"AUTOCRACY BY EXHAUSTION"

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Michael Cohen Mar 30

On this glorious Sunday, let me ask you something: How much more of this can you take? I mean it. Seriously. Another day, another headline that leaves you stunned, muttering, “What the actual fuck now?”; only for it to be quickly drowned out by tomorrow’s bigger, badder, more batshit-crazy scandal. The sheer volume of madness is becoming a weapon in and of itself. And the sad truth? It’s working. The chaos, the insanity; it’s the new normal.

Trump fatigue is real. And it’s deliberate.

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You can’t even finish processing the fallout from one international crisis before another one hits. Trump picks a fight with Ukraine, again. Not over their corruption or some principled stand on sovereignty, but because President Zelenskyy had the audacity to publicly criticize Trump’s half-assed “peace plan” that amounted to a full-on surrender to Vladimir Putin. Then there’s Canada, where Trump imposed trade tariffs so steep they’d make the Smoot-Hawley Act look like a charity bake sale. Canada! Our friendly neighbor. The one whose citizens apologize when you accidentally bump into them.

But that’s just the appetizer. Trump’s diplomatic brawling now includes Panama; yes, the tiny nation whose entire economy depends on a functioning canal. Trump accused them of allowing “pro-terrorist vessels” through the canal; a claim that not even his own State Department could corroborate. Then there’s Greenland. Yes, you read that right. Trump is once again muttering about buying Greenland, as if it were a goddamn timeshare in Boca. And when Denmark refuses to sell, he throws a fit and calls them “ungrateful.”

Mexico? They’ve got a different problem. The southern border is now a militarized zone. But it’s not just migrant caravans facing Trump’s wrath. It’s journalists, humanitarian workers, and even American citizens caught in the immigration dragnet. People with valid visas are being denied entry or outright deported if border officials decide they look “suspicious.”

And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse; it does.

The chaos doesn’t stop at the water’s edge. Trump’s domestic war machine is fully operational and expanding. The latest target? Foreign student visa holders. Their crime? Participating in protests. That’s right; international students exercising their First Amendment rights are now being rounded up by ICE, their visas revoked, and put on planes with no due process. No hearings. No calls to their embassies. Just gone. Why? Because Trump deemed it “illegal protest.” A vague, arbitrary term that now means anything he doesn’t like.

But why stop there? Trump’s mass deportation effort has reached new lows, extending beyond migrants to include immigrants with legal status, some with decades of residency. The message is clear: No one is safe. And, if you think by saying, “wait, I voted for Trump”, sorry and fuck you too. On your way out, remember the new ICE motto: Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

And if you think you’re safe because you’re a citizen, think again. Trump's policies are hollowing out the programs millions of Americans depend on. Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security; the so-called “third rail” of politics are now on the chopping block. Trump’s latest budget proposal slashes billions from these programs, calling them “wasteful entitlements.” Except they’re not entitlements. They’re earned benefits paid for by your hard-earned dollars. But to Trump, they’re just bargaining chips.

Farmers? Screwed. Government workers? Fired. Lawyers? Intimidated. The free press? Declared public enemy number one.

Here’s the kicker: No one can. No administration; no matter how seasoned or skilled could keep up this pace. No Congress could respond quickly enough. No courts could adjudicate fast enough. No watchdog group could investigate thoroughly enough. And that’s the point. Trump has weaponized the Department of Justice, turning it into his personal law firm and hit squad. Gone are the days of impartial investigations and even the illusion of independence. Now, the DOJ exists to fight for Trump, not against corruption.

Trump knows you’re tired. That’s part of the plan. The chaos, the confusion; it’s meant to be numbing. When you’re constantly on edge, trying to keep up, you become desensitized. The unthinkable becomes the everyday. You shrug at the outrageous. You sigh at the illegal. You yawn at the immoral. And that’s when he wins.

Trump has created a state of learned helplessness. He’s turned the country into a psychological war zone where the only way to survive is to keep your head down and your mouth shut. Speak out? You’re a target. Protest? You’re arrested. Share your outrage online? You’re doxxed.

The message is clear: Conform or be crushed. This isn’t democracy. It’s autocracy by exhaustion. The goal isn’t to win hearts and minds; it’s to break spirits. To make you so tired, so overwhelmed, so done that you stop caring.

That’s why he’s still holding rallies. Not because he needs to campaign, but because he needs to remind you who the strongman is. He needs the cheering crowds, the flags, the banners, the chants. It’s all part of the theater of dominance. Trump needs you to see the spectacle and know that the machine never stops. You get worn down. He grows stronger.

Here’s the truth: You’re supposed to feel this way. You’re supposed to feel helpless and hopeless. But you’re not. The only way Trump’s chaos machine works is if you let it. The moment you stop paying attention, stop resisting, stop demanding accountability; that’s when he wins.

You have to fight the fatigue. You have to recognize the chaos for what it is: a smokescreen designed to make you think resistance is futile. It’s not. The only thing more dangerous than Trump’s chaos is becoming numb to it.

Because once you stop being shocked, you stop being angry. And once you stop being angry, you stop fighting. And once you stop fighting, Trump doesn’t just win; he owns you.

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