The label wars for Trump miss the point. Look at the wreckage

The label wars for Trump miss the point. Look at the wreckage
What really matters is the destruction the president leaves behind

By Chauncey DeVega
Senior Writer
Published April 20, 2026 9:00AM (EDT)


(Salon) For more than a decade, political observers have been trying to put Donald Trump in a neat box to explain him — and to contain him. This has not worked.

To his followers, Trump is a great man of history. He is a role model, prophet and genius who breaks the rules and wins anyway. To his opponents, he is a fascist. He is a “dotard,” corrupt and an existential threat to American democracy.

The evidence strongly favors the second view. But neither fully explains the president or his MAGA movement. Donald Trump is best understood as a chaos agent. Chaos is the unifying theme of his political project — and his life. His main political strategy has been to “flood the zone” and deploy a “shock and awe” onslaught against democracy, the rule of law and any sense of normalcy. Like other authoritarian leaders, Trump uses chaos as a weapon to confuse the public and the opposition, break institutions, and consolidate and expand power.

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But Trump’s chaos is hurting the American people. The cost of food, gas and housing is spiraling. The economy is stagnant and worsening. The so-called Big Beautiful Bill gutted Medicare and food assistance to deliver hundreds of billions to the country’s wealthy and corporations. Hospitals are closing, and more Americans are unable to afford healthcare. America’s schools, colleges and universities have been targeted with deep funding cuts, lawsuits and attacks on academic freedom and free speech under the banner of “patriotic education.” On a more personal level Trump’s chaos has contributed to what psychologists have termed “political depression.” This is a public health crisis.

The president’s critics have taken to calling his behavior “TACO” — Trump Always Chickens Out. The mocking makes them feel good. But it also diminishes the harm that is taking place at home and abroad, helping to frame the president’s job as head of a nuclear-armed country of 342.5 million people as a reality TV show or game show. .................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/20/the-label-wars-for-trump-miss-the-point-look-at-the-wreckage/