24 January 2026
When Legitimacy Fails
Despite the impending winter storm, I am fortunate enough to write this from the relative safety of my home and my community. However, I feel that sense of safety and security is beginning to evaporate.
Exactly one year ago, I started writing about my fears and trepidations posed by the impending Trump-Vance administration. The article was not meant to cause panic, but to alert people to two objective truths: no one is coming to save you and the time to prepare is now. Most of us knew that the campaign promises espoused by Donald Trump would spell out doom for the majority of Americans and people residing within its territories. I’ll admit that at times I fell for the doomerism that social media algorithms relentlessly pushed in an effort to grind dissent into submission. The administration wanted us to capitulate. They wanted us to believe in their bullshit “mandate” and accept that the federal government would govern unchecked by the institutions and checks and balances that have kept our democracy alive for 250 years.
They were wrong.
We all observed as a truly incompetent president stumbled his way through increasingly scandalous behavior and corruption. We took to the streets multiple times to oppose the regime during the “No Kings” rallies. We banded together to warn our neighbors of ICE activity. We critiqued and ridiculed MAGA every chance we got as we voted down their policies and voted in democratic representatives to replace the GOP.
In my previous writings, I argued the era of MAGA was nearing its end. I truly think that as Trump continued to fail his way through his second first year as president that the administration would continue to find ways to alienate the general public and America’s allies in their quest to homogenize power and further enrich themselves. If the extinction-burst theory is correct, fascism in the United States is nearing its peak. We are now witnessing the sharp decrescendo of the cult of MAGA and Donald J. Trump.
The recent ICE operations centered around Minnesota have become the flashpoint for that prediction and the future of the United States, marking an escalation in the political warfare being waged against rivals and dissidents. It was always meant to be brutal, Trump and his cronies want to appear tough, to appear in control, and to intimidate the rest of the country with strongman tactics characteristic of secret police forces in line with fascist regimes. It was a fine line for MAGA to walk; appear too soft on enforcement and risk being perceived as weak, be too brutal and risk crossing a line the Trump-Vance administration may not have the moral or political fortitude to endure – and for that they would be right. Except, they were wrong.
The Rubicon has been crossed.
The murder of Renee Nicole Good was a tragedy, but it could have been written off as an accident, something that should never have happened. However, the administration doubled down, they boldly announced that an American citizen, a white mother, and widow to a United States Navy sailor, was a dangerous liberal, a professional agitator and a threat to the brave ICE agents who were most assuredly not harassing her in the moments leading up to, and after her death. There was a chance for Trump to walk it back, to apologize and de-escalate. Instead, he chose to blame the victim and assure “complete immunity” to federal agents as they continued to conduct actions that amount to state-sponsored terrorism.
In this aftermath, we all grew incredibly cautious and vigilant, but remained optimistic that this would be the height of the violence. In those moments something clicked for millions of Americans on the left. We found renewed value in the Constitution’s Second Amendment – the right to bear arms and the inherent right to self-defense. Many began to embrace what the left had long since abhorred, for it is one of the few remaining ways to mount opposition to the belligerent Trump-Vance regime. Then ICE decided to murder another American citizen, Alex Jeffrey Pretti.
Enough is enough.
“The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” President Trump and Vice President Vance have flouted the rule of law and dismissed any pretext that they were elected to serve the Constitution, the public interest, or the democratic norms that legitimize their authority. They are a representation of state-sponsored terrorism masquerading under the guise of patriotism and civic virtue.
Instead, MAGA and the GOP sycophants have cheered as the inalienable rights to free speech, to bear arms, protections against unreasonable search and seizure, and due process have been trampled by a duly elected, belligerent, and increasingly illegitimate president.
Now is the time for Americans to denounce the abuses of the Trump-Vance administration. Protesting alone is not enough, and performative social media posting is an empty gesture. We must reclaim the core tenets of the Constitution and a definition of patriotism rooted in accountability, civic duty, and collective action. This path is not easy; it is uncomfortable, it requires sacrifice, but we can no longer afford to let the United States of America descend into authoritarianism. Organize locally, take responsibility for the safety and resilience of your families and communities, and demand action from your political representatives. This We’ll Defend.
Sic Semper Tyrannis
-Major DAD, out.