Trigger Warning: The Trump Regime Is Arming the Fringe

With the help of a sycophantic GOP, Trump is not only courting chaos—he’s building an armed enforcement wing. And we’re supposed to believe it’s about “freedom.”

This Is Where We Are

Two weeks ago, I wrote about the chickenshit takedown of a memorial honoring victims of gun violence. It was cowardly and cruel—but apparently, just the opening act.

Now, in a move that feels like parody—if it weren’t so dangerous—the Trump Justice Department is pushing to make trigger mechanisms that turn everyday firearms into machine guns legal again. That’s right. The same kind of rapid-fire weapons banned since the 1930s are getting a new lease on life… because nothing says “freedom” like spraying bullets at 800 rounds a minute.

Attorney General Pam Bondi (yes, that Pam Bondi) tried to spin this reckless decision as a step forward for public safety. “This Department of Justice believes that the Second Amendment is not a second-class right,” she said. “And we are glad to end a needless cycle of litigation with a settlement that will enhance public safety.”

With apologies to a couple of readers who prefer cleaner language—sorry, but this has to be in:

Give me a fucking break.

Vanessa Gonzalez of Giffords, the gun safety group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, nailed it:

“The Trump administration has just effectively legalized machine guns. Lives will be lost because of his actions. This is an incredibly dangerous move that will enable shooters to inflict horrific damage. The only people who benefit from these being on the market are the people who will make money from selling them. Everyone else will suffer the consequences.”

I’ll never forget a moment during a Virginia Senate committee hearing, when then-Majority Leader Dick Saslaw questioned Philip Van Cleave—the state’s biggest gun fetishist and head of the Virginia Citizens Defense League. Saslaw asked him why anyone needs an assault weapon.

Van Cleave’s answer?

“They’re fun to shoot.”

Saslaw didn’t miss a beat:

“I served in the Army and fired a .50 caliber machine gun. That was fun too. But I didn’t need to own one.”

Exactly. This isn’t about self-defense. It’s about glorifying the gun. It’s about domination. And yes, about money.

This is just one example of how the twisted Trump administration is actively undermining our safety. As the Center for American Progress outlines, here’s what else is on their agenda to mollify the extremists:

1. Dismantling enforcement of gun laws, allowing weapons to flood into vulnerable communities.

2. Reversing popular reforms that were reducing gun violence.

3. Undermining federal gun safety rules, including redefining who needs a license to sell firearms—making it easier to sell guns without background checks.

4. Politicizing gun policy, creating a “Second Amendment Enforcement Task Force” to codify Trump’s pro-gun, pro-chaos agenda.

But this isn’t just about pandering to the gun lobby or scoring culture war points. It’s part of something much darker.

Trump—bolstered by a sycophantic Republican Party whose latest bill would give him near-dictatorial powers—isn’t just playing to the base. He’s laying the groundwork for authoritarian rule. And what better way to do that than by keeping the most extreme, paranoid, and heavily armed faction of his supporters fired up and ready?

This DOJ move isn’t just appeasement—it’s a mechanism (pun very much intended) for empowering and normalizing the presence of militarized civilians loyal to the regime. When a political movement flirts with fascism, the line between law enforcement and ideological enforcers starts to blur. Think Proud Boys. Think open carry intimidation rallies. Think chaos as a governing strategy.

So when they talk about “freedom,” what they really mean is freedom to rule—by fear, by violence, and by dismantling the institutions that make this country democratic.

So what’s next? Legalized RPGs? Personal tanks? A bazooka with Trump’s face on it and “Let’s Go Brandon” painted on the side?

Authoritarian chic, American edition: a tank, a brand, and the believers with bazookas. Now available in red, white, and deeply unhinged.

Don’t laugh. If it makes the right people money and helps scare the hell out of everyone else, it’s on the table.

And unless we fight back—not just with facts, but with fire in our belly—we’re going to keep sliding further into the armed madhouse they’re building around us.

It’s depressing to think we have another year and a half before the midterms might put a stop to this madness.

One can only hope we still have a country by then.

Because this—this is where we are.

---