This morning, the Huffington Post reprinted a post on X from a USDA worker in Kentucky who was fired on Valentine’s Day.  In case you missed it here are a couple of excerpts.

Donald J. Trump. Hello Sir. I am one of the probationary employees terminated by the Doge at 9:00pm last night; February 14. I voted for you, Sir, three times, and I still support you.  My termination letter said I was being let go for performance reasons. I know that’s not true; I am an excellent employee. 

I’m the only [redacted] in the State of Kentucky and my work here is valued and honorable. Each time I voted for you, it was because I knew you’d make things right and you’d fix the wrongs. I’m counting on you now to make this right too.  I’m pleading with you to reinstate my employment and give me my job back.  Please, Mr. President.  Thank you.

As of this morning, there were more than 2.5 million replies on X. As expected, responses from the non-MAGA community were laced with schadenfreude.

Do these people think they are going to get an exception because they are Trumpers? The leopard is not going to put your face back on.

More surprising were the responses from MAGA loyalists.  As HuffPost reported, “In response to the post, little sympathy was found from MAGA-supporting commenters.”  They provided the following as an example.

This is business ppl. You don’t sacrifice a country with bankruptcy to let ppl keep a job. They are very employable. Does it suck. Yes but it is a necessary evil.

What the HuffPost writer missed was the extent to which Trump supporters on both sides of this discourse are now captives of MAGA-THINK.  Let’s begin with the laid-off Kentucky USDA employee.  In the above excerpts from his original post he uses the word “I” or “my” a dozen times.  Not once does he suggest there might be other USDA staff whose work is also “valued and honorable” or were terminated for cause despite being “an excellent employee.”  Nor does he defend USDA.  Does he not realize his “valued and honorable” work derives from the agency’s congressionally mandated mission?  His main message?  “Help me.  To hell with everyone else.” 

He also makes it perfectly clear he believes in identify politics though I’d bet the farm he cheered when Trump signed an executive order shutting down all federally fundrf DEI programs.  It may not be race or gender, but claiming you should be privileged solely because you are a full-fledged member of MAGA-World smacks of the worse kind of favoritism.  Being part of this preferred class does not depend on some accident of birth or inherent trait.  Anyone can join.  All you have to do is make a Faustian deal and hand over your moral soul to King Donald.

The same holds true for those who suggested laid-off employees need to realize their termination was “a necessary evil” of Trump’s divine plan to make America great again.  Will they feel the same way when they lose their Medicaid benefits or they have thousands of dollars in daycare expenses because their young children no longer go to Head Start classes?  Or when they finally realize Elon Musk will get a multi-million dollar tax break while the cost of everyday goods and services rise as a result of Trump’s tariffs?  Are they going to rush to Truth Social and post, “I voted for you three times.  I still support you.  But please, I thought you were only going to punish the non-faithful.”

My message to both these segments of  the MAGA universe.  “Does it suck?  Yes, but it’s the unnecessary evil you made possible.”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP