A photo gallery of some of the persons who have helped our current president escape consequences and amass power.
All photos, except those noted, are believed to be in the public domain.
JD Vance, perhaps our most obvious Quisling: in text messages from 2016, Vance compared Trump to “a cynical a–hole like Nixon” and in another, to “America’s Hitler.” But when he saw a chance at VP, he forgot his characterizations of Trump as “cultural heroin” and “reprehensible” – and has spent his Vice Presidency earning the title. He co-starred in the Oval Office ambush of Ukraine’s President Zelensky, fawned over Hungary’s Orban, and has become Trump’s most aggressive enforcer – including the push to threaten NATO allies over Greenland.
In 2016, Lindsey Graham called Trump a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot. His motivation for switching? A In 2016, Lindsey Graham called Trump “a race-baiting, xenophobic, religious bigot.” His motivation for switching? A 2019 quote still says it best: “If you don’t want to get re-elected, you’re in the wrong business.” A decade later, Graham remains one of Trump’s most reliable Senate cheerleaders – even as the policies he once championed, like NATO solidarity and a tough line on Russia, have been reversed or abandoned.
Speaker Mike Johnson rammed through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” – adding $3+ trillion to the national debt – and continues to attack courts that rule against the administration. Yet by late June 2026, he had lost control of his own House floor to a small group of hardliners who refused to let him move any business. His attacks on judicial independence and bootlicking loyalty to Trump have driven him to reverse his own past positions. A powerful Quisling who can no longer command the body he leads.
After January 6, John Thune called Trump’s conduct “indefensible.” Then he voted “not guilty” in the impeachment trial. Then he ran for Majority Leader. As the most powerful Republican in the Senate, he is beginning to show occasional flashes of independence – pushing back on Trump’s demand to fast-track his federal elections overhaul – but after years of enabling, his credibility as a genuine check on power remains paper-thin.
Publicly, Tucker Carlson championed Donald Trump on Fox News; privately, he texted “He’s only good at destroying” and “I hate him passionately.” He was fired from Fox in 2023, launched a show on X, and made a fortune enabling MAGA. But in a stunning reversal, Carlson has now broken entirely with Trump over the Iran war, quit the Republican Party, and announced he is building a new third political party – calling the U.S. “a one-party state posing as a democracy.” The ultimate Quisling: he profited enormously from Trump, then positioned himself as the leader of the opposition.Secy of Defense Pete Hegseth, a former Fox News commentator, oversees millions of personnel and a $1T budget despite a glaring absence of foreign policy or relevant managerial experience. He continues purging the Pentagon of experienced voices while the Iran war turns into a quagmire. Add allegations of war profiteering (reports that a wealth manager acted on his behalf seeking to invest millions in defense contractors), Pentagon worship services and his “performative masculinity” and you have a dangerous clown and Quisling.
(photo by Gage Skidmore) Stephen Miller may have more in common with Joseph Goebbels than Vidkun Quisling, but he deserves mention here. The architect of Trump’s immigration agenda, he has described the Democratic Party as “an entity devoted exclusively to the defense of hardened criminals, gangbangers, and illegal alien killers and terrorists.” His fingerprints are on virtually every executive order targeting immigrants, asylum seekers, and civil rights. No one in this administration has done more to transform inflammatory rhetoric into policy.
“Little Marco” Rubio once called Donald Trump a “con artist” who “has spent his entire career sticking it to the little guy.” Now serving simultaneously as Secretary of State and acting National Security Advisor, Rubio has become Trump’s top diplomatic executor – advancing a Russia-friendly agenda, overseeing the gutting of the State Department, and helping manage the fallout from the Iran war. He did help avert a nuclear confrontation between India and Pakistan – useful work done in service of a wrecking ball.
Mitch McConnell, after calling Trump “practically and morally responsible” for January 6th and privately describing him as “stupid,” “despicable,” and a “narcissist,” endorsed him in 2024. Now 84, ill, and not seeking re-election, will leave the Senate at year’s end. The man who held a Supreme Court seat hostage for a year exits having placed three justices on the Court – a legacy that will outlast everything else he ever did.“Lying Ted” Cruz and his wife endured Trump’s worst personal insults. Cruz called Trump a “pathological liar,” a “sniveling coward,” and “utterly amoral.” Trump mocked Cruz’s wife’s appearance and suggested his father was involved in the JFK assassination. Cruz’s response to all of this: “God Bless Donald J. Trump.” He has since become one of the administration’s most energetic Senate defenders, trading whatever remained of his principles for relevance.Pam Bondi was fired as Attorney General by Trump in April 2026 after 14 months of faithfully weaponizing the Justice Department on his behalf. She prosecuted Trump’s perceived enemies, fired career prosecutors who handled the Capitol riot cases, and – most damningly – egregiously mishandled the Jeffrey Epstein files, illegally withholding materials she was legally obligated to release. She was subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee. She was loyal to the end. It wasn’t enough.Kristi Noem was fired as Secretary of Homeland Security in March 2026 after a chaotic 14-month tenure building ICE into a masked and unaccountable national police force. More than $9 billion in DHS contracts were awarded through less-than-competitive bidding processes, prompting an Inspector General investigation. Trump rewarded her failure with a new title: “Envoy for The Shield of the Americas.”
‘‘Quisling in the headlights” FBI Director Kash Patel has systematically targeted career agents who worked on Trump-related investigations. He is also facing scrutiny for failing to disclose a six-figure stock investment for more than six months – in violation of the STOCK Act – and for using government aircraft for personal travel. FBI insiders report he is “padding the stats,” instructing field offices to inflate arrest numbers by counting suspects detained merely when FBI personnel were present. Amateur hour at the top of the nation’s premier law enforcement agency.Justice Alito… we don’t need to explain why he’s on this page.
Justice Roberts has done more than most to diminish democracy: Citizens United unleashed unlimited money into elections, setting the stage for American oligarchy. He practically eliminated checks on the Executive branch by expanding Presidential immunity. He gutted the Voting Rights Act. Now presiding over a Court widely perceived as a partisan institution, his legacy as a guardian of judicial independence has largely evaporated.
After once tweeting that Trump was “Saudi Arabia’s bitch,” Tulsi Gabbard left the Democrats and joined MAGA. As Director of National Intelligence under Trump, she promoted claims of a ‘treasonous conspiracy’ by the Obama administration to subvert the 2016 election, creating a stark irony given the actions taken by Trump and his followers on January 6th, to overturn the 2020 election results. She resigned citing personal reasons in June 2026.
“Ron DeSanctimonious” DeSantis endured Trump’s taunts and insults and once said the “swamp” in Washington was “worse [under Trump] than it’s ever been.” He ran against Trump for president, lost badly, and endorsed him. Now in his final year as Florida governor before term limits force him out, DeSantis has faded from national relevance – a cautionary tale of what happens when you bet your political identity on Trump and lose.Elon Musk, who has stated he has Asperger’s syndrome, said that “the fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy.” He contributed millions to Trump and then got a job recklessly – and often apparently randomly – firing federal workers. Now, after a principled attack on the deficits embedded in Trump’s budget, he realized that he was a government contractor and groveled. Quisling!Peter Navarro, AKA the made-up person “Ron Vara”, former convict and “moron”according to Elon Musk, may have been a primary source of the disastrous & likely illegal blanket tariffs. Isn’t all coffee & chocolate imported? Whom does a tariff protect?Justice Thomas – another person on this list for reasons we don’t need to explain. Plus, he is the judge whose behavior is why there is a call for a code of ethics for the Supreme Court.Elise Stefanik used to be normal, calling out Trump for being “insulting to women,” and criticizing his “attacking Gold Star families.” She also opposed his Muslim ban, but soon became a fierce Trump defender. She was rewarded with a short-lived nomination to UN Ambassador.Linda McMahon, billionaire and former wrestling promoter, now Secretary of Education. Really!? Should someone so ignorant about artificial intelligence as to confuse its name with A1 steak sauce be in charge of education? But it doesn’t matter – she’s gutting the department.
Aileen Cannon – the Trump-appointed judge many people think used delays to help Trump escape accountability for January 6th and the misappropriation of classified material.(photo by Gage Skidmore) Kellyanne Conway, a master of “Alternative Facts” and “what about-ism,” has earned her way into the lucrative MAGA talk universe and defends anything the Trump administration does.Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt parrots the Project 2025 agenda, dismissing inconvenient facts or criticisms with practiced ease. She may be better at “alternative facts” than Kellyanne!RFK Jr, a former Democrat, sent his supporters to Trump and influenced the election. His payoff? Secy of Health & Human Services, where he is stripping it of independent fact-based voices in order to further his anti-vax business interests. RFK Jr. is not a medical doctor and has no background in the complexities of public health policy. His qualifications are further undermined by his own admitted health struggles, including a brain worm and mercury poisoning, plus a speech impediment caused by a neurological disorder. For a time, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was seen as the “adult in the room” – the market-savvy technocrat expected to provide a steady hand. That image has since evaporated. In a series of high-profile interviews, he has transitioned into one of MAGA’s most effective combatants: a master at parrying questions, sidestepping substance, and prioritizing performances of loyalty over economic clarity.
Douglas Burgum, a billionaire with ties to the oil and gas industry, is now Secretary of the Interior, which has stewardship of our public lands. A profit to be made?Howard Lutnick, billionaire Commerce Secretary, and former Democrat Wall-Streeter, contributed millions to Trump’s reelection campaign. Apparently, he was one of the geniuses who came up with the tariffs. Studies have concluded that 96% of the cost is borne in America.
