Words matter. When describing a government, they inevitably carry moral weight.
Over the past 16 months, Trump and his appointees have so profoundly undermined the United States government that different words should be used to describe them than have been used to describe all previous administrations.
To begin with, they shouldn’t be called an “administration” at all. They should be referred to as a regime.
A regime flagrantly defies court orders, as have Trump and his appointees.
In February 2026, a federal judge, appointed by George W Bush, identified some 200 orders from the district of Minnesota that ICE had defied, concluding that it had “likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence”.
A regime also vilifies judges who rule against it and demands their impeachment, exactly as the Trump regime has done.
Stephen Miller, Donald Trump’s immigration czar and the architect of some of the government’s cruelest policies, doesn’t care what you think about him. He doesn’t care if you call him “Pee-wee German” or “Weird Stephen” or “Voldemort”, or any of the other nicknames he has inspired; his self-esteem is excellent.
Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao’s insistence this week that the Pentagon had paused a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan over a munitions review has undercut the Trump administration’s narrative on both Iran and Taipei.
Shaun Byrnes and Jon Gundersen have served multiple presidents throughout their decades in the military and State Department. Now, as retirees, they're taking on the commander-in-chief in a court of law.
World Central Kitchen (WCK) has cut its hot meal distribution in Gaza by half, citing soaring food and fuel costs linked to the wider fallout from the US-Israeli war on Iran in February.
