Republicans rally behind corruption fueled by narcissism.

May 29, 2026

It is difficult to watch as Trump’s unbounded corruption and narcissism erode the rule of law and desecrate the nation’s Capital. Corruption is the ether of the Trump administration, the invisible frame of reference that explains every head-spinning, Orwellian decision that wafts from the festering swamp formerly known as the Oval Office.

Trump’s all-consuming narcissism prevents him from understanding that his obsession with self-glorification will tank the GOP’s prospects in the midterms in 2026. But, as Trump declared on Wednesday, he is no longer concerned with the midterms. Instead, he is focused on imprinting his scowling visage and reviled name on passports, US currency, and federal buildings, while he destroys icons of liberty and replaces them with tawdry thunder-domes of vulgarity.

The narcissism alone is nauseating, but when combined with epic corruption, they are revolting and maddening. Together, they are fueling Trump’s pummeling in the polls. Any other president would recalibrate and change direction. Not Trump. He wants what he wants, and he literally does not care what the American people want, much less what the Republican Party needs.

As I report on Trump’s most recent corruption below, I do not intend to anger or upset you. Rather, Trump is writing the narrative that we must amplify in the 2026 midterms: Republicans are the party of war, inflation, corruption, and cultish worship of a man who is a convicted felon, civil fraudster, sexual abuser, sociopath, protector of pedophiles, malignant narcissist, and existential threat to democracy.

We must still articulate a positive message that will appeal to voters. But the sad fact of modern politics is that negative messaging works. Republicans will not hold back in attacking Democrats; we must counter-punch with greater force. Every Republican candidate will defend every decision motivated by Trump’s corruption and narcissism. We must exploit the Republican Party suicide pact whose only rule is to defend Trump at all costs—including crushing defeat at the ballot box.

With that introduction, let’s look at Thursday’s corruption and narcissism.

Trump is pushing Treasury to issue a new $250 bill bearing Trump’s face.

The largest US denomination in circulation is the $100 bill. Under an 1866 law, federal currency cannot display the face of a living person. Trump is pressuring the Treasury to issue a $250 bill bearing his face. The proposed currency value--$250—is intended to cement Trump’s legacy as the president in office on the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. See Newsweek, Trump’s $250 bill plan collides with long-standing currency ban

The proposal for a new currency will not secure the required congressional approval. This is another example of Trump proposing vainglorious ideas that force congressional Republicans to defend an unpopular scheme by Trump.

Don Jr. company receives $600 million Pentagon contract on expedited basis

Pro Publica has published an investigative report detailing efforts by the White House to ensure that a company affiliated with Don Jr. received a record-breaking $600 million loan on an expedited basis. See Pro Publica, Company Tied to Donald Trump Jr. Got a Deal After White House Intervened.

Per Pro Publica,

[I]interviews and Defense Department records reviewed by ProPublica show that the request to loan hundreds of millions of dollars to the firm linked to Trump Jr. was made by Peter Navarro, a White House adviser to President Donald Trump and a friend of Trump Jr.’s.

After defense officials got the White House request, they asked Pentagon staff to move at an unusually rapid pace . . . .The staff worked late nights and with little sleep to get the loan through in a matter of weeks, the source said.

“The call came from the White House: We have to get this done,” the person said.

This scandal, standing alone, eclipses every conspiracy theory about “Hunter Biden’s laptop” and his supposed profiteering from receiving fees for serving on the board of directors of Burisma.

The only defense offered by the Don Jr. company that received the Pentagon loan was that “Don Jr. wasn’t involved in the transaction.” Apparently, the company spokesperson and the White House believe we are idiots who would willingly accept that the largest-ever Pentagon loan to a private company would go to a company affiliated with Don Jr. without any intervention from the White House.

$600 million is real money. But not as much as $9.7 billion! Read on!

Trump buys Dell stock in February 2026; Dell gets $9.6 billion Pentagon contract in May 2026.

Trump should not be trading stocks. Period. But for some inexplicable reason, his stock portfolio is actively trading stocks in companies affected by policies he controls. In February 2026, he purchased $1 million in Dell Computer stock. In May, Dell Computer received a $9.7 billion defense contract. What are the odds!? With Trump as an investor in your company, chances of receiving a billion-dollar defense contract are (apparently) 100%! See NYTimes, Dell Gets a $9.7 Billion Defense Contract. Trump’s Portfolio Stands to Benefit. (Gift article, accessible to all.)

Per the NYTimes, Trump’s financial disclosure shows a purchase of $1 million to $5 million of Dell stock in February. Although the White House claims that Trump doesn’t control the trading in his stock portfolio, his stocks are not in a “blind trust.” In other words, he knows what trades are being made by third-party managers of his portfolio.

As explained by the Times,

While outside advisers handle his financial accounts, they are not in a traditional “blind trust.” Rather, the president can still be aware of the moves for his investments.

Mr. Trump also went out of his way in February to praise Dell Technologies and its founder, Michael Dell, at an event in Georgia that took place nine days after Mr. Trump’s purchase of more than $1 million in Dell stock.

So, in February, Trump buys more than $1 million in Dell shares. In May, Trump praises Dell stock, telling people to purchase shares. Two days later, Dell receives a $9.1 billion Pentagon contract. Dell stock soars on the news, giving Trump potential unrealized gains of between $1.55 million and $7.74 million. Washington Post, Dell inks $9.7 billion Pentagon contract after Trump acquires stock, praises company.

This scandal, standing alone, eclipses every conspiracy theory about “Hunter Biden’s laptop” and his supposed profiteering from receiving fees for serving on the board of directors of Burisma.

Trump using National Park entrance fees to pay for his DC renovations

Trump is engaged in a series of unauthorized, unfunded, unneeded renovations of monuments on the National Mall. Because he lacks authority and funding for the “repairs,” he is taking money from other federal accounts to pay for his pet projects.

On Thursday, we learned that Trump is funding some of his National Mall renovations with $70 million in entrance fees paid by National Park visitors. See Desert News, National park entrance fees used in DC renovations.

Although legal, most of Trump’s renovations are unnecessary and in bad taste. For example, Trump is spending $5 million to coat a bronze statue of a horse with gold leaf. See NOTUS, The Trump Administration Is Spending $5 Million to Coat Horse Statues in Gold.

There is more, but you get the point—and should shout it from the rooftops!

And it is only going to get worse, as Trump desecrates the 250^th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence with a cage match staged on the White House lawn. The photos of the temporary arena and octagonal cage being constructed on the White House lawn are truly sickening. See photo here: See ABC News, Construction underway on UFC Octagon at White House for Flag Day fights.

For those unfamiliar with UFC matches (“Ultimate Fighting Championship”), the Encyclopedia Britannica describes the mixed martial arts (“MMA”) matches, in part, as follows:

[MMA] is a hybrid combat sport incorporating techniques from boxing, wrestling, judo, jujitsu, karate, Muay Thai (Thai boxing), and other disciplines [that] was initially decried by critics as a brutal blood sport without rules . . . .

UFC matches trace their lineage back to hand-to-hand combat matches in the ancient Olympics, but Roman Emperor Theodosius I banned the sport from the Olympics in 393 CE because it was deemed too violent. It’s a good thing Trump did not decide to re-enact the feeding of Christian martyrs to the lions as a way of celebrating the 250^th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin threatens to shut down international airports in New York, Los Angeles, and New Jersey.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin threatened to shut down international air traffic to airports in New York, Los Angeles, Newark, and other cities with so-called “sanctuary” policies for immigrants. Airports in those cities account for more than 50% of all inbound international traffic to the US. See U.S. Airport Statistics: Trends and Insights - 2026.

International air travel injects $254 billion into the US economy annually. If Markwayne Mullin thinks it is a good idea to threaten nearly 1% of America’s GDP to “punish” sanctuary cities, he is truly ignorant. The ban will never happen, because it would be an economic disaster for the nation.

Concluding Thoughts

I was encouraged today by two stories about members of the legal profession pushing back against the corruption and lawlessness of lawyers serving in the Trump administration.

First, a board member of Lawyers Defending American Democracy (“LDAD”), has filed an ethics complaint against Pam Bondi with the Florida State Bar. The LDAD board member who filed the complaint is Peggy A. Quince, retired Chief Justice of the Florida Supreme Court.

The ethics complaint against Bondi is described here and alleges, in part, that Bondi fostered an environment of lawlessness inside the Department of Justice by:

• Misleading the public;

• Violating an unprecedented number of binding court orders; and

• Initiating prosecutions without probable cause.

Check out the good work of LDAD, here. (Lawyers can volunteer at the link.)

Second, a bipartisan group of more than 100 judges has requested that the judge presiding over Trump’s now-dismissed case against the IRS reopen the case under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60. See The Hill, Bipartisan group of former judges asks court to investigate Trump’s IRS deal.

By “settling” his case against the IRS, Trump and the DOJ divested US District Judge Kathleen Williams from considering whether Trump’s lawsuit raised a legitimate “case or controversy” under the Constitution. If it did not, then the case would have been dismissed and there would have been nothing for Trump and the DOJ to “settle.” By settling and dismissing the case before Judge Williams could issue a ruling, Trump and the DOJ were able to establish their fraudulent slush fund to pay money to January 6 insurrectionists.

Per The Hill,

In their filing on Wednesday, the former judges wrote that the settlement “threatens to undermine confidence in the administration of justice.” . . . The group, which included district and magistrate judges, along with one bankruptcy judge, asked Williams, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, to “set aside” her order ending the case. [¶]

“That will allow the Court to commence an inquiry into whether the Court was deceived, including with respect to the existence of an underlying case or controversy and any purported arms-length negotiations undertaken to resolve it,” they wrote.

The request by the 100 former federal judges is a long shot, but “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The “thug fund” created by Trump and the DOJ is unconstitutional and must be stopped by any and every legal means possible.

Moreover, it is politically toxic, which is why congressional Republicans remain in self-imposed exile. They do not want to have to vote on Democratic amendments to the reconciliation bill that will attempt to put limits on the thug fund—such as not paying convicted child molesters or insurrectionists convicted of attacking police officers.

Regardless of whether LDAD’s efforts against Bondi or the retired federal judges’ efforts against the thug fund succeed, the point is that we must rise to the defense of the Constitution whenever necessary. If we do so only when we believe our efforts will be successful or easy, the Constitution is defenseless and largely irrelevant.

LDAD and the federal judges are leading by example. We should follow their example by resisting Trump’s lawless agenda at every opportunity, not only when we believe our efforts will result in short-term success. Resist. Persist. Repeat.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Pro-democracy protest photos.

[Send to rbhubbell@gmail.com. Include city and state.]

Santa Rosa Brigade!

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West L.A. freeway brigade - May 28, 2026.  Join us on Thursday mornings 7:30 to 9:00 AM, Palms Blvd overpass over 405 frwy.  Next Thursday is the one year anniversary of West L.A. Freeway Brigade resistance!

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Silver Spring, MD

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May 28. Charlottesville, Virginia. The Proffit Road Crew. During a Thursday rush hour.

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Rise and Resist New York, NY immigration vigil in solidarity with hunger strikers in the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark, NJ

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Sacramento, CA

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Sonoma County visibility brigade in Northern California. Three days a week, rain, or shine!

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=CE detention centers are inhumane and must be shut down.

Pasadena, CA 5/28/26

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This determined community stands out with Captain Parker every Wednesday, 11:30am to 12pm in Lexington, MA center. Big honks today, 5/27/26

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You seem to publish pictures primarily from the east and west coast states & cities. How about one from the red state of Utah!/  There is resistance here, too!

[Author’s Note: I publish the photos that readers send me. I am always glad to see protest photos from red states.]

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Another great day of messaging for Hartford CT VB

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Happy Hour Visibility Brigade is out for its weekly protest in Lexington MA.

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