The End Times

Welcome to the Third World

The most essential tool of any government is its currency. This has been true so long as currencies have existed. A currency is the infrastructure on which an economy is built. Without it, it cannot exist.

In addition to providing a means of exchange, currencies also serve an important political function: They are symbols of a nation’s identity. “Coins and banknotes,” political geographer Jan Penrose writes, are the “bearers and transmitters of the iconography of the nation-state.” What appears on your currency is not only a declaration of your values, but also, who you are.

It’s no wonder, then, that currencies have long been the subject of fierce political debate. During the American Civil War, Union leaders were outraged after the Confederates placed Jefferson Davis on several banknotes. In India, Gandhi’s appearance on the Rupee sparked controversy, as many believed greater emphasis ought to be placed on the nation’s religious heritage. Critics in the UK decried Jane Austen’s replacement of Charles Darwin on the £10 note. Who says Jane’s more important than Charles? In sum, currencies are a sensitive issue.

No-Go

There is no greater faux pas, however, than a political leader placing themselves on their own currency, as doing so is to usurp the identity of an entire nation. It might make sense for a monarch (being the nation’s identity is kind of the point), but it has no place in a democracy.

Still, many have tried it. In 1947, after declaring himself Head of State for life, Francisco Franco began striking his face on Spanish coins. The move was designed to ratify his dictatorship, along with the accompanying inscription: Francisco Franco, Leader of Spain by the Grace of God. Thirty years later, a Libyan militant named Muammar Gaddafi made the same maneuver. Iraq’s new President Saddam Hussein soon followed suit.

In each case, the decision was followed by decades-long dictatorships, remembered for their astounding levels of corruption, oppression, and cruelty. The coins symbolized the leaders’ unbridled authority — unquestioned by the state, the treasury, the people, or even God.

So you’ll understand my uneasiness when, last week, I read the following headline: “US Mint to begin producing $1 coins featuring Trump.”

This Is Not A Drill

The announcement was made Wednesday by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. In addition to commemorating 250 years of independence, the coin was designed to celebrate the “strength of American values.” This isn’t an American tradition, but Trump will join a long line of foreign leaders who’ve made the same move.

Is it even legal? No. In 1866, Congress outlawed placing living people on the dollar, after a Treasury official sparked outrage by placing his portrait on a banknote meant to honor the late explorer William Clark. (It was considered “derogatory to the dignity and the self-respect of the United States.”) A subsequent 2005 law that authorized a series of coins commemorating past presidents restricted eligibility to presidents who have been deceased for more than two years. Nevertheless, production of the Trump coin will go ahead as planned, as laws don’t matter anymore.

“But it’s not actually a coin, it’s just a commemorative item!” This is the retort you’ll hear from the MAGA camp when you share this article. They’re wrong. While the coin is indeed described as “commemorative,” it is still a coin manufactured by the U.S. Mint with the words “ONE DOLLAR” engraved on the back. Sure, it might get traded by collectors for more than a dollar, but there’s no evidence to indicate it won’t still be counted as legal tender. If it looks like money and quacks like money … it’s money.

The End Times

Soon after the coin was announced, Rep. Thomas Massie issued a provocative statement: “Congratulations,” he said, “we’ve entered the end stages.” His tweet received 21,000 likes and was reposted 1,600 times. The next-most popular reply was a revised version of the coin, featuring Trump and his long-time confidante, Jeffrey Epstein.

Massie’s remarks are inflammatory but correct. Few occurrences better predict a democracy’s demise than the veneration of its leader on its national currency. I might feel differently if this were a one-off, but it isn’t. This administration has already demonstrated nearly every hallmark of a classically dictatorial corrupt regime.

We could start with outright robbery. Trump stole $1.4 billion from U.S. households last year via a Ponzi scheme known as Trump Coin. Nearly a million investors lost a combined $3.8 billion on Trump’s cryptocurrencies, most of which was transferred directly to the insiders who sold at the top. Shocking stat of the week: Trump made more money on crypto last year than any of the nation’s largest crypto firms.

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Last week, Trump Media announced “Truth API,” an exclusive paid feed that gives users access to Trump’s social media activity before anyone else. The price? $100,000 a month. If that sounds expensive, it isn’t. Early access to the President’s tweets is worth at least millions, as proven by the billions of dollars of insider trades that were executed before the President made world-altering announcements on Truth Social or simply pumped his favorite stocks.

The same day we hit rock-bottom, we crashed even further. On Thursday it was revealed that Trump’s teleprompter operator had netted more than $100,000 betting on what the President would say in his speeches on prediction markets. Many are calling it the most shockingly low number ever. Either way, it’s clear Trump’s culture of corruption has become pervasive in the White House.

But Wait There’s More

Every statistic I’ve mentioned was learned within the past few weeks alone. But there are plenty more numbers to be uneasy about, such as:

• The $5.6 million Trump paid in damages after a jury found him liable for sexual abuse.

• The hundreds of children Trump’s friend Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused, as well as the dozens of young women who were clearly exploited (either directly or indirectly) by Trump and his peers.

• The millions of Epstein documents that were buried by Trump and his administration.

• The two directors at the DOJ and the SEC who were mysteriously ousted after attempting to investigate criminal activity related to the President.

• The 120 school-children Trump accidentally murdered in a drone strike without ever actually acknowledging why or how that happened.

• The $3.5 billion Don Jr.’s venture firm now manages, up from $200 million the year before his father retook office.

• The 927 pages of financial disclosures that revealed millions of dollars Trump made trading stocks he later touted or rewarded with government contracts.

TDS

Many will read this and accuse me of suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS). But anyone with two eyes, a brain, and a basic understanding of history knows what’s happening here. Trump is cut from the same cloth as any other corrupt dictator in history. The only reason he hasn’t devastated our democracy is because ours was purpose-built to restrain people like him. As James Madison wrote, “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” Had our Constitution looked like Libya’s, it’d be game over.

But the buck doesn’t stop with Trump — it extends to his enablers: the sycophants who praise everything he does and question nothing, the CEOs who refuse to acknowledge basic truths for the sake of “staying out of politics,” the lawmakers who insist they cannot see corruption that’s clear as day, the human-doormats who cannot face the fact that they elected a criminal because they were upset about wokeness.

Those who accuse me of being brainwashed will feel an urge to excuse or justify the President’s actions. If you feel such impulses, make no mistake: You yourself have been brainwashed. The coin is simply another revelation of corruption, another celebration of moral decay, another step toward autocracy. It’s a small item, but a big symbol. Every dictator who put his face on one believed the same lie: that the state was his to brand. Trump believes it too. Soon, that lie will be stamped in metal, for anyone who wants proof.

See you next week,

Ed