A lot of Americans feel that AI churns out copious heaps of soulless excrement. In President Trump’s case, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Trump’s latest masterpiece of statesmanship is an AI video of himself flying a fighter jet and dumping poop on protesters—because nothing says “leader of the free world” like a digital diarrhea diaper tantrum. It’s less political messaging and more toddler art project: finger paint meets fascism. Somewhere, a preschooler is watching this and thinking, “wow, what a child.”
It’s the kind of political messaging you’d expect from a man whose emotional range runs from rage-tweet to bathroom humor. The video’s goal is simple: to smear dissenters while giving his fans the thrill of watching their golden idol unload on democracy. It’s infantile, grotesque, and, totally on brand.
Some presidents build coalitions; Trump builds fecal fighter jets. The “poop drop” video isn’t propaganda so much as performance therapy for a leader who can’t distinguish governance from bathroom wall graffiti. America asked for leadership; it got potty time at Mar-a-Lago.
But, Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic argues that this isn’t mere juvenile trolling. It’s textbook authoritarian psy-ops with better special effects. Mock, smear, infantilize your critics so your own supporters won’t want to be seen standing next to them—“you wouldn’t want to be covered in excrement, would you?”—and presto, persuasion via humiliation. It’s the same playbook Putin and other strongmen have used for years, only now with cheaper CGI and louder outraged replies.
The stunt does three things at once: it mocks dissent, signals to wavering insiders that protests are toxic, and normalizes escalating abuse as “political theater.” From there it can go soft (protests fizzle), nastier (bureaucratic punishment and legal harassment), or—if protesters don’t blink—political organization and coalition-building that actually scares the regime.
Bottom line: Trump didn’t invent the authoritarian smear; he just put it on a Truth Social loop, added fireworks, and dared the rest of the country to join the circus. The question now is whether Americans will laugh, wade through the muck, or start building umbrellas.

Jack Ohman – Substack and Tribune Content Agency
Within days of experts warning that the White House ballroom project required careful deliberation, demolition crews were already chewing through the East Wing like it was an expired Trump steak.
Historic preservationists begged for oversight, process, and a schematic plan; the Trump team countered with its own design philosophy: get out of the way of our wrecking ball. The Society of Architectural Historians reminded everyone that the White House is a “national treasure.” The administration reminded everyone that pearls are for clutching, not for stopping “a bold, visionary addition” to history’s classiest foreclosure.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom—nearly twice the size of the residence—is being “privately funded,” which, in Trumpian terms, means funded by whoever’s left holding the check. Critics fear the ballroom will dwarf the mansion; supporters insist the Founding Fathers would’ve loved a little more gold leaf.
Even conservative architecture critics admitted worry that the new addition might make the White House look like the world’s fanciest Atlantic City buffet. But Trump loyalists assure Americans that, once finished, it’ll be the most “beautiful, tremendous, and totally legal” ballroom ever built without a single review meeting.
So the East Wing falls, the preservationists faint, and America’s executive mansion gets its very own monument to unchecked ego: a metaphor in marble, mirror, and gilt (not to be mistaken with guilt, which requires a conscience).

Walt Haldelsman – Tribune Content Agency

Christopher Weyant – caglecartoons.com/cartoonist/christopher-weyan

John Darkow – cagle.com/cartoonist/john-darkow

A lot of Americans feel that AI churns out copious heaps of soulless excrement. In President Trump’s case, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Trump’s latest masterpiece of statesmanship is an AI video of himself flying a fighter jet and dumping poop on protesters—because nothing says “leader of the free world” like a digital diarrhea diaper tantrum. It’s less political messaging and more toddler art project: finger paint meets fascism. Somewhere, a preschooler is watching this and thinking, “wow, what a child.”
It’s the kind of political messaging you’d expect from a man whose emotional range runs from rage-tweet to bathroom humor. The video’s goal is simple: to smear dissenters while giving his fans the thrill of watching their golden idol unload on democracy. It’s infantile, grotesque, and, totally on brand.
Some presidents build coalitions; Trump builds fecal fighter jets. The “poop drop” video isn’t propaganda so much as performance therapy for a leader who can’t distinguish governance from bathroom wall graffiti. America asked for leadership; it got potty time at Mar-a-Lago.
But, Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic argues that this isn’t mere juvenile trolling. It’s textbook authoritarian psy-ops with better special effects. Mock, smear, infantilize your critics so your own supporters won’t want to be seen standing next to them—“you wouldn’t want to be covered in excrement, would you?”—and presto, persuasion via humiliation. It’s the same playbook Putin and other strongmen have used for years, only now with cheaper CGI and louder outraged replies.
The stunt does three things at once: it mocks dissent, signals to wavering insiders that protests are toxic, and normalizes escalating abuse as “political theater.” From there it can go soft (protests fizzle), nastier (bureaucratic punishment and legal harassment), or—if protesters don’t blink—political organization and coalition-building that actually scares the regime.
Bottom line: Trump didn’t invent the authoritarian smear; he just put it on a Truth Social loop, added fireworks, and dared the rest of the country to join the circus. The question now is whether Americans will laugh, wade through the muck, or start building umbrellas.

Jack Ohman – Substack and Tribune Content Agency
Within days of experts warning that the White House ballroom project required careful deliberation, demolition crews were already chewing through the East Wing like it was an expired Trump steak.
Historic preservationists begged for oversight, process, and a schematic plan; the Trump team countered with its own design philosophy: get out of the way of our wrecking ball. The Society of Architectural Historians reminded everyone that the White House is a “national treasure.” The administration reminded everyone that pearls are for clutching, not for stopping “a bold, visionary addition” to history’s classiest foreclosure.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom—nearly twice the size of the residence—is being “privately funded,” which, in Trumpian terms, means funded by whoever’s left holding the check. Critics fear the ballroom will dwarf the mansion; supporters insist the Founding Fathers would’ve loved a little more gold leaf.
Even conservative architecture critics admitted worry that the new addition might make the White House look like the world’s fanciest Atlantic City buffet. But Trump loyalists assure Americans that, once finished, it’ll be the most “beautiful, tremendous, and totally legal” ballroom ever built without a single review meeting.
So the East Wing falls, the preservationists faint, and America’s executive mansion gets its very own monument to unchecked ego: a metaphor in marble, mirror, and gilt (not to be mistaken with guilt, which requires a conscience).

Walt Haldelsman – Tribune Content Agency

Christopher Weyant – caglecartoons.com/cartoonist/christopher-weyan

John Darkow – cagle.com/cartoonist/john-darkow

A lot of Americans feel that AI churns out copious heaps of soulless excrement. In President Trump’s case, that’s exactly what the doctor ordered.
Trump’s latest masterpiece of statesmanship is an AI video of himself flying a fighter jet and dumping poop on protesters—because nothing says “leader of the free world” like a digital diarrhea diaper tantrum. It’s less political messaging and more toddler art project: finger paint meets fascism. Somewhere, a preschooler is watching this and thinking, “wow, what a child.”
It’s the kind of political messaging you’d expect from a man whose emotional range runs from rage-tweet to bathroom humor. The video’s goal is simple: to smear dissenters while giving his fans the thrill of watching their golden idol unload on democracy. It’s infantile, grotesque, and, totally on brand.
Some presidents build coalitions; Trump builds fecal fighter jets. The “poop drop” video isn’t propaganda so much as performance therapy for a leader who can’t distinguish governance from bathroom wall graffiti. America asked for leadership; it got potty time at Mar-a-Lago.
But, Anne Applebaum in The Atlantic argues that this isn’t mere juvenile trolling. It’s textbook authoritarian psy-ops with better special effects. Mock, smear, infantilize your critics so your own supporters won’t want to be seen standing next to them—“you wouldn’t want to be covered in excrement, would you?”—and presto, persuasion via humiliation. It’s the same playbook Putin and other strongmen have used for years, only now with cheaper CGI and louder outraged replies.
The stunt does three things at once: it mocks dissent, signals to wavering insiders that protests are toxic, and normalizes escalating abuse as “political theater.” From there it can go soft (protests fizzle), nastier (bureaucratic punishment and legal harassment), or—if protesters don’t blink—political organization and coalition-building that actually scares the regime.
Bottom line: Trump didn’t invent the authoritarian smear; he just put it on a Truth Social loop, added fireworks, and dared the rest of the country to join the circus. The question now is whether Americans will laugh, wade through the muck, or start building umbrellas.

Jack Ohman – Substack and Tribune Content Agency
Within days of experts warning that the White House ballroom project required careful deliberation, demolition crews were already chewing through the East Wing like it was an expired Trump steak.
Historic preservationists begged for oversight, process, and a schematic plan; the Trump team countered with its own design philosophy: get out of the way of our wrecking ball. The Society of Architectural Historians reminded everyone that the White House is a “national treasure.” The administration reminded everyone that pearls are for clutching, not for stopping “a bold, visionary addition” to history’s classiest foreclosure.
The 90,000-square-foot ballroom—nearly twice the size of the residence—is being “privately funded,” which, in Trumpian terms, means funded by whoever’s left holding the check. Critics fear the ballroom will dwarf the mansion; supporters insist the Founding Fathers would’ve loved a little more gold leaf.
Even conservative architecture critics admitted worry that the new addition might make the White House look like the world’s fanciest Atlantic City buffet. But Trump loyalists assure Americans that, once finished, it’ll be the most “beautiful, tremendous, and totally legal” ballroom ever built without a single review meeting.
So the East Wing falls, the preservationists faint, and America’s executive mansion gets its very own monument to unchecked ego: a metaphor in marble, mirror, and gilt (not to be mistaken with guilt, which requires a conscience).

Walt Haldelsman – Tribune Content Agency

Christopher Weyant – caglecartoons.com/cartoonist/christopher-weyan

John Darkow – cagle.com/cartoonist/john-darkow