What is it that you see in this photograph? It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words. Certainly this one is no exception. Do you see something sinister? Chilling? Authoritarian? Familiar in the pose? I do. Here is the pose: The picture will soon be rendered into a thousand different images, as is befitting the leader of an authoritarian cult of personality. It will be adorned on t-shirts, flags, banners and enormous signs. The last curtain on America’s barely hidden fascist party has been fully lifted. The image is a portrait of menace and thuggery. It lacks dignity and grace. It is the remnant from Trump’s putsch. What it captures perfectly is the essence of his poisonous nature. Every image has an opposite, and here is that for Trump:
I see a whiney little bitch, practiced posing, a horrible, indulged baby, scared out of his wits. We’ve got this; we can kick his ass next November. We’ve got Lady Liberty on our side.
I definitely know Trump is a scared wimp, the pose in the mirror was practiced for days until Melania screened: ENOUGH!!!)
This Is meant for a certain man & woman out there who blames the world for their problems. The coal miner blaming liberals bc their coal was too dirty for us to breathe or the fisherman blaming marine biologists so we don’t overfish our oceans. They want gas guzzling trucks to show their women that what they’re lacking isn’t what they’re driving.
These are people
that haven’t read or studied for countless decades about our country’s greatest problems, yet they want to tell those that do,
they don’t like it. They want it their way. They want the giant orange 300# circus clown to tell us all what to do. For what? For power & greed. Believe me the first ones to feel the pain under the orange ruler will be them.
Just a thought; we are already divided enough. I agree with Steve Schmidt that this is a very necessary fight, however, painting broad groups as the enemy might be shooting ourselves in the foot. We need everyone. Most of us have eaten fish and I know many fisherman who are just as concerned about and currently working for the future as everyone here. Just saying.
The Us vs. Them thinking, while understandable, is part of why we are in the midst of the greatest political divide since the Civil War. Trumpers, by and large, view Democrat/Left impressions of them as elitist and out of touch. Not apologizing for racism, misogyny and violence...but looking down on them begets rancor and rage. Owning the Libs is their answer to our inability to see their point of view...not necessarily to agree, but to listen, to show respect and maybe even persuade.
There is nothing that you can do or say that will change their minds. Look at Trump. Look at the insurrectionist serving time. The Fulton county bunch that actually thought they could pull it off bc of one bloated sick man. THe civil war couldn’t change their hard hearts. We are there. There is no kumbaya.
I don't see a Kumbaya change coming. So much anger infecting the MAGAs. We can hope for their thrashing in November, 2024. But, will that decrease MAGA rage?
Probably not. The defeat of Trump will help; he is the one stoking the anger, creating martyrs where there are none. With him off the public scene (and hopefully in jail), I think much of the rancor will peter out...but there will always be the diehards. Not much that can be done except to avoid them.
Really. He epitomizes rage, the merciless rage just before a very violent act, showing a human being at his absolute worst. If I were there in front of him, I would back up; if I were a policeman called in to deal with this monster, I'd start using my soft skills and command voice and be ready for the worst. This guy is locked and loaded; he ain't playing. No more Mr. Nice Guy. His Mr. Hyde is on full display, all systems go.
This portrait could be the poster child for Anger Management classes. You certainly don't want this guy in any position of power, because he's out of his mind with anger, vengeance, and preparing for extreme violence.
It truly is way scarier than, say, the face of Frankenstein or Dracula. It's more in the vein of the wolfman, the creature in "Alien" without his helmet on. So, on one level, in one way, it's a major feat: Trump has shown us man at his worst; the mask is off. No human will ever surpass the negative effect of this one photo; thus, it's a classic, an epic experience -- a monster in a business suit. Yet tens of millions of Americans see beauty in this evil image. Which makes the whole thing astronomically scarier.
Maybe the object here may be to not be frightened of the look that is presented to all.
It may bring uncivil behavior for a time, it may possibly bring distrust through altered thinking, but It might be better if one closely keeps .... "Eyes, Wide Open, Before, During and After.................It will be contained...............
When I first saw the mugshot, I laughed, because I knew he had rehearsed this. And the image in my mind of him standing before a mirror rehearsing just seemed hilarious to me. Then I moved to disgust. As his merchandising and fund raising came quickly out, disgust settled in. Now, I am sick of seeing it. Recognizing this is a major historical event, I get all the reporting and discussing, but please, enough is enough.
As the weekend starts, I am tired of it all. Over and over and over. So it’s good that I can watch Notre Dame football this afternoon and not see Trump’s face.
My sentiments exactly...no more mugshots discussions. It is what it is and those opposed to its underlying meaning should be working their tail off to make sure it never means anything.
While I am grateful the Mike Pence did his duty, he remains pathetic with his support of DJT. The rest of the hand raisers can have a hall pass to the restroom, if they promise to stay there.
If anyone had ever told me years ago that the future of this country's democracy would come down to advice from Dan "Potatoe" Quayle, I would have told them that they were nuts.
Pence got that same advice earlier from Eric Herschmann; the same Whitehouse lawyer who told Eastman to find a good lawyer. Ironically, Pence didn’t he’d that advice until it came from Quayle...:)
Actually, pence spent two months trying to appease Trump, before realizing, like with Trump, he could be fitted with an orange jumpsuit. And it took him three years to acknowledge that what Trump was trying to do was illegal, and that the insurrection, was actually an insurrection.
What changed? He’s running for president. Sorry, you get no accolades for doing your job. He took an oath.
Pence is a profile in cowardliness, not courage!...:)
Yes, he did dither... yes, he did prop up #45, and he is still screwed up about supporting # 45 in his bid to be #47. But whether he did it to stay out of jail or because he finally realized it was the right thing to do .... i am grateful.. he could have gotten away like his Secret Services guards wanted to, but he was afraid that he would be delayed in or prevented from returning and presiding over the confirmation. He resisted, put his family in potential harm’s way and stood his ground. Whatever his reasoning he did the right thing and I am willing and grateful to say thank you. Our inability to see any good is a limiting factor in our exercise in democracy. I would not vote for him but again I say “thank you “.
It says "love" them; doesn't say, follow them or be like them. I love him as he is one of God's chlldren; however, I wouldn't follow him or vote for him but I will pray for him as I do all sinners, including myself. Big difference.
The audasity of these dispicable humans who raised there hands ! To call themselves patriots!!!! They would vote for someone that was found guilty of disreguarding his oath to uphold the Constitution and trying to overthrow the will of the people. None of them should EVER hold office!!!!
I see ice cold vengeance and retribution on a mission. I see “you come after me, I go after you”. Terrifying especially with the fact that he is so far ahead in the republican primary. That means the people supporting him share his character. Your image of Hitler in the exact same pose is right on the mark and bone-chilling. Hitler was elected after he had been in jail so we know that it is indeed possible. I think of that quote “past is prologue”.
Will certainly let you know when I see it anywhere. Words cannot express the dread felt looking at this.
More grateful for you Steve and The Warning every day.
Robert...Well said!!! My sentiments, exactly. I loved your comment two days ago, right after mine, about the circle ⭕️ jerk. (A) It’s the truth; (B) It’s cathartic.
Some media report a look of defiance. I see pure malice. This 17 second video by the Lincoln Project is what I call American defiance against pure evil. https://youtu.be/PlKCUGR764k?si=g-QQ-DDelPIUhrQd
I can't tell if they're cheering for him or against him? They're pretty much all white men, so I would assume the former. But maybe it's not in the US?
It seems to me that everyone including Steve is making too much of this mug shot. It surely is a case of mugging for the camera, a laughable case. This clown who inhabits the nightmares of those pathetic Republicans who raised their hands for another 4 years of malice and mayhem spent hours in a bathroom, (perhaps the one that held all those boxes of stolen documents) practicing for his star turn at the county jail. How is this ridiculous pose any different from the absurd images of the orange clown’s head atop Superman’s torso brandished on 1/6?
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time" Maya Angelou told us. Trump showed us who he was MANY times before this picture revealed his malignancy. If this is the first time for some, I hope they now believe the evil they see in this face.
What a great post describing reality. Thank you Steve. There is a number of US citizens with the backing of a major party, who do not believe in a democratic form of government or our Constitution. We as a country must face this squarely and deal with it, not pretend this pathology doesn’t exist.
The eyes are the window to the soul. Tfg has small, beady-eyes. Beady eyes are defined as “having eyes that gleam with malice. Synonyms: malicious. having the nature of or resulting from malice.” Sounds right to me.
“The Trump image is a promise. The promise is dictatorship and the death of the republic.
It is an ugly image from a hideous figure in an ugly moment at the end of an ugly era. It is simultaneously appalling and captivating.” ---Mike Schmidt
Please Mike, tell us how you really feel?...:)
As far as Trump’s mug shot goes? I have an idea! Let’s use it as Trump’s presidential portrait and hang it in the Holocaust Museum in DC. It will serve as a harbinger of bad things to come, and a warning to others!
Mike Pence, seriously has no moral compass. He want’s accolades for doing his job; he took an oath! No accolades necessary!
Additionally, it took the guy three years to denounce Trump’s insurrection in which the MAGA mob created a mock gallows outside the Capitol; chanting Hang Mike Pence, McConnell, Pelosi and Schumer. It took Three whole years for him to get the strength to acknowledge the obvious. I wonder why? Could he be running for president? The hypocrisy of these evangelical Christian’s is staggering!
If Jesus were alive today; preaching the Gospels in the street, and staring these good Christian souls in the face, they’d probably have him crucified again; as a radical, liberal Jew!
Integrity? Not raising your hand is now the lowest bar set to become the president of the United States.
Not raising your hand to a question when you refused to raise your hand in defense of "truth, justice and the American way" for EIGHT years is unforgivable and even more dangerous than that orange menace to society.
The photo is a National disgrace AND not one among the bozos on that stage are qualified to be POTUS.
Willful three year olds don't rehearse that look. He looks like a scolded three year old to me. Pence is just Pence. He needed to call people and to find out he might create madness if he followed the mad man. He has no moral compass of his own.
Yes, as much as Steve focuses on our current national psychosis, which gets worse by the day, it must be very stressful. Not much room for happiness in his chosen line of work. If he were wise, for his own sanity, he'd get the hell out of that business and do virtually anything else. The mind can only take so much negativity. He needs a real break, and he's not really getting one even on vacation.
Sadly Steve you are correct again of the predictability of the MAGA cult flying it’s freak flags. It’s predicable the Trump 2024 flags flying on flag poles in crimson red communities will be replaced by this display of Heil Fuhrer himself. Timing is particularly disturbing as now is the season where impressionable school age children on buses will pass these prominent displays. It is on School buses where young generations of today learn their education in civics, social etiquette and civil discourse. Imagine that? Only in America, where AP courses are banned but a mug shot of a criminal is glorified.
I see a whiney little bitch, practiced posing, a horrible, indulged baby, scared out of his wits. We’ve got this; we can kick his ass next November. We’ve got Lady Liberty on our side.
I definitely know Trump is a scared wimp, the pose in the mirror was practiced for days until Melania screened: ENOUGH!!!)
This Is meant for a certain man & woman out there who blames the world for their problems. The coal miner blaming liberals bc their coal was too dirty for us to breathe or the fisherman blaming marine biologists so we don’t overfish our oceans. They want gas guzzling trucks to show their women that what they’re lacking isn’t what they’re driving.
These are people
that haven’t read or studied for countless decades about our country’s greatest problems, yet they want to tell those that do,
they don’t like it. They want it their way. They want the giant orange 300# circus clown to tell us all what to do. For what? For power & greed. Believe me the first ones to feel the pain under the orange ruler will be them.
They already have felt the pain under the orange ruler, like 700,000 extra unnecessary Covid deaths!
Just a thought; we are already divided enough. I agree with Steve Schmidt that this is a very necessary fight, however, painting broad groups as the enemy might be shooting ourselves in the foot. We need everyone. Most of us have eaten fish and I know many fisherman who are just as concerned about and currently working for the future as everyone here. Just saying.
The Us vs. Them thinking, while understandable, is part of why we are in the midst of the greatest political divide since the Civil War. Trumpers, by and large, view Democrat/Left impressions of them as elitist and out of touch. Not apologizing for racism, misogyny and violence...but looking down on them begets rancor and rage. Owning the Libs is their answer to our inability to see their point of view...not necessarily to agree, but to listen, to show respect and maybe even persuade.
There is nothing that you can do or say that will change their minds. Look at Trump. Look at the insurrectionist serving time. The Fulton county bunch that actually thought they could pull it off bc of one bloated sick man. THe civil war couldn’t change their hard hearts. We are there. There is no kumbaya.
I don't see a Kumbaya change coming. So much anger infecting the MAGAs. We can hope for their thrashing in November, 2024. But, will that decrease MAGA rage?
Probably not. The defeat of Trump will help; he is the one stoking the anger, creating martyrs where there are none. With him off the public scene (and hopefully in jail), I think much of the rancor will peter out...but there will always be the diehards. Not much that can be done except to avoid them.
They are a disputatious lot, but….worth a try. 😎
That's the key...trying.
Concur it was practiced
Trump's orange glare scares me.
Really. He epitomizes rage, the merciless rage just before a very violent act, showing a human being at his absolute worst. If I were there in front of him, I would back up; if I were a policeman called in to deal with this monster, I'd start using my soft skills and command voice and be ready for the worst. This guy is locked and loaded; he ain't playing. No more Mr. Nice Guy. His Mr. Hyde is on full display, all systems go.
This portrait could be the poster child for Anger Management classes. You certainly don't want this guy in any position of power, because he's out of his mind with anger, vengeance, and preparing for extreme violence.
It truly is way scarier than, say, the face of Frankenstein or Dracula. It's more in the vein of the wolfman, the creature in "Alien" without his helmet on. So, on one level, in one way, it's a major feat: Trump has shown us man at his worst; the mask is off. No human will ever surpass the negative effect of this one photo; thus, it's a classic, an epic experience -- a monster in a business suit. Yet tens of millions of Americans see beauty in this evil image. Which makes the whole thing astronomically scarier.
Alex in A Clockwork Orange….
Yes!
Maybe the object here may be to not be frightened of the look that is presented to all.
It may bring uncivil behavior for a time, it may possibly bring distrust through altered thinking, but It might be better if one closely keeps .... "Eyes, Wide Open, Before, During and After.................It will be contained...............
When I first saw the mugshot, I laughed, because I knew he had rehearsed this. And the image in my mind of him standing before a mirror rehearsing just seemed hilarious to me. Then I moved to disgust. As his merchandising and fund raising came quickly out, disgust settled in. Now, I am sick of seeing it. Recognizing this is a major historical event, I get all the reporting and discussing, but please, enough is enough.
As the weekend starts, I am tired of it all. Over and over and over. So it’s good that I can watch Notre Dame football this afternoon and not see Trump’s face.
Hope your travels are going well, Steve.
My sentiments exactly...no more mugshots discussions. It is what it is and those opposed to its underlying meaning should be working their tail off to make sure it never means anything.
While I am grateful the Mike Pence did his duty, he remains pathetic with his support of DJT. The rest of the hand raisers can have a hall pass to the restroom, if they promise to stay there.
Not to dispute you but I think Mike Pence didn’t do shit. Dan Quayle told him what he must do. We need to thank Dan Quayle.
If anyone had ever told me years ago that the future of this country's democracy would come down to advice from Dan "Potatoe" Quayle, I would have told them that they were nuts.
Pence got that same advice earlier from Eric Herschmann; the same Whitehouse lawyer who told Eastman to find a good lawyer. Ironically, Pence didn’t he’d that advice until it came from Quayle...:)
Dan, a good man and fellow "christian." Herschmann; Jewish.
Hey, I resemble that remark; being Jewish that is, but fair point...:)
Yeah, me too and I can't but help make that observation. I hesitated to post this, but it seems obvious.
Amazing that Quayle looks good in retrospect. I'm afraid there is always someone worse.
And Judge Luttig ..the REAL hero!
And, Lawrence Tribe of Harvard!
Yes, JA! I saw I had not mentioned the wonderful Professor Tribe.
And Judge Luttig
😁😁no dispute, he did not have the confidence to just do it… but he did and for that i am grateful because others did not do the right thing.
I've always wondered—Why Dan Quayle? Why was his opinion/advice the one that did the trick? I feel like I missed something.
I suspect that part of it has to do with the fact that Quayle was like him a former VP from Indiana.
Dan Quayle was the only person who would take his call. 😂😂
Both Indiana Republicans. They knew each other.
And Judge Luttig!
Actually, pence spent two months trying to appease Trump, before realizing, like with Trump, he could be fitted with an orange jumpsuit. And it took him three years to acknowledge that what Trump was trying to do was illegal, and that the insurrection, was actually an insurrection.
What changed? He’s running for president. Sorry, you get no accolades for doing your job. He took an oath.
Pence is a profile in cowardliness, not courage!...:)
Yes, he did dither... yes, he did prop up #45, and he is still screwed up about supporting # 45 in his bid to be #47. But whether he did it to stay out of jail or because he finally realized it was the right thing to do .... i am grateful.. he could have gotten away like his Secret Services guards wanted to, but he was afraid that he would be delayed in or prevented from returning and presiding over the confirmation. He resisted, put his family in potential harm’s way and stood his ground. Whatever his reasoning he did the right thing and I am willing and grateful to say thank you. Our inability to see any good is a limiting factor in our exercise in democracy. I would not vote for him but again I say “thank you “.
Fair enough, in the end he found Jesus, so to speak. But not for lack of trying to appease the orange blob.
It reminds me of the old Churchill quote: “Americans Will Always Do the Right Thing — After Exhausting All the Alternatives.”
So be it...:)
😁😁👍thanks, see we can get along.. no question, he finally did find Jesus😁
When did we not get along. Just a bit of a difference of pretty much the same opinion....:)
Poor phrasing on my part. I am sorry for any confusion. We are singing from the same sheet of music😁thank you
Plus Pence said he would still vote for Trump, even if he is convicted of a felony, if he were the candidate.
Trump was saying there was love and passion in that crowd on January 6, in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
Agreed, which makes me question his devout Christianity. That said, “Love--hate”; it’s a thin line...:)
It says "love" them; doesn't say, follow them or be like them. I love him as he is one of God's chlldren; however, I wouldn't follow him or vote for him but I will pray for him as I do all sinners, including myself. Big difference.
100%
The audasity of these dispicable humans who raised there hands ! To call themselves patriots!!!! They would vote for someone that was found guilty of disreguarding his oath to uphold the Constitution and trying to overthrow the will of the people. None of them should EVER hold office!!!!
Pence is a fucking moron. He has been a suckup to the traitor, and has no backbone whatsoever.
They are all assholes who have no clue, yet want the country's most important job.
I'm not hiring any of them. They don't deserve to hold any job in our government.
Brava Celeste! I’m a firm believer that there are times when diplomacy is highly overrated. This is one of them.
I see ice cold vengeance and retribution on a mission. I see “you come after me, I go after you”. Terrifying especially with the fact that he is so far ahead in the republican primary. That means the people supporting him share his character. Your image of Hitler in the exact same pose is right on the mark and bone-chilling. Hitler was elected after he had been in jail so we know that it is indeed possible. I think of that quote “past is prologue”.
Will certainly let you know when I see it anywhere. Words cannot express the dread felt looking at this.
More grateful for you Steve and The Warning every day.
Trump’s picture is worth two words: Fkn Asshole!
Robert...Well said!!! My sentiments, exactly. I loved your comment two days ago, right after mine, about the circle ⭕️ jerk. (A) It’s the truth; (B) It’s cathartic.
Thank you...:)
Spoken like a true surfer...:)
🤣
In a few words, my very first thought when I saw Trump’s mugshot was, “Evil, the devil himself!”
Some media report a look of defiance. I see pure malice. This 17 second video by the Lincoln Project is what I call American defiance against pure evil. https://youtu.be/PlKCUGR764k?si=g-QQ-DDelPIUhrQd
I can't tell if they're cheering for him or against him? They're pretty much all white men, so I would assume the former. But maybe it's not in the US?
Will be even better when he is in a orange jumpsuit!
It seems to me that everyone including Steve is making too much of this mug shot. It surely is a case of mugging for the camera, a laughable case. This clown who inhabits the nightmares of those pathetic Republicans who raised their hands for another 4 years of malice and mayhem spent hours in a bathroom, (perhaps the one that held all those boxes of stolen documents) practicing for his star turn at the county jail. How is this ridiculous pose any different from the absurd images of the orange clown’s head atop Superman’s torso brandished on 1/6?
"When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time" Maya Angelou told us. Trump showed us who he was MANY times before this picture revealed his malignancy. If this is the first time for some, I hope they now believe the evil they see in this face.
What a great post describing reality. Thank you Steve. There is a number of US citizens with the backing of a major party, who do not believe in a democratic form of government or our Constitution. We as a country must face this squarely and deal with it, not pretend this pathology doesn’t exist.
The eyes are the window to the soul. Tfg has small, beady-eyes. Beady eyes are defined as “having eyes that gleam with malice. Synonyms: malicious. having the nature of or resulting from malice.” Sounds right to me.
Agree ~ he has the face and eyes of a poisonous snake.
Don't insult snakes!
🤣🤣🤣
Eyes of a snake, brain of a toad.
Indeed
I always thought lizard, definitely reptilian.
Lizard works!
“The Trump image is a promise. The promise is dictatorship and the death of the republic.
It is an ugly image from a hideous figure in an ugly moment at the end of an ugly era. It is simultaneously appalling and captivating.” ---Mike Schmidt
Please Mike, tell us how you really feel?...:)
As far as Trump’s mug shot goes? I have an idea! Let’s use it as Trump’s presidential portrait and hang it in the Holocaust Museum in DC. It will serve as a harbinger of bad things to come, and a warning to others!
Mike Pence, seriously has no moral compass. He want’s accolades for doing his job; he took an oath! No accolades necessary!
Additionally, it took the guy three years to denounce Trump’s insurrection in which the MAGA mob created a mock gallows outside the Capitol; chanting Hang Mike Pence, McConnell, Pelosi and Schumer. It took Three whole years for him to get the strength to acknowledge the obvious. I wonder why? Could he be running for president? The hypocrisy of these evangelical Christian’s is staggering!
If Jesus were alive today; preaching the Gospels in the street, and staring these good Christian souls in the face, they’d probably have him crucified again; as a radical, liberal Jew!
Enough said! Have a wonderful weekend, all!...:)
Steve Schmidt
Sorry, my bad...:)
To be fair, Mike Schmidt played a great 3rd base.
It was a mistake, must I relive the embarrassment...:)
I am appalled , not by Trumps despicable actions, because he is as predictable as his mentors, Hitler and Putin.
He is a thug, and will always be a thug.
That people think he is somehow worthy of a vote is incredible, in the
United States of America, our Country that has been spit on by Trump.
What is equally if not more appalling is after the Republican debate the other night, everyone of the imposter , would be republican candidates for
President raised their hands, when asked if they would support Trump for president if he was convicted of the crimes he’s accused of.
All but two and Christie’s was a half assed wave. So the only person with a shred of integrity, who would accept the verdict of a trial by jury is
Governor Asa Hutchison.
‘When they tell you who they are believe them.’
Integrity? Not raising your hand is now the lowest bar set to become the president of the United States.
Not raising your hand to a question when you refused to raise your hand in defense of "truth, justice and the American way" for EIGHT years is unforgivable and even more dangerous than that orange menace to society.
The photo is a National disgrace AND not one among the bozos on that stage are qualified to be POTUS.
Willful three year olds don't rehearse that look. He looks like a scolded three year old to me. Pence is just Pence. He needed to call people and to find out he might create madness if he followed the mad man. He has no moral compass of his own.
Did he really need others to prompt him?
I believe he called Dan Quail and Judge Luttig and was told he did not have that power.
Hope your road trip is helping blunt some of the continual dismay as you describe the building of anarchy in our beloved country.
Yes, as much as Steve focuses on our current national psychosis, which gets worse by the day, it must be very stressful. Not much room for happiness in his chosen line of work. If he were wise, for his own sanity, he'd get the hell out of that business and do virtually anything else. The mind can only take so much negativity. He needs a real break, and he's not really getting one even on vacation.
Sadly Steve you are correct again of the predictability of the MAGA cult flying it’s freak flags. It’s predicable the Trump 2024 flags flying on flag poles in crimson red communities will be replaced by this display of Heil Fuhrer himself. Timing is particularly disturbing as now is the season where impressionable school age children on buses will pass these prominent displays. It is on School buses where young generations of today learn their education in civics, social etiquette and civil discourse. Imagine that? Only in America, where AP courses are banned but a mug shot of a criminal is glorified.