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Joe Raedle

The Very Stable Genius is glitching again.

This week, he announced that he is not — repeat, NOT — planning to repeal the Affordable Care Act. He apparently forgot that he had vowed over and over again to do exactly that, saying as recently as a few months ago that Republicans “<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/27/trump-repeal-obamacare/" target=_blank>should never give up</a>” on efforts to “terminate” Obamacare.

“I’m not running to terminate the ACA, AS CROOKED JOE BUDEN DISINFORMATES AND MISINFORMATES ALL THE TIME,” the Republican nominee <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112163485572377413" target=_blank>wrote this week</a> on his Truth Social platform. Rather, he said, he wants to make Obamacare better for “OUR GREST AMERICAN CITIZENS.”

Joe Buden disinformates and misinformates? For a guy trying to make an issue of his opponent’s mental acuity, this was not, shall we say, a grest look.

The previous day, Trump held a news conference at which he nailed some equally puzzling planks onto his platform.

“We’ll bring crime back to law and order,” he announced.

Also: “We just had Super Tuesday, and we had a Tuesday after a Tuesday already.”

And, most peculiar of all: “You can’t have an election in the middle of a political season.”

If he can’t recall that elections frequently do overlap with political seasons, then he surely can’t be expected to remember what was happening at this point in 2020. “ARE YOU BETTER OFF THAN YOU WERE FOUR YEARS AGO?” he <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/24/trump-2020-better-off-covid/" target=_blank>asked last week</a>. The poor fellow must have forgotten all about the economic collapse and his administration’s catastrophic bungling of the pandemic.

Or maybe he didn’t forget. Maybe he’s just hoping the rest of us will forget. In a sense, Trump’s prospects for 2024 rely on Americans experiencing mass memory loss: Will we forget just how crazy things were when he was in the White House? And will we forget about the even crazier things he has said he would do if he gets back there?

This week, the Supreme Court heard arguments from anti<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/abortion/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">abortion</a> forces who want to ban mifepristone, the pill used in about 60 percent of abortions. But just as the justices were taking up the case, Trump’s own proposal to ban the abortion pill vanished.

Will Oliver

The Heritage Foundation-run Project 2025, to which Trump has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/11/05/trump-revenge-second-term/" target=_blank>unofficially outsourced</a> policymaking for a second term, <a href="https://x.com/josephzeballos/status/1772624232385540315?s=20" target=_blank>said that a “glitch”</a> had caused its policies — including those embracing a mifepristone ban — to <a href="https://x.com/citizenwillis/status/1772615948953927879?s=20" target=_blank>disappear from its website</a>. The Biden campaign said it was “calling BS on Trump and his allies’ shameless attempt to hide their agenda,” and the missing documents returned — including the language calling abortion pills <a href="https://thf-reports.s3.amazonaws.com/Proj2025/2025_MandateForLeadership_TEXT.pdf" target=_blank>“the single greatest threat to unborn children”</a> and vowing to withdraw regulatory approval for the drugs.

About 7<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/26/why-supreme-court-abortion-pill-case-is-so-fraught-right/" target=_blank> in 10 Americans</a> believe the abortion pill should be legal. So it’s easy to see why Trump might wish to erase his plan to ban the pill — just as he would like to erase his calls for the repeal of Obamacare, which has the support of <a href="https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/poll-finding/5-charts-about-public-opinion-on-the-affordable-care-act/" target=_blank>6 in 10</a> Americans.

The extremism isn’t just at Project 2025, stocked with former Trump advisers. The House Republican Study Committee, which <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/21/republican-budget-retirement-ivf/" target=_blank>counts 80 percent of House Republicans</a> as members, put out a budget last week that would rescind approval of mifepristone, dismantle the “failed Obamacare experiment” and embrace a nationwide abortion ban from the moment of conception.

Trump and some vulnerable congressional Republicans might wish that Americans will forget such things by November. But it’s all there in black and white.

Trump is a man of greatness. So says Trump. “It is my great honor to be at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach tonight, AWARDS NIGHT, to receive the CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY &amp; THE SENIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY,” he proclaimed over the weekend. “I WON BOTH!”

So much winning. “Congratulations, Donald,” <a href="https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1772084227200164325" target=_blank>President Biden tweeted</a>. “Quite the accomplishment.”

Trump won a more significant victory on Monday, when an appellate panel reduced the bond he needs to post as he appeals a fraud verdict against him to $175 million from $454 million. Trump didn’t have enough cash to secure the larger bond. But at a news conference he assured reporters that he was still really, really rich: “I have a lot of money ... I don’t need to borrow money. I have a lot of money. … I have a lot of cash. … I have a lot of cash and a great company. … I have very low debt. … I built a phenomenal company that’s very low leverage, unbelievably low leverage with a lot of cash, a lot of everything else.”

Trump seemed particularly hurt that the judge in the fraud case valued Mar-a-Lago at $18 million, he said, when “half of the living room is worth more than that. So it’s worth anywhere from 50 to 100 times that amount.”

Give that man $1.8 billion for Mar-a-Lago, and another trophy.

Actually, Trump’s supporters have already given him about $5 billion this week — at least on paper — for doing nothing at all. His Truth Social went public, and even though it had a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/03/27/truth-social-stock-facebook-twitter-ipo" target="_blank">loss of $49 million</a> in the first nine months of 2023 on revenue of just $3.4 million, it was valued at more than $8 billion. That’s because Trump’s fans, wanting a piece of the action, <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/trumps-truth-social-stock-soaring-company-losing-money/story?id=108540021" target="_blank">bid up the price</a>. The stock in the company will almost certainly collapse. The only question is whether Trump can unload his shares before then (he’s supposed to keep them for six months) and leave his supporters once again holding the bag.

Trump uses Truth Social to <a href="https://www.meidastouch.com/news/trump-scrubs-affairs-while-married-to-melania-from-national-review-article" target=_blank>post doctored articles</a> about him that omit negative details, and now he’s making up stuff <i>about</i> Truth Social. He said he didn’t list the company on the New York Stock Exchange because it would be “treated too badly in New York” by Democratic officeholders. So he instead listed the company on Nasdaq, which is based in … New York. Trump said the “top person” at the NYSE “is mortified. … He said, ‘I’m losing business.’ ” As <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/25/politics/fact-check-trump-nyse-truth-social-story/index.html" target=_blank>CNN pointed out</a>, neither the president nor the chair of the exchange is a “he.”

Brendan McDermid

Trump must not have a lot of faith that he’ll make off with his billions before the Truth Social bubble bursts, because he’s actively seeking other ways to grift. This week he started hawking Bibles.

“Happy Holy Week! Let’s Make America Pray Again,” Trump posted. “As we lead into Good Friday and Easter, I encourage you to get a copy of the God Bless the USA Bible.” He <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112162741690113521" target=_blank>directed his supporters</a> to a website selling the Good Book for $59.99 a copy.

The website boasts: “Yes, this is the only Bible endorsed by President Trump!” Read on and you find out that the Bible-mongers are using Trump’s name and likeness <a href="https://godblesstheusabible.com/?sld=trump" target=_blank>“under paid license from CIC Ventures LLC,”</a> a company owned by Trump.

Trump is getting kickbacks for selling the Gospel — marketing God the same way he sold Trump-branded “Never Surrender High-Tops” sneakers last month for $399 a pair and, before that, digital trading cards showing Trump as a superhero.

“All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many. It’s my favorite book,” Trump said in the video promoting his new bible hustle.

Trump has an arms-length relationship with the Bible, which he brandished outside a church near Lafayette Square after protesters were dispersed with tear gas; he once referred to a passage from Second Corinthians as “Two Corinthians” and, at another point, couldn’t come up with a favorite Bible verse.

But the man does have a God complex. His campaign has promoted a video at rallies announcing that “God Gave us Trump.” He has called himself “the chosen one” and has shared a post calling him “the second greatest” after Jesus.

This week, Trump shared another post with a verse from Psalms, topped by a message <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112156804755767402" target=_blank>likening Trump’s suffering in the fraud case to the Crucifixion</a>: “It’s ironic that Christ walked through His greatest persecution the very week they are trying to steal your property from you,” the message said, along with Trump’s reply: “Beautiful, thank you!”

A crucial difference, however, is that Jesus was not facing a trial over hush money paid to a porn actress. The judge in that case, Juan Merchan, said the trial will begin on April 15. Trump responded to this news by attacking the judge because his daughter works for a Democratic consulting firm. The judge <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/03/26/trump-gag-order-hush-money-trial/?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=wp_news_alert_revere&location=alert" target=_blank>slapped a gag order</a> on Trump blocking him from harassing jurors and people who work for the judge or for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and their families. Trump <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2024/03/27/trump-targets-hush-money-judges-daughter-one-day-after-gag-order-.html" target=_blank>responded with another attack</a> on the judge and his daughter (who weren’t included in the gag order). Merchan is “suffering from an acute case of Trump Derangement Syndrome,” Trump said of the judge, postulating that “maybe the Judge is such a hater because his daughter makes money by working to ‘Get Trump.’”

If there is a trophy for pretrial self-sabotage, Trump wins that one, too.

Trump’s stranglehold on the Republican Party grew yet tighter this week. The Post’s Josh Dawsey reported that those seeking employment at the Republican National Committee have been asked during job interviews whether they <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/03/26/rnc-2020-election-stolen-trump-hiring/" target=_blank>believe the 2020 election was stolen</a>. (The correct answer, from the RNC’s perspective, is “Hell yes.”)

Trump daughter-in-law Lara Trump, installed as RNC co-chair this month as part of a pro-Trump purge, this week brought Scott Presler to party headquarters. <a href="https://twitter.com/LaraLeaTrump/status/1772712173036347667?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet" target=_blank>“Exciting things to come!”</a> she promised. No doubt: Presler was on the Capitol grounds on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Jan. 6</a>, 2021, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/scott-presler-conspiracy-theories-lara-trump-rnc-job-rcna144144" target=_blank>promotes QAnon conspiracy ideas</a>, planned “stop the steal” events and organized “March Against Sharia” protests in his work for an anti-Islam group.

As for the Trump effort to win over disenchanted Nikki Haley voters, Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman reported in the New York Times that he has opted to “bypass any sort of reconciliation” with her. Said former Trump adviser Steve Bannon: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/26/us/politics/trump-haley-gop-voters.html" target=_blank>“Screw Nikki Haley — we don’t need her endorsement.”</a>

But the MAGA takeover goes far deeper than personnel. Consider the wild conspiracy theories that came from the Trump crowd right after a massive cargo ship lost power and struck Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, collapsing it. “Is this an intentional attack or an accident?” <a href="https://x.com/mtgreenee/status/1772663041445724654?s=20" target=_blank>asked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene </a>(R-Ga.), demanding an investigation. Fox’s Maria Bartiromo <a href="https://www.publicnotice.co/p/baltimore-bridge-collapse-maga-unhinged-response" target=_blank>invited speculation</a> about the “potential for foul play, given the wide-open border.” Others blamed <a href="https://www.deseret.com/utah/2024/03/26/phil-lyman-baltimore-bridge-collapse-diversity/" target=_blank>racial-diversity policies</a>.

Nothing shows the thoroughness of the MAGA takeover of the GOP as well as the House’s Republican Study Committee budget. The group is the GOP mainstream now, counting some 172 of the 218 House Republicans as members, including many from swing districts and five — Juan Ciscomani and David Schweikert (Ariz.), Mike Garcia (Calif.), Don Bacon (Neb.) and Brandon Williams (N.Y.) — from districts Biden won.

Yet here the RSC is, embracing a nationwide abortion ban without exceptions; a ban on the abortion pill; an increase in the retirement age for Social Security; defunding the police (through cuts to the Community Oriented Policing Services program); ending Amtrak funding and selling it off; eliminating broadband provided by the Affordable Connectivity Program; and blocking the “red flag” provisions that keep guns from dangerous people.

This is what Republicans will do next year if Trump wins the White House and Republicans control Congress. Don’t forget it.

White House Correspondent Association's Beckman Award

National Press Club's Gingras Prize

Tears of a Clown: Glenn Beck and the Tea Bagging of America (Doubleday, 2010)

Homo Politicus (Doubleday, 2008)

Smashmouth (Basic Books, 2001)

The Destructionists: The Twenty-Five-Year Crack-Up of the Republican Party (Doubleday, 2022)

Yale University, BA cum laude in political science

Dana Milbank is an opinion columnist for The Washington Post. He sketches the foolish, the fallacious and the felonious in politics. His new book is “The Destructionists: The 25-Year Crackup of the Republican Party” (Doubleday). 

Dana Milbank

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