Here on Labor Day (baloney pro-boss replacement version) 2025, I wanted to jot down some thoughts about the day and moment in the world. It feels like I will appreciate these later, but who can say? The general tone of these particular times is: expectant awaiting. Might as well try to put some of my expectant thoughts down.
In the mundane calendar in the US, we are heading back to classes after summer vacation, the first week of college football has concluded, and our economy and technological sector are caught in a massive “AI” bubble. But those can wait for another time.
The air right now, is full of anticipation — by all accounts and observations, Donald Trump is in his final days. He is barely making physical appearances over the past week, and there have been social media posts that very clearly do not come from the man himself or even timely photos. Even the RW circles have had “Trump Dead??” panic. I’ve made several jokes about it myself, on Bluesky.
Some other social checkpoints on my mind that point towards this actually being the end, and not some scrambling wish-coping: a month or so ago, Trump started talking about wanting to be sure he was going to heaven, a very odd twist for a man who has never seemed to think about the afterlife. There was a renewed push from some media stooges to see if Trump could receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The American press floated comments from JD Vance how, if a “tragedy” were to occur, he felt ready to take charge (haha, sure bud). More on that later. Trump’s body has looked terrible, worse than usual, and he has become even more incoherent and rambly. For those of us who’ve been trying to read the waters around the boat, we can tell when they’re finally circling the drain.
Meanwhile, this weekend also featured an attack from the Russian military on European Union leadership, jamming the signals of a plane with Ursula von der Leyden aboard. Was this a “make hay while the sun is shining?” moment for the Kremlin? Do the see their window of power with the White House closing?
But, back to the anticipation and giddy delight– we can just sense it, those of us who pay attention. We can sense this end coming, and think it soon be here. There could be a surprising temporary rally in his health, one must admit, but Trump is probably never seeing another Christmas, and definitely not another Super Bowl or Masters. We keep our phones around us for the first time in awhile, because we want to be there when the messages and phone calls and torrent of excitement comes, we want to be quick to share the joy with others, use all of our Too Online habits for good, after all these years of spreading miserable news. And when it does finally get confirmed…we are going to have ourselves a Wang Dang Doodle, all night long.
But I can already see that the celebrations are going to be tinged with bitterness, and have the tone of a loser’s final retort. Like Kissinger, Trump will not get the end in this world that he deserves. He will pass without facing worldly account. A grim prospect for those of us among the living, and those who dream of justice for evildoers.
No one knows what will come next, either– the prospect of Vance leading a right-wing coalition is laughable– there are far too many people just on his own side who think they can do better than JD, and there’s still not a shred of evidence that Vance can operate more than an arm’s reach from a rich puppetmaster’s hand.
Maybe the GOP holds on, and tries the formulas of the past. Maybe the Trump kids try and run the party. Maybe the administration can hold on until 2026 before the Democrats can build up an impeachment case for JD. Maybe the Supreme Court strikes down much of Trump’s policies, and the judges aligned with the Federalist Society decide to reject this White House’s executive orders. Who can say?
There are things, we do know– Trump had staff, and friends, and goons, and suckers, and foreign help. They are mostly still around. There should be efforts to preserve evidence, chase down operatives, secure data. Where and when these can happen, who can say?
When he dies, there will be so many answers yet to track down– his death will not stop the effort to stop his work and the forces Trump represents. But I’d anticipate that we are going to see a symphony of media, elected officials, and “nonpartisan” celebrities who will loudly tell everyone that, finally, things can return to normal, and that The Danger has passed. In a limited sense, I hope they are right– there are elements of the Trump coalition that can’t be held together by any known successor– but in another sense, I know the “return to normal” crowd couldn’t be more wrong.
The “normal” of bipartisan dealmaking is over. The era of claiming a return to stability, predictability, or friendliness is over. We have been raided by unrepentant enemies of democracy. The world and our country have been more than damaged by MAGA, the fundies, and Trump’s criminal empire. The head is gone, but we need to chop up the body, interrogate its friends and neighbors.
I think….I think we need to take a pelt, that’s the biggest takeaway. I don’t think any of Trump’s would-be successors can fill his boots, but as it currently stands– what part of Trump’s life and ending would serve as dissuading any future egotistical liar with a little charisma and racial animus from imitating Trump? What possible reason would they think our government or democracy has recovered itself?
No, until we take some pelts– put some living and able people into detention, for decades in the face of protest from peers and allies; take away fortunes illegally earned in the Trump era; put some loyal soldiers and goons into fear for their pasts… this death of Donald will only be the end of a chapter, the turning of the page, more still to come.
Until we learn to do more than we did to Donald, we will never be truly free of him.