This is an open letter to all bros. You're angry. You're disillusioned. And you have every right to be. The question is, what do you do about it? How do you do something that's going to improve your life, your future?
Does the answer lie in a political party? Both Republicans and Democrats certainly want your vote. However, you don't feel that you can look to the Democratic Party for help. They seem to be particularly interested in women, people of color, and immigrants. They haven't spoken to you or done anything for you.
It doesn't matter to you that 100 years ago, they were at the forefront of fighting for American workers against the power of big corporations. They enabled unions to become strong and improve the livelihood of workers. Democrats took action to improve worker safety and a range of other measures that enhanced workers' lives.
"That may be true," you say, "but then Democrats started pushing women's rights and the rights of people of color." Before that, it was mostly a White man's world. Whether you were a blue-collar or white-collar worker, White men were the predominant force. Women and people of color were certainly not a threat.
Now things are very different; you feel that it is you, a White man, who has to fight for what he wants. They say you're privileged because you're White, but as far as you're concerned, what does that matter if you see no way forward for yourself?
The country is at the point now where the White American worker feels neglected by the Democratic Party, and young bros feel like they have not only been overlooked, but they have never had the attention of the Party.
And so when Donald Trump came along and spoke with rage about the plight of the American worker and dissed all the efforts that had been undertaken to help women and people of color through DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) programs, you understandably listened up and said, "This man is speaking to me."
But wait a minute. Wouldn't you say that all people should be treated equally in the workplace? Should they have the same opportunities? I'm sure your answer is, "yes." But you understandably think it's not fair if some people—women and people of color—are given preference. That's not equal treatment, regardless of how much discrimination there was in the past.
You think Donald Trump may make things better for you? Regardless of what Donald Trump says—he sure does talk the talk—he does not walk the walk; he has done nothing that has or will help you gain strength.
All his efforts against DEI will not change the fact that women and people of color have a different status now than they had 50 years ago. They are and will be your competition. And keep in mind that he isn't attacking DEI to help you; he's just throwing red meat to his manosphere and White supremacist supporters.
To put yourself in the best position possible, you need to acquire the knowledge, talent, and energy necessary to succeed in competition. You can do it. Don't know where to turn? Demand that the government provide you with the resources and opportunity to make the most of yourself.
You have to realize that Donald Trump is a Republican, first and foremost. Certainly not an old-fashioned conservative Republican, but a Republican nonetheless. Virtually everything he has done—all his executive orders, his One Big Beautiful Act—all are for the benefit of the rich and the powerful. He is the friend of the true elite of this country—the big banks and corporations. The Republican Party under President Trump has not become the party of the people, as he and his MAGA allies claim. They have deceived you; they have used you to gain power.
Many of his followers react to the havoc he has created in government with glee because they don't trust government and feel that Reagan spoke the truth when he said, "Government is not the solution; government is the problem." But you have to understand that almost everything Trump is tearing down are programs that helped the average person, not just people of color and women.
Do you know that the majority of people living in poverty in the U.S. are White? That's a fact; not Black, not Hispanic, but White. So all the anti-poverty programs help more White people than people of color. You may not be living in poverty, but consider this. And all the business regulations he's getting rid of—the purpose of all that regulation was to protect the public, the average person—you. However, Trump favors deregulation because it undoubtedly pleases corporations.
So if you can't put your faith in Donald Trump, what about giving Democrats a chance? Don't turn away. You may not have had their attention in the past, but you sure do now! They have heard your complaints loud and clear, as voiced by your vote for Trump.
They are trying to figure out how to provide you with the support you need. Not just to get your vote, but because Democrats have a real concern for the well-being of all Americans. They may have f***ed up at times in the past, but they believe in the words of the Declaration of Independence that all people are created equal and all have the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Give them a chance. See how they speak to you. But regardless of how they respond, know that Donald Trump will not only do nothing that improves your position in life, but he also has no interest in you. All he wants is your vote. And everything he says to get your vote is a sham, deceitful.
For both your own sake and the country's, consider what is truly in your best interest.
Ronald L. Hirsch is a teacher, legal aid lawyer, survey researcher, nonprofit executive, consultant, composer, author, and volunteer. He is a graduate of Brown University and the University of Chicago Law School and the author of We Still Hold These Truths. Read more of his writing at www.PreservingAmericanValues.com
A golden tray sits on the Resolute Desk as President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement on American nuclear innovation in the Oval Office at the White House on July 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. Trump is signing multiple executive orders targeting the nuclear energy sector and easing rules for new reactors and nuclear fuel supply chains.
Trump’s hubris rivals the fallen heroes of ancient Greek mythology
In January, the New York Times asked President Donald Trump if there were any limits on his global powers.
“Yeah,” the president responded, “there is one thing. My own morality. My own mind. It’s the only thing that can stop me.”
That was eight months ago, but fortunately Christopher Nolan’s blockbuster adaptation of “The Odyssey” has made ancient Greek literature newly relevant. Before that window closes, I’d like to talk about hubris.
Today, the term mostly means excessive pride or arrogance. That’s part of what the Greeks meant by it too, but the meaning was a bit richer and more specific. Hubris was an insolent or outrageous act that offended the gods, often because the transgressor was claiming abilities or authorities that solely belonged to supreme beings.
Nolan renamed and slightly modified the concept of xenia for the film, calling it “Zeus’ law.” In the director’s telling, mortals should follow the rules laid out by the gods, specifically the requirement to treat strangers with respect lest they be gods in disguise.
In a sense, hubris is the opposite, or at least the rejection, of xenia. The hubris of the suitors, and at times Odysseus himself, invites punishment by the gods and their mortal instruments.
Which brings me back to Donald Trump. His claim that there are no constraints on his personal power to dictate events on the global stage was one of the greatest expressions of hubris ever uttered by a political leader.
Trump’s claim was obviously false when he made it.
He vowed that he could end the Russia-Ukraine war in 24 hours. He’s proved powerless to make that happen. If he had divine powers to work his will, why would he have balked at implementing his tariffs so often that Wall Street adopted the “TACO trade” term for his deals? “TACO” stands for “Trump always chickens out.”
And why would Trump have made so many embarrassing concessions to China — from rescinding tariffs on Chinese goods to allowing them to buy crucial and incredibly valuable computer chips?
But Trump saw his success at capturing Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro as proof of his ability to launch missiles to the same effect as Zeus’ lightning bolts. Trump believed he was the most powerful man who ever lived.
This is no exaggeration. In March, when the Iran invasion seemed successful, Trump gave a document penned by“Presidential Historian David King” to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan purporting to prove that Trump was “the most powerful person to have EVER walked this planet.” King was, in fact, a businessman and occasional caddy for legendary golfer Gary Player.
King compared Trump favorably to many of history’s most powerful, and often heinous, figures: Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, William the Conqueror, Napoleon Bonaparte, Joseph Stalin, Genghis Khan, Mao Tse Tung, Adolf Hitler and Vladimir Lenin. Many of these men thought they were the most powerful person in the world, too. And many were defeated precisely because they believed it.
At least Napoleon and Hitler had a string of truly impressive victories before they learned the folly of hubris. The limits on Trump’s power have been exposed by far less august forces than the combined might of the allies in World War II or the fearsome Russian winter.
Iran is a comparatively middling power. But the regime’s ability to absorb punishment while imposing its will on the Strait of Hormuz has proved to be a greater constraint on Trump’s power than his morality or mind. We should note that, at least rhetorically, his morality has not proved much of a constraint. He has repeatedly promised to destroy Iranian “civilization” if the regime refuses to capitulate.
But they haven’t — and won’t anytime soon — because the regime’s tolerance for pain far outstrips Trump’s. The combined fear of skyrocketing oil prices, outrage of Gulf state potentates, diminishing weapon supplies and domestic unpopularity is doing the work that international law, congressional oversight and the collective opinion of foreign policy experts can’t or won’t do.
If I considered Trump more heroic than reason and facts could allow, I would say his Sisyphean predicament has the whiff of Greek tragedy to it. Trump is vexed by the fact that the Iranians won’t honor deals or ratify his countless premature claims of victory — giving new meaning to his vow that his presidency would make people tired of winning. It’s almost like they’re out-Trumping Trump.
Things might have gone better if he’d heeded that great Greek tragedian Sophocles: “For Zeus utterly abhors the boasts of a proud tongue.”
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Jonah Goldberg is editor-in-chief of The Dispatch and the host of The Remnant podcast. His Twitter handle is @JonahDispatch.