The United States of America, once the revered leader of the free world, is no more.

Yesterday I read a devastating article by Anne Applebaum of The Atlantic headlined, “Everyone but Trump Understands What He’s Done,”

Why devastating? Because it makes abundantly clear that this country and, by extension this world, is in dire straits at the hands of one man. A man who, in our infinite lack of wisdom, we elected two times to the presidency of the United States, becoming, by default, the Commander in Chief, and the leader of the free world!

Here’s Applebaum’s lede:

Donald Trump does not think strategically. Nor does he think historically, geographically, or even rationally. He does not connect actions he takes on one day to events that occur weeks later. He does not think about how his behavior in one place will change the behavior of other people in other places.

And here’s an AI-generated summary of the article:

Donald Trump’s lack of strategic thinking and disregard for historical and geopolitical implications have alienated U.S. allies. His impulsive actions, such as imposing tariffs and insulting allied leaders, have eroded trust and cooperation. As a result, allied nations are reluctant to support U.S. initiatives, fearing their contributions will be disregarded and their interests undermined.

You can read the story here, but I’m aware that many of you might not subscribe to The Atlantic and might not be able to access it. And while I could PDF and attach the article, providing it to you in full, in recognition that great journalism is not free, and make no mistake, Anne Applebaum and The Atlantic represent journalism at its best, I’ll try to summarize the key points instead.

Trump is ordering our allies to help in his war “demanding that these countries come in and protect their own territory” (whatever that means), without seeming to either remember or care what he said about those countries and their leaders in the past. But those leaders and their citizens do remember and do care.

• Trump has tariffed them, mocked their security concerns, and repeatedly insulted them.

• As long ago as January 2020, Trump told several European officials that “if Europe is under attack, we will never come to help you and to support you.”

• In February 2025, he told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he had no right to expect support either, because “you don’t have any cards.”

• Trump ridiculed Canada as the “51st state” and referred to both the present and previous Canadian prime ministers as “governor.”

• He claimed, incorrectly, that allied troops in Afghanistan “stayed a little back, a little off the front lines,” causing huge offense to the families of soldiers who died fighting after NATO invoked Article 5 of the organization’s treaty, on behalf of the United States.

• He called the British “our once-great ally,” after they refused to participate in the initial assault on Iran.

• And, when the Brits discussed sending some aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf conflict earlier this month, he ridiculed the idea on social media: “We don’t need people that join Wars after we’ve already won!”

• And on and on...

Applebaum writes that, “Europeans might have tolerated the invective and even the trade damage had it not been for the real threat that Trump now poses to their security.”

But, as Applebaum reports, they tolerate it no longer.

• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has declared that Canada will not participate in the “offensive operations of Israel and the U.S., and it never will.”

• German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius says, “This is not our war, and we didn’t start it.”

• The Spanish prime minister refused to let the United States use bases for the beginning of the war.

• The U.K. and France might send some ships to protect their own bases or allies in the Gulf, but neither will send their own soldiers or sailors into offensive operations started without their assent.

Applebaum finishes with this:

This isn’t cowardice. It’s a calculation: If allied leaders thought that their sacrifice might count for something in Washington, they might choose differently. But most of them have stopped trying to find the hidden logic behind Trump’s actions, and they understand that any contribution they make will count for nothing. A few days or weeks later, Trump will not even remember that it happened.

This, my friends, is the where we are. The United States of America, once the revered leader of the free world, the founder of NATO, the creator of the Marshall Plan which helped to rebuild Europe after the most disastrous war in history, is no more. No more because twice we have elected a man who, as Applebaum notes, “acts on whim and impulse, and when he changes his mind—when he feels new whims and new impulses—he simply lies about whatever he said or did before.”

A man, the President of the United States, who started a war with no plans, no strategy and with ever shifting goals. A president, this time around, with no guardrails, supported by yes men and women who, for whatever reason, dare not cross him.

But yesterday, one did. Joe Kent, a director in the National Intelligence hierarchy reporting directly to DNI Tulsi Gabbard, revealed what we all suspected but couldn’t get an insider to confirm—Iran posed no imminent threat and that Trump succumbed to pressure from Israel and its American lobby.

From The New York Times:

Joe Kent, a Top U.S. Counterterrorism Official, Resigns Over the Iran War

One of the United States’ top counterterrorism officials resigned on Tuesday, citing his opposition to the war in Iran and what he said was Israel’s influence over the Trump administration’s policies, a sign of emerging divisions in the Republican coalition.

The official, Joe Kent, is the first senior member of the administration to quit over the war.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Mr. Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, wrote in a letter to Mr. Trump. “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Unsurprisingly, Mr. Kent’s stance earned a sharp rebuke from Mr. Trump.

“I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “It’s a good thing that he’s out because he said Iran was not a threat.”

Just to be clear, and in the spirit of full disclosure, The Times goes on to report,

Mr. Kent is not an ordinary war critic. He has long had a penchant for conspiracy theories, suggesting without evidence that F.B.I. agents could have been responsible for orchestrating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. He has dismissed allegations that Russia manipulated the 2016 election, saying that such accusations were part of the “Russia Hoax.”

Mr. Kent was also accused of pressuring analysts to change their findings on a Venezuelan prison gang to match the Trump administration’s views.

Why is Joe Kent and his resignation important?

Because, as you might have guessed after reading the Times’ background on him, Joe Kent is no bleeding-heart liberal. In fact, Kent ran for Congress as the Republican candidate from the state of Washington twice, losing both times. And as reported by The Hill, “[Kent’s] 2022 campaign received significant criticism over its alleged ties to white nationalist groups. The Associated Press reported on Kent’s relationship with Christian nationalist leaders and his campaign’s decision to employ a member of the far-right Proud Boys group as a consultant.”

Kent is said to be a close associate of his boss, DNI Tulsi Gabbard. It has also been noted that Gabbard, Kent and Vice President JD Vance have been seen as part of a faction within the Trump administration that is more sceptical of US military intervention abroad.

Why is Kent’s alliance with Gabbard and Vance important? Because it just might be what’s needed to rid the world of Donald J. Trump.

What do I mean?

Can you say “the 25th Amendment?”

Let me be clear. I have ignored the many emails and texts I get from Democratc organizations with petitions supporting either impeachment or invoking the 25th Amendment. Both were fools’ errands in my mind. Just another cynical device to garner more policial donations.

And impeachment is still a non-starter. But today, there might be a brighter future for the 25th. Because today is the day after the first break in the Trump administration’s sycophantary. Kent’s resignation and his accusations are more signifcant than the mouthings off of Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson and Megyn Kelly among others. Kent is the highest-level official to leave the Trump administration over the US president’s decision to wage war on Iran. And he appears to be aligned with Vance and Gabbard, which, for the purpose of the 25th, is key.

What is the 25th Amendment?

The 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified in 1967. It addresses presidential succession and disability, ensuring a clear process for what happens if a president can no longer perform their duties. While sections 1, 2 & 3 deal with presidential succession (1), filling vice presidential vacancies (2), and voluntary presidential transfer of power (3), section 4 is the one that’s critical today.

Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principal officers of the executive departments or of such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.

Of course it’s not over ‘til it’s over.

Section 4 goes on to state that the president can contest the removal. If he does, Congress decides the issue, needing a two-thirds vote by both Houses that the president is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall continue to discharge the same as Acting President. If Congress affirms the removal, Vice President remains Acting President until the next election. If the two-thirds vote in both Houses is not achieved, the President resumes the powers and duties of his office.

Including the vice president, there are 23 cabinet members. That means 12 need to vote Trump out.

Here are the 23:

With Kent, although a non-voter, importantly putting the first small crack in the Trump MAGA dam, and with the potential of Vance and Gabbard on the “yea” side, nine more are needed. Could that the drip from that crack become the beginning of a flood if, with the potential a defanged Trump, nine of the above stalwarts put the country before their own interests? Even if it meant the JD Vance becomes (acting) president?

Maybe, just maybe.

Or should we simply wait for the mid-terms, hope that there really will be a mid-term, pray that if there is one, it will be free and fair despite Trump’s and the GOP’s manipulations, and cross fingers that one or both houses are flipped even though there’s no guarantee that outcome will actually stop Trump.

Can it happen? Will it happen? Are there really any other viable options? Because if bold action isn’t taken, it will get worse. And not even the next No King’s Day marches will make a difference.

What do you think? Bueller? Anyone?