From the day that Donald Trump rode his golden escalator down into the bowels of American politics, he has openly expressed his cravings for a monarchal reign of unchallenged power. It’s what drove him to incite an insurrection when his first occupation of the White House came to an inglorious end. And it’s why he has such contempt for the Constitution and its restraints on the presidency.

Click here to post this article on Twitter or Click here to post on Bluesky

Nevertheless, the authoritarian aspirations of Trump keep emerging in increasingly extreme displays of desperation as his approval ratings sink ever deeper into an abyss. And the deeper he sinks, the more pronounced his delusions of popularity become.

SEE THIS: Delusional Donald: Does Trump Really Believe He’s Ultra Popular with Record High Approval Ratings?

This week Trump launched his “Freedom 250” celebration of himself, disguised in part as an event associated with Independence Day. Unfortunately for him, his party has been a humiliating bust with a sparse turnout for pitifully dull exhibits and attractions. It was so bad that Trump had to beg his cult disciples to show up to prevent him from looking like the loser that he is.

So it should come as no surprise that Trump is suffering an acute case of anxiety triggered by his malignant narcissism that is likely covering up his suppressed low self-esteem. Deep down he likely knows just how despised he is by broad majorities of the American people, and he can’t handle it. So he employs projection to deflect his insecurities onto others. This was evident during a speech he gave to the ultra right-wing, Christian nationalist “Faith and Freedom Coalition” where he said that…

“You have to respect the president. If you don’t respect the president, you’re going to have a problem.”

Trump threatens "You have to respect the president. If you don't respect the president, you're going to have a problem."OK! So let's give Trump the same respect he gave President Obama and President Biden.Snark aside, you only have have to respect a president who's earned it. Trump hasn't.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2026-06-27T08:54:17.968Z

Leave it to Trump to devolve a desire for respect into a threat. He doesn’t detail what sort of problem you’ll have if you fail to be sufficiently respectful to him, but it’s likely to involve detention in one of his many new concentration camps. And never mind that his threat is unlawful and grotesquely anti-American. Respect for the president in a constitutional democracy is earned, not forced. He’s mistaking America for North Korea.

Furthermore, Trump is hardly the right person to advocate for presidential respect. He is the same guy who badgered President Obama for years as a stupid, racist, Muslim from Kenya. And he promoted a disgustingly racist video depicting the Obamas as apes. When confronted with it he refused to apologize saying that “I didn’t make a mistake.” And Trump just posted this today…

President Obama recently noted that he "has a suite" in Trump's head. So Trump confirmed it by posting this on his Truth(less) (Anti)Social.But I fixed it by adding the update at the bottom.

— News Corpse (@newscorpse.bsky.social) 2026-06-27T18:41:29.202Z

Trump also displayed his disrespect for President Biden, calling him “Sleepy Joe,” and repeatedly asserting that he is so cognitively impaired that “he doesn’t even know he’s alive.” Which is more projection from Trump who can’t stay awake during his own Cabinet meetings. And of course it is something less than respectful to incite a violent insurrection in an attempt to overturn the results of the election that Biden won. Six years later Trump is still claiming, without a shred of evidence, that he didn’t lose the 2020 election.

Trump will have another opportunity to demonstrate his respect for the president shortly after the election in 2028. Or perhaps sooner if there is any justice. But his threats to get respect for himself are going to fail as badly as his “Freedom 250” festival. That ship has sailed. You can’t restore respect after losing an illegal war with Iran, wrecking the U.S. economy, alienating America’s allies, fouling the environment, fraudulently enriching yourself, lying pathologically, and trying to silence the free press.

RELATED STORIES:

• UH-OH: Trump Admits that His Phony ‘Save America Act’ is Really Meant to Rig Elections for MAGA
• RATPUBLICAN TRUMP Posts Two Polls on Truth Social Asking Truly DUMB (With a B) Questions
• Trump’s White-Trashing of the White House (UFC Freedom 250) Was a Costly Trump and Ratings Flop

Be sure to visit and follow News Corpse
on Twitter and Facebook and Bluesky and Threads.

And check out my books on Amazon:

Fox Nation vs. Reality:
The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.

Thanks so much for your support.