A weekend of pro-democracy protests as MAGA civil war rages

December 22, 2025

The weekend news was dominated by Trump’s botched effort to conceal his starring role in the Epstein files. Meanwhile, JD Vance spoke at the most recent battlefield of the ongoing MAGA civil war, Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA conference, where Vance resurrected white supremacist rhetoric and refused to condemn the rampant antisemitism in the MAGA movement. The US military buildup continues around Venezuela despite any authorization from Congress. And, finally, the darling of the tech-bro billionaires’ club, former Substack author Bari Weiss, killed a CBS 60 Minutes report on El Salvador’s infamous CECOT prison.

House Minority Leader Hakeen Jeffries predicted that Democrats would gain enough Republican support to pass an extension of the ACA premium subsidies in January. Kudos to Jeffries for not giving up the fight and for keeping the issue front and center as we head into the 2026 midterms.

Meanwhile, members of the grassroots movement were deployed across America, protesting in support of democracy and against the dictatorial aspirations of Trump and his white nationalist enablers. Everything Trump and Vance are doing is driving down Trump’s favorability ratings—except at the extreme fringes of the MAGA base. So, while the predominance of Trump stories makes the news cycle feel noxious, Democrats are doing everything they can to leverage Trump’s missteps and criminality into electoral advantage.

Trump’s botched cover-up of the Epstein files release

The DOJ fell spectacularly short of the statutory requirements for releasing the Epstein files. But even the DOJ’s deficient efforts were botched in a way that revealed a cover-up. Internet sleuths noted that one photo showed Epstein’s desk with two pictures of Trump visible in the upper left desk drawer. The Trump administration removed that photo—and fifteen other files-without notice to the public.

When the public noticed the after-the-fact omissions, multiple outlets claimed that the removal of photos featuring Trump violated the terms of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Todd Blanche defended the removal of the photo during an interview with Kristen Welker on Meet the Press.

Blanche asserted that the photo was taken down to protect the identity of the victims. Welker astutely asked, “So the women in the photo with Trump were victims?” Several hours later, the photo was restored online, with an explanation that it did not include any victims. See CNBC, Epstein files: DOJ restores Trump photo after backlash.

The episode suggests that the DOJ intended to remove all photos of Trump. When a photo escaped notice of the reviewers, the DOJ retroactively withheld the photo until it was caught in the act of protecting Trump. The DOJ then had no choice but to release the photo—which had already been downloaded hundreds of times.

Todd Blanche needs to be hauled before Congress and asked the following question over and over until he gives a direct answer: Did the DOJ withhold photos that included Trump or redact his image from photos? It is apparent to all fair-minded observers that the answer to that question is “Yes,” as demonstrated by today’s episode.

But it gets worse. An assistant in White House press office posted photos of Michael Jackson and Diana Ross with several children. But the photo WAS NOT part of the Epstein file release. It was, instead, a picture of Michael Jackson and his two children with Diana Ross and her son at a charity unconnected to Epstein.

The White House press office assistant tried to create confusion and misleading information by releasing a spurious photo of celebrities on the day of the Epstein files release. See HuffPo, White House Deputy Press Secretary Called Out For Falsifying Michael Jackson, Diana Ross Photos In Epstein Files.

Per HuffPo,

Abigail Jackson posted a photo falsely implying the stars (Jackson and Ross) were with Epstein’s victims despite the image being a publicly available fundraiser photo featuring the pop star and Ross’ own children.

The effort to conceal Trump’s involvement in Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes is only focusing attention on Trump. It will continue to do so until there is a complete and fair release of all information that meets the criteria for disclosure under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. See CNN Politics, Slow pace of Epstein disclosures sets off new storm to batter Trump.

Trump continues to tell us he will invade Venezuela. We should believe him.

Trump has said dozens of times over the last several weeks that the US forces are preparing for land-based attacks on Venezuela. We should believe him. An article in the publication Military.com describes the massive military buildup of US forces near Venezuela. See Military.com A Look at the US Military’s Unusually Large Force Near Venezuela.

The Navy has 11 warships in the region — the nation’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, as well as five destroyers, three amphibious assault ships, and two cruisers.

A squadron of advanced U.S. Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II jets has been sent to an airstrip in Puerto Rico. The planes were first spotted landing on the island territory in mid-September

While officials have not offered specific numbers, destroyers and cruisers typically deploy with a missile loadout that contains Tomahawk cruise missiles, which can strike hundreds of miles from their launch point.

A U.S. Navy submarine also is operating in the broader area of South America and is capable of carrying and launching cruise missiles.

Foreign land wars are almost always unpopular in the US (over time) and often turn out to be more challenging to execute than war games suggest. (Ask Russia.)

Trump should ask for authority from Congress to commence hostilities against Venezuela. It is likely that Congress would deny his request. . . . but he will proceed nonetheless. Trump is violating the Constitution every day he is in office. We must impeach him at the first opportunity.

JD Vance speaks at Turning Point USA event, resorts to white supremacist language and refuses to condemn antisemitic forces in MAGA.

A MAGA civil war erupted at the annual convention of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA. Vice President JD Vance spoke at the convention over the weekend. During the speech, he used a well-worn white supremacist trope—that “white people” are forced to apologize for being white. See Mediaite, ‘You Don’t Have to Apologize for Being White Anymore!’ JD Vance Claims, and Raw Story, JD Vance denounced as a ‘klansman’ for ‘openly racist’ speech.

Vance also refused to condemn Tucker Carlson for hosting antisemitic white supremacists on his podcasts—something that has become a flashpoint in the MAGA civil war. Instead, Vance said, “I didn’t bring a list of conservatives to denounce or to de-platform,” See Cleveland.com, JD Vance declines to condemn antisemitism at Turning Point USA convention - cleveland.com

Bari Weiss cancels CBS's 60 Minutes episode on the infamous CECOT prison in El Salvador

The Ellison family plucked Bari Weiss from Substack fame to appoint her as the right-wing purity monitor at CBS’s 60 Minutes. Over the weekend, Weiss pulled a story about El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison—where many Venezuelan immigrants were sent during Trump’s initial wave of deportations.

See WSJ, CBS News Pulls ‘60 Minutes’ Segment; Correspondent Calls Decision Political (Accessible to all.)

Per WSJ,

Sharyn Alfonsi said in a Sunday email to fellow correspondents including Lesley Stahl, Scott Pelley and Anderson Cooper that she learned Saturday that new CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss “spiked our story.” Alfonsi said the last-minute change was, in her view, a political decision, rather than an editorial call, according to the email, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.

“Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct,” Alfonsi wrote in the email. If the standard for airing a story became the government agreeing to be interviewed, she wrote, the network would cede editorial control. “We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state,” Alfonsi wrote.

One wonders how long it will be before the remaining journalists on 60 Minutes resign in protest. Having a hand-picked representative of the Ellisons—friends of Trump—determine what can be broadcast destroys journalistic integrity for every story broadcast on the program.

Concluding Thoughts

The law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft was one of Wall Street’s oldest firms. Then it made a deal with the Trump administration, pledging to end the promotion of diversity and inclusion among its lawyers and to provide free legal services to clients of Trump’s choosing.

Cadwalader’s deal with the devil caused dozens of top partners to leave the firm, pushing it to the brink of collapse. Cadwalader has been forced to merge (as the junior partner) with a much larger global law firm. For all intents and purposes, Cadwalader will cease to exist.

There is a moral in Cadwalader’s demise for all of American business. Accountability will come for everyone—law firms, universities, media companies, and social media platforms. It may take a while, but it will happen. And remember, everything Trump touches dies.

Capitulating to Trump will be remembered as a sign of cowardice and treason, while opposing Trump will be viewed as an act of patriotic heroism. We are on the right side of history. Cadwalader, the Ellisons, and Bari Weiss are not. The wheels of justice turn slowly, but they grind exceedingly fine.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Pro-democracy protest photos

Texas

I hope you’ll consider these pro-democracy protest photos. In Texas, there is no greater form of protest than a voter registration team, and we are striving to have those everywhere and all the time at ntxvotes.org. We hear every day of more folks who are ready to get involved. And we need more!

Greetings from Minnesota,

Yesterday, Saturday, members of We the People Cloquet Area Indivisible stood outside at the only traffic light in the small town of Moose Lake to protest against ICE in Minnesota. Literally, it was icy in Minnesota due to a thaw and then a freeze! The temperature was about 4 above but there was a brutal wind chill of sub zero temperatures. There has been increased ICE activity in northern Minnesota and we are ready to resist.

New Mexico

Tiny protest. We meet every Sat from 11-1 in Georgia O’Keeffe’s neighborhood!

Chattanooga, TN

From my personal perspective, I felt it was the most positively received day we have had yet. The support was overwhelmingly positive and so many waves, honks, and thumbs up. ...we feel people needed [this] and were glad to see what we had up Friday.”

Silver Spring, MD

Battleboro, VT

DECEMBER 20 | 11:45–1:00

The People’s Resistance Marching Band parading through downtown Brattleboro distributing leaflets and buttons

North Carolina

Our North Country Resilience Visibility Brigade was on the I-93 overpass in Bethlehem, NH with a short message on this shortest day: "PEACE RESIST"

Mendocino Coast (Ca) Stands Up For Democracy Sat. Dec. 20, 2025
Yellow umbrellas from Indivisible Mendocino Coast; photos by Robert Dominy

Hamden, CT

Every Sunday we protest at the center of our small town in Hamden, CT. Here are photos from today’s protest in 34 degree weather!!

Daily Dose of Perspective