Mort Report is a labor of love by old-style correspondents with lifetimes on the road and young ones with fresh eyes. Our philosophy is simple: we report at first hand with analysis based on non-alternative fact, not opinion. If we get something wrong, we fix it.
DRAGUIGNAN, France —For months now, a power-besotted buffoon who apes traits of Machiavelli, Mussolini and King Midas has been recasting the United States into his own image. Today, from the outside looking in, harsh reality is clear.
American democracy is dying in broad daylight. Millions turn out to protest Donald Trump's depredations. Yet at least a third of voters cheer him on. And a shocking number of those eligible to cast ballots neither notice nor care.
Now he has splashed kerosene onto smoldering embers in the Middle East, spiking geopolitical temperatures across a world on the boil. He had no accord from Congress as the law requires. Republicans were briefed; Democrats were not.
Among Western allies, only Britain was forewarned. As Trump said airily, it was America's show. The nation best equipped to defend human values and lead an imperiled planet toward a sustainable future is doing the opposite.
Responsible Americans turn out by the millions to wake the flock up. Yet during 60 years of reporting, I have never seen such a high percentage of free people willing to trade democracy for demagogy because of apathy or ignorance.
Trump's sudden strike on Iran during peace negotiations typifies his foreign non-policy. He jams a sharp stick into a hornet's nest, then retreats behind his massive ego, ready to blame someone else for the inevitable calamities that follow.
Reactions range from allies' seething contempt to adversaries' cork-popping glee.
My Belgian friend, Yves, who long ago gave up an executive job with Parker pens to make goat cheese in placid Provence, summed up judgment I hear from thoughtful people across what is left of the "free world." One recurrent word is monster.
Yves, once married to a woman from Ohio, knows America well. Like so many others elsewhere, he used to blame its faults and foibles on specific administrations, but he loved its spirit and sensibilities. Now he shudders at the mention of it.
"That man has affected the life of every human on Earth," he told me, with a sad shake of his head. "How can you live in a country that tolerates him?"
The answer is easy for anyone whose family found refuge in a different America and grew up knowing what it is supposed to be. This is no time to abandon it to the greedy and the gullible. Next year's elections could be the last chance to save it.
WILD OLIVES, France —Donald Trump is leading America off a cliff, and Republicans follow in lockstep. Democrats dither in disarray. A re-United States needs a thundering groundswell that transcends partisan politics in 2026.
A two-party system works only if lawmakers respect the law and consider all their constituents' angst before deciding how to vote. Elections are now cage matches to the death.
As Democrats jostle among themselves to find coherence, the choice smacks of two TV series: Monty Python's Flying Circus or MobLand. But one party defends decency and the Constitution. The other, corrupted and cruel, is bent on authoritarian takeover.
In 2026, an R next to any name on any ballot — federal, state or local — should signal ruination. With voter suppression and electronic dirty dealings, 2028 elections may be rigged in advance, if there are any at all.
A cross-party movement can energize 90 million eligible voters who stayed home in 2024. About a quarter of them voted Democrat in 2020 yet overlooked how Joe Biden restored the economy after Covid and kept isolated conflicts from sparking global war.
Many young people unschooled in critical thinking and misled by online echo chambers ignore global threats to their future. Many old ones, set in their ways and fearful of essential change, are easy prey to xenophobic stupidities.
Trump's health is a mystery, but his delusional narcissism plainly deepens by the day. He may soon "age out." JD Vance lacks cult-leader charisma yet is soulless, amoral and smart. If voters cede power to his billionaire backers, he won't need it.
With a firm grip on Congress, hobbled courts and an outmoded Electoral College system, America could have a Dear Leader on a par with Kim Jung Un.
