Good morning everyone. This morning we examine a President increasingly cut off from those around him. Trump is becoming more isolated as his term winds down, and the distance is creating serious alarm within the Republican Party, especially with a surprisingly competitive special election only a day away.
At the same time, Trump is already positioning himself to deflect blame in the growing controversy surrounding Pete Hegseth and the handling of military operations in Venezuela. Doctors are also raising new questions about the President’s mental acuity after he appeared confused about which part of his body had been scanned during a recent MRI.
Donald Trump is more isolated than ever before as President of the United States. New Atlantic reporting shows how Trump has stopped holding his once-defining rallies and dramatically reduced domestic travel, choosing instead to stay within his own properties, dine with wealthy allies, and consume only praise-filled media; this self-imposed bubble—reinforced by loyalist staff, curated news, and limited contact with ordinary Americans.
This has left him increasingly isolated, politically out of touch, inattentive to voter priorities such as affordability, and focused instead on foreign trips, personal indulgences, and retribution campaigns, alarming Republicans who fear his detachment is hurting both his presidency and their electoral prospects.
Reporting indicates Trump is now positioning himself to shift blame onto Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the Venezuela strikes, openly distancing himself from the “double-tap” boat attacks in the southern Caribbean as political and legal scrutiny intensifies.
Overnight, Trump called for the arrest of Democratic lawmakers again. Only issue? Trump posted a selectively cropped excerpt of 18 U.S.C. § 2387 to imply Democratic lawmakers committed a felony by urging troops to refuse illegal orders, omitting the statute’s key language that limits the crime to advocating insubordination or mutiny; the edited post reframed their reminder of constitutional limits as criminal while echoing Trump’s recent online threats to prosecute — and even execute — those lawmakers.
Here is the full text of the statute:
Questions about Donald Trump mental acuity have been raised following Trump saying he will release the “perfect” results of an MRI conducted during his October physical but claims he has “no idea” which body part was scanned; the White House has not explained the reason for the MRI, saying only that it was routine “advanced imaging” at Walter Reed showing he is in “exceptional physical health,” and Trump added it wasn’t a brain scan because he had already taken and “aced” a cognitive test.
Trump further remarked that the MRI results were as perfect as the “perfect” phone call that was the reason he was impeached.
The Guardian reports that Trump delivered a blunt ultimatum to Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro in a 21 November phone call, urging him to resign and leave the country with guarantees of safe passage, but Maduro refused and demanded global immunity and retention of military control, amid escalating U.S. pressure and skepticism that Trump will follow through with military action.
CNN reports that Trump will hold an Oval Office meeting this evening on next steps in his escalating Venezuela pressure campaign, with top national security officials including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Dan Caine and Secretary of State Marco Rubio attending as the U.S. increases strikes on drug vessels, builds up military assets in the Caribbean and warns all air traffic to avoid Venezuelan airspace.
Pete Hegseth mocked the possible war crimes in a post to his Twitter:
Venezuela’s National Assembly accused the U.S. of committing “murder” with recent strikes targeting Venezuelan citizens, with Assembly president Jorge Rodríguez saying that because no war exists between the countries, the killings cannot be justified and violate the victims’ right to due process.
Republican-led Pentagon oversight committees in both the Senate and House launched investigations into reported U.S. boat strikes, with lawmakers from both parties calling for congressional review; Sen. Tim Kaine said the alleged follow-up strike could amount to a war crime if confirmed, while Rep. Mike Turner cautioned that Congress has yet to verify the report but agreed such an act would be illegal.
There is growing GOP anxiety over Tennessee’s Dec. 2 special election, where Republican Matt Van Epps is only narrowly leading Democrat Aftyn Behn in a deep-red district Trump won by 22 points, raising fears that a Democratic upset could shrink the GOP House majority to a zero-vote margin and leave Republicans unable to afford any defections on key votes.
The first appeals court ruling on Trump’s temporary U.S. attorney appointments went against him in a 3–0 decision, with the Third Circuit rejecting his attempt to install attorney Alina Habba as acting U.S. attorney.
According to NBC, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, the Afghan immigrant accused of killing one West Virginia National Guard soldier and critically wounding another near the White House, had been part of a CIA-backed elite “Zero Units” force in Afghanistan; despite that background, by 2024 he was reportedly isolated, unemployed and struggling with mental-health issues, spending weeks “in a darkened room … not speaking to anyone,” according to case-worker emails, yet he was granted U.S. asylum in April 2025.
Luigi Mangione, accused of killing UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, is returning to New York state court for a weeklong pretrial hearing that will determine whether police obtained key evidence and statements legally, with his defense seeking to suppress a red notebook, other writings, and alleged statements while arguing his constitutional rights were violated.
Good news:
After Portland widower Tony James became homeless with his dog and 250-pound pet pig Roscoe, the city’s fire department homeless outreach team arranged his travel home to family in Chicago and secured Roscoe a place at Oregon’s largest farm animal sanctuary, where staff said the emotional farewell showed the deep bond between man and pig and pledged to reunite them once James is back on his feet.
The Kelly Clarkson Show turned emotional when a mother unexpectedly met the Cake4Kids volunteer who had baked her daughter’s custom Toy Story birthday cake during a period of family hardship, highlighting the nonprofit’s nationwide network of volunteers who provide personalized cakes to children facing homelessness, foster care or financial struggle, and prompting Clarkson and the audience to tear up as the organization received a $5,000 donation.
London cleaning-company owner Ben Saunders completely cleared and restored 63-year-old Army veteran Nick Joyce’s severely overgrown backyard for free, then raised more than $14,000 from viewers and surprised Joyce with both the funds and a fully insured car, aiming to lift him out of isolation and hardship caused by health issues and the loss of transportation.
