Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a contributor to the Atlantic Daily newsletter. He is a professor emeritus of national-security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, where he taught for 25 years, and an instructor at the Harvard Extension School. ‘Trump’s Irrationality Is Dangerous’ by Nichols deserves widespread notice.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy has continuously held elected offices since 1999. He was first voted into the Connecticut House of Representatives and then into the State Senate. Murphy entered the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006 and served three terms. Murphy ran successfully for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and was reelected in 2018 and 2024, each time with about 60 percent of the vote. This week, Senator Murphy accused President Donald Trump of overseeing what Murphy called ‘500 days of corruption’ in the White House. His speech is worth attention:
Canada’s double standard on Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S. and Israeli military campaign against Iran, isn’t a diplomatic nuance. It’s a choice — and British Columbians are living with the economic fallout.
Trump turns 80 in two weeks. Actuarial tables suggest he could remain alive and politically active for another seven or eight years — meaning Americans shouldn’t assume his influence simply expires with his current term.
It is 18 years since the greatest comedian ever died, but George Carlin’s thoughts and words remain accurate and relevant.
On March 21, Donald Trump threatened to obliterate parts of Iran if the Strait of Hormuz was not fully opened within 48 hours. Hours before that deadline, Trump delayed the bombing threat by three days because ‘productive’ talks were ongoing with Iran. He later extended the deadline to April 6, saying negotiations were going very well. On April 5, Trump made a profane announcement, threatening massive bombing on April 7 if the strait remained closed. The American president promised a ‘whole civilization will die.’ However, cooler heads in the USA and mediative efforts by Pakistan led Trump to postpone the bombing once again, this time for two weeks.
In January, Mark Carnie told the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland, about a “rupture to the world order.” I was aware of the Prime Minister’s speech to the WEF, but George Froehlich caused me to refocus on Carney’s words.
The idiot crew around Donald Trump may have been so focused on personal enrichment schemes that they didn’t bother to examine the medium- to long-term effects of waging war on Iran. Patrick Boyle makes a key point when he talks about “…the hole in the global energy supply that no amount of diplomatic pressure can fill…”
I receive plenty of emails drawing attention to information and news stories from around the world. I’ve been busy, so few of the recent ones have prompted me to look closely. But one by David A. Graham immediately led me to an article in The Atlantic, my favourite U.S. publication. Titled “A Horrible Throwback to the Early 2000s,” it reveals some shocking American behaviour.
Over the past decade, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (Ice) has amassed millions of data points that it uses to identify and track its targets – from social media posts to location history and, most recently, tax information. And there’s been one, multibillion-dollar tech company particularly instrumental in enabling Ice to put all that data to work: Palantir, the data analytics firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, the rightwing mega-donor and tech investor.
James Speyer, writing in The New York Daily News, says:
It is time to acknowledge what has become tragically obvious: the Trump administration is essentially acting as a massive criminal enterprise. It lies, steals, extorts and murders — all while cloaked in the awesome authority of the state. It is on a crime spree that puts Al Capone to shame.
Cole Bennett correctly wrote that Kirk’s murder will not advance any of the causes he opposed. Violence against leaders is most often a consequence of damaged trust in political and social systems. It is perpetrated by isolated and disenfranchised people who live outside the rules of society. Kirk’s organization had plenty of those, so the immediate future is a dangerous time for moderate American political figures.
I cancelled my subscription to the New York Times when the newspaper seemed to easily accept the horrors inflicted on two million residents of Gaza. Of course, that was not the only fault I perceived in what should be America’s finest newspaper. However, the Gray Lady does produce some compelling material. There is a fine Times piece by Larry David, the brilliant creator of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and the co-creator of “Seinfeld.” It was directed at Bill Maher after the arrogant former comedian dined with Donald Trump, whom Maher called “gracious.”
I’ve been working with a group of people to launch CANADA WEST FORUM. Busy days are further complicated by the recent onset of sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSHL). It is easing with treatment. For me, the discomforts of advancing age are more than balanced by observing young family members reach or near the age of majority. It is gratifying when they show themselves to be people of high character. Nevertheless, deafness has not stopped me from reading widely. Anyone not anxious about our future is not paying attention.
Facebook has plenty of flaws, but as a stopped clock does twice a day, it can provide useful information. It was on Facebook that I saw a quote by American writer and editor Naomi Shulman. That led me to a piece she published ten days after Trump was elected President in 2016. Emboldened by Congressional cowardice and a corrupt Supreme Court, America’s Oligarch-in-Chief is even more dangerous than when Shulman warned her nation eight years ago…
President Trump and several members of his administration denied that classified material was shared with The Atlantic’s editor-in-chief. Clearly, journalist Jeffrey Goldberg has more regard for truth and national security than Trump and his cohort…
A fundraising group led by Republican Kevin Grantham commissioned a portrait of Donald Trump by Sarah Boardman. The painting was unveiled in August 2019 and hung in Arizona’s rotunda gallery until the President complained about it in 2025. Republican politicians immediately demanded it be removed from the state’s capitol building. A painting that hung on the wall for 68 months was suddenly said to be “purposefully distorted” and part of a plot against the dear leader “never seen before.”
I complain about rich people owning important media properties when they use those to benefit holders of extreme wealth. Billionaire Laurene Powell Jobs controls The Atlantic magazine and she allows her journalists to be effective critics of Donald Trump. The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans by editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg ought to amaze us. Instead, it is just another illustration of dangerous incompetence among the rulers in Washington DC.
I mentioned kakistocracy in the article Impoverishment of thought. The Cambridge Dictionary defines this as “a government run by the worst, least qualified, or most unscrupulous citizens.” Peter Navarro is 78-year-old Donald Trump’s 75-year-old counsellor for trade and manufacturing. Navarro provides just part of the evidence that the President’s kakistocracy is now in place.
I can no longer travel to the USA, the homeland of my father and paternal ancestors. The reason? I made public and private criticisms of the Trump administration. That is enough to have people denied entry and expelled from Trump’s America. Alternatively, they may be imprisoned.
[…] Tom Nichols is a staff writer at The Atlantic and a contributor to the Atlantic Daily newsletter. He is a professor emeritus of…
The band continues to play and drinks continue to be served while the Titanic sinks.
I think the answer to your question Pat is that it evidently has to get really bad before our political…
Great article Norm. It begs the question, 'How bad does it have to get before our political leaders do the…
in-sights.ca 
The thought occurs to me that irrationality begins with the entry into politics, when every tenet and scruple bends toward…