Is Trump America’s Caesar?

by Ethan Lieberman for the Palast Investigative Fund | Los Angeles | Oct. 9, 2025

Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Chicago, and now Portland have seen the armed forces decorating their streets. Like Christmas lights left on a tree until June, no one wants to see this. We’re all glad to have string lights when they’re needed, but when left out year-round one is inclined to think there’s something wrong with the family that so publicly ignores social customs. Our Commander-in-Chief has a Christmas tree, a jack-o-lantern, and Easter eggs bandied about his yard. The White House looks more and more like King Midas had a seizure every day he’s in the place.

In addition to troops, Trump’s deportation campaign has extended far outside the bounds of the rational or ethical. More than half of Americans now disapprove of his immigration policy, according to PBS. There is a paramilitary organization terrorizing Latino communities across the United States.

When Trump sent Marines into LA, it should have been a monumental and damning moment for his presidency.