By John Q. Hosedrinker 
Seventeen-year-old testimony detailing a second sexual encounter, involving another adult woman, emerged during a civil deposition related to a lawsuit against Matt Gaetz. This revelation, along with four Republican senators’ opposition, led to Gaetz withdrawing his nomination for Attorney General. His subsequent resignation from Congress, intended to preempt an ethics investigation, proved unsuccessful, leaving him without a political position. Despite President-elect Trump’s supportive words, Gaetz’s future prospects appear uncertain.
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Trump Is Pissed at (True) Reports He Didn’t Really Win by a Landslide
Trump is furious. Again. This time, it’s because reports are surfacing – accurate ones, mind you – indicating his recent electoral victory wasn’t the landslide he’s been loudly proclaiming. The sheer audacity of facts contradicting his self-aggrandizing narrative is apparently enough to send him into a sputtering rage. He’s used to getting his way, to having his version of reality accepted without question, so this reality check is particularly jarring.
His reaction is entirely predictable. We’ve seen this pattern before, this childish refusal to accept anything less than complete and utter domination. Remember the constant harping on the size of his inauguration crowd? This is the same playbook, just a different stage. He’s desperately clinging to the idea of a “mandate,” a landslide victory that would silence his critics and solidify his image as a supremely popular leader. The truth, however, is far less flattering.
The numbers simply don’t support his claims. His margin of victory, while significant, falls far short of what most people would consider a true landslide. Yet, he persists in his delusion, repeating the mantra of a massive win to anyone who will listen – or even those who won’t. This is less about objective reality and more about maintaining a carefully constructed persona: that of an overwhelmingly popular and powerful figure. Any challenge to this image is met with immediate and disproportionate outrage.
This behavior is particularly baffling considering his past. He’s demonstrated a remarkable ability to accept – or at least outwardly accept – defeats and setbacks. His refusal to concede the last presidential election is a prime example of this selective memory. It suggests that his current anger isn’t simply about the size of his victory margin, but about something deeper, something that goes to the very core of his self-perception.
It’s tempting to attribute this anger to simple insecurity. Maybe he genuinely fears that a less-than-landslide victory undermines his claim to authority. Perhaps he’s worried that admitting to a narrower margin would embolden his opponents and weaken his position. This insecurity, however, is wrapped in a layer of arrogance. He expects unwavering loyalty and unquestioning acceptance, and any deviation from this ideal is met with the kind of fury we’re seeing now.
The irony, of course, is palpable. He spent years claiming the previous election was stolen from him, despite a significant number of votes separating him and his opponent. Now, he’s claiming a victory he only just barely achieved is a landslide. The hypocrisy is breathtaking, but it doesn’t seem to bother him in the least. He’s operating under a different set of rules, one where facts are malleable and emotions trump logic.
The wider implications are equally concerning. His constant grievances and exaggerated claims risk eroding public trust in the electoral process. His supporters will, of course, believe his version of events, but for those less inclined to buy into his narrative, it’s yet another demonstration of his disregard for truth and civility.
In the end, Trump’s anger over the true nature of his victory is less about the numbers and more about maintaining his carefully cultivated image. It’s a desperate attempt to hold onto a narrative that’s increasingly difficult to sustain, a stubborn refusal to acknowledge the reality that even his most enthusiastic supporters can’t entirely ignore. This, perhaps more than anything else, explains his rage. The façade is cracking, and he’s not handling it well.
His response is predictable. He’ll continue to claim a landslide victory, his supporters will blindly echo his assertions, and his opponents will continue to point out the discrepancy between his claims and the actual election results. This cycle is unlikely to end anytime soon, leaving many to wonder how much longer he, and his supporters, will be able to maintain the fiction of a landslide win. This pattern of behavior, unfortunately, guarantees that this will be the first of many such controversies during his tenure.