http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/laura/mutual-admire-society-2025-s440.pngTrump's cabinet meetings have become a nauseating, overly rehearsed spectacle of flattery and ego-stroking. We need leaders, not loyalists.

LAKE GENEVA, WI - I watched the cabinet meeting hoping for leadership. What I got looked more like a loyalty pledge than a government function. If I wanted to see a staged round of applause for a dictator, I’d turn on North Korean state TV. But this was our government—and it made me sick.

I honestly don’t know what I was expecting when I turned on the cabinet meeting this week. Maybe some straight talk about what’s really going on in this country. A little leadership, a little honesty, a little concern for the people who are out here struggling every day to keep their heads above water.

What I got instead? A nauseating, overly rehearsed spectacle of flattery and ego-stroking.

It wasn’t a meeting. It was a mutual admiration society in full swing. And Trump? He was soaking it in like a man getting a standing ovation for doing absolutely nothing.

Every cabinet member, one after the other, stood up and offered praise so scripted it felt like I was watching a school play. Not one person spoke off the cuff. Not one addressed the hard truths we’re facing. Every word was carefully chosen, clearly rehearsed, and aimed straight at the President’s overinflated ego.

It was like watching a bad episode of The Apprentice crossed with North Korean state media. The only thing missing was a military parade and some choreographed clapping.

And while they were busy patting each other on the back and showering Trump with compliments about his “vision” and “wisdom,” the rest of us?
We’re out here living in a mess.

- Groceries cost more than some people’s paychecks.
- Seniors are skipping medication because they can’t afford it.
- Families are watching their retirement accounts vanish.
- And basic public services are being gutted while billionaires hoard even more.

But sure, let’s all applaud the President for “unifying leadership” while the country crumbles.

The worst part? It was obvious they thought this performance would convince us everything is fine. That we wouldn’t notice the cracks showing. That we’d fall for the act.

I hate to break it to them, but some of us are paying very close attention.

We see the pandering.
We hear the lies.
And we feel the consequences every single day.

This wasn’t a cabinet meeting. It was a performance for an audience of one. And the rest of us were just supposed to smile and nod along like fools.

Well, I’m not smiling.
And I sure as hell am not nodding.

This kind of behavior isn’t normal. It’s not democratic. It’s not governing.
It’s authoritarian cosplay, and it should terrify every single one of us.

We need leaders, not loyalists.
We need truth, not theatrics.
We need accountability, not applause.

And no amount of staged praise is going to change that.