'Gripped by the terror of death': Macabre theory floated for Trump's 'Jonestown' antics

Systemic Error Podcast · Sep 21, 2026 · 5m

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks at the Republican National Midterm Convention in Dallas, Texas, U.S., September 9, 2026. REUTERS/Callaghan O’Hare

The Mad-King Story Lets the Court Off the Hook

The Spectacle Is Not the Structure

Donald Trump used a Republican midterm convention to warn of national ruin if his party loses, solicit a pledge to cheat if necessary, tease an unconstitutional third term, and celebrate monuments to his own legacy—from tariffs and a border wall to a vast White House ballroom. Historian Alan Elrod interprets the performance as the death panic of an aging ruler…