TRUMP'S SECOND TERM AS SEEN BY HIS BASE: THE WORSE, THE BETTER

At a moment when President Trump is deploying National Guard troops in California over the governor's objections, in order to contain a "rebellion" against the administration's sadistic immigration crackdown that's really just a normal series of protests, it's odd to read this Axios story about Trump's economic policies:

President Trump's second term has been a payday for the powerful, exposing a disconnect in his promise to deliver for "the forgotten man" of America's working class.

Why it matters: The populist paradox at the heart of MAGA — a movement fueled by economic grievance and championed by a New York billionaire — has never been more pronounced.

* Trump's blue-collar base remains fiercely loyal, energized by his hardline stances on immigration, trade and culture — and patient that his economic "Golden Age" will materialize.

* But so far, the clearest financial rewards of Trump's tenure are flowing upward — to wealthy donors, family members, insiders and the president himself.

But does Trump even want the economy to get better for ordinary people? Does he want the streets to be peaceful as Stephen Miller's goons round up immigrant workers?

Trump has completely reversed the decline in his approval rating that resulted from his announcement of the "Liberation Day" tariffs. When he partly suspended those tariffs, he appeared to be solving a problem, even though it was a problem of his own creation. Right now, his stormtroopers are deliberately provoking pro-immigrant protesters, which means that his administration is creating the unrest that his call-up of National Guard troops is meant to quell. Whether it was all planned this way or not, that's the formula that's working for Trump economically, and possibly in other areas: he stirs fears, then rides to the rescue, appearing to clean up a mess he made.

That's similar to the formula of Fox News: terrify viewers with scary talk about urban crime, or immigrant crime, or drag queen story hours, or a trans woman spiking a ball too hard in a volleyball match. Offer a remedy (and always the same remedy: incessant lib-owning and the election of more Republicans). Voilà: Fox viewers feel their lives are improving when there appears to be a solution to problems they weren't even thinking about until Fox started scaring them.

The Leninist slogan was "The worse, the better." The second Trump term has begun to operate on that principle. America isn't great again, and shows no signs of becoming great again, but the awfulness of current conditions appear to be why Trump's voters approve of what he's doing. See how hard he's fighting in the midst of all the chaos? He must really love us! But it's his chaos.