The United States of Donald Trump

Is that where we're heading?

Let’s see if I have this right. In just a few days this month, Donald Trump declared that CNN and MSNBC weren’t just biased — no, that would be too pedestrian — but actually illegal. That Biden’s pardons are "hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT,” as he shouted in an all caps post on Truth Social. And that a federal judge should be impeached, not for breaking the law or gross misconduct, but for issuing a ruling Trump didn’t like.

And yet, to his base, this is just another week in the beautiful world of Donald J. Trump.

No, Trump isn’t the first politician to play fast and loose with the truth, and he won’t be the last. And yes, most Americans don’t exactly trust the mainstream media. CNN and MSNBC have been carrying water for Democrats for years. If they were any further in the tank, they’d need scuba gear. So when Trump says “they’re really corrupt and they’re illegal, what do they do is illegal,” you have to wonder what he might have in mind — especially since he took aim at them in a speech at the Department of Justice. Is this a big deal? Not to his supporters who don’t fret about silly stuff like the First Amendment; they laugh, nod, and move on.

Same with Biden’s pardons as he was walking out of the Oval Office for the last time. They weren’t for low-level drug offenders who got a raw deal; they were for family and political friends. Trump knows that hammering those pardons resonates — and not only with the MAGA faithful.

And that judge’s ruling? The one that said Trump couldn’t simply deport criminal aliens without due process? Well, most Americans hear that and wonder, What’s the problem? If you’re in the country illegally and you’re committing crimes, why should you get a drawn-out legal battle? Again, Trump’s tapping into a real frustration.

But then we come to the bigger question: Is this just Trump firing up the base, or is there something more going on?