They didn’t wait. That much is certain.
No pause. No breath. No pretense of letting the system work. Before President Donald Trump placed his hand on the Bible, they were already lighting the match.
Maybe they thought they had to act fast. Perhaps they just didn’t know what else to do. Either way, they emptied the clip.
And for all the commotion, for all the talk of ruin and dictatorship and the end of all things… what actually came of it?
Not much.
Not even smoke worth coughing over.
The Pre-Game Panic Attack
It was December, cold and loud. News anchors dropped their usual smirks and leaned into the panic. MSNBC, CNN, the usual lineup, implied that Trump’s return would trigger something dark. Some warned of mass firings. Others floated the idea of generals ignoring Trump’s orders or that he might start jailing reporters.
No evidence.
Just nerves on parade.
The Atlantic published its usual long-winded death-of-democracy eulogy. Vox warned of “emergency powers” being abused. All of it said with a shrug and a smirk.
And none of it held up.
Because January 20 rolled around anyway. A cold day. Gray skies. Trump walked inside the rotunda, took the oath, and returned to the Oval. Just like the Constitution said he would.
No tanks in the streets. No sirens. No FEMA camps.
Just pageantry and a lot of disappointed pundits who looked like they'd bet the house on a crisis.
The Hashtag Heard ‘Round Nowhere
Right after the inauguration, protests kicked off with branding and hashtags already cooked. “50501,” they called it. Symbolic. Vague. A zip code of resistance or something like that. Later came “No Kings,” banners flapping, voices raised.
People showed up. No question there. Thousands across cities, some angry, some just bored. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave her usual monologue (yawn!) about tyranny. Gavin Newsom posted support from his second home out west, with the wind providing a test of strength for his hair gel.
But what did they want?
Depends on who you ask. Some wanted Trump removed. Others held signs about climate, voting rights, or pronouns in military documents. All that energy but no aim.
It was like watching a fireworks finale when someone forgets the choreography.
Loud, out of order, and weirdly familiar.
Courtroom Sparks That Burned Out in the Hallway
The lawsuits came next. That’s their move now. File, tweet, and wait for MSNBC to cover it.
California, Illinois, and New York sued over environmental rollbacks, education cuts, and immigration enforcement. Some even tried to block Trump’s staffing changes at places like the Department of Energy and the State Department.
I bet they were ready to file when Trump unfairly spoke to reporters outside the lanes of the drive-bys.
Even today, within hours of SCOTUS barring federal judges from instituting nationwide injunctions on White House policies, it happened again! CASA asked the U.S. District Court in Maryland to block Trump's EO denying birthright citizenship to children born in America after Feb. 19, 2025.
There were a few temporary holds. Lower courts gave them a win or two. But most were written around, overturned, or simply ignored by policy workarounds. Trump’s team had already seen the playbook. They made their moves carefully this time.
The Impeachment Nobody Believed Would Work
They couldn’t help themselves.
By early summer, Rep. Al Green retook the podium, waving impeachment papers like a raffle ticket. He claimed Trump’s airstrikes in Iran had crossed a line. AOC backed him. A few House members nodded.
The vote came fast. Too fast. 344 to 79. It was over before the headline could finish typing.
Most Democrats didn’t touch it. Some rolled their eyes. Some quietly slipped out the side door.
Not because they suddenly liked Trump. Not even close. But because they’ve played this song before, and even their own base had stopped clapping.
Who Is Trump to Them Exactly?
That’s the problem they can’t seem to fix.
Some call Trump a dictator. Others say he’s a fool. Depending on the day, he’s either pulling the strings of the deep state or forgetting what room he’s in.
They can’t make up their minds. And the country has noticed.
The average voter can smell when a story doesn’t hold together. The narrative slips. And when it slips too many times, people stop listening.
Even inside the left’s own power circles, cracks are showing. On June 15, union leaders Randi Weingarten and Lee Saunders stepped down from their DNC leadership positions. No speeches. No posturing. Just… gone. That’s not a strategic pivot.
That’s a white flag.
Did They Run Out of Ammo?
Since the start of this administration, there’s been a new “crisis” every few days. Iran strikes. Budget cuts. Immigration raids. Education overhauls. NPR funding slashed. Trans sports bans at the state level with federal backing.
Each one came with fire and fury.
Cable panels, op-eds, and influencers are tearing their hair out for clicks.
But it never sticks.
The public moves on. The next episode starts. The White House doesn’t blink.
People are tired of crisis-as-entertainment. They want leadership, not stagecraft. They’re watching, but they’re not buying popcorn anymore.
Final Thoughts
Fireworks aren’t dangerous because they explode. They’re dangerous because people expect them to do more than they can.
That’s the left right now, scrambling to relight fireworks that already went up months ago. But the crowd has thinned. The oohs and aahs are gone. And the sky’s just quiet now.
Maybe they’re regrouping. Maybe not. But if what we just saw was their grand finale?
It was all flash. No fire.
