LinkedIn on Saturday, March 28, 2026

From the famous “Peanuts” cartoon series by Charles Schultz.

A week or so ago, on the verge of a bipartisan agreement that would fund the TSA, Coast Guard and everyone in the Department of Homeland Security except ICE – leaving problems with the latter to be worked out later – Trump shut it all down.  He tells his Republicans that under no circumstances are they to make a deal with the Democrats.  And like the lemmings they are, his Republicans throw themselves over the nearest cliff, politically speaking, to do his bidding.

And now, once again, Trump’s Republicans, under the pathetic leadership of Speaker Johnson, have failed to offer an acceptable alternative before taking the next two weeks off.

To be clear, Trump has prevented his devoted Republican minions in the House and Senate from making a reasonable deal so that TSA and other agency employees inside Homeland Security can get paid.

So, what does our President do?  He stands there – his chest pushed out, fists on his hips, the winds of history blowing through his hair, and orders unspent funds Congress has allocated elsewhere to be directed to paying the TSA. …Is that even legal? Trump doesn’t know or care. …Republicans in Congress are left to take the hit while Trump takes credit for putting food on TSA employee tables and paying their rents and mortgages.

Public perception is that inept Republicans in Congress are the problem while Trump is the solution.  Again and again, President Trump plays his own followers for suckers, creating the problem our nation’s self-proclaimed caped crusader steps in to fix.

Sound familiar? Trump is President Lucy, of Peanuts fame and fortune, setting up Charlie Brown Republicans to kick a field goal only to pull the ball out from under them – and run it in for a touchdown.

How dumb, how weak are his Congressional Republicans that they keep taking this crap from the President they try so hard to serve at the expense of their constituents and county?

-Les Cohen