"I’ve measured my life in oil wars. And our oil-igarchs have learned nothing," writes David Rothkopf.

I lived through the Iraq planning and aftermath firsthand at the most senior levels of government. The parallels with Venezuela are unmistakable and deeply concerning.

Trump on Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado: "She doesn’t have the respect of the people there." Same Trump 1.0 pattern as Juan Guaidó—elevate a democratic figure when useful, discard them when they’re not. The U.S. will “run” Venezuela. So who’s next, Cuba? The Panama Canal? Greenland?

Venezuela, to the Trump administration, is about oil, not the Venezuelan people or democracy. There’s no plan for what comes next. Trump’s remarks today confirmed it.

Jack Smith testified under oath that Trump caused January 6. Trump is escalating in Venezuela—using force, “capturing Maduro,” bypassing Congress, and offering no explanation of what comes next. This week’s Covfefe is about accountability: when it’s documented, and when it’s avoided.

2025 didn’t answer every question. It clarified which ones can no longer be avoided. Before we pretend the new year is a reset—a reflection on what last year revealed and what it asks of us now.

Happy New Year! Here’s to clarity, courage, and care—for ourselves and for each other in 2026.

Closing out the year with clarity. Saturday Morning Covfefe: Five things I’m watching as we head into the New Year. No noise. Just context over chaos.

Merry Christmas!🎄🎁 Sending you love and light across the miles.

Venezuela policy keeps getting sold as regime change. In reality, it’s pressure without a plan, capped by a “Trump-class” golden fleet of ships offered as branding and distraction for the absence of strategy. What happens if they actually succeed? Who owns the aftermath?

All clear. The Trump speech is done. You didn’t miss anything. It’s safe to turn the TV back on and return to the Survivor finale.

Trump’s speech was tired because the ideology is tired. Same villains. Same threats. Same script. Stephen Miller’s creative rot is showing. You’re on TV, not a rally. Stop yelling. He’s still mad it’s called Obamacare. But congrats on pissing off every Survivor fan by crashing the finale.

"Susie Wiles [presidential chief of staff] says time will tell whether she's been effective. "Time always tells. And history is not kind to those who confuse proximity to power with moral authority." -- Olivia Troye, former White House national security official (2018-20)

In Vanity Fair, Susie Wiles says she’s “not an enabler.” I believed that lie once too. Church on Sundays doesn’t erase dismantled PEPFAR and global aid, detained citizens, pardoned insurrectionists, or normalized extremism. You can’t work under Trump at that level without enabling harm.

I’ve sat in the rooms where decisions like this get made. Where someone asks, “Can we do this?” And someone else says, “Who’s going to stop us?” Trump. DOJ. FEMA. Courts. Elections. Same playbook. Higher stakes.

Yesterday, at a threats hearing, an FBI official testified that “antifa” is a major national security threat, but couldn’t explain its structure, location, or membership. Meanwhile, the White House quietly released a new National Security Strategy that elevates mass migration as the defining threat.

Your health care bill is about to explode.
If affordability feels like a crisis, it’s because it is.

World Cup draw drama. AI loneliness. Tariff pain. Kushner in Moscow. SCOTUS power grabs. Rebel nuns living their best lives. This week’s Covfefe is wild.👇

A World Cup “peace prize” for Trump, and ICE raids for everyone else? I stood with fans and families today at the No ICE In Our Cup rally. The World Cup should bring joy, not fear.

I warned yesterday that this administration is creating the conditions for radicalization here at home. Hours later, Trump called Somali immigrants “garbage,” and implied even U.S. citizens should “go back.” ICE “strike teams” are now headed to Minneapolis. This is exactly the danger I wrote about.

I helped build the vetting system they’re blaming. We are not seeing imported extremism. We are seeing American-made radicalization, created by the Trump policies that claim to “fix it.”

I’m in a privileged place in my life where I can partner with a deserving nonprofit trying to get gifts to 30K+ children and teens impacted by trauma and engaged with Dept of Children and Families. Can you please help me be Santa and clear their holiday lists? www.amazon.com/registries/g...

ICE vs. Police Chiefs. The White House stepping in for an accused sex trafficker. Trump pardoning a narco while bombing boats. SCOTUS playing with your voting rights. Elon Musk’s AI giving Hitler a makeover. And a daffodil story to keep us human. This week in Covfefe...

Before the turkey, the chaos, and the conspiracy theories… I just want to say thank you. Grateful for this community more than you know.🤍 Happy Thanksgiving!🦃

James Comey: Case tossed. Letitia James: Case tossed. Mark Kelly: Investigated… for civics? Three headlines. One warning.

Worth reading---all the way to the end.

Marjorie Taylor Greene quits. The Coast Guard backtracks on swastikas and nooses. And finally, some good news: 128,000 families just had their medical debt wiped out. Full Saturday Covfefe⬇️

Trump didn’t just rewrite history with MBS this week. He rewrote America’s red lines. My latest deep dive on the F-35 sale and the cost of Trump’s loyalty to Saudi Arabia:

Epstein. AI eating your power bill. Silent Migrant trains. Trump inventing a “war” at sea. Fake tequila. DHS Corruption: Kristi Noem’s friends-and-family plan. None of this is normal…

Trump has one playbook:
When truth threatens him, he calls it a “hoax.” He did it with Russia, Ukraine, COVID, the 2020 election, E. Jean Carroll, and now 20,000+ emails, “The Jeffrey Epstein Hoax” If it’s all a hoax, why did real people suffer?

I watched ORWELL: 2+2=5 and felt that familiar chill—truth twisted, lies normalized, power unchecked. This isn’t history. It’s the mirror in front of us. A must-watch for anyone who still believes truth matters. Excited that it’s now streaming on Apple & Amazon!🎥 @neon-rated.bsky.social

On this Veterans Day, I’m thinking of those I’ve served beside-who gave everything, even when the mission was flawed. And of Gaza, where we’re once again trying to build peace on question marks & wishful thinking. To those who serve and have served: thank you for your courage & resilience.

Trump’s America, the sequel: The accomplices Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Christina Bobb, and dozens of fake GOP electors get pardons. The truth-tellers get threats. And next up, a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell.

“A nation’s morality isn’t tested in comfort; it’s tested in how we treat those with no power, no voice, and nowhere else to turn.”

Just back from the border, where faith built bridges. Meanwhile in D.C., they’re busy tearing them down. As the government shutdown continues, I feel like I’ve stepped into the twilight zone. Here are 5 things you may have missed—including the billionaires revamping Trumpism for the next generation.

History made. Virginia elected its first female governor, Abigail Spanberger. Proud to call this Commonwealth home tonight, and even prouder to see it led by someone who truly embodies public service.🇺🇸

💀 Happy Day of the Dead!
Feliz Día de los Muertos! I promised you a glimpse of the celebrations here on the border, so here it is.
A weekend of remembrance, resilience, and love in El Paso, Texas.

youtu.be/C3qNIka8TTs?... @oliviaoftroye.com shares her trip to *The Border* providing clarity and the reality of border life... friendly people, cute stores, great food and even an implant Dentist's office. Our neighbors to the south just going about their daily lives TY, Olivia

Happy Halloween 🎃 from Puerto Palomas, Mexico—where the sound of the border isn’t fear, it’s music. I came here to see it for myself, as Trump’s team talks about bombing “cartel targets” and militarizing Mexico. What I found instead: community, joy & everyday life you rarely see in the headlines.

Sending sunshine and salúd from Puerto Palomas, Mexico! I’ll be bringing a little bit of the border of New Mexico and this wonderful little town to you tomorrow morning.🇲🇽🎥

They say “election integrity.” But the pattern says something else. Federal election “observers.” Redrawn maps. Trump’s third-term talk. Same playbook. New language.

So they made the U.S. citizenship test harder. Funny, because I’m not convinced Trump could pass it. Take the quiz & let me know how you did.🇺🇸

ICE trains criminals & sets the standard for Fail Team Six. The Pentagon recruits propagandists. And Kathryn Bigelow drops “A House of Dynamite,” the most chilling “fiction” of the year. Café de olla in hand. Truth on tap.

With Letitia James in spirit today. If I weren’t away, I’d be at that courthouse, because showing up matters. We see what’s happening. Retribution isn’t justice.

Good read of the room by @oliviaoftroye.com “While the powerful double down on fear & their rich, gilded ballrooms, the rest of us keep showing up. Quietly. Stubbornly. Together.” Yes we do. We always will. 🇺🇸✊🏼🇺🇸

I always feel hopeful after reading a post from @oliviaoftroye.com. Today is no different. "Belief in the people who keep this country afloat when its leaders fail it. Belief in the quiet, relentless goodness that power can’t buy or bulldoze." www.livingitwitholiviatroye.com/p/the-people...

I’ve walked those White House halls. Now they’re rubble.
A $300 million ballroom rises while federal workers go unpaid.
It’s heartbreaking. Disgusting. But while the powerful build gilded ballrooms—everywhere I go, I see something stronger: we, the people, still showing up.

christ almighty what is this guy doing www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...

While 1.4 million federal workers go unpaid, the tear gas, the bombs, and the cranes at the White House keep getting funded. They call it modernization. Let’s call it what it really is: demolition of the People’s House & democracy.

This weekend I covered the No Kings Rally in my hometown of El Paso, TX—surrounded by people who still believe in truth, freedom, and each other. When dissent gets labeled “un-American,” showing up becomes an act of courage. Thank you to everyone across the country who showed up. 🇺🇸