No more beating around the bush. It's not enough anymore to say Donald Trump's starting to show signs of mental decline. Say it out loud! Donald Trump is already totally bonkers!

That's been more evident every day, but never more so than this week. How else to explain his obsession with taking over Greenland? Don't take it from me. Take it from Trump himself. In a January 7 interview with the New York Times, Trump admitted his determination to seize Greenland is driven, not by facts on the ground, but by delusions in his own sick head.

"Why is ownership important here?" Times national security correspondent David E. Sanger asked." Because that's what I feel is psychologically needed for success," Trump, 79, replied. Quick-thinking White House correspondent Katie Rogers - whom Trump recently called "ugly, both inside and out" for writing a story about his age - chimed in with the obvious follow-up: "Psychologically important to you or to the United States?" Without hesitation, Trump fessed up: "Psychologically important for me."

How and why it's so psychologically important to him became even more clear this week. His feelings were hurt because the Nobel Peace Prize, which he did not deserve, but which he publicly campaigned, begged and groveled for, went to somebody else.

Now, it's hard to believe that any sane man would decide that because he didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize, he'd get even by invading and seizing territory that's part of another NATO country, thereby single-handedly destroying NATO and alliances with our European allies that have kept the world safe, and allowed economies on both sides of the Atlantic to grow, for the last 80 years. But no sane man did. Donald Trump did.

Again, don't take my word for it. Trump admits it. On January 18, after receiving a text from Norway Prime Minister Jonas Store offering to host a meeting to "de-escalate" the Greenland issue, Trump fired back on Truth Social: "Dear Jonas: Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace."

What's wrong with that statement? Everything! One, Trump has not ended eight wars, not even one. Two, Norway doesn't have jurisdiction over Greenland, Denmark does. Three, the government of Norway doesn't award the Nobel Peace Prize, the independent, five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by Norway's Parliament, does. Four, no leader of any government or business, large or small, should make any decision based on "hurt feelings."

This week, after that bizarre text and his erratic appearance at a White House press briefing, people stopped whispering about Trump's declining mental health and started shouting about it. Dr. Jonathan Reiner, cardiologist to the late Vice President Dick Cheney, called for a "bipartisan congressional inquiry into presidential fitness." Ty Cobb, a White House attorney in Trump's first term, said it was obvious Trump was experiencing a "significant decline" in his mental faculties. "I think the dementia and the cognitive decline are palpable," he told MS-NOW. Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ed Markey charged members of the Trump Cabinet: "Invoke the 25th Amendment." Fat chance!

Of course, this isn't the first talk of Trump's questionable mental health. In 2016, a group of 27 psychiatrists and mental health experts warned that "dangerous psychological patterns" made him unfit to handle the duties of president. In 2017, they published their findings as "The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump." Even more ominous warnings were raised by health professionals in 2024, among them leading psychologist Dr. John Gartner, former professor at Johns Hopkins Medical School, who said Trump was clearly showing signs of dementia.

On my podcast last month, Gartner told me things had gone south for Trump in 2025. "Dementia is a deteriorating illness," he explained. "It doesn't stay the same and it doesn't get better. It only gets worse. And that's exactly what we're seeing." He concluded: "If you just take out some graph paper and plot the rate of his deterioration ... there's simply no way he can make it till the end of his term, compos mentis."

I wish I had better news, but that's where we are. The president is seriously mentally ill. You wouldn't trust him to walk your dog, let alone run the country. But Republicans won't impeach him and his Cabinet will never invoke the 25th amendment. There's no way to get rid of him until 2028. Let's hope we still have a country left by then.

(C)2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Probably the best column I ever wrote

Dear friends: I enjoy sending you my column every week, but I ask you to pay special attention to this one. Here goes...

Let's stop pretending. Let's stop acting like this is normal. Let's stop kidding ourselves that there is any adult supervision left in Washington.

There isn't.

If the first few weeks of 2026 have taught us anything, it's that the chaos we are witnessing isn't an accident. It's the plan. We are watching the systematic dismantling of the guardrails that have protected this Republic for 250 years, and it is happening right in front of our faces.

Look at the headlines. A president who openly flouts international law to invade a sovereign nation like Venezuela - not because of a national security threat, but for oil. A president who treats the Justice Department like his personal law firm. A president who demonizes career civil servants and replaces them with lackeys whose only qualification is absolute loyalty to the Boss.

This isn't foreign policy. It's a stick-up.

And what do we get from the Republicans in Congress? Silence. Crickets. Men and women who once preached the gospel of "fiscal responsibility" and "rule of law" have suddenly lost their voices. They see the same chaos we do. They see the same violation of norms. But they are too terrified of a mean tweet to do their constitutional duty.

It is no happy new year when the truth is the first casualty of the administration. We are fed a daily diet of "alternative facts" so colossal, repeated so often, that they make Orwell's "1984" look like a documentary. They tell us the economy is booming for the little guy while they cut deals for their billionaire friends. They tell us they are restoring order while they sow division in our streets.

Don't buy it.

We have seen this movie before. We know how it ends. It ends with a country divided, a reputation in tatters and a citizenry too exhausted to fight back. That is exactly what they want. They want you to tune out. They want you to give up.

But we can't afford to be tired. The stakes are too high. The survival of our democracy is on the ballot every single day now, not just in November.

God save the Republic.

There you go! So, what do you think? I think it might be my best column ever. But, here's the kicker: I didn't write it! It was entirely written by Google's Gemini AI when asked by my podcast producer Jay Feldman to write a column on the current political landscape in Bill Press style.

First, Gemini noted that "to write in the style of Bill Press, one must channel the voice of an unapologetic, old-school progressive fighter who combines the punchiness of a radio host with the moral indignation of a seasoned columnist. His writing is direct, confrontational and deeply concerned with the erosion of democratic norms."

Gemini continued: "Press writes like he speaks. He uses short, staccato sentences to build rhythm. He often starts with a conventional observation or a pleasantry, then immediately pivots to a hard-hitting critique. He loves repeating a phrase at the beginning of consecutive sentences to hammer home a point. He doesn't mince words. If he thinks someone is lying, he calls them a 'liar.'"

That's not all: "Press frequently draws parallels to historical failures (Vietnam, Iraq, Watergate) to frame current events. He is laser-focused on disinformation and often references the concept of the "Big Lie" to describe political gaslighting. His columns almost always end with a dramatic, often ominous, summary sentence that serves as a warning."

Google's Gemini AI then produced the column - my reaction to which, I must admit, is mixed.

First, I'm floored that Gemini knows me better than I know myself. I'm afraid it might soon put me out of a job. Second, while recognizing its many positive aspects, I fear the negative impacts an uncontrolled, unregulated AI could have across our culture and economy, including jobs lost.

At the same time, I'm impressed that, without prompting, even AI knows how bad things are under Donald Trump and expresses it so forcefully.

To Google Gemini AI's column, I'd just add one comment: We were treated this week to a photo of Donald Trump flipping the bird to a protester in Detroit. Now it's our turn - for the vast majority of Americans to flip the bird to Donald Trump in the mid-term elections on Tuesday, November 3.

(C)2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

I'd like to kick off 2026 by wishing everybody a happy new year, but I can't.

It's no happy new year when a president of the United States openly breaks domestic and international law by invading another country that poses no national security threat to the United States, killing innocent civilians, kidnapping its president and first lady - and lying to the American people about it.

It's no happy new year when, on the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection, a president of the United States issues a statement from the White House praising 1,600 armed rioters who stormed the U. S. Capitol as "patriots" and then blaming Democrats and Capitol Hill police officers for starting the assault.

It's no happy new year when an American citizen in Minneapolis is murdered by an ICE agent while simply trying to drive away from the scene, and a president of the United States, without any evidence, calls her a "professional agitator" who was "very disorderly," and accuses her of "running over" an ICE officer, which she clearly did not do.

And, may I remind you, we're barely one week into 2026.

By any definition, we are now a country in utter chaos. There are no rules. If there are, there's no one to enforce them. There's no law. If so, there's no one, courts or Congress, willing to uphold the law. There's no truth. But only a continuing cascade of big lies. So many colossal lies, repeated so often, as Hitler proved with his "Big Lie" theory, that a clueless populace starts to believe them.

For those who still believe in the rule of law and the primacy of truth, the challenge is how to respond to Trump's daily, reckless, illegal actions. Unfortunately, Steve Bannon's "flood the zone" strategy is working. We hardly have time to respond to the latest Trump outrage before he drops another one. But we can and must hold him responsible for each and every outrage - and make sure the American people know how dangerous he is.

Let's start with this week. There's no justification for Trump's invasion of Venezuela. Period. It's a total violation of international law, including treaties which the United States has ratified. Venezuela is no national security threat to the United States. Venezuela has never attacked any American citizens or property. Venezuela's responsible for only a tiny sliver of illegal drugs coming into the United States. There's no way Trump can justify blowing up small boats off the coast of Venezuela, seizing its oil tankers or kidnapping its admittedly illegally elected leader as a matter of self-defense.

It's also, of course, a total repudiation of his campaign promises to focus on "America First," to avoid "endless foreign wars," and, especially, not to engage in any "regime change." Promises made, promises broken. Like Vietnam, Iran, Afghanistan and Iraq, here we go with another ill-fated U.S. attempt at regime change, this one all Donald Trump's.

And, as it turns out, it's not about trafficking in illegal drugs, as Trump first declared. It's all about oil. Trump admits he talked to American oil companies before and after attacking Venezuela - while keeping Congress in the dark. Wednesday's New York Times headline blared: "Chevron Set to Reel in Big Rewards in Venezuela." And you can bet that, somehow, the Trump crime family will get a slice of those profits.

This January 6, Trump, again, blatantly lied about the 2020 election being stolen. But blaming Capitol Hill police officers, who responded on Jan. 6, 2021, five of whom lost their lives, with "provocative tactics" and turning "a peaceful demonstration into chaos" is a new low, even for Donald Trump.

As quick as he was to blame Capitol Hill police for starting a riot, Trump was even quicker to defend ICE officers in Minneapolis for murdering an innocent American woman, Renee Nicole Good - contradicting reports by state and local law enforcement officials and ignoring the evidence seen on video by millions of Americans.

If you think you see a common thread here, you're right. Three events this week unmask the essence of the Trump regime: Might makes right. We have the power and we have the right to exercise it anyhow, anywhere, any time we want - against perceived enemies at home or abroad - regardless of the law - and by violence, if necessary. For him, violence is good.

I fear for my country. This year will not be a happy year until we block this monster in the November midterms. I hope we still have a country left by then.

(C)2026 Tribune Content Agency, LLC.