{"id":2400,"date":"2026-06-28T17:35:32","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T17:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400"},"modified":"2026-06-28T17:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T17:35:32","slug":"ex-gop-presidential-aide-why-trumps-wretchedness-is-timeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400","title":{"rendered":"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump’s ‘wretchedness is timeless’"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A former adviser to President George W. Bush explained on Sunday why the subsequent Republican president, Donald Trump, has failed to live up to the ideals of America\u2019s founding fathers, arguing that his “wretchedness is timeless.”<\/p>\n

Read more Trump insiders reveal he \u2018isn\u2019t sold\u2019 yet on his biggest 2028 decision<\/a><\/p>\n

Quoting pamphleteer Thomas Paine, Steve Schmidt observed that during the Revolutionary War, many Americans refused to behave courageously and instead capitulated to the British monarch because it was the path of least resistance.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as hurt,\u201d Paine wrote. \u201cTheir duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them, and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever undiscovered.\u201d<\/p>\n

Paine added, \u201cIn fact, they have the same effect on secret traitors, which an imaginary apparition would have upon a private murderer. They sift out the hidden thoughts of man, and hold them up in public to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

After quoting Paine, Schmidt opined that there were \u201cno truer words. The ignominy of men like Trump and his enablers is novel only in that their crimes are unique to them. The character of the players and their wretchedness is timeless.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ex-Republican later singled out Trump and his supporters for refusing to follow the Constitution.<\/p>\n

\u201cFreedom and a shared fidelity to the US Constitution was the common ground. It\u2019s been breached, and there\u2019s no place to meet in the middle,\u201d Schmidt wrote. \u201cThe threat comes from Donald Trump and the MAGA movement that controls the institutional structures of the GOP \u2014 lock, stock and barrel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s ICE just attacked the First Amendment<\/a><\/p>\n

The political adviser then, once again, quoted Paine\u2019s literature as diagnosing \u201cthe nitwittery that flows freely now as it did then.\u201d On that occasion, Paine said that \u201cthere are persons, too, who see not the full extent of the evil which threatens them; they solace themselves with hopes that the enemy, if he succeed, will be merciful. It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf, and we ought to guard equally against both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schmidt further argued that this is relevant because \u201call Americans who love freedom should feel the deepest contempt for the hustlers, charlatans, cynics and opportunists who have attacked the Constitution in recent years under the MAGA banner. All American patriots should have a special contempt for the weakness and cynicism of the politicians who so easily, effortlessly and willingly got on their knees to service Trump.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking with AlterNet, Dean Caivano \u2014 a professor of political science at Lehigh University (where this author studied for his PhD in history until his dissertation adviser died, leaving him ABD) \u2014 elaborated on Washington’s skepticism toward power when speaking to AlterNet.<\/p>\n

“At several key moments, Washington accepted limits,” Caivano told AlterNet. “He resigned his military commission after the revolution. He accepted constitutional authority. He left the presidency after two terms. Those decisions helped establish the idea that public office is temporary and that military authority must be subordinate to civilian rule.”<\/p>\n

He continued, “That lesson is very relevant in the Trump era. Contrary to his actions and rhetoric, the presidency is not personal property. The military is not a private instrument. Law enforcement is not supposed to function as an extension of personal loyalty. A constitutional republic depends on the refusal to collapse public authority into the will of one person.”<\/p>\n

Read more Revealed: Why Trump\u2019s newest vanity obsession has him counting trees<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A former adviser to President George W. Bush explained on Sunday why the subsequent Republican president, Donald Trump, has failed to live up to the ideals of America\u2019s founding fathers, arguing that his “wretchedness is timeless.”Quoting pamphleteer Thomas Paine, Steve Schmidt observed that during …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2399,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2400","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nEx-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump's 'wretchedness is timeless' - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump's 'wretchedness is timeless' - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A former adviser to President George W. Bush explained on Sunday why the subsequent Republican president, Donald Trump, has failed to live up to the ideals of America\u2019s founding fathers, arguing that his "wretchedness is timeless."Quoting pamphleteer Thomas Paine, Steve Schmidt observed that during ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-28T17:35:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump’s ‘wretchedness is timeless’\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-28T17:35:32+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400\"},\"wordCount\":653,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400\",\"name\":\"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump's 'wretchedness is timeless' - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-28T17:35:32+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=2400#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump’s ‘wretchedness is timeless’\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump's 'wretchedness is timeless' - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump's 'wretchedness is timeless' - Next Address America","og_description":"A former adviser to President George W. Bush explained on Sunday why the subsequent Republican president, Donald Trump, has failed to live up to the ideals of America\u2019s founding fathers, arguing that his \"wretchedness is timeless.\"Quoting pamphleteer Thomas Paine, Steve Schmidt observed that during ...","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-06-28T17:35:32+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump’s ‘wretchedness is timeless’","datePublished":"2026-06-28T17:35:32+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400"},"wordCount":653,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400","name":"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump's 'wretchedness is timeless' - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-28T17:35:32+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/831dd88e0fb8f1b317472eed815c7b86.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=2400#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ex-GOP presidential aide: Why Trump’s ‘wretchedness is timeless’"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2400"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2400\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2400"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2400"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2400"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}