"Peace By Tweet As Reality Lives In Rubble"

Trump’s fantasy presidency is collapsing under the weight of war, lies, and delusion; yet, he keeps screaming “no war” under my watch as the world burns in real time.

Let me introduce you to a little-known, highly underrated word. A word that’s not often uttered in Mar-a-Lago circles, rarely spoken inside the West Wing, and almost entirely foreign to the man currently occupying the Oval Office. That word? Reality. Yes, I know; beautiful, isn’t it? It has weight. Substance. It doesn’t need all caps, gold trim, or a matching red hat to be powerful. It’s the quiet truth that walks in after the circus leaves town.

Now, I know what you're thinking; "Cohen, what’s the point? We live in a post-truth era where people get their news from memes and their policies from YouTube influencers and TikTokers with usernames like BiglyPatriotDaddy88." And you’re not wrong. But we still owe it to ourselves to put reality on the record. Otherwise, we’re just another banana republic with a nuclear arsenal and a Wi-Fi connection.

Let’s rewind to Trump’s campaign; not the first time, or the second time, but this third cursed remix he ran like a bad cover band that refuses to quit. You may remember the greatest hits: “If I had been president in 2020, there would be no war.” “Russia would never have invaded Ukraine.” “Hamas would have never attacked Israel.” “Iran would behave.” And let’s not forget, “Every man, woman, and child would have been handed a gold-plated unicorn with a side of ivermectin.”

It’s easy to say something when you have no intention of being held accountable. It’s easier still when your supporters treat every one of your promises like it was carved into stone tablets and brought down from Mount Sinai by a QAnon Moses. But enter reality, and suddenly the hologram collapses.

Let’s evaluate Trump’s reality, shall we?

Reality check number one:
Russia did invade Ukraine. Twice, actually; the first time under Obama, and again in full force under Biden in 2022. And despite Trump's fantasy cosplay of being Putin’s personal whisperer, Moscow didn’t suddenly become a church choir once he took office. In fact, they're now bombing Ukrainian cities into oblivion with Iranian-made drones while the world watches in muted horror. Trump bragged he'd stop the war in 24 hours; what he didn’t mention is whether that was by handing Ukraine over to Putin like a housewarming gift or, which 24 hours he was talking about.

Reality check number two:
Trump claims Hamas wouldn’t have dared attack Israel if he’d still been in office. The truth is, terrorism doesn’t schedule itself around American election cycles or Tweet storms. Years of ignoring Palestinian grievances, cutting aid, and treating the conflict like a reality show plotline created a powder keg. Moving the embassy to Jerusalem and declaring “peace deals” that sidelined real justice didn’t make Hamas vanish; it ignited desperation and rage. The horrific attack at the music festival was not some spontaneous rebellion against Biden; it was the inevitable explosion of neglect and bad policy Trump proudly embraced. Spoiler: pretending problems away never stops violence; it fuels it.

Reality check number three:
Trump claims he’s the “no war” president. As he keeps recycling that tired line to anyone who’ll listen; or not, Israel just launched a deep strike on Iran’s nuclear program. Call me crazy, but that sounds a lot like war to me. Tehran’s “divine revenge” threats aren’t just empty noise this time; they’re a dangerous escalation on a powder keg. Meanwhile, the region inches closer to chaos Trump insists doesn’t exist; because inconvenient realities don’t fit his script of alternative facts and reality TV reruns.

Reality check number four:
India and Pakistan; you know, two nuclear-armed rivals who never needed much to start a fight, are officially at war. Let that one marinate for a moment. Trump claimed to be the great de-escalator. The only thing he de-escalated is America's standing in the world.

Reality check number five:
The United States is now engaged in a full-blown trade war with half the globe; tariffs on allies, embargoes on enemies, and an isolationist fantasy that’s tanking the economy faster than Rudy Giuliani’s legal career.

And oh yeah, did I mention? The military is in the streets of Los Angeles. We are at war with ourselves. Armed. Deployed. Patrolling American soil in direct violation of posse comitatus, which for those unfamiliar, is a quaint little law that says our government isn’t supposed to use the military to police civilians like we’re living in Caracas or Pyongyang. But guess what? Reality is inconvenient when your entire administration runs on delusion and rage.

So, let me spell it out: it’s easy to say anything. I could stand here and promise you that under a Michael Cohen presidency, everyone would have universal healthcare that actually works, a fair living wage that covers rent and bills, zero crime (because who wouldn’t want that?), prescription drugs priced like Tic Tacs, education that doesn’t feel like a prison sentence, and weather that smells like fresh-baked cookies every morning. I could say all that, and it might even sound good; like the kind of hope you want to believe in. But saying something doesn’t make it true. The chasm between fantasy and reality is called governing. And governing? It’s a hell of a lot harder than printing slogans on baseball caps or running your mouth on cable news.

Add to that a presidency where we actually fix our broken infrastructure without endless delays, protect voting rights instead of suppressing them, reform criminal justice without photo ops, confront climate change with action; not empty talk, and rebuild alliances that Trump burned down faster than you can say “fake news.” All necessary. All urgent. All impossible to pull off with smoke and mirrors.

Here’s the brutal truth: if we keep letting Trump and his dystopian circus of grifters sell us a future built on lies and nostalgia for a past that never existed, we’re heading toward a place where reality is not just ignored; it’s criminalized. We’ll wake up in an upside-down country where facts are treason, truth is weakness, and authoritarianism is marketed as “strength” with a MAGA hat on top.

Want to talk groceries for a second? Try shopping for freedom in this authoritarian supermarket. All you’ll find is expired truth, canned rage, and aisle after aisle of gaslight specials; buy one lie, get two denials free.

Reality, it’s the one thing this administration fears more than accountability, more than the truth, more than the light of day. And it’s exactly what we need now more than ever.

Because once we stop demanding it; once we stop insisting on truth, facts, and something as basic as reality, we aren’t just watching democracy die a slow death…

We’re drowning it.

THIS IS A CRITICAL PERSONAL APPEAL
JOIN ME. STAND WITH THIS COMMUNITY. WE CANNOT DO THIS ALONE.

If you’re reading this, you’re already part of the resistance. You believe in truth. In justice. In dragging the roaches of corruption into the light. But let me be brutally honest: I can’t do this without you.

This isn't just another newsletter; it's a war cry. A movement. A battering ram aimed at the liars, the grifters, and the authoritarian wannabes hijacking our democracy. And we need to grow this platform into a voice so loud, so relentless, that they can’t spin it, silence it, or shut it down.

I’m calling on you; not passively asking, but urgently demanding, to fuel this fight. We are the last line of defense between democracy and dictatorship.

And yes; as a small token of my appreciation, the first 240 Founding Members will receive a signed, numbered, limited Substack edition of my New York Times bestseller, Revenge: How Donald Trump Weaponized the U.S. Department of Justice Against His Critics. It’s not just a collector’s item. It’s a declaration of where you stood when history came calling.

But this isn’t about a book.
This is about defiance.
About refusing to be gaslit.
About locking arms and shouting back at the madness.

Here’s how you can raise your voice:

1. Become a supporter today.

2. Forward this post to people who won’t sit on the sidelines.

3. Bring your crew. Grow this community. Be the megaphone.

You want to make a difference? This is your moment.
Rise up. Speak out. Show up.
Because if we don’t fight for truth; no one will.
And if we do it together? They’ll never drown us out.

Let’s be impossible to ignore.
Let’s be un-fucking-breakable.
Join now. Share widely. Let’s go.