President Trump continues to be praised as a global peacemaker for freeing the Hamas hostages and brokering a ceasefire between Israel and the terrorist group.
By assembling a coalition of countries to stop the two-year war, the president combined threats and diplomacy to end — at least for now — the bloody conflict that began with Hamas’ gruesome Oct. 7 massacre.
Despite warning signs that Hamas may be unwilling to surrender its weapons, the guns have fallen silent and the moving videos of freed hostages hugging their loved ones keep coming.
Trump has received praise from leading Democrats (the Clintons), virtually all the media (which he thanked), and people like Jimmy Kimmel, James Carville and Bill Maher.
PARENTS OF 2 US Citizens Demand Return of Bodies of Their Sons and All Dead Hostages Held by Hamas in Gaza
President Donald Trump poses for a photo with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before boarding Air Force One at Ben Gurion International Airport, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, near Tel Aviv. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
Then he came home.
Government officials are not being paid during the two-week shutdown that Trump engineered, as he refused to seriously negotiate with Democrats concerned about the prospect of rising Obamacare premiums.
The president, as he threatened to do, has cut or frozen nearly $28 billion for projects largely located in Democratic-led cities and states. New York Times analysis. That includes massive transportation projects in New York and Chicago.
Trump has imposed a new round of layoffs at the Department of Education, targeting the Office for Civil Rights and the Special Education Unit — which, after previous layoffs, will amount to about six staffers, a 95% reduction since he took office.
He declined to answer questions from “ABC fake news,” but called on one of the female reporters, turned to a chuckling JD Vance and said, “I just enjoy watching her talk.” Then he said, “Well done. Thank you, honey,” and ignored what she had asked.
What a stark contrast.
Why is the man capable of such steely leadership abroad while insisting on being such a divisive figure at home?
He fervently believes that maintaining an iron grip on his MAGA base is how he got elected and is crucial to his political health. When Democrats attack his actions, most of his Republican supporters are excited.
Last year there were also those two gruesome murder attempts.
Trump often complains that he is a victim – of brutally dishonest media reporting, left-wingers calling him a Nazi and a dictator, and legal investigations that have yielded four indictments against him.
The way he sees it, he’s counter-punching – it’s that simple. And he certainly has an important point.
Of course, no president has ever directed the Justice Department to prosecute his political opponents, as was the case with the indictments of James Comey and Letitia James. That destroys any remaining idea of DOJ independence.
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Trump even objected to a praising Time cover story about the ceasefire – “His Triumph” – because he didn’t like the photo, in which the lighting washed away some of his hair.
And then there is the handling of scandals.
An example of blatant bias on both sides is the Political revelation of group chats from young Republican groups dripping with racist, anti-Semitic and violent content.
In 2,900 pages of leaked documents, the participants – all ardent Trump supporters – described black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people.” They talked about sending their opponents to the gas chambers that would reflect “the Hitler aesthetic,” where they would be murdered. A woman who serves on the New York national committee said, “I’m ready to see people burn right now.”
These are mainly not students, but party officials, government employees and a senator, who according to the rules must be younger than 40 years old. Three participants have been expelled from their political jobs.
The national federation, which has 15,000 members, said “we are appalled by the despicable and inexcusable language … Such behavior is disgraceful and unbecoming of any Republican.”
I bring this up because of the response to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
A White House spokesperson told Politico that “Only an activist, left-wing reporter would desperately try to implicate President Trump in a story about a random group chat with which he has no ties.” To be fair, this cannot in any way be attributed to the president.
But it does reflect how fringe views have infiltrated at least a small minority of younger party members.
What is striking is the way in which the vice president has dismissed the ugliness.
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Vice President J.D. Vance responded to the Politico report by bringing up the Jay Jones texting scandal. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
Vance instead focused on Jay Jones, the Democratic nominee for Virginia attorney general, who was revealed to have texted a colleague in the Legislature about his fantasies about killing then-Speaker Todd Gilbert. “Two bullets to the head,” Jones wrote. Chill.
“This is way worse than anything said in a college group chat,” Vance said, “and the guy who said this could become the AG of Virginia.”
Trump also weighed in, saying Jones wanted a “Republican lawmaker in Virginia shot in the head and his children murdered…pretty amazing.”
Now let me say that it is beyond disgustingly pathetic that Virginia’s top Democrats have not withdrawn their support for Jones, and that he has not been driven out of the race. It’s indefensible.
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President Donald Trump also responded to the Politico report by bringing up the Jay Jones texting scandal. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
But it is also a classic case of whataboutism, where the leaders of each party – there are some exceptions – focus on the other party’s misbehavior.
Vance went a step further yesterday, saying, “The reality is that kids do stupid things. Young boys, especially, tell sharp, offensive jokes.” Again, it’s not just boys.
In the Middle East, Trump tried to bring fighters together. In America he is the main fighter and does everything he can to exercise and expand his power.
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Many politicians strive for unity, if only to get more converts on their side. That has never been Trump’s style, dating from his time as a real estate developer and then as a candidate. His default setting is fighting.
Right now Bibi Netanyahu loves Donald Trump. That includes those who voted for him in a landslide election victory. But the president has shown little interest in winning over his opponents.
