Trump: Most transparent anyone's ever seen

Satire alert: The first paragraph is real, the rest, not so much...

(Washington, DC) 'I haven't been transparent, really?': Trump snaps, loses it on reporter when called out on his lies (about the ballroom construction/East Wing demolition) in the Oval Office.

"How can you say that?!" Trump demanded. "I am the most transparent president--nobody's ever seen anything like it!" 

Nobody's ever seen anything
like Trump

Trump pulled out a large, laminated tagboard labeled, "Transparency Chart," complete with a glittering star and some notes in Sharpie.

Pointing to the first box, Trump exclaimed, "Look at that first box: IMMIGRATION! And the examples of my transparency are here, too! For example, I've come right out and called them vermin and rapists! I've pushed conspiracy theories that they eat their neighbors' pets, for Christ's sake."

"Or the second box: LAW AND ORDER! I pardoned 1,500 patriots who stormed the Capitol and beat up cops! I told violent militia to 'stand back and stand by!' I sent federal troops in to terrorize peaceful Democrat cities!

That's about as transparent as you can get."

Fox News reporter Peter Doocy raised a hand and asked, "Mr. President, what's that big square with the gold star?"

Trump gets a gold
star for racism

"That's RACISM!" Trump shouted, beaming with pride.  "I've been transparent about racism like you wouldn't believe!" Trump held the chart up so everyone could see. "It says here that I've called for the restoration of honors for all our great Confederate heroes. I pointed out that DEI actually discriminates against our put-upon, white male population. I even purposely mispronounce Ka-MA-la's name and still bring up that Barack Hussein Obama wasn't born in the US."

"If you think I'm not a racist, you just haven't been paying attention," he claimed in exasperation.

"As these chart examples show, I am the most transparent president in the history of this country," he said. "By now, everyone should know exactly where I stand."

Although Trump was apparently done sharing his charts, journalists noted one in the pile titled, "And Here's How I've Screwed the Constitution!"

Trump then launched into a ten-minute rant about windmills and wandered off toward the former East Wing.

Blood on Trump's hands: 57 and counting

Trump’s killing spree has got to stop.

More and more alleged drug cartel boats are being targeted—first in the Caribbean, now in the Pacific—with 57 people killed in U.S. military strikes. The Trump administration has provided no public evidence that those aboard were engaged in criminal activity.

No warrants. No trials. No proof.

Sec of State Rubio says Trump ordered this strike
on a suspected drug boat to "send a message."
Um, that Trump believes in murder?

Instead of the traditional (and legal) method of interdiction—stop, search, seize—Trump’s team has opted for missile strikes. No questions asked. Just assume the boats are drug-running vessels and move on to the next target.

To sidestep due process, the administration labels these attacks part of a “war on narcotics.” Victims are branded “narco-terrorists,” collateral damage in a campaign that has drawn condemnation from allies, US Congressional members, international law experts, and human rights watchdogs.

But here’s the kicker: the two survivors repatriated to Colombia and Ecuador have not been charged with any crime. Their governments refused to prosecute due to lack of evidence. Not cartel members. Not traffickers. Just two men caught in the crosshairs.

Presidents of both Colombia and Ecuador call the killings “murder.”

And really, who could argue?

Imagine if Trump sent drones to Chicago, or Boise, or Poughkeepsie, and gunned down people who looked like drug dealers—maybe they were in a certain neighborhood, maybe they dressed or acted a certain way. Could anyone defend that? Would anyone defend that?

Trump would:

"We're going to kill them, you know, they're going to be, like, dead." (10/23/25)

Senator Peter Welch (D-VA) lays it out in a letter to DOJ official Pam Bondi:

“Drug trafficking is a terrible crime that has had devastating effects on American families and communities and should be prosecuted. Nonetheless, the President’s actions to hold alleged drug traffickers accountable must still conform with the law.”

Translation: Murder is still murder.

My cut: 57 deaths and counting. 

And their blood is on Trump’s hands.

Trump news: That's got to be satire, right?

I was going to write a satire column today — but then I realized:

Donald Trump's truth is stranger than satire.

Over the past few weeks, nearly every headline from his administration has been paired with a quote or twist that feels ripped straight from the satirical site The Onion — except it’s real.

Just in case...?

News: Former White House advisor and ardent Trump supporter Steve Bannon suggests there actually are plans in place for a currently-unconstitutional third Trump term. 

Satire-like: Trump keeps a "Trump 2028" hat on his Oval Office desk— perhaps, just in case?

News: Trump's administration has destroyed alleged drug cartel boats in international waters, 43 deaths and counting. 

Satire-like: Trump shrugs off legal concerns: “We’re just going to kill people that are bringing drugs into our country. Okay? We’re going to kill them. You know? They’re going to be, like, dead.”

News: Trump quietly gets vaccinated with shots for Covid and flu.

Satire-like: Meanwhile, Trump's HHS Secretary — anti-vaccine crusader Bobby Kennedy, Jr. — insists the shots “fail to protect effectively against...Covid and flu.”

News: The DOJ may have to pay Trump for past investigations of his impeachable offenses and alleged crimes that were called off because he was elected.

Satire-like: Trump, now president, may be the one who decides whether the DOJ pays— and how much.

News: The White House East Wing is gone to make way for Trump's $300 million ballroom.

Satire-like:

Just like an onion, real Trump news stinks
 and can even make you cry...

Supporters say it's no different from Obama adding portable basketball hoops to the White House tennis courts.

News: Canada airs anti-tariff ads featuring actual clips of then-President Ronald Reagan downplaying the long-term benefits of tariffs.

Satire-like: Trump calls it AI, and slaps an extra 10% tariff on Canadian goods, for good measure.

My cut: If you can't make it to a satire site like The Onion, just check out the real news.

It's even more unbelievable.

Hey, Trump--attempted murder or just policy now?

US forces just blew up another vessel in the Caribbean for supposed drug trafficking.

According to US intelligence, the vessel was carrying "mostly fentanyl."

Trump affirms that the attacked vessel was transporting "mostly fentanyl."

Six alleged drug traffickers were killed in a
 US strike near Venezuela earlier this month

He claims the crew were "narcoterrorists." 

Two were killed. Two survived.

But, um, here's the problem. Actually, two problems.

1) Ecuadorian authorities just cleared the survivor the US repatriated. They stated, "There is no evidence or indication" he committed any crime.

In other words, in the determination of the Ecuadorian government, this survivor was not a "narcoterrorist," but rather an innocent man. And the US just tried to kill him.

2) US Customs and Border Protection data show that far less than 1% of fentanyl enters the country via Caribbean maritime routes. Virtually all fentanyl seizures occur at land ports of entry.

So, if this ship's cargo was "mostly fentanyl," it marks a dramatic shift in cartel operations— suddenly risking US drone strikes in open waters. Which seems highly unlikely.

So, what do these two points mean, really?

It means the US is apparently lying.

It means the intelligence it touts is either incredibly faulty or nonexistent. 

It means the traditional method of dealing with suspected drug boats—seizing/cataloguing evidence/building prosecutions/limiting escalation—has been replaced by "shoot first, ask questions later."

The Caribbean: home to palm trees, white
sandy beaches, and, um, murder? 

It means the US has destroyed numerous vessels (some reportedly not even heading toward the US) and killed dozens of people—without really even knowing if they were innocent or not.

Congress members call it unacceptable.

European leaders call it concerning that the US has presented no evidence in launching these strikes.

The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela—based on their own findings and the lack of US transparency—call these killings "murder."

My cut: That's not just tough to argue—it's nearly impossible.

Trump's Cut: Being "a president for all Americans"

2016, President-elect Donald Trump: “Now it’s time for America to bind the wounds of division… I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans, and this is so important to me.”

Ah, such a hopeful, conciliatory, unifying message. Perhaps there is hope for this country—and this President—after all.

Donald Trump: doing all he can to "bind the wounds of division."

Fast forward to 2025. 

President Trump, self-styled defender of the Constitution, a "president for all Americans," posts a Truth Social video of himself as King, piloting a jet over "No Kings" protesters exercising their Constitutional rights of speech and assembly, before bombing them with a torrent of vile, liquid feces (watch it here).

Huh.

I guess that's how you "bind the wounds of division?"

Maybe it's a one-off? A momentary lapse of judgment in favor of misguided humor or satire designed to bring a smile to a division-weary populace? Surely, he doesn't feel that way about virtually half the country, right?

October 13, 2025 speech: 

"We have to take care of this little gnat that's on our shoulder called the Democrats."

Um, certainly just an ill-chosen metaphor to highlight political differences. Of course, no division should be inferred, right?

October 17, 2025, post:

(The Democratic Party is) "THE PARTY OF HATE, EVIL, AND SATAN!"

Um, yeah, if you want to be technical, well, sure, that kind of smacks of division. 

Trump: adding fuel to the fire
(Cartoon by Adam Ziglis, 2015)

But it's just Trump, right? There are still principled leaders in the GOP willing to stand up for all Americans, even those having differing viewpoints and exercising their constitutional rights, correct? The GOP leaders are surely working towards "binding the wounds of division," right?

GOP Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, October 17, 2025, press conference:

"We refer to it by its more accurate description — the 'Hate America Rally'...You’re going to bring together the Marxists, the Socialists, the Antifa advocates, the anarchists, and the pro-Hamas wing of the far-left Democrat Party. That is the modern Democratic Party."

Oh, boy. That, um, does kind of feel a bit divisive, doesn't it?

I guess Donald Trump has some work to do to meet his pledge to our nation and its citizens to "bind the wounds of division" and become a "president for all Americans." 

But he still has three years to work on that.

My cut: don't hold your breath.

UPDATE (10/20): House Speaker Mike Johnson just dismissed the video of King Donald Trump dumping feces on US citizens peacefully exercising their Constitutional rights, calling it "satire."

Who ya gonna call? Trump-busters! (a satirical remix)

NOTE: When ICE tactics start sounding like a horror movie...cue the clarinet.

The satirical song that follows critiques the Trump administration’s immigration tactics—not the agents themselves. And it is unbelievable that this is America. All incidents referenced are real.

The reality:

- Outside the Portland ICE facility, agents arrested a woman who was playing "Ghostbusters" on her clarinet.

- Witnesses say that ICE agents in Chicago's Lincoln Square neighborhood threw a man into an unmarked van with New Jersey plates.

- Near LA (and other places), ICE agents have patrolled near schools.

- In Massachusetts (and similar cases in many locales), a 13-year-old boy was detained without due process--with no explanation to him or his parents as to why and with no trial before transfer to a Virginia ICE detention facility.

The parody: 

Set to Ray Parker Jr.’s Ghostbusters, the very tune Oriana Korol was playing on her clarinet when ICE arrested her outside the Portland facility. Please feel free to sing along with the first couple minutes of this karaoke version:

Who Ya Gonna Call? Trump-busters!

Trump-busters!

If you wanna get

Folks playin’ clarinet,

Who ya gonna call?

Trump-busters!

If you wanna throw a man

In an unmarked van,

Who ya gonna call?

Trump-busters!

We ain’t afraid of no ICE!

We ain’t afraid of no ICE!

If you think it’s cool

To go raid a school,

Who ya gonna call?

Trump-busters!

If your master plan

Skips due process, man,

Who ya gonna call?

Trump-busters!

 

We ain’t afraid of no ICE!

We ain’t afraid of no ICE!

 

Who ya gonna call?

Trump-busters!

Boba tea in the "war zone": Trump's lies about Chicago

Trump calls Chicago a “war-zone.”

He claims he’s sending in the National Guard to protect ICE agents.

The same ICE agents that had a confrontation with protesters in Chicago’s Lincoln Square.

So, today I walked through Lincoln Square—a mere 72 hours after "violent confrontations" had occurred with ICE—I expected barricades, broken windows, maybe graffiti scrawled in anger….

Trump calls Chicago neighborhoods like Lincoln
 Square "war zones." I call them delightful.

But I NEVER could have imagined what I saw:

Children darted through the park playing tag, while nearby, their parents chatted.

A woman in her fifties strolled past with two impossibly fluffy shiatzu puppies.

A young professional scrolled through her phone.

 A couple wandered hand-in-hand down the street, enjoying a pleasantly warm autumn evening.

I sat down on a bench beneath some trees, sipping my boba tea, and marveled at what a beautiful and peaceful scene this was.

And I learned that this “confrontation,” was, at most, a couple dozen peaceful protesters upset that ICE agents were apparently targeting parents as they picked up their children from school. These were ICE agents, armored in tactical gear, that, witnesses say, threw a resident to the ground, handcuffed her, and flung her into an unmarked van with New Jersey license plates. That woman, a US resident, and one unidentified male were retained, but not charged.

There was no “war.” No “hellhole.” These weren’t, as Trump and his team want us to believe, “domestic terrorists.”

It was a small group of concerned citizens exercising their First Amendment rights.

So, when you hear Trump’s proclamations of “domestic terrorist” attacks, his descriptions of communities as “war-ravaged,” or “hellholes,” stop and think.

My cut: who do you believe, someone who’s never been there?

Or someone who was there today, sipping his boba tea?

Trump: Keeping his eyes on the prize

Trump's prize remains elusive

Although there are many reasons Donald Trump didn’t win a Nobel Peace Prize,* I’ll only highlight one today:

Indiscriminately killing people in the Caribbean.

Let me say that again: indiscriminately killing people in the Caribbean.

At face value, that doesn’t look too good on the resumé. In reality, it doesn’t look any better.

Thus far, four vessels have been destroyed by the US as they navigated in international waters. Reliable estimates say it's cost 21 lives.

Trump and his “Department of War” call it justifiable—that they were stopping “narco-terrorists” from the “imminent danger” of these boats bringing drugs into the US, terming it a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels (a ploy to skirt the need for Congressional approval).

But there’s been no evidence of such “imminent danger” activity presented by the Trump administration—no seizure manifests, no forensic drug‑testing results, no documented chain‑of‑custody intelligence. Nothing that would normally be provided to justify such US force.

No evidence presented.

Ever.

As a matter of fact, reliable accounts say not all of the ships were even headed to the US.

Family members of some of those killed--as well as local reporting--dispute the connection of those killed to drug cartels.

The leaders of the boat’s originating countries, Venezuela and Colombia, call the US actions “murder.”

World governments largely condemn the strikes, demanding transparency for any evidence presented, and stressing the need to respect regional stability and the sovereignty of other nations.

Congressional members call it unconstitutional and an unauthorized use of lethal force. Even Republican Rand Paul (KY) says, “We can't have a policy where we just blow up ships where we don't even know the people's names.”

A Venezuelan boat just before the US
 attacked, killing all eleven passengers

And, meanwhile, 21 people have died as a result of this US violence.

Normally, such boats are warned and seized, with the aim being to capture suspects and contraband, build prosecutions, maintain relationships with regional partners, and limit escalation. Normally, the US considers due process when they target such vessels.

But not so in Donald Trump’s America.

Instead, the pouty now-non-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize thinks that indiscriminate killing should be overlooked when under consideration of such recognition.

In February, Trump said, “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. It’s too bad. I deserve it.”

My cut: let’s hope the standards for peace never sink that low.

 

*Trump actions (non-exhaustive) that might preclude claims of him being the “peace president:” deploying federal troops to peaceful U.S cities, inciting supporters to overrun the Capitol—with many pummeling police—and then praising/pardoning them, encouraging violence against protesters, refusing to act as his pal Putin ramps up strikes against Ukraine, standing by while his ally Netanyahu continued to slaughter innocent Palestinians, threatening free press, admiring dictators, denigrating allies, discouraging free speech, disparaging the judicial system, elevating divisive causes (Charlie Kirk’s messages, returning monuments honoring racist and traitorous Confederate figures), rebranding the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

With Trump, the water's only warm--until it isn't

When it comes to our democracy, many of us are just like the frog in a gradually-heating pot of water—oblivious to the final danger that awaits once the boiling begins.

So, how, exactly, do we frogs know when we’re in trouble?

In How Democracies Die (Crown Publishing, 2018), respected Harvard political scientists Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky outline basically four warning signs that democracy is simmering toward authoritarianism.

1.     Rejection of democratic rules of the game

2.     Denial of the legitimacy of political opponents

3.     Toleration or encouragement of violence

4.      Readiness to curtail civil liberties of opponents, including media.

And since their book, Trump has continued turning up the heat. (Each of the following examples has been documented by bipartisan officials, federal agencies, and mainstream media outlets. The simmering decay isn’t hypothetical—it’s historical)

Here are just a couple examples:

1.      The biggest turn of the stove dial, obviously, has been Trump's slate of 2020 election lies—DOMINION! DEAD VOTERS! ILLEGALS VOTING! BALLOT DUMPS! All which were proven untrue. His continual lie that the election was illegitimate greatly undermines the nation’s conviction that democratic elections are, in fact, reliable. Which they are. Since then, his admonitions to his Attorney General to go after political foes,  and his apparent willingness to disregard tenets of the Constitution have raised the flame further.

2.      He berates his political opponents with demeaning “nicknames” or tying their fathers to the Kennedy assassination. Trump, in trying to get Georgia to overturn its 2020 election in his favor, literally wrote them: “Our nation is systematically being destroyed by an illegitimate president.” He questioned if Kamala Harris (whose name he purposely and racistly mispronounced) was even eligible to run because her parents were immigrants.

3.      Trump famously has encouraged violence against protestors at his rallies. He told the heinous “Proud

Metro Police Officer
Daniel Hodges, Jan. 6, 2021

Boys” to “Stand back and stand by.” He pardoned 1500 people cited/convicted for overrunning the Capitol to stop an election certification, including those that had vandalized federal grounds and pummeled police, as well as those convicted of trying to topple the government by force.

4.      Trump has openly encouraged GOP-run states to redistrict to maintain a Congressional majority. He’s directed arrests and deportations without due process. His administration threatens media outlets and personalities.  

As all this happens—as the water heats up—we just get accustomed to it, just another day, just another authoritarian action by Trump—just as it was for those in Orban’s Hungary or Erdogan’s Turkey or Putin’s Russia.

So, where does it end? My cut is that Trump sending troops into Democratic strongholds is meant to intimidate those that live (and vote) there, maybe making them think twice about their voting choices. And, possibly, by normalizing troops in US cities, there will be little concern when he has them start seizing ballot boxes he claims are invalid (which he already considered in 2020). It may be the final temperature rise before Trump tries his hand at an unconstitutional third term.

My cut: By then, it will all be accepted. Just another day in a gradually warming pot.

And we may not even realize that it’s starting to boil.

 

Senior Center Lawlessness Prompts Federal Response: Lemon Meringue Crisis Escalates

NOTE: What follows is a satirical take on Trump's absurd assertion that Portland is "war-ravaged." There is NOTHING funny about the way ICE agents have come into Portland and brutalized the residents and peaceful protestors there. THAT is unconscionable and certainly not the America I know.

President Trump appears ready to send troops into the Portland area.

“It’s about time someone takes care of this lawlessness,” agreed Nellie Johnson of the Beaverton Senior Center just outside Portland.

Protecting our rights--and
our baked goods?--in Portland

Johnson recounted the numerous times that Harvey “Big Harv” Davidson would skip the line at the Senior Center Bake Sale just to snag the last piece of lemon meringue pie--describing a problem emblematic of that which the National Guard will likely find in the Portland area.

“He does the same thing when Bessie brings her German Chocolate Cake,” she added, shaking her head. “And I’m not the only one who’s sick of it!”

Senior Center officials have previously attempted to stem “Big Harv’s” actions by providing him with Bingo cards that have Roman numerals instead of numbers and by revoking his cribbage privileges, but to no avail.

Johnson declared, "Maybe it's time to start cracking some heads."

"Big Harv," mouth full of lemon meringue, was unavailable for comment.

Another political blog? Yikes

Everyone has an opinion about politics.

The unofficial co-author of this blog

Here's mine: It's messed up.

And this site, Ken's Cut, is my outlet to express that opinion (instead of me just screaming into my pillow night after night...after night).

If you lean left, you'll probably find some points of agreement.

If you lean right, um, you probably won't.

I strive to be honest, researched, and as objective as the facts (and my biases) will let me be.

The posts will be political: my cut on current issues, or maybe satire, or whatever I find myself screaming into that pillow.

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.