Meritocracy, Shrinking Economies, and Trump’s Grinch Audition—A Democracy on the Rocks

Frangela: The Final Word

This week on The Final Word, we break down Trump’s latest executive order, grandly titled Restoring Equality of Opportunity and Meritocracy. Now, let’s play a game—guess which three things it does not actually restore. If you guessed “equality, opportunity, and meritocracy,” congratulations! You understand how words work better than the folks who wrote this executive order.

Meanwhile, the U.S. economy shrank 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025, and in an absolutely shocking turn of events, Trump blamed everything but himself. His tariffs? His policies? Nope. Instead, he mused, “You could even say the next quarter is sort of Biden.” Ah yes, the well-known economic principle of “future blame assignment.”

Trump also took time to audition for the role of the Grinch, shrugging off concerns about rising costs with, “Maybe kids will have to live with two dolls instead of thirty, and maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more.” Who needs joy when you can have inflation?

In legal news, a federal judge ordered the release of Colombian student Mohsen Mahdawi, detained by I.C.E. during his citizenship interview—a move that could reasonably be classified as what should have happened in the first place. Meanwhile, Trump continues to ignore the Supreme Court’s order to facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to the U.S., because apparently, judicial rulings are just suggestions now.

And finally, 52% of Americans believe Trump is “a dangerous dictator whose power should be limited before he destroys American democracy.” The real question: what are the other 48% looking at?

All this, plus the crucial explanation behind the biscuit jokes, on The Final Word.

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