David McElroy

Donald Trump is the most effective agent of Marxist economics the United States has ever seen.

Let that sink in.

The president who is beloved by many who scream about the dangers of socialism and wave flags that say “Don’t Tread on Me” is dragging this country further into the economic worldview of Karl Marx than the Soviets ever dreamed possible. And what’s worse? His followers cheer him for it.

I know better than to think Trump is reading Das Kapital in the middle of the night. He probably couldn’t distinguish Karl Marx from Groucho Marx. But his policies — his economic instincts — align with the collectivist, central-planning ideals that defined Marx’s vision of how to run a society. The irony is grotesque. The former host of The Apprentice is becoming the accidental apprentice of Marx himself.

Let’s look at the facts.

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The letter came by email. No name. A subject that said only, “Hello from the Past.” Just a message from a ghost who knew how to open old wounds.

It was only three paragraphs long, but I kept coming back to the final sentences.

“I will always love the man who loved me best, even though you won’t believe that and even though I’m sure you feel nothing for me now,” the letter said. “I miss your love and attention more than anybody knows.”

There was no signature. No clue. Just quiet regret and longing, poured out across an anonymous digital connection. There was no anger. No accusation. I keep reading the words over and over, wondering which woman wrote them — and wondering why she needed to send this.

She said she had run across a photo of me online which had triggered old feelings. She said she tries not to think about me anymore.

“You’re still a fire that draws me and now I can’t touch that fire, so I shouldn’t even look and let myself be tempted,” she wrote. “I feel this mostly when it’s late at night and I allow my brain to stop processing the distractions of my normal life. It makes me feel the almost uncontrollable urge to pick up the phone and call you again, but I know you probably wouldn’t want me to do that and probably wouldn’t answer if I did call.”

But who is she?

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By now, it should be obvious to anyone with a functioning moral compass and a shred of intellectual honesty that Donald Trump is not a conservative. He never was. He never will be.

Trump is not a defender of tradition or a protector of liberty, much less a champion of moral decency. He is a narcissistic liar whose entire political identity is built on the cultish appeal of populism — a dangerous, tribal nationalism that has replaced principle with grievance and replaced wisdom with obedience to his sick ego.

He is a con man with a narcissist’s lust for power, a pathological liar whose every instinct tilts toward authoritarianism and a demagogue whose only consistent ideology is self-worship. The American right has been hijacked — not by a champion of conservative principles, but by a dangerous populist who sells emotional sugar to the angry and fearful. And millions have bought this poison.

It’s time to stop pretending. Trump is not Ronald Reagan reincarnated. He’s not even George W. Bush. He’s not interested in smaller government, individual liberty or constitutional fidelity. He’s interested in himself — his image, his control, his personal vengeance. If you think he’s fighting for your freedom, he’s fooled you. He’s fighting for your loyalty so you’ll protect him.

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