#loyalists

Trump fires the worst Attorney General in our nation’s history

On Thursday, Trump fired the worst Attorney General in our nation’s history. Her offense? She was not corrupt enough, nor sufficiently ruthless in persecuting Trump’s political enemies. She destroyed the independence and integrity of the once-proud Department of Justice. She reduced an agency designed to “do justice” into “a political hit squad” that targeted innocent Americans whose only offense was to resist Trump’s lawlessness. She coordinated the ongoing conspiracy to conceal Trump’s involvement in Epstein’s criminal enterprise. She ignored survivors of sexual abuse while testifying before Congress and oversaw the dismantling of the FBI and DHS units dedicated to combating trafficking, child exploitation, and sex crimes. She single-handedly turned congressional oversight hearings into a mockery of decorum by engaging in juvenile name-calling and childish tantrums that would have resulted in suspension from middle school. During her tenure, federal judges ended the presumption that DOJ lawyers spoke with integrity and candor—because they so frequently did not.

Pam Bondi debased herself beyond recognition. She sacrificed her already questionable professional reputation by abandoning all principle to defend the most corrupt president in our nation’s history. She is destined to become the textbook example of the “anti-lawyer” for future generations of law students—the paradigm of all that is reprehensible and odious about lawyers who forfeit their integrity, decency, and morality.

Worse, she breached her oath to protect and defend the US Constitution. She exalted loyalty to Trump above all else.

And now, Trump has abandoned her because hollowing out her soul was not enough for Trump’s capacious need for revenge. She was a tool, a mote, a cipher for Trump. Her name will forever serve as the standard unit of debasement.

I describe the ignominious end of Pam Bondi’s term as Attorney General not to gloat but to describe the inevitable end that awaits every Trump lackey who wrongly believes that debasing themselves for Trump will enhance their careers or enshrine themselves as MAGA immortals. They are wrong.

Instead, those who surrender their self-respect and integrity will carry Trump’s brand for the remainder of their lives. Accountability and justice are coming. Trump will no longer be president soon, and history’s judgment will be harsh. When Trump is gone, his enablers and minions will carry that judgment in his stead for the rest of their lives.

Sadly, there is an endless supply of posers and strivers with questionable credentials and failed careers who see an appointment in the Trump administration as a path to redemption. It is, instead, a path to damnation and disgrace.

Just ask Pam Bondi.

Coda: See HuffPo, More Firings Could Be On Deck For Other Trump Officials: Reports. (Others who have been the subject of such discussions include FBI Director Kash Patel, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.) See also The Guardian, Trump polled advisers about replacing Tulsi Gabbard as intelligence chief .

Compare Hegseth’s firing of the Army Chief of Staff

Compare Trump’s firing of Bondi to Pete Hegseth’s firing of Army Chief of Staff Randy George, who was appointed by President Biden. Per the NYTimes, Hegseth fired General George, in part, because he resisted Hegseth’s demand to remove two women and two Black officers from a list of candidates for promotion to one-star general. See NYTimes, Hegseth Fires Army Chief Amid Battle With Its Leaders (Gift article, accessible to all.)

Per the Times,

Mr. Hegseth has also clashed in recent months with General George and [Secretary of the Army] Driscoll over [Hegseth’s] decision to block the promotion of four Army officers to be one-star generals. Two of the officers targeted by Mr. Hegseth are Black and two are women on a promotion list that consisted of 29 other officers, most of whom are white men. Mr. Hegseth had been pressing Mr. Driscoll and General George for months to remove the officers from the promotion list. But Mr. Driscoll and General George refused, citing the officers’ long records of exemplary service.

So, Trump fired Bondi for failing to be sufficiently corrupt and ruthless, while Hegseth fired General George because he stood by his officers under his command who were denied promotion by Hegseth because of their race and sex.

I don’t know General Randy George, but his actions suggest that he is a person of honor and principle who served as an advocate for those under his command. He will be replaced by a former assistant to Pete Hegseth, who is apparently willing to do a Full Bondi in order to be promoted to Army Chief of Staff.

Fallout from Trump’s “defeat is victory” address to the nation

Trump’s “defeat is victory” speech on Iran on Wednesday resulted in higher oil prices and lower stock prices. See The Hill, Stocks sink, oil surges after Donald Trump Iran War speech.

In the UN, Bahrain is sponsoring a Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. But three permanent members of the Security Council with veto power—China, Russia, and France—oppose the motion, so it will not pass.

Trump made good on his threat to destroy Iran’s infrastructure by bombing a suspension bridge between Tehran and Karaj. See The Guardian, Trump warns Tehran ‘more to follow’ after strike destroys Iran’s largest bridge.

It is a war crime to intentionally target civilian infrastructure. See Reuters, US experts say American strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes. (“Dozens of international law experts in the U.S. have signed an ​open letter saying that American strikes on Iran may amount to war crimes, after ‌President Donald Trump reiterated his threats this week to strike Iran’s power and desalination plants.”)

Finally, Iran is strengthening its defenses as it prepares for a potential US ground invasion. See WSJ, Iran Beefs Up Defenses, Recruits Children as It Prepares for Ground War. (Gift article, accessible to all.)

Per the WSJ,

Tehran is also mobilizing its population in ways that seek to harness the spirit of the 1980s war with Iraq. They include drives to recruit millions of Iranians, including children—a fixture of the tributes to martyrs via street signs and posters that are still a part of Iran’s daily life.

The WSJ article provides sobering insight into the many ways Iran is preparing for a long, bloody ground fight. As noted above, the article is accessible to all.

Concluding Thoughts

The firing of Bondi and the potential firings of Kash Patel (FBI), Howard Lutnick (Commerce), Tulsi Gabbard (DNI), Daniel Driscoll (Sec. of Army), and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (Labor) illustrate Trump’s weakness and failures. The firing of one cabinet member after one year is significant; the potential firings of five more point to disaster.

The last year has been challenging. Trump has ignored the law and undermined the Constitution (as he continues to do even today). He acts through his lackeys and acolytes who do his bidding. But we have resisted and fought back every step of the way.

Today, we can see that the courageous act of not surrendering may be all it takes to beat Trump. Don’t quit. Don’t surrender. We can outlast Trump; indeed, we are doing so as we speak. The toxic clown show that masquerades as the Trump administration is buckling under the weight of reality, which includes an unwinnable war, a deteriorating economy, and an electorate that is fed up, exhausted, and feeling betrayed by Trump’s string of broken promises.

Perseverance in the face of daunting odds is an act of hope and courage. On Friday, April 3, 2026, we should be proud that our refusal to quit is turning the tide.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Daily Dose of Perspective

The members of the Artemis II mission are 51,111 miles from Earth as I write on Thursday evening. They will “fly by” the Moon (but not orbit) and use the Moon’s gravity to sling the Orion spacecraft on a “free return” trajectory back towards Earth.

Historical footnote: When Apollo 13 was severely damaged on its flight toward the Moon, NASA engineers used the “free return” technique to bring the capsule back to Earth despite the loss of most of its fuel and spacecraft propulsion ability.