America reaches its breaking point

America reaches its breaking point
In Minneapolis and Venezuela, the Trump administration villainizes America's neighbors — and its own citizens

By Brian Karem
White House columnist
Published January 9, 2026 9:00AM (EST)


(Salon) We live in at least two different realities. In one, a woman driving away from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents was murdered without cause. In the other, a woman ramming an ICE agent was killed in self-defense.

Welcome to 2026. If any of what has occurred this week makes sense to you, then you might need therapy or a 12-step program.

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Sounds like we’re state-sponsored pirates and kidnappers, but that’s only because if those actions were taken by other nations, or independent operators, that’s exactly what we would say.

Later that day, ICE agents operating in Minneapolis couldn’t successfully execute an operation in a neighborhood less than a mile from where George Floyd was gunned down six years ago. The agents shot and killed an unarmed 37-year-old woman driving a Honda Pilot. Renee Nicole Good was a poet, a wife, a mother of a six year old, a member of the LGBTQ+ community and an auburn-haired American citizen. She faced no criminal charges. Perhaps if she were, like Maduro, she might still be alive.

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Hypocrisy, though, is the creed of the Trump administration. He continues to claim he is all about “America First.” That’s a dying dog whistle for the declining number of supporters who still believe him. The truth is that Donald Trump is an imperialist, and as many have warned over the years, he is a danger to himself and everyone on earth. ...................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/01/09/america-reaches-its-breaking-point/