Clones, Crackdowns, and Ketamine: Trump’s America Hits a New Low

From QAnon clone rants to ICE zip-tying children, the president spirals deeper into delusion while civil liberties, climate science, and public sanity buckle under the weight of his regime.

Good morning! If you woke up today wondering whether the United States is being led by a stable adult human with access to nuclear weapons, I regret to inform you that Donald Trump spent last night posting that Joe Biden is actually dead, replaced in 2020 by a “robotically engineered soulless entity” operated by shadowy forces. Yes, the sitting President of the United States is reposting full-on QAnon clone content from his official account, because why merely erode democracy when you can bulldoze it with a tinfoil crown on?

To add some bureaucratic vengeance to the delusion, Trump also publicly withdrew NASA administrator nominee Jared Isaacman, hours after Elon Musk praised him on X. Isaacman, a billionaire SpaceX astronaut who all but admitted Elon was in the room during his job interview at Mar-a-Lago, was Musk’s handpicked golden boy. The reason for Trump’s reversal? Allegedly, Isaacman once donated to Democrats. More likely? Trump caught a headline about Musk’s bruised face and decided it was time for a loyalty purge.

Speaking of Musk, he's back on X posting paranoid immigration graphs about Canada and resharing “white genocide” propaganda from a far-right South African separatist account. The former features a panic-inducing chart about Canada’s immigration rate and the implication that Canada will soon be a lawless wasteland. The latter is a conspiracy theory so toxic it’s literally cited in the Christchurch shooter’s manifesto. Musk reposted both without comment, because subtlety isn't really his thing anymore.

Meanwhile, Trump is golfing this weekend at one of his own properties (of course), but not before telling reporters he single-handedly prevented nuclear war between India and Pakistan “through trade, not bullets.” This will be news to both India and Pakistan, who have publicly said Trump had nothing to do with the ceasefire. But as we’ve learned, nothing stands in the way of Trump and a good fake deal, especially when real diplomacy is too hard and real facts are too inconvenient.

The New York Times exposé on Musk’s drug use is still rippling through D.C., especially after Musk bizarrely denied “taking drugs” while admitting (again) that he’s used “prescription ketamine” to get out of dark mental holes. He blamed his now-infamous black eye on his five-year-old son punching him “as requested.” The mental health of the executive branch hasn’t just become a question, it’s now a Rorschach test, a tabloid subplot, and a diplomatic liability all at once.

In western North Carolina, the aftermath of Hurricane Helene is still being sorted through, months after a climate-fueled flood wiped out over 100,000 homes. River mud buried entire farming communities. Floodwaters submerged the River Arts District in Asheville up to the second floor. And as one local official put it, “We were supposed to be a climate refuge.” Now, those same officials are begging people to take inland storm warnings seriously as another hurricane season begins, one marked by a weakened FEMA, shuttered NOAA programs, and a president too busy accusing people of being clones to notice the weather.

The Trump administration has entered what legal experts are calling “extra cruelty mode.” ICE agents in full tactical gear, with stun guns and flashbangs, raided a popular South Park restaurant in San Diego this week, zip-tying staff and detaining immigrants mid-shift. As residents rushed to support their neighbors, sirens and armed agents confronted them. Agents deployed flashbangs against the crowd. Community leaders described the raid as “undermining trust and creating fear,” but Trump responded by posting a meme: a fleet of commercial jets with the caption “Let the deportations begin.”

In San Antonio, immigration courts became scenes of chaos as children, children, were zip-tied during a courthouse sting operation. ICE agents in Miami issued expedited deportation orders to migrants who had reported lawfully, or they tricked migrants into "case dismissals," instantly removing all their legal protections. In Manhattan, ICE agents raided Rep. Jerry Nadler’s congressional office and briefly detained his staff, citing vague threats and “harboring rioters.” As civil liberties groups scramble to respond, Trump’s top aide, Stephen Miller, is now openly advocating for the suspension of habeas corpus for undocumented immigrants if the courts don’t “obey” the administration.

High Country News paints a grim portrait of what’s left of the Forest Service’s research programs. Field scientists are literally begging other agencies for equipment to track endangered trout. Some are building fish traps by hand because Trump’s executive orders gutted their budgets mid-season. The same scientists who monitor invasive species, wildfire recovery, and ecological collapse are either being laid off or told to clean toilets in Yosemite because of hiring freezes. Nature, like democracy, is being privatized and ignored unless it can be mined or bulldozed.

And back in Washington, Trump’s trade policies remain under legal siege. Glenn Kirschner pointed out that the administration’s offer to “repay harmed businesses” for unconstitutional tariffs is not only a tacit admission of guilt, it’s a lie by omission, since consumers, not just importers, have been footing the bill through price hikes. And if you think the Supreme Court won’t notice the absurdity of that logic, even the Reagan-appointed judges are rolling their eyes.

As always, we’re left to choose between despair and dark humor. Joni Ernst, the Iowa senator caught mocking terrified constituents with “We’re all going to die,” offered a non-apology that turned into a sermon about Jesus and the tooth fairy. No mention of FEMA, Medicaid, or the right to survive natural disasters without a devotional. It's all part of the new MAGA messaging: accept collapse, find God, and please don’t ask for federal aid.

Fortunately, not everyone’s playing nice. Minnesota Governor Tim Walz put it plainly: “Maybe it’s time we bully the bully.” He’s not wrong. Because when your president is up at 11 p.m. posting about clone wars and your science agencies are duct-taping research together with borrowed fish tags, polite disagreement won’t cut it.

If this were happening in any other country, we’d be sending UN observers, not trying to explain it away.

Hold the line, mock the madness, and keep receipts.