Recent articles
February 19, 2026
Calmes: Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden, please speak out against Trump
Presidents who could speak truth to power are so constrained by their devotion to norms that they won't confront a president who's shattering the norms of this democracy daily.
www.latimes.com
February 12, 2026
Calmes: If he had any other job, Trump would have been fired by now
We're stuck with a president who daily models behavior that we don't accept in our schools and workplaces.
www.latimes.com
February 5, 2026
Calmes: Misery has plenty of company in Trump's second term
Republicans are quaking ahead of the midterms as Trump says or does something each day to keep alive the disgust so many Americans share for him.
www.latimes.com
January 29, 2026
Calmes: Trump imagines the buck will never stop with him
As Republicans object to this lawless administration, they should keep their focus on holding the boss accountable.
www.latimes.com
January 22, 2026
Calmes: It will be a long road back after Trump's reign of destruction
He has already devastated the credibility of American law enforcement and the military, not to mention our nation's standing around the world.
www.latimes.com
January 15, 2026
Calmes: Trump celebrates our nation's founding while imitating tyrant King George III
The Declaration of Independence faulted the king for sending 'swarms of Officers to harrass our people' and protecting the agents 'from punishment for any Murders which they should commit.' Sound f...
www.latimes.com
January 8, 2026
Calmes: Trump's 626 overseas strikes aren't 'America First.' What's his real agenda?
The president who promised domestic solutions has instead inserted the U.S. into many other nations' conflicts, most recently Venezuela's. Why?
www.latimes.com
January 1, 2026
Calmes: Trump's motto in 2025? 'Me, myself and I'
To an extent that's shocked even critics long convinced of his sociopathic narcissism, the president has fashioned a government that's of Trump, by Trump and for Trump.
www.latimes.com
December 25, 2025
Calmes: 'Happy holidays' is how we embrace the Christmas spirit of generosity
There is no 'war on Christmas,' so our season's greetings are not political statements. Unless you want them to be.
www.latimes.com
December 18, 2025
Calmes: Some truth leaked out of the White House
Damning candor from Trump's chief of staff, along with the president's own embarrassing rant against Rob Reiner, show the crumbling of this administration.
www.latimes.com
December 11, 2025
Calmes: Signs of the regulatory apocalypse
Trump announced that he would 'be involved' in deciding which company is allowed to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The Supreme Court signaled an end to regulatory agencies' independence.
www.latimes.com
December 4, 2025
Calmes: Now it's clear why Trump got rid of the top military lawyers
People who know and enforce the law would have been inconvenient during the president's undeclared war in the Pacific and the Caribbean.
www.latimes.com
November 27, 2025
Calmes: Be thankful for the judges upholding the law
On immigration alone, more than 100 federal judges — including many Trump appointees — have ruled that the administration's actions violated civil rights or were otherwise illegal.
www.latimes.com