Terrible news out of Texas, where more than 80 people have died as a result of floods, and scores remain missing. We spend a lot of time discussing man-made tragedies, but with natural disasters like this, there’s much less to say, other than: We’re thinking of those who lost their homes, livelihoods, loved ones, or their own lives. If you’d like to do something to help, here are a few charities we recommend:

• Kerr County Flood Relief Fund

• World Central Kitchen

• American Red Cross

Reading Trump’s Mind

by William Kristol

Honestly, I can’t believe it’s been so easy.

Actually, I can. Because you know what? I’m good at this. And I’ve gotten even better.

I’m much better than I was eight years ago. You learn from your mistakes—though of course you can never admit to making any. They all told me back in 2017, You gotta get along with the establishment, you gotta hire this general and that big shot, you gotta pull your punches, you gotta be careful.

Bullshit.

I listened. But I should have followed my instincts back then. I should have fired Mueller, dumped Mattis and Kelly and Barr and McGahn earlier, all of them. They said the blowback would have been too much. More bullshit. I could have handled it.

Anyway, now I’ve got my team in there. They’re folks who everyone thought I was crazy to nominate. But they’re loyalists. And that’s what matters. And I got them through. Honestly, it wasn’t even that hard. All we had to do was to keep pushing and ignore the bleating from the “establishment.”

Because you know what? The establishment is pathetic. The elites are pathetic. The Republican party, Congress, the Court, the law firms, the universities, the media—they can’t fight. Roy Cohn (God, I miss that guy) used to tell me: Push, push, push—and they’ll all fold like a cheap suit. Such a great expression! Roy really had a way with words.

Anyway, we’ve had the best first six months of any administration, ever. They told me some historian from that weird college in Michigan—Hillsdale or something—did a study and said so. But I think it’s really true.

I mean, we got my bill through before July 4. They all said, Oh no, sir, it’s gotta be two bills. Oh no, sir, they can’t do it by the 4th. Bullshit. All I really had to do was call it “big” and “beautiful” and they fell in line, just like they did with the nominees. The wimps were wrong. Bigly.

But getting that stupid bill passed is huge. It keeps the rich guys happy. But the key is the $170 billion for the internal police. I saw early on—maybe it was the ghost of Roy Cohn whispering in my ear—that “mass deportation” was the path to seizing and consolidating power. Steve Miller believes all that stuff about foreigners. And, yes, he’s a weirdo and I really try to avoid spending time with him. But he’s been great at keeping everyone whipped up and pushing, pushing, pushing. More importantly, he’s loyal. There’s that word again. It’s a beautiful word. It’s being recognized more and more, I notice.

So, yeah, the mass deportations have started, and they’re not going to stop. We do that for the next few years, keep the issue front and center—and meanwhile get ICE built up, and get people used to using the military at home. “Boiling the frog slowly”—that’s another great expression Roy loved to use. I guess he invented it.

And Roy would like how I’ve got the Justice Department totally under control. That’s something I learned from the first term. Now Pam okays everything I want. And they’re getting people used to my Article II powers—I love that Article II, by the way. A lot of people are saying it’s the greatest article.

So 2026 should be fine. With DOJ ready to roll, and ICE and the military around, we can create disturbances, investigate Democrats for breaking the law, and get the country terrified about putting the Democrat traitors in charge.

And you know what will help more than people realize? The celebration of the 250th anniversary. People love all that stuff. Though someone showed me the actual Declaration of Independence the other day. “All men are created equal.” Give me a break! Jefferson was such a bullshit artist. What a beaut.

Still, I guess it worked. And now we can use the 250th for our purposes. We’ll “educate” the public on what really makes America great: money and power. They’re making fun of me saying we’re gonna have a UFC fight at the White House next year. But people gotta get used to the fact that’s what America’s about. There’s a quote Roy learned at Columbia—they had some “Western Civilization” course there he liked to talk about. It’s from that guy they talk about a lot, Genghis Khan. Big Article II guy. I got it written down: “The greatest happiness is to vanquish your enemies, to chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth, to see those dear to them bathed in tears.” That’s true greatness. I may have to use it on Elon.

The other thing that’s going to help for 2026 is Supreme Court confirmation fights. I really gotta talk with Sam and Clarence soon, and arrange their resignations. I’m thinking we do one this month, one in the winter, so we have a Court confirmation story going over the whole next year. Those worked for me in 2018, and even in 2020 though they stole that election. We’ve got to nominate total loyalists, of course, to replace the two of them. But also ones who will get confirmed. I’m thinking first Judge Ho, then maybe Judge Rao. Steve Miller will have a heart attack—What about some white men, boss!—but tough shit.

So we make it through 2026, and at least hold the Senate. Then I go for the third term in 2028. If FDR did it, I can do it. He said they needed to break the two-term rule because of the threat of war. Well, we have a war against the communists and the foreigners raging here at home. Just like in 1940, we can’t afford to risk anyone else in charge.

And there’s no chance John Roberts and the guys will have the nerve to tell me no. Even if they did, they know I’ll ignore them anyway.

So we’ll make 2028 work. We’ll do what we didn’t do in 2020, and tilt the field so we win. And I’ll promise everyone a pardon if we don’t win and can’t overturn it. But we’ll win. Because that’s what I do. And I make it look easy. Roy would be proud.