Exposing corruption is not enough; voters need to understand how corruption affects their lives

This is a messaging challenge for those hoping to change the Trump regime in November 2026 and 2028.  Exposing corruption is not enough; voters need to understand how corruption affects their lives. The demise of Viktor Orban was brought about because voters understood that his corruption had made them the poorest country in the European Union.  So many in the US complain about the price of gas at the pump, and they see the connection with world-set oil prices and the impact on supply, and I understand this is about a war Trump started with Iran.  Some excuse Trump for getting rich while president because he is such a great businessman they so admire, but they are beginning to understand how his corrupt practices drive up grocery and agricultural prices and inflation.  To fund it, Trump proposes cuts to feed the hungry programs and making health care unaffordable for even more voters.  The Iran war is an easy connection to make to rising prices, but what does corruption have to do with it?  

 PBS and AP, in a lengthy analysis, show how the Trump family's cryptocurrency ventures are connected and how the prospect of war and foreign policy initiatives shape investment decisions. and the pockets of Trump and his family.  That's the problem: it is lengthy and requires a grasp of such new instruments of wealth like cryptocurrency and gifts from airplanes to the advantage of  managing sovereign Saudi funds

.The Trump family's current wealth has much to do with their self-interested conduct of foreign affairs, but the challenge is getting this into a form that lay people can understand and make the link to their own well-being.  Bribery is not always obvious when there is a quid pro quo.  The quid may be separated by months from the quo...or involve what seem to be unrelated business transactions that just happen to result in stuffing the pockets of schemers at both ends of a corrupt deal.   This is worth a serious read: 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/how-the-trump-familys-business-deals-could-open-the-door-for-future-presidents-to-profit-from-office?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

 

Orban's defeat is a win for US pro Democracy movements

There are lessons to be learned, but Orban's defeat is a boost to pro-democracy movements and inspires efforts underway in the US to restore the kind of democracy we once had.

After  16 years, the people of Hungary had had enough of autocracy.  It took 16 years for the grassroots to get around Viktor Orban's total control of the media and a pro-Russian foreign policy.   What does this mean for America's resistance to a political party and MAGA's attempt to establish a unitary form of government to replace the Constitutional constraints against an all-powerful executive branch chief? 

There are some lessons to learn from Hungary's experience.  So enamored has MAGA been of the "strong leader"  unitary model for political domination that the powerful Conservative Political Action PAC (CPAC) has held meetings in Hungary, and Orban has been a featured speaker at their conventions. Much of the thrust of an Orban-type autocracy was also part of the plan to de facto turn the US into their one-party rule by a concerted effort to replace the federal government's rank and file with loyalists to Trump,  white Christian ideologues, and wealthy cronies..They succeeded without rewriting the Constitution by putting the authors and advocates of Project  2025 in charge of personnel and appointments and in the White House staff itself with the election of Trump in 2024 to a second term..  

The Achilles heel of autocracies is corruption. Rule by one person or a small group enables corruption because it removes checks on the avarice, greed, and pocket-stuffing of the rich and fawning supporters and cronies.  Such political and governmental power in one hand enables a leader to neglect the financial well-being of even those they purport to support. It is felt by the masses when the autocrat has priorities other than those he governs, from concerns about the cost of living to the negative impact on their own lives of foreign military adventurism, or being aligned with another similar autocracy, like Putin's. Hungary's standard of living, once comfortable, had declined under Orban, making it one of the poorest countries in Europe.   Overt and unchecked corruption had become the signature of the Orban regime. https://www.princetonpoliticalreview.org/international-news/viktor-orbns-hungary-corruption-repression-amp-democratic-backsliding.  This may also sound familiar to observers of Trump 1 and II.

 It is emerging as an awareness in the US of it happening here, to some extent. But there is also a growing realization that autocrats think they can get away with ignoring promises to make life more affordable, as their leaders feather their own nests with wealth and power. This awareness is reflected in plunging approval ratings for Trump and his unpopular public policies.  

The link of who controls the power, the people or an autocrat who is self-promoting and self-indulging, is this: Autocracy enables the needs of the rank and file citizens to be ignored. Trump is acting like one who assumes he has already seized the reins of the federal government and he can get away with anything, including enriching himself and his family members while using his power to punish and suppress any opposition.  

The good news coming from Hungary for those who want to restore the power. of Congress and bolster the judiciary to check the corrupt and vengeful can inspire the grassroots and populace to rise up without violence and restore the democratic antidote. Hungary just did it. It just takes a long time for it to happen; 16 years in Hungary.(In America, the time frame has been more like a year or two for CPAC and Project 2025 to establish an Orban-type rule.) For Hungarians,  it took a grassroots, door-to-door effort by a nation that once was  prosperous and had seen its standard of living decline as the corruption of the rulers became more evident despite media control. 

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/russell-vought-and-trump-pulling.htmlcontrol.  It was a merging of an Individual NO KINGS-type movement and the organization of citizens through word of mouth and door-to-door. 

We have a template for similar revolts in the US. It was Minneapolis and a citizens' revolt against ICE. The citizens were inspired to act as they did because it was not just an argument over legal theory but a revolt against the methods ICE used that trampled on the human and civil rights of all immigrants. and thenselves.  It was a matter of moral outrage and the unfairness of the treatment of all residents, regardless of race, religion, or immigration status. Its citizens had had enough of the fascist type paramilitary actions of ICE and organized in many ways, using many techniques to be successful.

 What is also evident with Orban's defeat is that it is easier to nip a wannabe autocracy in the bud before it seizes more control of the reins of government, because once in control, it is much harder to effect regime change. It takes time and mass realizations by citizens that they have been played.

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/list-or-particulars-how-trump-has.html.  How Trump has accumulated dictatorial powers in 11 months

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/russell-vought-and-trump-   How Project 2025 now runs the executive branch

Exploring CPAC's love affair with Viktor Orban https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2025/09/the-orban-playbook-and-if-it-would-work.html

   

A historical classic conflict: morality of the pope vs immorality of Trump: update 4/15/26

JD Vance, newly minted Catholic, spoke to a youth group this weekend and basically told the Pope to sit down, shut up, stay in his lane, and just preach the gospels. Perhaps we can forgive Trump for being immoral and only transactional without any moral compass, because there is evidence he has a hard time comprehending the written word so her probably never read the
Bible and he does not grasp the meaning of Christianity.  But Vance? 

Here is the problem: the last guy to try that was HItler, who made the deal with the Pope.  Stay in your lane, too, and you will just be fine.  Here is the problem: since World War II and the Atomic bomb and the Nuremberg trials, there was an attempt to bring minimum morality into political and military practices through the Geneva Conventions and international tribunals to try and imprison those found guilty of war crimes.  That, too, has been trashed by Pete Hegseth, who finds rules of engagement "stupid" and igniting conflict within the military over whether they should obey an illegal order.  Note: those orders considered illegal were directly the result of the fallout of Hitler/World War II, and the Nuremberg Laws.Those subalterns to Hitler tried to claim they were just following orders, and instead were either hanged or imprisoned.

 This world desperately needs more morality as a standard in practice, even in politics and governance, not less. Many in the grassroots are opposing Trump's policies,, motivated by moral outrage, over whether it is starting a war or ICE snatching people and throwing them into prisons with no opportunity to make their case in court. Contrary to the Constitution and any sense of morality, the detainees are being kept in gulag warehouses where inhumane treatment will cause the detainee to self-deport, whether they had a right to stay in the US or not. Cruelty is not a Christian value, nor is the mass slaughter of civilians in an unnecessary war. It is also considered a war crime even to threaten it in order to force capitulation..

Continuing with the original post

The Pope openly rebuked Trump, and called off trips to the US as the battle between morality vs immorality comes out in the open.  , prompted by Trump's threats to wipe out a whole civilization to get the Gulf of Horuz open, Trump got closed. Pope Leo vows now not to visit the US while Trump is president per reports early 4/9/2026, https://www.thenational.scot/news/26006429.pope-leo-refuses-go-us-donald-trump-president/   Also, a factor, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened the Pope; https://newrepublic.com/post/208820/pentagon-threatened-pope-criticized-donald-trump. Trump did TACO, a "cease fire," and negotiations have begun, but demands on both sides are so far apart, the prospect of this is iffy.  It is an off-ramp for Trump's blunders, causing strategic failures and blowbacks, even if the military executed target orders brilliantly.

 This is only part of the Pope's condemnation of Trump's policies. The dispute had already become public over Trump's inhumane treatment of migrants in  Milwaukee. https://www.milwaukeeindependent.com/explainers/faith-action-milwaukee-churches-confront-human-toll-immigration-policy/

https://www.dbu.edu/mitchell/medieval-resources/medpapalimperialconflict.html

The same moral outrage is appearing in protestant Texas over the treatment of immigrants in the rise of Talarico.  https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/03/james-talaricos-victory-in-texas.html   Talarico is a Presbyterian theologian student.

https://baptistnews.com/article/its-pete-hegseths-theology-that-ought-to-concern-us

Post World War II attempts to codify what constitutes acceptable behavior by warring factions also reflect a level of morality generally supported by international law.  It is expressed in what is considered as a war crime, worthy of criminal prosecution in international tribunals, and was the outgrowth of the Nuremberg trials that sent a large number of Nazi leadership to the gallows or to prison. Trump may have backed off his threat of genocide and wiping out a whole civilization in Iran because someone whispered in his ear that what he threatened was a war crime in itself, but for sure if he carried it off with a bombing campaign  Trump may think he can commit war crimes in the US and get away with it because the Supreme Court granted him immunity, but the Hague can still bring him to justice and trial if a warrant for his arrest is issued.  FYI: the rest of the Trump administration, from cabinet members to military brass, are not protected from criminal prosecution in the US and in the Hague.  Particularly at risk is Secretary of "War", Pete Hegseth, who calls the Geneva Conventions and other laws and military rules of engagement that keep military actions that protect innocent civilians as "stupid". https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/02/us-defense-secretarys-media-remarks-on-rules-of-engagement# 

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/04/trump-advocating-war-crime-t-when-hague.html

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/03/iran-hegseths-holy-war.html

https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/moral-indignation-rises-as-major.html

Hegseth is not the only cabinet member or major policy shaper in the White House. In fact, Trump has handed much power to White Christian Nationalists who see the future of America in racial terms and draw on their religion to justify their intent. The gospels are dominated by taking care of the least of these and how to treat "strangers", completely contradicting the intent of Jesus as he is reported to speak .https://mufticforumblog.blogspot.com/2026/02/white-christian-nationalism-has-taken.html

Update 4/1//2026:  Why is Trump so immoral? 

Trump has a personality problem. Why does Trump keep making bad judgment calls like the Iran war and adding costs of daily living to so many in America, while enriching the already rich with taxes and public policy favors? I keep searching for answers. Here is what I conclude. It is based on observations of what he does as much as what he says with bluff, puffery, and lies. It is more than just Trump being Trump. He has his standards, and doing moral things is not his goal or his own measure of success. Being "transactional" means making deals that benefit himself. It is not what is moral or good for even his supporters. It's not what is legal or Constitutional. Trump has always been that way, but now it seems in his second term, his personality quirks are on steroids. Trump is consumed wth amassing wealth and power for himself in the short time he has left in office. He is stuffing his pockets with crypto and building monuments to himself, from ballrooms to soaring arches, his name on currency and concert halls, his face frowning down on citizens from public buildings, and throwing his military muscle around. Everything else is secondary as he makes Trump great again after his loss in 2020. That is the problem with having an egomaniac, self-aggrandizing president. Those with bad judgment are his enablers who think that what is good for Trump is good for the rest of America and their very own lives.

And now Trump and Vance support and provide active support to a dictator, described by some as a neo fascist.

This is  an update of a Feb. 18 post:

4/9/26 And then Trump and Vance left no doubt that they not only endorsed Oban, but actively came to his aid as polls show he may lose the election this coming Sunday. Orban now enjoys the support of Putin and Trump...all the "best"people. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-live-vance-speaks-in-hungary-on-trip-to-help-boost-orbans-reelection-bid

Rubio boosts Orbán's bid for another term during Budapest visit | PBS News

Viktor Orban has been described by many sources as a dictator and a neo fascist and has been held up as a darling by US right-wing conservatives (CPAC).

He also favors Putin's foreign policy, particularly as it pertains to Ukraine. Fellow European NATO members find him constantly out of step with their attempts to help Ukraine, and often have to use /workarounds to carve out their support for Ukraine. That Rubio would be endorsing him says much about Trump's love of dictators, a role his words and deeds reveal he aspires to join them, as well. As a Cuban-American, one would think Rubio understands why dictatorships are bad. I do not get him other than he has hitched his political ambitions wagon to Trump..

MUFTIC FORUM BLOG: The Orban playbook and if it would work here

In her 2018 book Fascism: A Warning, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright identified Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a leader exhibiting authoritarian, fascist-like tendencies. She categorized his actions—such as undermining the press, judiciary, and minorities—as part of a broader trend of anti-democratic behavior. 

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/watch-live-vance-speaks-in-hungary-on-trip-to-help-boost-orbans-reelection-bid