| Photo by Kalyan Mukharjee on Unsplash
Part XIII of “Proactive People Must Protect Own Neighborhood” Series
Last Thursday night, August 27, 2026, Lawrence O’Donnell discussed “The Madness of Donald Trump” on his program “The Last Word” at MS NOW. Finally, an American broadcaster of Mr. O’Donnell’s stature has also touched on the madness of the POTUS.
Lawrence O’Donnell used the phrase “madness of Donald Trump” to describe policy decisions, public statements, and administration moves. He discussed episodes that focused on institutional pressures, foreign policy handling, and domestic controversies. Mr. O’Donnell also discussed Donald Trump’s actions and mindset on his program.
To his limited knowledge, this Facebook member cum biweekly columnist of the Philippine Daily Mirror was probably one of the first to call Mr. Trump et al, as “acting like mad people” on October 26, 2017. That was more than nine years ago, as of today, August 30, 2026.
On November 1, 2024, this column also discussed “Why Trump et al. Are Acting Like Mad People” at this link:
Said column article started with this opening paragraph: “This columnist’s opinion is that Donald J. Trump and his enablers are destined to act like crazy and, indeed, behave like they are mad individuals. Thus, on October 26, 2017, he posted that he believed Mr. Trump was crazy. Why? Many of his theology professors, who taught him for 12 years in four Catholic schools, opined, “Those whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.” Yes, the theologians taught that gods (lower case) — and even the Christian God — would make individuals mad or crazy. Because crazy people continuously harm human beings, especially widows, women, children, old people, and the poor. Because the very act of harming unarmed civilians, especially those that are defenseless, is punished by god (lower case) or God or the Supreme Being that the victims worship or revere.”
“Perhaps proactive people must protect their civil right to create their own versions of political satire, regardless of lunar eclipses? Of any kind. Whether total or penumbral?”
Filipinos and Overseas Filipinos, especially Filipino Americans, who understand or are fluent in Spanish, like to use a phrase that makes fun of a national leader. Yes, when they describe him (or her) as “a president or a head of state that frequently experiences many lunar eclipses”.
If readers cannot get the joke or satire, the figurative meaning of eclipse is “to overshadow or surpass, outshine, or reduce the importance of something else (for example, saying that “his latest success or failure or embarrassment eclipsed previous ones”).
And why select only the “lunar eclipse”? Because the “lunar” and “lunatic” are both derivatives from the Spanish “luna”, which is the Iberian term for “moon”. Now remember the humorous belief that mad people become crazier during full moons?
The next total lunar eclipse in many areas of the United States will occur on December 31, 2028. But there will be a penumbral lunar eclipse on February 20–21, 2027. It is called “penumbral” because the moon passes through the outer part of Earth’s shadow, causing only a very subtle dimming that is hard to notice.
Perhaps proactive people must protect their civil right to create their own versions of political satire, regardless of lunar eclipses? Of any kind. Whether total or penumbral?
