THE FOOL RETURNS
On January 20, 2025, Donald J. Trump retook the presidency with a list of enemies, a war chest of grudges, and zero intent to govern. Within days, inspectors general were fired en masse. Trans people were banned from military service — again. Civil service was gutted, international trust shattered, and the coal industry was exhumed like a corpse for a photo op.
A fool? Yes — but a strategic one. Trump is not the clown in the corner bumping into furniture. He’s the ringmaster setting the tent on fire for applause.
THE 78-DAY SPRINT INTO MADNESS
In under three months:
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17 federal watchdogs were fired.
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A 10% universal tariff triggered economic panic.
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Trans athletes were targeted by a new Title IX task force.
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DEI programs were slashed like weeds in a fascist garden.
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The Alien Enemies Act — from 1798 — was revived to deport migrants.
These aren’t gaffes. They’re not even policy failures. They’re proof of concept. The fool is doing exactly what he promised. The playbook was public. The cruelty was the point.
So if the fool is predictable — and self-serving — then the real question is:
WHAT DO YOU CALL THE ONES WHO STILL FOLLOW?
They saw the first term. The kids in cages. The bleach injections. The loyalty tests. The insurrection. They heard every lie, watched every purge, read every indictment. And then they voted for more.
These are not the innocent. These are not the confused. These are not the economically anxious white Midwesterners we were once told to pity like delicate orchids. These are adults. Voters. Flag-wavers. Accomplices.
They show up in camo at school board meetings to scream about drag queens. They pray with bloodlust and call it revival. They buy gold coins with Trump’s face on them and call it a financial strategy. They burn masks, hoard ivermectin, and howl about “deep state pedophiles” while letting their kids starve in underfunded schools.
They aren’t following Trump because they think he’s brilliant.
They follow him because he gives them permission.
Permission to be cruel. To be racist. To be angry. To blame. To punch down. To feel powerful again in a world that stopped revolving around them.
That’s not loyalty. That’s cowardice in a MAGA hat.
ARGUMENT FOR TRUMP AS THE FOOL
Let’s be clear: He is the conman-in-chief. He could’ve retired rich and repulsive in Florida. Instead, he came back for more. Why? Because he needs it. The spotlight. The rage. The vengeance.
There’s something uniquely foolish about a man who has everything and still needs to prove he’s alpha in a room full of yes-men. Trump isn’t just a narcissist. He’s a deeply broken man who needs applause like oxygen. He will destroy everything — democracy, justice, decency — just to feel like the winner he never was.
That kind of ego? That kind of blindness to consequence?
That’s foolishness elevated to a tragic art form.
ARGUMENT FOR THE FOLLOWERS AS THE FOOLS
But then again…
Trump is one man. One mouth. One reality-TV strongman in decline.
They are the army. The chorus. The movement.
They’re the ones who turned a con into a crusade.
And at this point, they don’t even believe him — not really. They just like what he represents. The middle finger to progress. The fantasy of whitewashed greatness. The end of empathy. The rise of the bully.
They’re the ones who made this nightmare sustainable. They call him “God’s chosen” while he golfs through Bible verses he’s never read. They see the collapse and say “good.” Because it hurts the people they hate. Because it feels like revenge. Because it lets them pretend they’re not losing control — just taking it back.
That’s not foolishness. That’s malice with a flag and a Facebook account.
And that kind of delusion?
That makes the fool look smart.
THE FINAL VERDICT
So who’s more foolish?
The man who believes he can bend reality to his will?
Or the millions who saw what he did — and begged for more?
Here’s the brutal truth:
The fool is dangerous. But the fools who follow him? They make him inevitable.
They outnumber him. They outvote him. They echo him in churches, schools, statehouses. Without them, he’s just a guy yelling on a golf course. With them, he’s a wrecking ball aimed at the foundation of the republic.
They’d let him burn the Bill of Rights if it came with a bumper sticker that said “Fuck your feelings.”
Obi-Wan was right to ask.
And in 2025, we finally have the answer:
The fool is a threat.
But the fools who follow him?
They don’t just cheer the collapse —
they bring the matches.
And they’re looking for the next fire to light.
This post has been syndicated from Closer to the Edge, where it was published under this address.