Unstoppable, but for the dissidents

Trump is the political juggernaut, but we need the dissidents more than ever.

Wow, what a difference 61 days makes. At the hundred day mark, President Donald Trump had the wheels falling off, with his fraying relationship with DOGEmaster Elon Musk, court injunctions blocking many of his efforts, his legislative agenda facing major headwinds, Harvard University resisting his full-on attack, the markets in turmoil, and our allies questioning America’s leadership.

President Donald Trump and his national security team meet in the Situation Room of the White House, Saturday, June 21, 2025. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Waking up Monday, June 30, on Friday the markets hit a new record high, Canada just folded on its digital services tax, Iran is reeling and focused on finding internal spies after punishing U.S. strikes, Trump’s repeated calls for an end to Israel’s Gaza war are being increasingly heeded, and the “Big, Beautiful Bill” loaded with deficit spending that would make a progressive Abundance Agenda lobbyist squeal with glee is just a few arm-twists shy of passage through the Senate.

All that after a positively hagiographic NATO meeting where the president was hailed as “Daddy” and the alliance bent to his wishes. Trump is enjoying one of those Sun King moments where everything appears to be going his way. He had some of those shining days in his first term, but this term doesn’t compare in any practical way to those days. This term, Trump has loaded his administration with yes-men and yes-women, who bend to his will instead of challenging him. He has a competent and disciplined chief of staff who stays out of the limelight while remaining absolutely trustworthy (so far at least).

Trump’s legal battles end with more victories than they have in the past, or at least less outright losses. Even the notion that solid legal principles such as birthright citizenship might crack under Trump’s assault is, well, troubling. I don’t submit to the doctrine that peppers so much reporting in the anti-Trump genre, that all illegal aliens are victims because they are now afraid of deportation. People here illegally have no right not to fear legal jeopardy, or being sent to some other country they didn’t come from or live in. That’s how Congress meant our laws to work. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the law, at least for now.

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” is being shepherded by accounting tricks, parliamentary sleight-of-hand, and a generous helping of political hip-checking. Its momentum has caused Republican Thom Tillis, in his second term in the U.S. Senate, to announce he won’t be seeking a third. For a senator who is only 64 years old and in good health, that’s remarkable. Trump bristled at Tillis’ opposition to the budget bill, calling it a betrayal of Trump’s promises about Medicaid and saying Republicans are “about to make a mistake.” In response to Tillis’ decision to retire, Trump posted on Truth Social, “Great News!”

I think the bill will pass, and I’ve said so before. Tillis had his say, and the consequences of speaking his mind ring in the ears of every other Republican who might dare to speak theirs in defiance of something Trump wants. It is no longer about what’s best for America, as defined by debate and discussion of various viewpoints. It’s about what Trump wants, because he thinks it’s good for America, or at least he woke up today thinking that. What is always true is whatever happens to be good for America in Trump’s mind, is always good for Trump.

The other issues facing the Senate include the nomination of Emil Bove as a federal appeals judge in the Third Circuit. David French derided this move in a New York Times op-ed, writing that Bove “would be a problem for a very long time.” Bove is a close follower of Trump’s instructions, regardless of the legal consequences or crossing of bright lines of political influence. As deputy attorney general, French called Bove “an instrument of Trump’s vengeance.” As a federal judge, such a person could be expected to issue rulings in lockstep with the MAGA-Trump agenda.

Inside the government, and in boardrooms, bending to the will of the president, not because of his office, but because of the immense power of his threats, is becoming more the rule in this term than resistance was in Trump’s first term. It is the dissidents outside those halls who are making the best cases and keeping the voices of reason alive.

When I say “dissidents,” my definition does not include the cottage industry of Never Trumpers who have built media or political organizations in opposition to Trump. By that I mean The Bulwark, or the Lincoln Project. There are many times when those organizations have good analysis, and times when they are dead right. But their entire existence is dependent on opposing Trump, whatever he does. Nobody can be objective, and be a dissident, if they’ve got that kind of agenda.

My “dissidents” are people who hold to an agenda of truth, and the spirit of what it means to be American, in a political, social, legal, moral, and charitable sense. It may be right for the U.S. to bomb Iran in order to prevent that rogue state, which hates America, funds terrorism that kills Americans, and promises to wipe Israel from the map, from obtaining nuclear weapons. But it’s wrong to bomb Iran then claim credit for what Israel has accomplished over the last few decades fighting that battle. It’s also wrong to bomb Iran then sit at the negotiating table with them and their client/sponsor state, Russia, in order to make some deal that could undo all the reasons we bombed them in the first place.

David French is a dissident. So is Jonah Goldberg. Kevin D. Williamson is a dissident who, if he writes with a pen, the ink would etch steel, it’s so acid, when the topic is Trump. There are other dissidents, including Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton. I could make a larger list of dissidents, many of whom seem to be gathering in the New York Times editorial department or on Substack. I might not agree with specific things or opinions that these dissidents say or write every time, but I can count on them to tell the truth and not bend based on what Trump wants, or in opposition simply because Trump wants it.

By the way, and related, this is one of the reasons I think Substack is important. I realize that you, reading this, are “my” readers, but you’re really Substack users. Your eyeballs are theirs, and I’m just supplying them with content. The horde votes with its eyes, so I’m grateful to you all for reading The Racket News™ instead of all the other things you could be reading on this site. Thank you, genuinely. Our aim is to be objective, at least between David and me, along with others who publish in our space. We aim to be dissidents when needed, and analysts when we have data. Everything else is opinion. So with that, if you’re not a subscriber, please do:

As for being a dissident, it’s possibly the most important role a public figure can take in the rising tide of Trump. Dissidents bridge the gap between sycophants and irrational sky-screamers. Dissidents don’t bury the truth, but dig for the motivations, the reasoning, and the drivers behind what happens. Dissidents tie the seemingly irreconcilable opinions to ground, which leads to some striking conclusions in holding diametrical thoughts simultaneously.

It’s possible to oppose the “Big, Beautiful Bill” and at the same time be happy that the markets have recovered, and that illegal immigration at the border is down due to enforcement. It’s possible to cheer our bombing Iran, and be aware that our actions may not yield the results we want. It’s possible to be on board with the Supreme Court protecting laws from judicial overreach and oppose confirmation of federal judges who will do political fixer jobs for Trump.

It’s possible to be a dissident and also be objective in the things the Trump administration is doing. America needs its dissidents more than ever, because without them, just 161 days into his second term, Trump is looking more and more unstoppable. Combine that with his messianic delusions, and his (I believe sincere) belief that God saved his life from a sniper’s bullet for a divine purpose, we are going to be subject to his judgement—meaning “what’s good for the country”—for the foreseeable future, at least in the next few years.

I’m glad for the dissidents, and as more people exit politics, I am hoping for more of them. Also, please share our site with your friends.

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