Dwain Northey (Gen X)

Oh, the Trump administration—the self-proclaimed “law and order” crusaders who seemed to think deploying federal troops on peaceful protesters was just another Tuesday afternoon. Because nothing says “freedom” like camouflaged men without name tags tear-gassing moms in bike helmets and war-veteran grandpas holding up cardboard signs. When protesters were calling for justice and accountability, Trump responded with tanks and Twitter tantrums, as if lobbing flashbangs at a crowd somehow counted as diplomacy.

Instead of listening, the administration opted for photo ops. Remember the Bible-in-hand moment in front of St. John’s Church? Troops were used to clear out Lafayette Square like it was a level in Call of Duty, just so Trump could awkwardly brandish a book he likely hadn’t read. “Peace through superior firepower” seemed to be the operating mantra, but all it did was pour gasoline on a simmering national crisis.

The irony? By trying to crush dissent with brute force, they amplified it. The administration took what could have been a powerful national moment of reflection and healing and turned it into a dystopian spectacle, complete with helicopters flying low over city blocks like something out of Apocalypse Now. The protests grew louder, bigger, more determined. Turns out, people don’t like being tear-gassed for exercising their First Amendment rights.

In the end, the Trump team didn’t just miss the point—they bulldozed right over it, sirens blaring, shouting “fake news” out the window. If incompetence were a performance, this would’ve been a Broadway hit.