Victory Day for Delusion

As the economy nosedives, Trump rewrites history, targets immigrants, and declares war on the legal system, again. But don’t worry, Shakespeare saw this coming.

Good morning from the United States of Gaslight & Glory, where the economy is built on faith, truth is a liability, and even Veterans Day isn’t safe from rebranding.

Trump, in a desperate bid to claim a victory amid the economic turmoil of his own making, is reaching back into history for a win. Via Truth Social proclamation, he suggested renaming Veterans Day to “Victory Day for World War I.” Yes, really. Because nothing says “thank you for your service” quite like erasing the point of the holiday and replacing it with a rah-rah nationalist branding exercise straight out of a mid-century propaganda reel. Don’t worry, he’s also gunning for May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II,” just in case you forgot America used to win wars before we started losing our grip on supply chains. According to Trump, we don’t celebrate enough. Apparently, he missed the part where military families grieve year-round and most veterans are too busy navigating the VA labyrinth to throw confetti.

Of course, while Trump was busy trying to rename Veterans Day to Victory Day for World War I, because he thinks history is just branding with a capital B, a real victory was unfolding quietly in the courts. Judge Beryl Howell, in a ruling that may one day appear in constitutional law textbooks, handed Trump not just a legal defeat, but a public rebuke dressed in the language of the Enlightenment and a firm grasp of Shakespeare.

Howell’s opinion in the case against Trump’s retaliatory executive order targeting the law firm Perkins Coie wasn’t just sharp, it was thunderous. She invoked Henry VI, the infamous “let’s kill all the lawyers” line, not as a joke, but as a warning. In Shakespeare’s telling, that line is the opening move of tyranny. Howell reminds us that Trump’s targeting of opposing counsel wasn’t some petty vendetta; it was an assault on the adversarial process itself. An attempt to punish those who defend the Constitution by labeling them enemies of the state.

And if you think Trump’s ever read Shakespeare, you probably also think he’s familiar with John Adams or Alexis de Tocqueville, both of whom Howell threads into her 100+ page opinion to trace a line from America’s founding ideals to the current fight to preserve them. Her ruling is sweeping: a permanent injunction and summary judgment. No trial. No dispute of fact. What Trump did was so blatantly unconstitutional that the court didn’t even need testimony. Just the facts, the law, and a judge who still remembers what tyranny looks like.

And let’s not miss the stakes. Perkins Coie fought back. Other firms, Paul Weiss, Skadden Arps, didn’t. They folded, fearful of retaliation. Howell’s ruling isn’t just a win for one law firm. It’s a reaffirmation that the legal system, at its best, must stand as a check on executive power, not an extension of it.

A Reuters investigation revealed that federal judges who ruled against Trump’s administration faced severe harassment, including threats to their families. At least 11 judges and their relatives were targeted following rulings on key issues such as immigration and education. The intimidation included death threats, doxxing, and menacing online posts often amplified by far-right figures like Laura Loomer and Elon Musk.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has made it crystal clear that America is closed for nuance. His new “Catch-and-Revoke” policy doesn’t just toe the authoritarian line, it pole vaults over it. One strike, and you’re out. That’s right: a traffic ticket could now mean the end of your visa. Under Rubio’s guidance, the State Department has apparently mistaken immigration law for a zero-tolerance Little League rulebook. “A visa is a privilege, not a right,” he declared, perhaps forgetting that civil society hinges on proportionality and due process, not TikTok-friendly slogans. Critics, including the libertarian Cato Institute, have called the policy “absurd.” We call it what it is: punishment as policy, cruelty as deterrent, and discrimination dressed in red, white, and blue.

But the cruelty doesn’t stop at our borders, it’s exported in ideology, too. Over in Romania, the latest far-right election redo has given us a glimpse into Europe’s version of MAGA cosplay. Meet Călin Georgescu, the so-called “TikTok Messiah,” and George Simion, the Kremlin’s favorite Romanian export since Dracula memes. Simion’s anti-EU candidacy is riding a wave of disinformation curated through a Telegram-fueled propaganda ecosystem that includes endorsements from Elon Musk and Tucker Carlson, because of course it does. Telegram is the new safe space for fascists who find Facebook too woke and actual debate too difficult.

Back on U.S. soil, the economic smoke and mirrors show continues. Trump’s 145% China tariffs are hitting toys, dolls, and child safety seats, because nothing screams “family values” like making it more expensive to protect your kids or buy them something that isn’t made from backyard scrap. Derek Thompson’s sharp analysis on The Bulwark pulls the mask off the economic gaslighting: these tariffs are pure performance, driving up costs while the administration blames Biden for a house fire Trump started with a flamethrower. Even more ironic? Trump slashed funding for science and innovation, including NIH and NSF research, while claiming to be pro-nuclear and pro-AI. Spoiler alert: you can’t innovate your way out of a recession when you’ve fired the scientists and deported the coders.

And speaking of AI and the future of labor: if you’re a white-collar worker under 30, beware. The AI job crunch is already starting to nibble at the entry-level tier, and there’s a growing drumbeat of nationalizing AI to rein in the chaos. According to Thompson, we’re likely 18 months from a serious national debate on this. Of course, by then, the labor market might be made up entirely of gig workers, influencers, and Uber Eats drivers with ChatGPT side hustles.

But while the world burns, at least Australia got it right. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese cruised to a historic second term while Peter Dutton, the Trump-aligned opposition leader, was unceremoniously ejected from Parliament. The Aussie electorate took one look at American-style populism, turned the lights off, and said, “Not today, mate.” It was a clear rejection of MAGA-style grievance politics, as voters chose cost-of-living relief and climate action over xenophobic sloganeering and crocodile-tears nationalism.

And finally, on a somber but vital note: World Press Freedom Day brings with it a gut-punch reminder of what truth costs in wartime. Kyiv Independent editor Olga Rudenko published a powerful tribute to journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was killed in Russian captivity after bravely reporting from occupied territory. Her mutilated body was returned to Ukraine missing key organs, a chilling attempt to obscure the torture she endured. Rudenko’s message was unflinching: if regimes are terrified enough to kill a journalist, then journalism is doing something right. Press freedom is in crisis globally, worsened by Trump’s defunding of USAID-backed media in Ukraine. But it’s also held aloft by readers and donors who still believe in the power of the pen.

So as we look ahead to the week, remember this: Trump’s economy may be built on tariffs, lies, and leveraged illusions, but our best weapon is still the truth, and the people willing to risk everything to tell it.