Four Truths

Seven and a half years ago, I took a blowtorch to my career when I came out publicly against Donald Trump. I knew what it would cost me—and it did. The threats, the loss, the isolation. It’s been a relentless grind ever since. But through all of it, I’ve kept fighting. I’ve never seriously thought about quitting. Until yesterday.

Listening to that dangerous, stupid idiot blather on about autism, vaccines, and Tylenol—spewing lies that will hurt real people—something broke inside me. I sat there and thought, “Fuck it. We’re done. I quit.” Today wasn’t much better. His moronic lying, bragging, and self-obsessed rambling at the United Nations (which I don’t even like, but that’s another story) made me want to shut down the Substack and log off social media forever.

That’s when I knew I needed to write this. Because if I’m feeling this way, I know others are too. And the only thing more dangerous than Trump’s madness is the silence and surrender that let it thrive.

How did we get here, my friends? How did we get to this infuriating, humiliating, insane fucking place? I’ll tell you exactly how we got here. The unvarnished truth is this: we all need to wake the fuck up. Not just MAGA. Not just the far left. All of us. There are four hard truths we’ve been avoiding, and until we face them, we’re just spinning our wheels and sinking deeper into the muck.

But here’s the thing: as Americans we can’t seem to get on the same page with all of these truths. We selectively choose which we believe, and therein lies the problem. Some of us are living in one world, and the rest of us are living in another.

Truth #1: In 2024, America knowingly elected a horrible, moronic, lawless psychopath in Donald Trump.

Let’s get this out of the way—Donald Trump isn’t just a “politician who made mistakes” or a “flawed leader” who can be forgiven, like our past presidents. He’s a criminal, a pathological liar, and a malignant narcissist who should never have been allowed anywhere near public office. He has shown us time and time again that he is unqualified, unhinged, and dangerous.

In 2024, we knew this. We knew exactly who he was. And yet, millions of Americans—fully aware of his corruption, incompetence, and outright insanity—elected him anyway. Why? Because we are too angry and too divided to see or admit the truth about him. This country voted for a man who will go down in history as the worst to ever hold office (thus far). It wasn’t an accident. It wasn’t a mistake. It wasn’t some Electoral College fluke. Millions of us made this choice willingly. And it was no less than a betrayal of our founding principles.

Truth #2: The left/Democrats are too arrogant and out of touch to see how they helped put Trump in power.

Some Democrats like to pretend that Trump’s rise was an unavoidable twist of fate, the result of long-standing hatreds that finally came home to roost. There is some truth to the latter part of that statement. But it’s not the whole truth. The Democrats, particularly the elitist establishment wing, played a key role in this—and it was completely avoidable if they just listened.

They’ve been so out of touch with the reality of the average American for so long that they actively created the conditions that allowed Trump to thrive. They ignored the forgotten people: the working class, the rural Americans, the ones being left behind by the system—white, Black, and brown. While they pat themselves on the back for their progressivism, the average voter was watching their jobs disappear, crime on their streets, their border unprotected, and their communities rot.

So they turned to Trump. He was their voice, their middle finger to the establishment. The Democrats ignored them, and in doing so, they helped hand Trump the keys to the kingdom. The left helped create this monster, but they’re too busy pretending they’re the moral authority to admit their role in unleashing this calamity.

Truth #3: The right/Republicans have sold their souls to a man who is dragging this country into the abyss—and they know it.

Let’s not beat around the bush: The Republican Party is morally bankrupt. The moment Trump came on the scene, they had a choice—stand up for the Constitution, for the rule of law, for the values they claim to espouse, or throw it all away for power. And they chose power. They embraced a man who is an existential threat to everything they used to claim to believe in. They ignored his criminality. They justified his lies. They let him destroy the very fabric of the Republican Party.

Why? Because all they care about now is vengeance. All they care about is owning the libs and maintaining their power, no matter the cost. These so-called conservatives, who once prided themselves on moral clarity, sold out to a man who is corrupt, unprincipled, and utterly reckless. They know he’s a walking, talking disaster, but they’re too afraid to break with him because they’ve become slaves to his toxic brand of politics. These people are not patriots; they’re opportunists, and they’ll drag this country into the ground just to maintain their grip on power.

Truth #4: The left mostly denies truth #2, and the right refuses to admit to truths #1 and #3.

Here’s the most infuriating part: none of this will matter. Too many on the left will deny they played a hand in Trump’s rise. They’ll double down on their smug righteousness, pretending their failures were someone else’s fault. They’ll refuse to face the fact that their own elitism paved the way for Trump. The pathologically weak Democratic establishment will continue failing to be the opposition party we truly need in this perilous moment. And that’s the “good” side.

On the right, the macabre circus will go on. They’ll continue to deny the obvious about Trump’s nature, while accusing those who oppose him of being “deranged.” They’ll excuse Trump’s behavior, justify his lies, and defend his criminality to the end, including any further despicable Jeffrey Epstein revelations that may yet be revealed. The GOP will pander to its base, pretending Trump is simultaneously “hero” and “victim,” and never admit that they destroyed the very soul of their party.

Almost none of us want to own our part in this catastrophe. Almost none of us can admit to all four ugly truths.

As a result, America is in free fall. We’ve reached a point where we’ve sold our principles, our decency, and our future for short-term power and momentary satisfaction. And we’re all responsible, in one way or another. The right’s cowardice and betrayal. The left’s indifference and arrogance. The people’s apathy. We’ve all failed this country. And now we’re paying the price.

If we can’t face these four truths, then in my humble opinion, we’re beyond saving. If we can’t reckon with the fact that we’ve knowingly elected a dangerous psychopath, that we’ve let our institutions crumble under the weight of rank partisanship and political stasis, and that we let our relative prosperity and comfort devolve into civic detachment, then this country is finished. It’s long past time to wake up. We’re about to be buried in the rubble for good.

Is it already too late? Maybe. I’m not really sure, and that’s not a great sign. But here’s what I do know: democracies don’t die overnight—they rot from the inside out, slowly, painfully, as people grow numb to the lies, the corruption, the violence. And we’re deep into that rot right now. The institutions we used to trust are hollowed out. Facts and evidence have become optional. Basic decency is mocked as weakness. Accountability doesn’t matter anymore. And the very idea of a shared reality—of truths we can agree on—feels like a thing of the past. That’s how democracies die: not with tanks in the streets, not at first. It starts with millions of people deciding that the truth is secondary to their feelings.

But it’s not completely over—yet. Some good signs from the past week: Trump’s approval ratings are well underwater. Even the MAGA right panned AG Pam Bondi’s unconstitutional declaration that “There’s free speech, and then there’s hate speech.” And Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air tonight after the FCC’s strongarm tactics got some well-deserved pushback. So there are still reasons for hope.

The only thing that stands between collapse and recovery now is whether enough Americans, from all political stripes, are willing to stop lying to themselves and face these four hard truths with real courage. For each one of us, that means holding your own side accountable. It means rejecting tribalism. It means being willing to admit that maybe you got some things wrong. And it definitely means being well-informed, staying engaged with one another, and listening to each other with respect and tolerance.

If we can do all of that—if we can tell the truth, even when it cuts against our own team or our most deeply held political beliefs, and have a conversation again with those with whom we disagree—maybe there’s still a way forward.

But if we can’t? If we just keep denying, disregarding, and doubling down? Then yeah, it’s already too late.

I pray that isn’t the case.

And I’ll keep fighting.

The Social Contract with Joe Walsh is a citizen-supported movement resisting authoritarianism and restoring classic American values like civic engagement, tolerance, and mutual respect. To join our community, sign up to be a free subscriber. To support our mission, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. Thank you!