Woulda Shoulda — But Still Can, Must, And Will February 22, 2026 ARNOLD PALMER Hard to say, which would be more amazing – that this guy can imitate Trump’s voice so well, or (since he must be lip-syncing) that the President of the United States actually said these things. He wants to be on Mt. Rushmore, but it’s hard to see him fitting in. Was it Lincoln or Jefferson who famously said, “I’d like to punch him in the face?” How do Trump’s thoughts on immigration — “vermin, garbage, scum” — compare with Ronald Reagan’s final speech that I keep posting? (Not that I think Reagan belongs on Mt. Rushmore, either.) ALTERNATIVE HISTORIES Imagine if Mitch McConnell hadn’t caved on impeachment and the Senate had voted to not just by the wide 57-43 majority that it did, but by the full two-thirds needed to convict. Everything would be different. Or if Nader had dropped out in 2000 (or the 50,000 Florida “overvotes” — where people punched Gore’s chad but, to be doubly sure, wrote in his name — had not been thrown out). No war in Iraq, no right-wing Supreme Court, no massive transfer of wealth to the already-super-rich, and no Trump. Reading Hillary Clinton in Foreign Affairs — Women’s Rights Are Democratic Rights — one can’t help reflecting on how different the world would have been had the 2016 election been decided by the popular vote. She was Putin’s nemesis (a key reason Putin helped Trump win) and an enemy of autocrats generally. He was a Putin protege (some would say puppet) and an autocrat-wannabe. Not that such reflections do any good. “Spilt milk” and all that. But can you imagine how different the country would have been? With Hillary getting to select three Supremes instead of Trump? (Hats off to two of them, Gorsuch and Barrett, for reading what the Constitution says about tariffs.) Or if Al Gore, who beat W. in the popular vote, had been allowed to serve? Well, we can’t do anything about those disastrous elections, but we can do everything about the next two. And I believe will. > Join millions Tuesday from 7pm to 11pm for The State of the Swamp. Free! > Listen to What’s the Plan?, the weekly Indivisible podcast. Free! > Find the NO KINGS 3 event closest to you (scroll down to see the map) and invite friends to join you. > Start following Headquarters. It had 160 million views its first week. > Help fund the infrastructure that all 8,000+ Democratic candidates will need this fall — now is the time to fund it! — and then start giving to specific candidates this summer. We’re going to win. Those legitimate Mt. Rushmore guys are counting on it.