Latest Political Tea: DOGE’s downturn begins as Trump forgets who launched Russia’s invasion and Marj is asked to work more

We’re several weeks in now, and the second Trump administration’s emphasis on a “flood the zone” strategy is not solely limited to signing executive orders like a giddy movie star dispersing autographs at a meet-and-greet event. It’s not even limited to taking action after action which appear to tread suspiciously close to illegal territory. This overwhelming political strategy also encompasses the insurmountable number of lies with which Donald Trump and his loyalists keep invading our collective consciousness.

Lies like Elon Musk’s favorite — that his pseudo-government agency, DOGE, isn’t scrambling to stay alive, or Trump’s current calling card, which exposes how little he understands about conflict on the world stage. 

Dear reader, do you know who launched not one, but two invasions, one in 2014 and another in 2022, the latter of which sparked a devastating war that is ongoing to this day? Because Trump sure doesn’t. He seems to think it was Ukraine, which means the current POTUS either has his historical knowledge mixed up – again – or he’s facing down a fact that does not suit his agenda, so it must be twisted into a falsehood.

All of which seems to precisely follow Trump’s new despot playbook, now that he’s trying to claim “unrestricted power” from his position as leader of the free world. That kind of language might strike a bolt of fear through the rest of us, but at least Trump has his desperate wannabe bestie, Marjorie Taylor Greene, on his side. She’ll do anything to catch Trump’s eye, including demanding praise for his toadies as they stomp all over our rights. All this from a woman who’s typically too busy tweeting to do a lick of work at that part-time job she enjoys at the Capitol.

Even Musk does more work than our Congressional Representatives, but that may not be a good thing, as America’s shadow president sets his sights on a new enemy. Like Trump, it seems Musk only supports the Constitution when it suits him, and the First Amendment isn’t doing him — or suspiciously-sipping Pete Hegseth — any favors at the moment. 

All of which makes it nearly impossible to keep up, as we close out the first month of Trump’s second term. It’s hard enough to track the lies contained in a single ironically named “truth,” let alone a whole day or week in this progressively deeper hellhole that is the Trump 2.0. Era.

DOGE is falling apart faster than Musk can find someone else to blame for it

Elon Musk may think he’s Tony Stark, but he acts more like the parody of a Bond villain who bought his way into power with bad ideas. Now, under the thinly veiled guise of “efficiency,” he’s running the U.S. government like it’s one of his failing startups. What’s Musk’s revolutionary idea for fixing America’s problems? Well, firing anyone who knows anything. FDA scientists? Gone. Nuclear security staff? Axed. FEMA funds for migrants? Pocketed.

Firing FDA staff who were reviewing a brain implant from his own company, Neuralink, is the kind of conflict of interest that would make even the most corrupt politicians blush. How is anyone supposed to trust the safety of a medical device when the very people ensuring its not a death trap have been kicked to the curb? Musk might call it “streamlining,” but we all know it’s just regulatory intimidation. And the message is clear: cross Musk, and you’re out.

Musk’s so-called “efficiency” hit a new low with DOGE bungling things at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Not only did they fire critical employees — the literal experts who keep America’s nukes from launching, getting hacked, or, God forbid, exploding — but they didn’t even bother to retain their contact information. Now they’re scrambling to get these people back. Honestly, if I were one of those fired experts, I’d take my nuclear know-how someplace where I wasn’t treated like a temp at Musk’s ego factory. 

The writing’s on the wall for DOGE. You can only fire so many experts, siphon off so much money, and screw up so many critical institutions before the whole house of cards collapses. The question isn’t if DOGE will implode — it’s how much damage it’ll do before it finally does.

Donald Trump bafflingly accuses Ukraine of launching the Russian invasion

If you needed any more evidence that old people can’t tell truth from reality online, look no further than President DJT. The septuagenarian made international headlines yet again this week after spreading misinformation and proving he might just be the most oafish president to ever sit in the Oval Office. After years of the U.S. backing Ukrainian citizen-soldiers as they held off the Russian invasion, Trump’s administration is finally brokering a potential ceasefire. Except the ceasefire is more like a hostage negotiation set during a romantic dinner for Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ukraine isn’t even allowed at the negotiation table, and yet here Trump is, demanding that the country not only provide the U.S. with $500 billion in precious metals, but also cede to Russia the land that it unlawfully occupies. Adding insult to insult, Trump blasted Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy on social media, calling him a “dictator,” and senselessly declaring that Ukraine had started the years-long border conflict with Russia. Ah yes, just like the United States of America started World War II by responding to Japanese attacks.

The septuagenarian has been touting his deal-making prowess for as long as he’s been in the public eye, but his recent conversations around Ukraine have everyone wondering how he ever earned the label in the first place.

To get the rest of the political tea, which this week includes Marjorie Taylor Greene’s slow descent into madness, Pete Hegseth’s seeming sober reversal, and a fresh attack on the First Amendment, be sure to sign up for WGTC’s They Said What?! Newsletter.