November 4, 2025
Potty-mouthed politics, meme-fueled meltdowns
A Confederacy of Toddlers
Tantrums at the top, memes in the streets, and a fight over what's 'normal'
TLDR: An Atlantic piece slams leaders for crude, troll-like behavior—right down to an AI jet-poop video—and warns it’s numbing the public. Commenters are split between alarm over “normalizing” chaos (soldiers in NYC? war talk?) and reminders to actually listen to voters, as memes and mockery explode.
The Atlantic’s “A Confederacy of Toddlers” says America’s leaders are acting like trolls—think “your mom” clapbacks, a defense boss canceling policies with “we’re done with that shit,” and an AI jet-poop video from the President. The comment section? A full-on brawl over whether this is dangerous shock fatigue or just the new normal.
ZeroGravitas drops the jaw-dropper: a New York City mayoral hopeful is literally promising to cave to Trump so soldiers don’t march down Manhattan. The vibe is “tell me you’re exhausted without telling me,” with folks saying a year ago no one would’ve believed this is where we’d be. On the other side, mrkeen reopens 2016 wounds: we didn’t listen to the voters then, and we still aren’t now—cue references to Nietzsche’s idea of “ressentiment,” a politics built on grievance, not growth.
The drama is split: one camp warns that the crude language and stunts are designed to numb the public—especially when the Vice President shrugs off possible war crimes with “I don’t give a shit what you call it.” Another camp insists the elite eye-rolls are the problem, not the profanity. Meanwhile, memes reign: “Top Goon” posters of the AI jet clip, press-room “your mom did” reaction GIFs, and toddler helmets photoshopped onto cabinet photos. It’s playground politics, and the audience is loudly, hilariously, terrifyingly divided.
Key Points
- •Tom Nichols contrasts current U.S. political behavior with Hannah Arendt’s 1950 praise of American civic maturity.
- •Recent incidents cited include a White House press secretary’s “Your mom did” reply and the defense secretary’s profane cancellation of DEI policies.
- •Vice President J. D. Vance used profane language on social media and dismissed war-crime concerns about a maritime strike.
- •President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video depicting him dropping feces on protesters, according to media reports.
- •Nichols argues that crude rhetoric and behavior by officials aim to desensitize the public and normalize acceptance of abusive or extrajudicial actions.