03/25/2026
Credit: Michael Jochum
"... Trump is not just unfit for office, he is a walking repudiation of what leadership is supposed to be. A bigot, a misogynist, a xenophobic showman who mistakes attention for respect and dominance for wisdom. He lies reflexively, compulsively, even about his own lies, and stands at the podium as the most unprepared, unqualified, and unhinged figure ever to occupy it, mentally unstable, morally bankrupt, and utterly devoid of the qualities that define a leader. And yet, here we are. Not only did he win once, but through a grotesque cocktail of billionaire influence, systemic distortion, and tens of millions who see themselves reflected in his worst instincts, he clawed his way back again. The nightmare didn’t just return, it was reaffirmed. Because Trump is not the disease. He is the symptom. The deeper sickness is a culture that rewards ignorance, celebrates cruelty, and confuses rage with righteousness. That’s the part that lingers, that echoes long after the insults fade, the realization that millions looked at this man, sneering and flailing and mocking the very idea of intelligence itself, and said, “Yes. That’s our voice.” And that, more than anything he says about anyone else, is the indictment that should keep us all awake."
—Michael Jochum
Not Just a Drummer: Reflections on Art, Politics, Dogs, and the Human Condition
