If true, do we care?

The United States of America is the greatest country in the world precisely because our unique foundation provides the freedom and framework to raise our grievances, to adjust accordingly, and to continuously evolve as one nation. 

This birthday comes at a weird time, though. Many Americans have lost faith not in America herself, but in the integrity of our sacred institutions and the people running them. 

The reality on the ground is that most Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, struggling to afford food and basic necessities. 

Combine these conditions with “the algorithm,” and it’s not hard to understand why the Democratic Socialists of America are gaining traction. 

While Republican leadership points to positive macroeconomic indicators that do not translate to financial relief for the average person, the Democrats and the “socialists” are acknowledging and speaking directly to these struggles. 

Never mind that all previous socialist/communist experiments have historically meant the elimination of freedom, prosperity, and innovation. As well as lots of death, to the tune of 100 million people in the 20th century. 

In our digital age, none of that matters, as long as the messaging is effective. 

And it is. Democratic Socialists are openly hijacking the Democratic Party, which will be eaten by the monster it created. 

So it looks like it’s up to the Republican Party to save us (?). 

The real question is whether that’s possible when its leadership appears to be operating with several potentially catastrophic blind spots heading into crucial midterm elections.

The main ones being: 

Energy doesn’t lie.

Take the America 250 kickoff rally for example. (As I write in the early hours of the 4th, the official celebrations in DC have yet to occur. Maybe I will be proven wrong!)

If President Trump had the support he enjoyed in 2024, the place would be electric and overflowing. Full stop. 

Anecdotal evidence from my corner of East Texas is damning. 

Proud, conservative, 1st and 2nd amendment-loving men who voted for (and contributed to) Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024, have stopped wearing their MAGA hats and have removed the Trump flags they might have once displayed in their barns. 

They are not merely disillusioned, they are disgusted. Their words, not mine. 

I don’t say this to be rude but to share the unvarnished perspective of at least a portion of a demographic that the Republican Party may not realize feels this way.

They’re not going to vote for a Democrat, but the love is gone. And that has to have implications that require attention, right?   

Does the President notice this change? Do his advisors? 

Do they have the willingness and capacity to entertain the possibility that the movement has quietly lost far more people than any poll will measure? 

And if so, the intellectual curiosity and honesty to ask themselves why? 

Which brings me to my next point: 

The Broken Contract. 

Over the last year especially, my gut tells me that Trump has lost a group of electoral significance that voted for him on the basis of promises he made during the 2024 campaign. 

Free thinkers chose Trump, not because we thought he was the bastion of morality, but because he wasn’t supposed to be “one of them.” 

He told us he would release the Epstein files, secure the border, stay out of wars, and tackle the waste, fraud, and abuse of our tax dollars in the federal government. 

As it stands, reasonable people with the information we do have could be forgiven for concluding that the files aren’t being released because either the President, his network, or the entire global power structure is too compromised to allow for it. 

Reasonable people supported stemming the flow of millions of unvetted migrants crossing our border and deporting violent criminals who are here illegally, but the mandate was exceeded. 

We expected nuance and humanity. We did not vote to terrify our friends and neighbors, put ICE officers in impossible situations, and land another unnecessary, divisive blow to the armor of this country. 

Why did we go to war with Iran? I can think of several possible and legitimate reasons, but there has yet to be a direct and adequate explanation to the American people. How many times have we claimed victory at this point? Is the end in sight? What does an end even look like? 

Is it unreasonable to ask? 

Apparently, it is. Those who do are dismissed, insulted, called Panicans.

Are the President and his advisors aware that because of this, while their voters’ principles remain unchanged, the opposite is now true when it comes to their support? 

Enter allegations of staggering corruption. 

The President broke his contract with voters and failed to own it, and so the benefit of the doubt they may have granted him in the past is gone. 

They correctly or incorrectly view this as brazen corruption that sounds like the kind Trump used to call out himself and pledged to eliminate and prosecute; only now, he’s the one being accused and on a grander scale.

Regardless of the veracity of the claims themselves, the President is not acknowledging how deeply insulting even the appearance of corruption is to the American people right now.

It’s not enough to say everything is blind. We’re talking about too much money, and people are hurting too badly financially right now. 

In light of what we know about previous presidents and congresspeople (past and present) unabashedly enriching themselves on the backs of hardworking taxpayers, the full-scale erosion of trust in our leaders is nearing completion. 

This is bigger than any individual. 

We are on the brink of a systemic failure. 

Speaking of, and since it is our 250th birthday, I must bring up President George Washington. 

His top leadership attributes? 

Service above self. 

Character and self-restraint. 

Duty to the Republic above personal power. 

On April 30, 1789, in his first inaugural address, he said: 

“The preservation of the sacred fire of liberty…is justly considered as deeply, perhaps as finally, staked on the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people.” 

Could there be a more prescient thought for this exact moment in time?

Freedom-loving people around the world are counting on us to wake up, be the nation of free thinkers we were born to be, stop the madness, and usher in an incredible new era for humanity. 

Through this lens, I respectfully ask Republican leaders to conduct a thought experiment: 

Forget what you think you know. 

Consider the practical, electoral implications if this, instead, is the hard reality in a nutshell: 

Trump made promises and took positions in the campaign that he didn’t follow through on upon election. 

His supporters, many of whom faced familiar, social, professional, and/or financial ramifications for voting for him, asked fair questions. Did he disrespect them for their disagreement? I believed the President to be a reasonable if not more strategic person. 

Some were well-known figures, others were regular Americans whose lives involve struggles that the President and ruling class don’t have the experience or context to truly comprehend or appreciate. 

This group feels lied to. They see corruption allegations, and they will believe them. 

Without a masterfully-executed pivot, the midterms will be disastrous for Republicans, and the President will likely face impeachment proceedings from a Democrat-led House and a resentful Senate.

That scenario doesn’t sound like a step towards a more harmonious future as a nation.

Is my analysis wrong? 

Is the President or anyone in his Administration interested in or willing to: 

a) pursue a truly profound change of direction; 

and 

b) acknowledge that one is necessary to avert disaster? 

Will they seek the truth without taking it personally? 

If not, are we conceding early to waking up in 2029 to the House, Senate, and Presidency controlled by a Democratic Party that has been overrun by socialists no less? 

Surely this is being addressed by smart people, but I’m beginning to wonder. 

What I do know is that on the occasion of our 250th birthday, we stand at a monumental inflection point. 

Our Founders gave us a Republic capable of self-correction. 

The source code is still brilliant. 

The operating system just needs an update. 

Do we have the wisdom, the courage, and the leaders to make it happen? 

I remain optimistic!