Add another layer of “If Obama had done this… ” to the Trump legacy, we now see Donald Trump showing a shelf of MAGA merchandise poised and ready for sale (From the White House gift shop? No reason to presume anything) to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. Indeed, Trump pulls out a “Trump 2028” hat and tells Aliyev that, given he is “28 points up” that everyone wants him to run, not once mentioning or acknowledging that by the strict terms of the Constitution, he cannot run or that he’s 15 points “down” in approval. Trump has waived the right to say that he’s just kidding around about anything. Last time that Trump faced White House eviction – after losing an election, he basically incited a battle in the Capitol. We shouldn’t rule anything out, and the media should be going insane, asking about this move every bit as often as asking about the Epstein matter.
According to a report in Mediaite:
A video shared online of Trump speaking with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev soon went viral after the major peace deal, with MAGA pundit and former Trump official Steve Bannon highlighting the clip for an “I told you so.” The clip shows Trump and Aliyev admiring “Make America Great Again” hats, along with others bearing messages such as “Gulf of America” and “Trump Was Right About Everything.”
Trump held out one reading “Trump 2028,” joked with Aliyev about it, and also mentioned another on his shelf that said “4 More Years.” “You know, you’re not allowed to run and… so,” Trump said. “Because everyone — I’m 28 points higher than anybody. Everybody wants me to run, but, including many of the—” Aliyev said before Trump could even finish the statement: “Including us.”
I have absolutely no trouble believing that the Azerbaijanis, along with every other despotic government on Earth, would love to see Trump stay in office for life. After all, they must figure that all they have to do is say great things about Trump to get whatever they want. Dictators get to be as transactional as they want to be, democracies – not so much. So, of course, the strongest of the world’s strongmen want American power dissipated by groveling at Trump’s feet and then laughing all the way home. Watch below:
Donald Trump, Nikol Paşinyan Beyaz Ev’den ayrıldıktan sonra İlham Aliyev’e Beyaz Ev’i gezdirdi, ona hediye verdi ve kişisel koleksiyonunu gösterdi.🇦🇿🇮🇱 pic.twitter.com/UtoU5kfD0g
— ✡︎ LULU ✡︎ 🎗 ✊ (@MosssLulu) August 9, 2025
Does anything say “kitsch” quite like a shelf of merchandise grandizing oneself in the White House, something more in common with Niagara Falls than the formerly esteemed presidential residence? Perhaps only the gold gilding – perhaps.
One almost wonders whether there is actually a point, even without the Epstein matter, even without the economy slowing, that Trump can actually push this too far and start harming himself? Of course, the answer is seemingly yes, but that point has come and gone so many times in the past that it is no longer a given. It likely will take a combination of the Epstein files and a slowing economy to take Trump down – ideally before 2028, but definitely in 2028, no matter what Trump might have planned.
Alas, it certainly appears that we’re in for much more of a dystopian time, at least for the foreseeable future. But under no circumstances should Trump be allowed to continue talking about 2028 as if it was okay to wholly ignore the Constitution – the media needs to ask these questions in tandem, Epstein/2028, Epstein/2028… Until he actually is past his sell-by date.
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If ’26 doesn’t manifest properly, consider ’28 a given. NOW is the time.
Make no mistake, Cheeto and his merry band of fascists will try this! First, they drop a few bread crumbs about the next heinous thing they’re going to go for, then they do it.