America has finally, finally, figured out en masse that Donald Trump himself is the disease, and did all it could to excise him with clarity.
The only issue remaining is that when Trump faces "problems," his only tool, the only solution of which he can conceive, is to throw "more Trump" at the debacle. He hits strategic limits upon deciding, "If brute force isn't working, it's because I'm not using enough."
See Stephen Miller being made his new chief of staff.
Others have now come to the same conclusion, except these others are within the Trump camp as currently constituted. Yes, according to a Bulwark report, it appears there might be a trilateral agreement to oust Trump or at least render him impotent... more impotent.
Based primarily on speculation regarding their actions, Jonathan V. Last posits that JD Vance, Don Trump Jr., and Tucker Carlson are, to some degree, operating together to fix a problem they know will only grow, absent an alternative.
He notes that Vance blamed the historic electoral loss on the war with Iran — of which the decision to start was unilaterally Trump's, a break in Article II hegemony. The cleanest break, not messy policy, the war. A break that Don Jr. immediately and unequivocally agrees with — it was the war, Trump's decision, nothing else. Meanwhile, the never-to-be-sufficiently-damned and suspected anti-Semite Tucker Carlson has always opposed the war and appears to be in cahoots with the other three.
The way the putsch organizers see it, they can still have it all. MAGA's strongest man in the bullpen, Vance, gets to be the next president. He has immediate cred with righty voters (such as they are), given that he wasn't the one who ordered the war — opposed it all along, if you read it right — and has support of the Trump family, which is where Don Jr. comes in. Meanwhile, Tucker plays the role of the intellectual, the coach, the disappointed CEO, standing off out of the way (for now), nodding, assuring others this is a good idea because it was always a bad idea to support Israel in a war, and thus proof Trump lost it long ago, something else Tucker noted previously.
What is "the end goal"? On that, things get a little fuzzy.
The group can go all the way from publicly demanding Trump step aside; they can huddle the Cabinet and utilize constitutional remedies — putting Vance in as at least temporary president — or form a government in waiting, an alternative in which Trump no longer has the one thing he demands above all else, loyalty.
Will it work?
Of course not. But first we better define what constitutes "working" as this plan's goal. With that, together, we're full circle. They understand that, as things stand, they'll lose in 2028, and there's no damn rule saying it can't be even worse. They understand that Trump will do nothing and is indeed fully incapable of addressing the issues (Has he yet accepted any personal role in this loss? None so far, no reason to believe that will change). In other words, "this" becomes the plan to save 2028. Thus it is doomed from the beginning, but they might do a lot to endanger whether this country ever sees 2028.
To be sure, first, there is an outside chance that Trump takes a survey of all his projects, sees that none are really close to completion, and decides that he's now really not having any fun anymore. He no longer owns libtards, rallies are stupid; he already has his own helicopter and plane anyway, plus it's almost winter and who wants to be in DC in winter? He might simply resign, attribute it to health reasons (he'd never concede he's been defeated), even be partly correct — he's bored to death.
The other options are more compelling as television, more terrifying as citizens.
The troika can approach Trump with their plan in private, likely be told to get bent, and only then go public. (As all know, Trump cannot fire Vance as an independently elected officer. He can demand Vance resign — not the worst idea from Vance's perspective — but Trump cannot fire Vance). If they go public, it is on. And right there, it gets dangerous.
As said, Trump can't react with introspection, restraint, adhering to good counsel — no, he promotes Miller; this is Donald Trump. He will go insane with the certainty that only more Trump will fix this. Even that is nothing really new; it can be 2 a.m. on a Tuesday and Trump will be medium to medium-well wholly out of control angry about something. This time, however, Trump will be fighting to demonstrate that he's president, he calls the shots, no one forces him out, and he still pushes all power buttons.
There are precious few harmless ways for an already reckless president to demonstrate total executive authority. One would not want to be Iran in such a situation because what's more "American president" than bombing someone who can't fight back? And he could go way, way overboard, something that gets The Hague's attention.
*One somewhat comforting fact: Trump is now so neutered (as predicted here long ago) that if he were to go too far, order a nuclear launch or massive land invasion, we could see revolts in the Pentagon — it's possible.
Trump could tell Blanche to arrest the traitors, perhaps charging them with treason, subject to the death penalty, unintentionally writing his own Shakespearean tragic comedy as he circles the drain. A nation that arrests people for simply challenging authority (It's not like Vance is rallying troops at the White House gates), that's a pretty sucky nation — right there with Venezuela if you think about it, no matter how close we may already appear as such, be as such.
An already somewhat addled Trump mind may become even less tethered to reality and start really drifting, unable to make even the most obvious orders from a president that might need to protect us from the obvious. After all, if the FBI gets word that Iran has assembled terrorist actors here within the U.S. (Or Israel does something similar, making it look like Iran, not impossible), we at least want a president aware of such and overseeing what experts tell him we need — but even that's not guaranteed, not if they threaten anything outside of Florida. Hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, tornadoes, all have a habit of showing up at the worst times — there couldn't be a worse time, or more blue states.
Vance could get cold feet, stepping back to let the two that aren't currently in the administration do most of the work — though he best be careful; word around the campfire is that Carlson may run for president and the first order of business in such a plan is to "pew-pew" the guy who would otherwise be the heir apparent, even with a Vance resignation, perhaps especially with a Vance resignation, putting more distance between himself and any Trump stench.
Trump would watch on in fury as he's more and more ignored, a condition that was coming without regard to a historic loss; being a lame duck is lame, especially for a self-obsessed dopamine addict.
If one were Vance, one would think that the best option is an intervention behind closed doors, nothing in public — until leaked, which may not be needed if done right. Vance can flatter; Trump has succeeded! He got rid of DEI, he's been ultra cruel to immigrants, he blew s*#* up, and, more than anything, he won again after 2020. It's already mission accomplished; let Vance take it from here. It all sucks anyway!
Trump may or may not know that his son stands behind him with a giant knife.
The odds of success depend almost solely on whether a lot more golf and a lot more money (He would demand a payday, of course) ensconced in Mar-a-Lago as President Emeritus sounds better than the Oval Office. They can lie and say he'll be consulted on everything, and they'll tell the public such, and if successful, never to speak to him again. Sadly, it all really does get down to how much fun the toddler really sees in his near future, his only future at his age.
The one unavoidable is the GOP will not even sniff the White House with a blue map, and Trump remains president.
It could be entertaining; it will be inherently dangerous to all of us. But watch Don Jr., see if he makes another comment. He must know that he has no future, either, if he doesn't divorce that fam fast. He is likely to be the most obvious weather vane.
The laughable part is that these three almost surely believe that the plan is a restart, giving them a real chance in 2028. Sure, J.D., sure. But feel free to give it all you got.
Trump is dangerous enough as is. Maybe this isn't necessarily more dangerous. Maybe even we can agree it's worth a shot. It's not like we're worried about their ultimate success.
Not anymore.
Jason Miciak is a Raw Story columnist, former editor at Occupy Democrats, author, attorney, consultant, and single parent girldad. Please follow on Bluesky, and he can be reached at jasonmiciak@gmail.com