43 Comments
User's avatar
C K Smith's avatar

This is without a doubt the most powerful analysis of our current national situation I have ever seen. I am saving it for posterity. I only wish I could send it to every (t)rump supporter on earth, especially those who claim to be Christians and wear gold crosses around their necks but worship (t)rump instead of God.

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

Truly grateful for your words. I share that same urge—to hold up a mirror they can’t look away from. Especially those who preach Christ but bow to a man who embodies everything He stood against. They may not listen now, but history will.

Expand full comment
Jilld's avatar

It is. I feel like I need a spiritual cleansing after listening. Mersault must have felt the same way. Truth. Truth matters.

Expand full comment
JMcKay's avatar

What a brilliant piece of thought and writing! Crafted in a way that keeps it entertaining and interesting to the end - and embedded in this conversation is an excellent analysis of our current political dilemma- shared and saved - thank you!

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

I truly appreciate that. I was hoping it would hit that balance between sharp and readable—glad it came through for you.

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

Indeed, a masterful take on Trump

Expand full comment
Diane’s Blue Forum 👩‍💻's avatar

Brilliant.

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

Thank you, @Diane’s Blue Forum 👩‍💻!

Expand full comment
Diane’s Blue Forum 👩‍💻's avatar

You’re so welcome @Open Letters by Mersault 🇺🇸💙🇺🇸

Expand full comment
susan conner's avatar

OMG!! That's a lot to digest. The orange one should do a real dance with the devil and stare into the abyss and see what is in store for him. No gold- adorned accoutrements, no golf resorts, no fawning sycophants, no billions, no cheeseburgers and coke, just eternal torment.

Expand full comment
Jody Brink's avatar

I don't believe in a hell after death. I think Trump lives in his own hell right now and has lived there his whole life. Everything he does is an attempt to stop the torment in his mind.

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

Good one 👍

Expand full comment
TVSAM1's avatar

Better than the Screwtape Letters, the pair of essays provide clear insight to the one who “isn’t just unfaithful. He’s faithless.” One of greatest mysteries of my life is how so many of the ‘faithful’ are blind to this charade.

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

Thank you—that means a lot to me. I share your sense of mystery and frustration. It’s one thing to fall short in faith; it’s another to embody the very opposite of it and still be hailed as a savior by the faithful. That contradiction feels like a mirror held up to a much deeper crisis—moral, spiritual, and collective.

Expand full comment
TVSAM1's avatar

I think we are reliving what Dietrich Bonhoeffer must have felt, witnessing the dismantling and evil desecration of his beloved country. We share in his heartbreak, but also his determination to fight back.

Expand full comment
WhatInTheFuck's avatar

👏 fantastic read!

Dump is the embodiment of what's wrong in this world!

Expand full comment
JRay in Hawai'i Nei's avatar

Mersault, Mersault, Mersault . . . How in the world do you sleep at night with all that going on in your head? You are surely among the demi-gods of rhetoric!

What can I say? BRILLIANT ;-)

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

JRay—

I really appreciate the note. That kind of encouragement hits just right.

Expand full comment
Forrest Grump's avatar

Epic battle, Mersault! If only Republicans would stand and defend freedom and righteousness with the white-hot fortitude you blow back on Satan.

Did I say Republicans? I meant Democrats.

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

Appreciate that deeply. I just wish more would see that the real battle isn’t left vs. right—it’s truth vs. delusion, courage vs. complicity. And we’re running out of time for neutrality.

Expand full comment
Forrest Grump's avatar

If those who didn’t vote in the last election were somehow declaring ‘neutrality’, polls are showing they’re regretting it.

If only…

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

Republican Maga Party, represent in action the anti-Christ, for it seems, that if it helps people or planet, they will all be more or less against it.

Expand full comment
Jody Brink's avatar

Yes, Voldemort was wrong, and Harry Potter was right. Sauron was wrong, and Gandalf was right. Indeed, the only thing that will triumph over evil and hate, is love and compassion.

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

Trump, cast him in the pit, the dark abyss from whence he came, so says Gandalf

I am an LOTR fan

Expand full comment
Jody Brink's avatar

I've been trying to figure out a way to get Gollum and the Balrog into the discussion!

Expand full comment
Semolina Pilchard's avatar

Stephen Miller is a dead ringer for Gollum

Expand full comment
Jody Brink's avatar

Gosh, I thought he might be more like the Mouth of Sauron.

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

Oh, and BTW, I do an awesome Gollum vocal impression, if they ever need a voice over person, I will apply, LOL

Expand full comment
Jody Brink's avatar

Then you should get the audio version of LOTR read by Andy Serkis. Can't get better than that!

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

My Precioussssssssssss

Expand full comment
Sandra Nicht's avatar

this is brilliant

Expand full comment
John Christopher's avatar

Satan knows Trump well, from the wellspring of evil that thus Trump emanates from, a cesspool of evil, an evil that knows no bounds, a madman who seeks and leaves chaos and destruction in his wake, Trumps middle name should consigned itself with the word, cruelty, remember when Trump during his first run for President, in his speech, where he said and I quote, " this American carnage must end" I submit here, that when Trump said that, he was in fact, like everything else he says and does, he was and is projecting what he wants to do,👉inflict carnage and absolute misery on the American people and the world.

It is still, so hard to believe, there are people, who voted for this orange menace from hell

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

You’re right to call it what it is—evil. Not incompetence, not bluster—evil, calculated and unleashed. What terrifies me most isn’t just Trump himself, but how easily millions surrendered their judgment, their empathy, and even their faith to follow him. That kind of willing submission to darkness? That’s how history turns tragic.

Expand full comment
Rich Sprecher's avatar

Amazing analysis couched in the language even the densest MAGA support could understand. Now, how do we get this out where every Trump supporter could read it? Rich S, Octogenarian and Contrarian

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

Thank you, Rich! Coming from an octogenarian and contrarian, it means even more. Grateful for your voice and support.

Expand full comment
Pamela Fender's avatar

Wowie! Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

We shall overcome!

I'm restacking and sharing it on BlueSky.

Expand full comment
Open Letters by Mersault's avatar

Thank you, Pamela, for your thoughtful words and for sharing the piece on Substack and other platforms. Your support means a lot—and it's genuinely motivating!

Expand full comment
Pamela Fender's avatar

Keep on writing and staying in this fight.

You deserve the kudos.

Expand full comment
Jax's avatar

I tend to agree with Satan - no more nice guy moderate democrats. Fight back hard!

Expand full comment
Jackie Johnson's avatar

Absolutely 👍

Expand full comment
Michelle's avatar

I 😭

Expand full comment