The America Psycho and the Pentagon
Imagine a country perched on the edge of a political cliff, trembling in the shadow of an authoritarian leader. Elected officials, business elites, and even everyday citizens know they’re dealing with a dangerous man who does not respect democratic norms, the rule of law, or basic human decency.
He wants others like him by his side—deficient, broken people—the cruel, sadistic, ugly, and jealous. He wants this broken soul reflected in the distorted, dirty glass of the mirrors held aloft by his minions. He wants men whose character is a slurry of greed, lust, avarice, and weaknesses.
Donald Trump is that authoritarian, and Pete Hegseth is the modern-day American Psycho Trump wants in charge of the Defense Department.
Hegseth sat there Tuesday like an oleaginous and smarmy Patrick Bateman cosplayer. His 1980s American Psycho affect reeked of insincerity, abundant hair product, and the smug satisfaction that Republicans work for Trump, not for their constituents or, God forbid, the nation.
In the end, Tuesday’s hearings weren’t about Pete Hegseth, at least to the Republican Majority in the Senate.
No, these hearings into the deficient character, low intellect, and abusive nature of Pete Hegseth were overshadowed by the rancid stench of fear, the raw terror at defying Trump — even if it means protecting the nation from incompetence and intemperance — means a drunk, serial adulterer, a fraud and a failure at managing tiny organizations will be placed at the helm of the largest operation in the world. It will mean a man who paid off a victim of sexual assault to silence her is treated as if he’s a serious and qualified candidate to run the Department of Defense.
It means a man who thinks “working out with the troops” is a substitute for knowledge, experience, and judgment. It means they’re blindly placing the lives of 3 million men and women in uniform and out who serve the Department of Defense — and a considerable amount of our national treasure and reputation — in the hands of an obsessively groomed talk show host.
It means placing a man who will run out any general officer who fails to kowtow to Trump, and who believes the talismanic utterance of “woke” is the root solution to the meaningful problems we face around the globe. His few “substantive” answers were a gossamer scrim of “I read the headlines in Defense Daily this morning, but I skipped the hard words” superficiality.
I wish I could tell you they don’t know what they’re doing.
They most certainly do.
They see the warning signs, the flashing red lights of Hegseth’s coming failures and the enormous costs it will impose on our nation.
And yet, their response is chilling in its predictability: they freeze, they cower, and most damningly, they comply with Trump. In their fear, they pave the very road to disaster. A few think they’re playing the monster when it’s just the monster waiting to devour them last.
Yes, this is precisely what’s been happening in the Decade From Hell under Donald Trump, but it’s not the first or last time fear broke souls, minds, and morals. I’ll skip giving you the usual lectures about The German Guy; if you’ve read me for a while, you know the examples are numerous and ugly.
Watching the pathetic, groveling Republicans in the confirmation hearings for unqualified and morally vacant party-boy Pete Hegseth, that was the most potent takeaway: these people are terrified. Joni Ernst, who knows better, practically invited Hegseth over for a kegger and some time in the hot tub. The yahoos—Tuberville, Mullin, and a few more—reveled in their lowbrow bro-fest, but the normie Republicans reek of raw terror.
They’re so afraid to cross Donald Trump that they’ll abandon their duty to the country and vote in favor of a man with a low moral character, no relevant experience, and an admitted drinking problem. They’re not “biding their time.” They’re not “sending Trump a message.” They’re not “steering the ship.” They’re cowards, low and quavering. They’ve rebranded their fear into political acumen, but it’s a lie they’re only selling to themselves.
Here’s the brutal truth: fear doesn’t stop authoritarians. It feeds them. Fear, like oxygen to a fire, only emboldens these leaders to become more dangerous, violent, and unrestrained. Too many people fail to grasp this fundamental political dynamic.
Call it Putin’s Law: the more fearful a nation’s people, business leaders, and elected officials are of an authoritarian leader, the more they inadvertently incentivize increasingly dangerous, destructive, and violent behavior from that leader.
It's not as catchy as ETTD, but I’ll work on it. Let’s break this down because it’s essential to understand how democracies die—and how authoritarian monsters are made.
Authoritarian leaders thrive on a particular kind of power: the power of intimidation. They don’t need the majority in the streets or their legislatures on their side. They need just enough people afraid of them to avoid resistance. Fear creates paralysis, and paralysis leads to compliance.
Consider the elected officials who fall into this trap. They start by rationalizing their cowardice. “I don’t want to get a primary. If I speak out, I’ll lose my seat. If I oppose him, my MAGA constituents will abandon me. Maybe I can keep my head down and survive this.”
They think they’re making a strategic choice, but they’re just encouraging more abuse, offering Trump precisely what he wants: a Senate that has abandoned its constitutional role and responsibilities.
The Democrats did well in the hearings on Hegseth. Still, the fix is obviously in: the FBI report on Hegseth is a product so neutered by that organization’s premature capitulation to Trump that it barely examined parking tickets, much less his consistent pattern of adultery, a sexual assault allegation, his public drunkenness, and financial misconduct at his organizations.
He refused to answer any substantive question, mugging and sneering when the brief, seven-minute clock per Senator expired. Chairman Roger Wicker has broken with tradition and refuses to allow follow-up questions or an actual examination of the evidence against Hegseth.
Still, Hegseth’s patently obvious lies and evasions didn’t provoke a level of drama and outrage that changed the coverage or Hegseth’s chances by one iota.
And it doesn’t stop there. Compliance from officials signals to others—business leaders, civic institutions, and ordinary citizens—that resistance is futile. The message is clear: play along or get crushed.
Why do you think there are Gulfstream 650s stacked ten deep on the Palm Beach FBO tarmac? Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and the rest of the Broligarchy want to get rich off the nightmare of Trump’s second term, protecting their bottom line over America.
As fear spreads, the authoritarian’s behavior escalates. What starts as verbal threats becomes legal harassment, and what begins as intimidation becomes state violence. The leader learns that each act of aggression is rewarded with silence or support.
The perverse logic of this dynamic is that fear reinforces the authoritarian’s belief in his invincibility. Each time he pushes the boundaries of acceptable behavior and encounters no meaningful resistance, he learns a dangerous lesson: I can get away with this.
And with Trump, so far, he essentially has.
Think of it as a Pavlovian experiment but with dictators. Each act of submission is a treat—in Trump’s case, a Filet-O-Fish or a bucket of KFC Extra Crispy—a reward that encourages even more outrageous behavior. The dictator barks louder, and the fearful tremble more. The cycle intensifies.
Now, let’s dispel a comforting myth: the idea that authoritarians eventually overreach and self-destruct. I once believed this. I no longer do.
That’s only true when there’s a counterforce willing to stand up and say, No more. Without that resistance, the overreach never stops. Instead, the authoritarian becomes more violent, more oppressive, and more deeply entrenched.
Take Vladimir Putin. In his early years, Putin was a thug with KGB credentials and a chip on his shoulder. The Russian elite knew he wasn’t exactly a champion of democracy, but they feared chaos and craved money more than they feared him. They stood by as he cracked down on dissent, manipulated elections, and turned Russia into his personal fiefdom.
Every time someone chose equity or stability over courage, Putin grew stronger. Today, he sits atop a murderous kleptocracy that brooks no opposition. It’s not a warning for Trump; it’s a model to emulate.
The Republican Party’s fear of Donald Trump’s base has led them to excuse, justify, and outright endorse behavior that would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Each time Trump crossed a line—whether it was threatening political opponents, attacking democratic institutions, or inciting violence—the GOP’s response was the same: silence, followed by submission.
So, how do you break the cycle of fear? The answer is deceptively simple but profoundly tough: you confront the authoritarian head-on. You call out their behavior for what it is—dangerous, destructive, and anti-democratic. You don’t wait for the perfect moment or the most politically advantageous time.
You act before the monster grows too big to contain and spawns more. Approving Hegseth means they’ll approve Gabbard, RFK Jr., or any other lunatic with the same dumb show of downcast eyes and compliant expressions.
Courage is contagious, just as fear is.
When one person stands up, others are emboldened to do the same. The myth of the authoritarian’s invincibility can be shattered—but only if enough people are willing to take the risk of resistance.
This isn’t to say that standing up to an authoritarian is without cost. There will be consequences. People will lose elections, lose jobs, and even lose their freedom. But history shows that the cost of inaction is always higher. The price of fear-driven compliance is paid in blood, liberty, and the soul of a nation.
Authoritarianism doesn’t arrive with jackboots and torchlit parades. A majority voted for it. America wanted it and its handmaiden, raw kleptocracy.
It creeps in under the guise of stability, security, prosperity, and order. It takes root when people—especially those in power—choose fear over courage, comfort over confrontation. The Senate on Tuesday was a perfect case study, and historians—if we have them—will long remember their compliance and lack of principles.
Their obedience in the face of fear is not a shield. Ultimately, Trump will demand more and more of them until they break.
It’s fuel for the beast. And if you feed the authoritarian monster long enough, it will devour you—and everything you hold dear. The time to stop it is always now…before the monster grows beyond anyone’s control.
The Republicans in the Senate failed in every dimension yesterday, letting Hegseth scuttle off without seeking a single ounce of substance or a single revelation of merit.
At least he wasn’t late for his reservation at Dorsia.
Thank you Rick for one of your greatest essays yet. It’s frightening that there is a lack of courage and backbone to stand up to a being that is so obviously rudderless , evil and obviously in mental decline. He should easily be able to be toppled , yet he continues to somehow paralyze our leaders and the voters. Thank you once again for this article and your courage and determination.
Hegseth is a disaster - the beginning of many. I'm in a bright red state (Indiana) and have contacted the only halfway sane senator we have (Todd Young - Jim Banks is a MAGA moron and devotee). I'm sure my words to Sen. Young have been unheeded but I keep trying. We have to resist as often as we can and every where that we can. It's going to be a long four years.