The World is Watching – And it is Not Applauding 02/15/26
The World is Watching –
And it is Not Applauding
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When the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics opened on February 6 at the sto-
ried San Siro Stadium, the ceremony was meant to celebrate Italian culture, harmony,
and the unifying spirit of sport. Instead, the Games have become a stage for some-
thing far more unsettling: a global indictment of the United States under the Trump
administration. Hundreds of student protesters filled Milan’s Piazza Leonardo da
Vinci before the opening ceremony even began, demanding that U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement agents leave Italian soil. Banners read “ICE should be in
my drinks, not my city.” When Vice President JD Vance appeared on the stadium’s
big screen, the crowd booed. By Saturday, thousands marched through the streets.
Police deployed water cannons and tear gas after a breakaway group threw firecrack-
ers and flares near the Olympic Village. At least seven people were detained. This
came on the heels of violent clashes in Turin the prior weekend, where more than
100 police officers were injured. One protester, an American student from Minnesota
studying abroad, told Reuters: “I thought that this was a good opportunity to show
that the rest of the world is not OK with what’s happening in Minnesota.” Even U.S.
Olympic athletes broke ranks. Freestyle skier Chris Lillis told a press conference he
was “heartbroken about what’s happening in the United States” and said the country
needs to “focus on respecting everybody’s rights.”
Not Just Milan: A World in Revolt
The Milan protests are not an isolated eruption. They are the latest chapter in a
cascade of international outrage that has been building for months, spanning multiple
continents and touching issues from immigration enforcement to territorial aggression
to the dismantling of democratic norms. In Copenhagen, thousands marched in the
“Hands off Greenland” rallies — the largest protests in Greenland’s history — after
President Trump threatened military force to annex the self-governing Danish ter-
ritory. Protesters chanted “Greenland is not for sale” and “Kalaallit Nunaat.” Red
“Make America Go Away” hats, a pointed inversion of Trump’s MAGA branding,
became a viral symbol of defiance across Scandinavia. Danish military veterans who
served alongside American troops staged a silent march to the U.S. Embassy, saying
they felt “let down and ridiculed” by the Trump administration. In London, 2,000
people protested outside Downing Street against the U.S. intervention in Venezuela.
During Trump’s 2025 state visit, thousands more filled the streets with signs reading
“Go away, Trump,” while activist groups projected images of Trump and Jeffrey Ep-
stein onto Windsor Castle. In Paris, the American flag was burned in the streets. In
Berlin, protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms. Across Europe, “Hands Off!”
rallies drew hundreds of thousands to more than 1,300 events in cities including Lon-
don, Paris, Frankfurt, and Lisbon. A February 2026 YouGov poll confirmed what
the streets were already saying: unfavorable opinions of the United States have surged
across Western Europe.
The 1936 Comparison — Inverted
Some have drawn comparisons between Milan 2026 and the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
The comparison is instructive, but perhaps not in the way first intended. In 1936, the
world largely acquiesced. Nations attended, competed, and held their tongues while
the host regime consolidated power and persecution. The global community’s silence
at those Games became a historical stain — a cautionary tale about the cost of look-
ing away. Milan 2026 is, in many ways, the mirror image. The world is not silent.
It is shouting. The protests are coming not from fringe radicals but from students,
families with children, labor unions, healthcare workers, military veterans, Olympic
athletes, and even Europe’s own far-right politicians. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia
Meloni — no liberal — called Trump’s Greenland statements “unacceptable,” adding
that “friendship requires respect.” Nigel Farage called Trump’s Greenland threats a
“very hostile act” against Europe. When your ideological allies are recoiling, the prob-
lem is not with the world’s perception. The problem is with what they are perceiving.
Minneapolis to Milan: A Through Line
At home, the pattern is no less stark. The killing of Renée Good by an ICE agent
on January 7 ignited protests that have not subsided. In Minneapolis, 50,000 marched
in a general strike. Hundreds of businesses closed. Over 100 clergy members were
arrested at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. The Minnesota Governor
mobilized the National Guard. Portland, Chicago, and cities across all 50 states saw
demonstrations numbering in the hundreds of thousands. The administration’s re-
sponse has been to double down. ICE agents were dispatched to the Milan Olympics
— ostensibly for security — turning an international sporting event into a symbol of the
very enforcement policies the world is protesting. The result was predictable: Italian
students, European veterans, and American Olympians themselves used the global
platform to register their dissent.
Denial Is Not a Strategy
There is a pattern in the psychology of institutions under stress: when criticism
mounts from all directions — from allies and adversaries, from citizens and athletes,
from Copenhagen and Minneapolis alike — the temptation is to dismiss it all as bias,
misunderstanding, or coordinated opposition. But when Danish veterans who bled
alongside American soldiers in Afghanistan say they feel “ridiculed,” when even Gi-
orgia Meloni says “enough,” when your own Olympic athletes say they are “heartbro-
ken” — that is not bias. That is a mirror. The question for Americans is not whether
the world is wrong. The question is whether America is paying attention. A sign at the
Copenhagen protests, held by a Danish man named Peder Dam, featured Darth Vad-
er and Luke Skywalker from Star Wars. It read: “Americans: I know there is good in
you. Come back to sanity.” That is not the language of an enemy. That is the language
of a friend in grief.
The $750 President
The discussion continues. This is the starting point for a deeper podcast conversation exploring the issues, arguments, and reactions it raises. Click the link to...The Architecture of Deception
EDITORIAL:
The Architecture of Deception
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Brent Lambi, author of the above, Graduate University of Northern Iowa B.A. in
Accounting Class of 1982, Graduate Creighton University School of Law Class of 1985.
The hallmark of a healthy republic is its transparency—the sunlight that Lou-
is Brandeis famously called the best disinfectant. Today, however, we find
ourselves squinting through a thick, manufactured fog. Under the current
administration, the American public isn’t just being denied the truth; they are
being fed a steady diet of strategic deception that spans from the ballot box
to the highest halls of justice.
The pattern of “The Big Lie” didn’t end with the 2020 election; it merely set
the template. Despite losing dozens of lawsuits—failing to produce a shred
of evidence that would satisfy a court of law—the administration continues
to peddle the myth of a stolen election. This isn’t just a political disagree-
ment; it is a frontal assault on the democratic process, designed to erode
faith in the only mechanism the people have to hold power to account.
A Culture of Fraud and Shadow-Play
The rot extends deep into the private and personal dealings of the execu-
tive branch. In New York, the courts have already spoken on years of sys-
temic business fraud, where property values were inflated or deflated like
accordions to suit the financial whims of the moment. We see this same lack
of integrity in the handling of national security. The refusal to take account-
ability for classified documents at Mar-a-Lago—and the shifting narratives
surrounding their presence—suggests a belief that the law is a suggestion,
not a mandate.
Furthermore, the roster of “hatchet men” surrounding the presidency reads
like a cautionary tale of legal malpractice. When your closest legal advisors
are disbarred, under indictment, or known for “alternative facts,” the mes-
sage is clear: the goal is not to uphold the law, but to circumvent it.
The Walls of Silence: Minneapolis to the “Epstein Files”
Nowhere is the deception more chilling than in the administration’s recent
efforts to suppress local information. In Minneapolis, the move to prevent
the release of data regarding deaths in ICE custody represents a terrify-
ing expansion of federal secrecy. When a government attempts to hide the
mortality of those in its care, it has moved beyond “policy” and into the realm
of human rights suppression.
Yet, the ultimate shadow remains the “Epstein Files.” Despite signing the
Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Department of Justice is currently sit-
ting on over five million documents, releasing less than 1% of the material.
• The Promise: Total transparency for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein.
• The Reality: Heavy redactions, missed deadlines, and a “dustbin of
history” approach to investigative reports.
Why the sudden hesitation? Why are the names of the powerful being
scrubbed while the public is told to “move on”? When a government refuses
to peel back the curtain on a pedophilia-fueled blackmail ring that touched
the world’s elite, the silence becomes an admission.
Over the decades, Donald Trump’s public record has been marked by a
series of high-profile legal and personal controversies involving sexual mis-
conduct, infidelity, and a lack of institutional transparency.
Below is a detailed list of the issues that
have gained the most public attention:
1. The E. Jean Carroll Civil Trials
In 2023 and 2024, writer E. Jean Carroll won two significant civil lawsuits
against Donald Trump.
• The Verdict: A jury found Trump liable for the sexual abuse and defa-
mation of Carroll in a department store dressing room in the mid-1990s.
• The Findings: While the jury did not find him liable for “rape” under
New York’s narrow penal law at the time (which required penile pene-
tration), the presiding judge later clarified that the jury’s finding of sex-
ual abuse met the common definition of rape.
• Damages: Carroll was awarded a total of $88.3 million in damages.
2. The Stormy Daniels & Karen McDougal “Hush Money” Case
This issue centered on payments made during the 2016 campaign to sup-
press stories of extramarital affairs.
• Criminal Conviction: In May 2024, Trump was convicted on 34 felo-
ny counts of falsifying business records in Manhattan. The prosecu-
tion proved he disguised reimbursements to his lawyer, Michael Co-
hen, for a $130,000 payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels.
• Karen McDougal: Similar “catch-and-kill” tactics were used to silence
former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also alleged an affair.
3. The “Access Hollywood” Tape (The “Hot Mic” Moment)
During the 2016 campaign, a 2005 recording surfaced of Trump speaking
with Billy Bush.
• The Comments: Trump was recorded saying that when you are a
“star,” women let you do anything, including to “grab ‘em by the py.”*
• Impact: The tape was used as evidence in the E. Jean Carroll trial
to demonstrate a pattern of behavior regarding non-consensual
sexual advances.
4. Pageant Misconduct Allegations
As the former owner of the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants, Trump
faced multiple accusations from contestants.
• Dressing Room Intrusions: Several contestants, including former
Miss Arizona Tasha Dixon and Miss Utah Temple Taggart, alleged
that Trump would walk into dressing rooms while women and teenag-
ers were undressed.
• Trump’s Admission: In a 2005 interview with Howard Stern, Trump
boasted about this, saying, “I’ll go backstage and everyone’s getting
dressed… and you see these incredible looking women, and so, I sort
of get away with things like that.”
5. Relationship with Jeffrey Epstein
The social link between Trump and the convicted sex offender has been a
subject of intense scrutiny.
• The Friendship: Trump and Epstein were social peers in Palm Beach
and New York for over a decade. In 2002, Trump told New York Mag-
azine, “I’ve known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy… It is even said that
he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the
younger side.”
• The Fallout: Trump claims they had a “falling out” around 2004 over
a real estate deal. However, flight logs show Trump flew on Epstein’s
private jet multiple times in the 1990s.
6. The “Epstein Files” and Transparency
There has been significant public outcry over the government’s failure to ful-
ly unseal all documents related to the Epstein investigation.
• The Transparency Act: In late 2025, the Epstein Files Transparency
Act was signed into law, requiring the DOJ to release the files.
• Current Status: As of early 2026, less than 1% of the millions of pages
have been released. Critics argue the administration and the DOJ have
used heavy redactions to protect high-profile individuals, leading to ac-
cusations of a “pedophile cover-up” or protecting elite “hatchet men.”
7. Minneapolis & ICE Transparency Issues
Recent controversies in Minneapolis have centered on federal overreach
and a lack of local accountability.
• Suppression of Information: The administration has faced back-
lash for attempting to block local government access to information
regarding deaths in ICE custody and federal shootings in the city.
• Immunity Claims: The DOJ has argued for “absolute immunity” for
federal agents, which would prevent the discovery of evidence in civil
rights lawsuits.
The accumulation of these controversies—ranging from court-certified
sexual abuse and business fraud to the strategic suppression of sensi-
tive federal files—raises a fundamental question that transcends politics.
It moves the conversation from the ballot box to the kitchen table, asking
whether the standards we hold for our national leaders align with the stan-
dards we hold for our own families and inner circles.
The Litmus Test of Character
When we strip away the rallies and the rhetoric, we are left with the basic
measure of a person’s integrity. If you were to evaluate this record through a
personal lens, the conclusions become stark:
• Trust in Family Dynamics: Would you entrust the safety and emo-
tional well-being of a daughter to someone with a documented histo-
ry of “hot mic” boasts about non-consensual advances, or someone
found liable by a jury for sexual abuse?
• Business and Financial Honesty: Could you comfortably hand over
the keys of a family business to an individual convicted of 34 felony
counts of falsifying records? Or trust someone to be transparent
about their finances when they have fought for a decade to keep their
tax returns hidden from public view?
• The Responsibility of Guardianship: Would you feel secure send-
ing a child on a trip overseen by someone who frequented the social
circles of Jeffrey Epstein and has since overseen a massive federal
slowdown in releasing the truth about those very associations?
Conclusion: A Crisis of Accountability
The ultimate deception isn’t just found in the lawsuits or the “hush money”
payments; it is the attempt to convince the public that character no longer
matters in leadership. We are asked to accept a reality where transparency is
a “deep state” trick and where legal accountability is labeled as “persecution.”
If we would not trust a person with our daughters, our businesses, or our
taxes, we must ask why we would trust them with the moral and legal ma-
chinery of a superpower. The “Epstein cover-up” and the “Big Lie” are not
isolated incidents—they are the predictable results of a culture that prioritiz-
es the protection of the powerful over the safety of the vulnerable. A leader
who cannot pass the basic test of personal decency cannot, by definition,
lead a nation toward a transparent or just future.