Trump slept through significant portions of the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, including when Secretary of State Marco Rubio was speaking directly to Trump from three feet away. For Trump, the naps represented his peak performance at the meeting. It was downhill from there. Among many lies, slurs, and gaffes, Trump said the following:
The “affordability crisis” is a “scam” created by Democrats, and “no one knows what the word means.”
Somali immigrants are “garbage,” and “I don’t want them in our country, I’ll be honest with you…their country is no good for a reason . . . and [our country] could go the wrong way if we keep taking in garbage into our country.”
Prescription drug prices have dropped 500–900% [Note: this is a mathematical impossibility];
“Every boat that you see get blown up, we save 25,000, on average, lives;” [Another mathematical impossibility; the US has destroyed 21 boats, which would imply 525,000 lives “saved” in 3 months per Trump’s math, but the US experienced 87,000 fentanyl deaths last year], and
“I didn’t know about the second strike [on the alleged drug boat] . . . . I wasn’t involved in it. . . . because I rely on Pete.”
Trump’s inability to remain awake during a Cabinet meeting is likely due to multiple factors, including age, deteriorating mental condition, and lack of sleep. The latter point is not conjecture. During the late night and early morning hours preceding the Cabinet meeting, Trump posted 160 crazed statements on social media.
As described by Alternet, (‘What’s going on?’ Trump posts ‘hundreds’ of times an hour in overnight Truth Social spree):
His posts included deranged claims that Michelle Obama ‘controlled Biden’s autopen’ and that Biden’s executive orders were really done by Michelle Obama. Trump posted an AI video claiming Nicolás Maduro surrendered to him and that Trump was now controlling Venezuela, and that Maduro admitted Tren de Aragua confessed [that former President Joe] Biden was the leader of their cartel. Trump made posts saying Canada was involved in election rigging. He made bizarre posts about Obama’s weekly ‘kill list.’
Trump’s late-night, manic posting may explain (in part) his inability to remain awake. What is inexplicable is his callous description of human beings as “garbage,” his claim that drug prices have decreased by 900%, and that the illegal strikes on drug boats have saved 525,000 lives in the last three months.
If any other president had made such misstatements in the span of a single Cabinet meeting following the frenetic social media posting binge, the 25th Amendment would have already been invoked.
The Cabinet meeting was also consequential because both Trump and Hegseth tried to dodge responsibility for the war crime of killing two survivors on an alleged drug boat. Both men pride themselves on being “in charge”—except when it comes time to claim responsibility for their actions.
Their cowardice has been duly noted among the rank and file in the military. See Daily Beast, Military Officials Rage at Karoline Leavitt’s ‘Bulls**t’ Defense of ‘Pentagon Pete’ Hegseth’s ‘Kill’ Order. (“Top military brass have blasted Karoline Leavitt over what they say is an effort to scapegoat a special operations commander who followed orders from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to carry out what may well have amounted to a war crime.”)
After Hegseth initially blasted the WaPo report of the second strike as “fabricated,” Hegseth changed his defense to “I didn’t stick around” to see the second strike.” Of course, Hegseth’s liability for ordering the commission of a war crime (or murder) does not turn on whether he “saw” the second strike. The legal question is whether he issued an order to “kill everyone” or “give no quarter”—which would violate the Pentagon’s rules of engagement, the Geneva Convention, and the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
It is so obvious that Hegseth and everyone in the chain of command violated the law that Newsmax commentator and long-time Hegseth colleague at Fox News, Judge Napolitano, said that Hegseth had committed a war crime. See Mediate, Judge Napolitano on Pete Hegseth: Prosecute for War Crimes.
When former friends and colleagues are accusing you of ordering the military to commit war crimes, you know things are bad. Hegseth is toast, and the only question is whether his remaining tenure will be longer than the time it takes for a Liz Truss head of lettuce to wilt.
Hegseth has spent much of the last decade claiming that the military should be free to operate without the constraint of rules of engagement, the law of war, or international treaties. See Wall Street Journal, Hegseth’s Decadeslong Quest to Rewrite the Rules of Engagement. (“But the defense secretary who has complained about “stupid rules of engagement” is now at the center of a Washington debate about whether a September strike against a suspected drug boat in the Caribbean amounts to a war crime, testing Hegseth’s standing with lawmakers and his leadership of the military.”)
Given that Hegseth has railed against “stupid rules of engagement” for a decade, he will have a hard time convincing a jury in a court-martial that he did not intend to “kill everyone” on the alleged drug boat.
This scandal will continue to envelop the White House and Trump’s presidency. Military leadership is angry, veterans feel betrayed, and families of the victims have filed their first suit before an international body seeking damages for the killing of Colombian fisherman Alejandro Carranza. See CNN, Colombian family files first known formal complaint over deadly US strike in Caribbean.
In short, the Cabinet meeting is a lens through which the chaos and dysfunction of the Trump administration can be viewed. It is not a pretty sight. Indeed, never in our nation’s history has such supreme incompetence and monstrous depravity so thoroughly disgraced a meeting of the Cabinet officers of the United States.
We should take no satisfaction from the bathos on full display in Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting. But we should take confidence that the electorate will continue to awaken to Trump’s pompous incompetence and sadistic cruelty. Every day in every action he takes, Trump is helping to reinforce the messages being used to good effect by Democrats running to replace MAGA foot soldiers.
Aftyn Behn’s strong showing in Tennessee’s CD-7 is a good sign
Many readers supported Aftyn Behn’s bid to flip Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District and were hoping, or possibly expecting, that she would overcome a 22-point Trump victory margin in 2024. While Behn lost, she made a very strong showing, reducing the Republican advantage in CD-7 from 22 points to 8.6 points.
A 13-point swing should send shivers down the spines of the 33 Republicans who won their 2024 races by 15% or less. Given that Democrats need only flip 3 seats (and defend all existing seats) to change control in the House, putting 33 GOP seats in play is a major accomplishment.
It is possible that the number of vulnerable Republican seats will increase as Trump’s policies continue to alienate and hurt Republican voters. The new ACA insurance premium hikes will take effect on January 1, 2026, and it appears that Republicans cannot organize themselves to do anything to prevent that from happening, even though they know that voters blame Republicans for those price increases. See AP (10/27/25), Republicans grapple with voter frustration over rising health care premiums.
Aftyn Behn’s strong showing is encouraging for another reason: The difference in enthusiasm indicated by partisan turnout. As with most special elections, turnout in CD-7 in Tennessee on Tuesday was lower than in the 2024 presidential election. On a percentage basis, Republicans turned out at approximately 50% of their 2024 showing, while Democrats turned out at 65% of their 2024 level.1
But let’s step back from the numbers, which can distract from Aftyn Behn’s accomplishment. Six months ago, the notion that Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District would be competitive for a Democrat would have been unthinkable. The fact that Republicans had to call on Speaker Mike Johnson and Donald Trump to campaign against Behn, and that GOP PACs had to spend millions to support Behn’s opponent, gives testament to Behn’s strong showing.
Aftyn Behn was a strong candidate who ran an outstanding campaign, so we must credit her for making the race competitive. But her strong showing aligns with the across-the-board performances by Democrats on November 4. The pattern strongly suggests that voters were rejecting Trump and his policies while also voting for Democrats. If Trump has done that much damage in nine months, imagine what another 12 months of Trump’s mayhem and cruelty will do to public sentiment.
So, we should take hope and confidence from Aftyn Behn’s strong showing. The lesson is not that we can relent, but rather that we must double down on our efforts to date. In November 2026, we must win Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District and the 33 other districts in which Republicans won in 2024 by less than 15 points. We can do that!
Opportunities for Reader Engagement
Livestream with me on Wednesday, December 3 at 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern
Substack will be rolling out a new livestream platform for authors and I will be testing that platform on Wednesday, December 3 at 10 am Pacific / 1 pm Eastern by hosting a “Ask Me Anything” livestream for 30 minutes. Instructions for joining the livestream can be found here.
Movement Voter Project / Wednesday, December 3, at 5 pm Pacific / 8 pm Eastern
Please join me for a special Movement Voter Project program, “The Road to the House Runs Through California,” on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 5:00 pm Pacific/8:00 pm Eastern. I will be offering my perspectives on the current political and media landscapes and what it will take to win the House. Organizers from Communities for a New California (CNC) will discuss how they are working to regain and energize Latino voters in the San Joaquin and Coachella Valleys.
Register here.
Concluding Thoughts
On Tuesday, I moderated a panel that included Simon Rosenberg and the Chair of the Alaska Democratic Party. The topic was the importance of flipping the GOP Senate seat in Alaska that is up for election in 2026. If we can flip that seat, Alaska will likely provide the 51st Democratic vote in the Senate in 2026. (If you missed the event but would like to support the effort, a donation link is here: Alaska Democratic Party Fundraiser with Robert Hubbell and Simon Rosenberg.)
During the event, Simon Rosenberg was explaining how Democrats could flip the Senate in 2026. Doing so is plausible and within the margin of effort, although not guaranteed. As Simon was speaking, I was struck by this thought: Six months ago, the “conventional” political wisdom was that the Democrats might flip the House but had no realistic hope of flipping the Senate.
Roll forward six months, and we are talking about the likelihood of flipping the House and the realistic possibility of flipping the Senate. Neither of those outcomes is a prediction, just a possibility. But holy mackerel! We have come a long way in six months. And candidly, we have reasonable grounds to believe that we can make additional progress in the next year.
A year is equal to infinity in politics, so we must guard against unknown contingencies by continuing to make our own luck through hard work and preparation. That entails doing everything we have been doing, but at a greater scale and intensity. That is no easy task, but neither is it beyond our reach!
Talk to you tomorrow!
Pro-democracy protest photos
Arlington, VA
In Arlington, VA, we meet at the Tesla dealership three times a week. Saturday is our biggest event, followed by Sunday, then Tuesday.
Today (Tuesday), it rained most of the day and with the wind chill, the temperature was in the mid-30s at the time of our protest. But cold weather won’t keep us away… the mission is too important. We haven’t missed a day since we started mid-February.
Pasadena, CA
We are Rooted In Resistance in Pasadena. We will not become complacent.
Maine:
Living in [a small town in Maine], we are obliged to live alongside Chief Justice John Roberts each summer. This past summer a number of us decided to “rattle his quiet” with signs along the 10 mile road into our town and with two demonstrations near his home…never on his property.
This magnetic bumper sticker, which I had printed near end of summer, was to be yet another reminder to him of how many feel about him and the direction of the Supreme Court.
Daily Dose of Perspective
The Fireworks Galaxy is located about 25 million light-years from Earth. It earned its nickname because astronomers have observed at least 10 supernova explosions in the past century, a rate far higher than the rate observed in the Milky Way.
Here’s my math: 2024 Republican and Democratic votes in Tenn CD-7: R=191,992, D=122,764. In 2026, the respective numbers were R=95,470 (49.7%) and D=80,181 (65.3%). See Ballotpedia, 2024 and 2025
From Today’s Edition Newsletter via this RSS feed