The nation is outraged by the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Neither victim deserved to die. And the images of both being shot—Pretti, some believe, 10 times– are difficult to watch. My TV is now off. I will turn it back on when ICE leaves Minneapolis, or the officers that shot Good and Pretti are held accountable for what appears to be severe misconduct.
After turning off the news, I found the 2024 film, The Apprentice, on the streaming service TUBI. This is the film about Donald Trump’s life before he was president. The film, which Trump aggressive sought to block from release, tells the story of how Roy Cohn schooled Trump to be, well, the Trump we know today.
I recommend the film, which is streaming free. It is controversial but represents an attempt to understand Trump. No spoilers here. The most important part of the film is a scene where Roy Cohn, Trump’s lawyer who was notoriously aggressive his entire career, tells Trump his “three rules.”
The rules are first, to always attack as forcefully as possible (stay on the offense). Second, never admit wrongdoing and deny everything, regardless of evidence suggesting wrongdoing. And third, always claim victory, even in defeat.
Trump, it appears, was an outstanding student. Evidence of his living by these rules is everywhere. His propensity to attack may be found today in his daily postings on Truth Social. More dramatic examples include Trump suggesting that Senator Ted Cruz’s father was involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and the President’s attacks on E. Jean Carroll, the woman who sued Trump for defamation.
Evidence of Trump denying everything is also everywhere, but best found in his claim that he did not try to overturn a loss in the 2020 elections. As you will recall, Trump telephoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger to ask him to “find” 11,780 votes.
Finally, there is the issue of claiming victories. One could point to Trump lying about winning club championships at his various golf clubs without cheating, but a more familiar example is the big one, which the President still repeats, almost on a daily basis—that he won an election that all evidence suggests he lost.
One could argue that Trump’s adherence to the three rules has led him into multiple impeachable offenses, but even if Democrats win the House and Senate in the mid-term elections later this year, Trump is highly unlikely to be impeached and removed from office. And if he is impeached (the equivalent of being indicted), when the Senate fails to garner the 60 votes to remove him from office, he will claim victory.
Far more serious is what the “three rules” might lead Trump to do in his remaining time in office. Already we are seeing Trump attack the victims of ICE shootings, calling the victims “domestic terrorists” despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
We also are seeing Trump claim victory in his quest to annex Greenland, which is not happening. Trump “won” the right for the U.S. to maintain the military base it already has in Greenland (Pituffik Space Base) and the right to build additional bases, which it already has the right to do.
An example of Trump attacking happened earlier this week when the federal government fired the consulting firm Booz Allen from all its federal contracts. The basis? A Booz employee leaked Donald Trump’s and others’ tax returns. Trump seeks to instill fear in all federal contractors not to do anything that displeases him. Booz was fired to set an example. The former Booz employee is already in jail and was clearly a rogue employee. Trump doesn’t care about the penalty fitting the crime.
Most worrisome are Trump’s ongoing and escalating allegations of voter fraud in states that rejected him in 2020 or 2024. He is attacking their leadership and the integrity of their elections. Some say he is setting the stage to attempt to cancel the 2026 mid-term elections.
Do we need to worry that Trump will attempt to cancel elections he thinks he will lose? Yes. And the best way to do that is to get involved now in making sure that Americans get the chance to vote this November and that decent Americans—the people I call Patriots but that Trump calls lunatics—speak out against the outrageous conduct of ICE, Trump’s destructive foreign policy, and evidence of widespread corruption throughout the Trump administration.
It is not too late to save democracy.
J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.
Wilson Dean says
Trump carefully followed Roy Cohn’s 3 rules last year, having placed Americans in jeopardy both here and abroad as a result. Can we even imagine what his continuing to follow those rules will lead to in the next three years?
Yes, this needs to stop. He will no doubt attempt to upend the integrity of the elections so we need to block his every move to do that.
John E Dean says
Thank you, as always, for reading my pieces.
And, no, I can’t imagine what Trump continuing to follow the three rules will bring us in the next three years. And it is too painful to try.
Jim Bachman says
The GOP intent has always been to suppress elections. If they thought they could get away with it they would suspend elections entirely.
Francine DeSanctis says
An absolutely wonderful piece of journalism. I’d dare to say that the majority of citizens have no idea how Trump was “born”. Those of us living in NY or NJ sure knew it. He was raised to be the ultimate “CON man”. Believing the public is too stupid to understand the con until it’s too late. I was witness to his rape of Atlantic City and broken promises to residents who wanted to believe in a better tomorrow, only to end up with nothing. He was gone before the ink was even dry.
John E Dean says
Thank you for your kind words on the piece and for your sharing your experiences of Trump’s “career” in Atlantic City.
Ronald Griffin says
Hopefully even the most zealous MAGA supporters will begin to see how corrupt this man (Trump) is.
John E Dean says
I share your hope, but am not holding my breath.
Debra Sawyer says
Are you not outraged with the protesters interfering with Federal law enforcement? Protecting criminals, lying about a five year old being used as bait.
I see no outrage about the 1,000 of missing children Biden lost track of.
John E Dean says
Thanks for reading my piece. We are on different pages. I welcome the protesters as a demonstration of democracy at work–thank God for the First Amendment. I don’t want ICE in Minneapolis or the Eastern Shore. This action is not about law enforcement when U.S. citizens are getting shot and many (most) of the arrestees are not violent criminals.
Regarding the missing children that were lost–many of us who question ICE were also outraged by children being “lost.” That is why we supported the bipartisan immigration reform bill that Donald Trump killed in 2024.
I don’t expect you to agree with me, so let me thank you for reading the piece again and for commenting.
Jim Franke says
A legitimate 2026 election that restores sanity to the House and strengthens the Senate would terrify TFG. It would signal that a GOP presidential nominee in 2028 is likely to lose—and that the 2029 Congress would be even more committed to democratic accountability. He understands exactly what that means: exposure to a substantial number of provable criminal cases.
His response would be predictable. He would coerce JD—using whatever real or fabricated dirt he has—into issuing a blanket pardon, timed to take effect the moment he resigns.
The fear of incarceration, not public service, was almost certainly the driving force behind his 2024 campaign.
John E Dean says
Great comment. Good observations/ns.
One question: Who or what is TFG?
Jim Franke says
A common way to avoid the name of our current POTUS. That F*ing Guy
John E Dean says
Thank you for the clarification . . .
Mickey Terrone says
Hi John. It seems to me that the FBI seizure of Fulton County, Georgia’s 2020 election records offers a glimpse into Trump and his fascist operatives’ MO to undermine public confidence in the 2026 election whenever and wherever Republicans get shellacked in the actual voting. There is little doubt in my mind that Trump’s FBI will “find” cases of “major irregularities” and “massive fraud” after their “investigations”. Without the bipartisan eyeballing of the voting data, I firmly believe it will be manipulated to show that Trump won.
This cannot simply be a publicity stunt. This is an omen and a threat to maintain his political control by any means necessary.
We all know Trump has no morality or scruples that would deter him from this unconstitutional abuse of power. But he isn’t smart enough to perpetrate this kind of crime by himself. His accomplices at the FBI and Project 2025 will ensure his desired results, enabling him to disqualify any local election he wants.
This is yet another reason why IMHO, we no longer live in a democratic republic. Even Roy Cohn would blush at the devious, dishonorable and depraved nature of the presidential monster he helped create.
John E Dean says
Mickey, I share your fears about what is going on with the seizure of Fulton County records and similar actions. We should be very worried.