I’ve described this mechanism in pieces for years without branding it properly.
Let me fix that. It’s the Ratchet, and it is one of the most reliable ways to understand how Trump has broken American politics. It is running right now on his plan to steal the 2026 election, and we are not early in the process.
We are at or near the last click.
You know the pattern by now:
Trump says something monstrous, racist, blisteringly stupid, authoritarian, corrupt, or simply deranged. Normal Americans react with shock, because they are normal.
Then the machinery engages first with either explicit or quiet White House talking points, then escalates to social media, then to Fox and the rest of the MAGA Mediaverse.
Click. Haha, libs. He triggered you again. It was a joke.
Click. That’s just Trump being Trump. Delivered fondly, the way you’d describe an uncle who pockets the silverware or fondles the maid.
Click. Fine, he was joking, but the underlying issue is deadly serious.
Click. Surely we can at least talk about it. Why won’t you talk about it? Why won’t the Democrats address this? What are they hiding?
Click. It becomes real when a bill from some hairsprayed MAGA backbencher named Ed Bob Billy Joe Jackhole from Crotchitch, Alabama looks up from his Grindr app and puts it on the floor for a vote. Trump tweets his approval and delight. If it’s too blatantly illegal and unconstitutional even
