WASHINGTON BLUES: TRUMP GOING OUT BUD KILMER STYLE?
There’s a moment near the end of Varsity Blues that sticks with me, not because of a touchdown or a trick play, but because of a shift. It’s when the players finally stop fearing Coach Kilmer. They realize he never had their best interests at heart, and one by one, they step away from him. It’s subtle at first, but then the team walks out, leaving Kilmer alone in a hallway built on ego, control, and a belief that he could bully loyalty forever.
Lately, it feels like we’re watching a political version of that same scene play out.
For years, Donald Trump maintained a tight, almost unshakeable grip on the Republican Party. Fear, pressure, and blind loyalty kept many in line, even when the direction felt wrong, but now, the cracks are showing. Slowly, steadily, members of his own political “team” are stepping away from the locker room.
A series of recent events feels like the political equivalent of players refusing to take the field for Kilmer:
Marjorie Taylor Greene is openly breaking ranks.
Republicans voted to release the Epstein files, despite what it could expose across the political spectrum.
A Trump-appointed federal judge ruled against Texas gerrymandering, choosing the Constitution over the man who appointed him.
Protests are emerging in regions that overwhelmingly voted for Trump.
A Democratic “blue wave” a few weeks ago, showing a shift in voter mood even in red-leaning areas.
And beneath all of that, another truth has started to surface…….
Because the promises to help Americans save money never materialized. Instead, Trump’s focus appears to be on helping his own family make money. That realization is sinking in, and people are beginning to say out loud what they once only whispered.
Republicans who once backed him unquestioningly are now admitting Trump’s priorities don’t seem to align with the average American. The speeches become increasingly chaotic, the solutions become thinner, and the obsession with foreign business interests becomes more pronouncedd.
It feels less like leadership and more like someone desperately clinging to a locker room that’s already slipping away.
In Varsity Blues, Coach Kilmer believed he was untouchable. He thought fear guaranteed loyalty, but once the players realized he needed them more than they needed him, his power evaporated.
That’s where we are politically.
Not at the collapse, but hopefully at the walkout.
If current trends continue, Trump may end up like Kilmer in that final scene….. ranting, frustrated, and confused about why no one is listening anymore.
And the country?
Like that fictional West Canaan Coyotes team, it might finally start calling its own plays again without fear, without slogans, and without someone calling them “piggy” because they asked a simple question.
