist said it was inspired by the Hans Christian Anderson story “The Emperor’s New Clothes.” The base is inscribe to the “King of Injustice” and reads “I am sitting on the back of a man. He is sinking under my burden. I will do anything to help him. Except stepping down from his back.” (Getty)

We may look back on this period of time and deem it the nadir of the Trump administration because things can only improve from here, or we will discover that there is no bottom with this man and his enablers. After not winning his coveted Nobel Peace Prize (surprise!), he spent way too much time on social media degrading the winner — Navanethem “Navi” Pillay, a South African jurist and human rights advocate honored for her lifetime efforts to promote peace and international law — and degrading the country of Norway — which has no control whatsoever over the Nobel Prizes. Since Navi Pillay was a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Trump and his Department of State imposed massive sanctions on the ICC in an attempt to dismantle it “piece by piece”. The U.S. has no formal connection to the court for policy reasons related to protecting U.S. citizens under the Constitution, but most of the rest of the free world does. In a joint statement Canada, Germany, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom — the heart of our most reliable Allies — strongly rebuked the U.S. announcement. One more sign that Trump does not believe in alliances, global cooperation or anything that threatens his power or his quest for ever more wealth.

Trump is an embarrassment to everything we hold dear in this country. If it stopped there, it would be bad enough. But it does not stop there. He takes ill-conceived actions on his own and without concern for the ramifications. As the weekend began, he announced that he reached a “deal” — I have come to despise that word — with his good friend and master Vladimir Putin to buy diesel fuel from Russia. His announcement took his administration and the world by surprise. The upshot is that to get 300,000 tons of diesel (about one day’s use in the U.S.) in October with promises of more in the next few months, Trump is lifting sanctions on Russia for its energy exports. This means that the Russian economy, which is struggling mightily, will get a shot in the arm. Speaking of shots, Russia has significantly ramped up its attacks on Ukrainian civilians, directly and through the destruction of critical civilian infrastructure. So more money for more missiles and drones to attack a democracy in Europe? Great. Also more money to help the Iranians kill and wound Americans in the Persian Gulf region as Trump’s war of choice continues into its seventh month with no end in sight..

All of this takes place after Congress passed, and Trump signed, legislation called the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 designed to increase existing sanctions on those two countries to further hinder their ability to wage war. Trump went with Vlad anyway.

To add insult to actual injury, Trump ordered Volodymyr Zelenskyy to “damn well stop” attacking Russian refineries and other energy infrastructure. No directives to or equivalent actions required of Russia. Trump then went on his usual rampage that Zelenskyy could stop the war at any time by acquiescing to Russian demands. Lest we forget, Russia carried out a barbaric unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, committing countless war crimes, and continues to purposefully target civilians and non-military targets. Trump had the temerity to say that Ukraine should “find a new leader that can make a deal.”

For those keeping score at home, on the international scene and among our once closest allies, as they interpret Trump’s words and actions, it comes dangerously close to making the U.S. an ally of Russia and he seems to be calling for regime change in Ukraine..

Wow. Vlad must really have the goods on Trump. Or else Trump is even sicker than we thought.

Ruling in his imperial style, Sunday morning Trump declared that there was an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. He claimed that both countries agreed to stop attacking the others refineries and electrical plants. The Russians flatly denied any such agreement. Ukraine said that they had never heard of the proposal, but would be interested in knowing the details (Trump never deals in details) and as long as it was enforced equally on both sides, they would be amenable.

Trump is getting pounded by his MAGA Republican colleagues that have to run for election this year. It promises to be a disastrous result for Republicans. Gas and diesel prices are seriously hurting everyday Americans. Most people that pay attention know that the cause of the elevated prices is Trump’s war of choice against Iran and his hubris that it would be over in 4-6 weeks with no impact on the Strait of Hormuz. Brilliant! But stupid. However, in his unique style of leadership, Trump cannot take responsibility for anything that goes wrong, therefore he is trying to convince us that his blunders in the Middle East are not the cause of high prices. Rather, it is Ukraine’s fault because they are defending themselves against a brutal invasion. The Ukraine war has been ongoing for roughly four and a half years and Ukraine’s attacks on Russian energy facilities has been ongoing since August 2025. At the start of the war of choice in February this year, gas averaged $2.98 a gallon. Diesel averaged $3.72 a gallon. Now in October they average $3.72 for gas (it was over four dollars in September) and $6.24 for diesel. Those damn Ukrainians!

So, looking again at the score card, Trump is throwing Ukraine under the bus to satisfy Putin and to take the blame away from himself for wrecking the economy. A twofer!

Meanwhile the Pentagon quietly updated the number of American service members killed in the Persian Gulf region to twenty-one and the number of wounded to 861. And the war is spreading as the Iranian Houthis expand their attacks on Saudi Arabia with many killed and wounded from attacks on Riyadh’s main airport and other areas around the country.

To emphasize their great respect for the U.S. military, Trump and his enabler in the Pentagon Hegseth are planning a special holiday spectacle for all the world to see. The December execution of a man in a wheel chair by firing squad broadcast live for every man, woman and child to view. Maybe it will be pay-per-view as Trump never misses a chance to make a buck. I have zero sympathy for the convicted terrorist who betrayed his uniform, fellow soldiers and his oath when he killed and maimed service members at Ft Hood, Texas in 2009. This will be the first U.S. military execution since World War II. It will be the first federal public execution since 1937 in Missouri.

Beside the fact that this blood lust is disgusting, such a spectacle will encourage every terrorist group in the world to attack us in any way possible. See? You too can become a martyr! Just kill some Americans and hope for a live streamed firing squad so that all your buddies can see how brave you are. Line up over there.

This is how Trump makes America great again. What a country!