Time flies.

It has been exactly one year and one day since I last posted a Torch Report. I have to admit, my little hiatus lasted far longer than intended, but the extended time away from the endless propaganda and maddening headlines has been good for the soul.

Rather than try to recap the bazillion-and-one “super important” events that have come and gone, or chase the various squirrels of conspiracy, today I’m going to cut straight to the chase: Personally, I feel utterly betrayed by Donald Trump.

And I know I’m not alone.

As one friend put it, “What in the hell happened to Trump?” As in, whatever happened to draining the swamp, no more wars, and putting America First?

Another friend recently hit me with this doozy: “So, Luke, how do you feel about Trump totally dividing his base and destroying the MAGA movement?”

Ouch. Honestly, it’s not an easy answer.

Friends, I’ve sat down to write many times over the last year. I’ve actually written several reports that addressed the gradual, disturbing drift I’ve been observing during Trump’s second term, but in the end, I didn’t have the heart to publish them.

Why not publish them?

Well, because there was an even more disturbing trend that seemed to be running parallel among many of my fellow patriots. Whereas in recent years most of the MAGA crowd held a sharp skepticism toward all things government, I began to see a disheveling sort of blind allegiance build around Trump’s ever evolving agenda.

In essence, whatever Trump said was “good” was good, and whatever Trump said was “bad” was bad. Critical thinking seemed to be suspended, or worse, usurped by sycophancy. Suddenly, the only measure of one’s patriotism was whether or not you accepted and agreed with whatever Trump was currently pushing.

Thus, we’ve stumbled into a twilight zone, wherein anyone who voted to Make America Great Again is now just expected to go along with whatever Trump says.

Examples abound.

We were expected to believe Trump when he farcically claimed the Epstein files were nothing more than a “democrat hoax.” We were expected to accept that Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” was a fiscal masterpiece, even though it actually increases government spending, adds trillions to the deficit, and didn’t do a damn thing to curb any of the rampant fraud and reckless spending uncovered by the Department of Government Efficiency. We were expected to support the sudden regime change in Venezuela.

Unfortunately, rather than remain skeptical and ask questions, it appears the critical thinking of most conservatives has simply been swept away in the euphoria of all the so-called “winning.” Simultaneously, it appears that loyalty to Trump and his narrative has slowly become the only benchmark for determining what’s right and wrong.

If Trump says it’s right, then it’s right.

If Trump says it’s wrong, then it’s wrong.

Apparently only Donald Trump knows what is best for America.

We are expected to believe that his every action serves only to advance American interests—even if it seems impossible to comprehend his plan.

Horseshit.

Some people believe it, but I certainly don’t.

To illustrate this growing divide in the ranks, one night I asked a group of patriots why we were all of the sudden running military operations in Venezuela, instead of say, addressing the well-documented government corruption right here at home. They looked at me like I was an apostate, which confirmed my suspicion that any dissent to Trump’s agenda was now considered taboo. Unfortunately, if you disagreed with any of Trump’s decision-making, you were no longer considered a patriot.

Quite disturbingly, blind allegiance now seemed expected in many MAGA circles.

All of this disgusted me, and it still sits heavy on my heart.

That’s ultimately why I failed to publish the previously written reports. I knew that most of the audience would balk and revolt against my skepticism of some of Trump’s decisions. I knew that I could not compete with the cult of personality and clever propaganda that was emanating out of the White House. So, rather than rock the boat, damage relationships, and cause division, I felt it was better to remain silent.

At the time, it seemed wiser to sit back and see how things played out. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe my friends were right. Maybe Trump was making the best decisions. Maybe he actually was advancing the America First agenda, even in Venezuela, despite my growing doubts and the mounting evidence to the contrary.

Maybe.

Then we went to war with Iran. Now, in just over a month, 365 service members have been wounded (including Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force casualties), and 13 Americans have been killed in action. Many more people have been killed throughout the region, including hundreds of children and thousands of innocent civilians.

We are told that this is all necessary and good—and we are expected to believe it.

But wait a minute here: why are we at war with Iran in the first place? Donald Trump campaigned heavily on a promise of “no new wars” and ending the “endless wars.”

What we are witnessing is the exact opposite of what he said he would do.

That’s a massive shift, so what is the justification for this war?

Does it matter that the Trump administration still can’t get their story straight?

More importantly, how do you think this is all going to play out? Do you think the Iranians are just going to give up? What are the chances that a jihadi terrorist cell seeks revenge on American soil? Do you honestly think Trump’s rhetoric is going to bring greater peace? Or, do you think it’s more likely to escalate retaliation?

For context, let’s consider Trump’s ever-so-inspiring Easter Sunday message:

Bomb power plants and bridges? Open the f****n’ Strait, you crazy b******s?

Personally, I’m not impressed. That doesn’t strike me as particularly presidential, even by Trump’s fairly low standard, nor does it seem appropriate given the sanctity of the day. Indeed, I’d tend to agree with Tucker Carlson’s critical take on this one:

“You’re tweeting the F-word on Easter morning promising the murder of civilians? This is vile. This is evil. On every level. A promise to use US military to destroy civilian infrastructure that people use every day? That is a war crime. A moral crime. Innocent people will die. That is unacceptable. It is immoral. It can never be justified.”

Tucker created a 2-hour YouTube video titled Trump’s Desecration of Easter and a Warning to Christians Everywhere, and he goes on to suggest the unthinkable:

“Desecrating Easter was the first step toward nuclear war.”

Obviously I hope he’s wrong, but then again, if you start connecting the dots…

Let’s zoom out.

Why do I feel betrayed by Trump?

I voted for him three times. I was a Trump-endorsed delegate to the Republican National Convention. I’ve been a fan of much of what he has done, and I’ve been content to “agree to disagree” whenever I’ve had a difference of opinion.

In short, the good has far outweighed the bad—until things started to change.

When Trump declared that the Epstein documents were a Democrat hoax, it was a massive red flag for me. While campaigning for re-election, Trump had suggested that he would release the documents, presumably because holding high ranking pedophiles accountable for their predatory child sex trafficking was a critical issue for the vast majority of his base. Go figure. But then he flipped the script.

Why is anyone even talking about this Democrat hoax anyway? Idiots.

Much to the chagrin of millions, there hasn’t been a single person arrested. There has been zero accountability for documented crimes against children. We’ve been told to look the other way and stop bringing it up—and again, we’re expected to play along.

That same story holds true for the documented fraud during the stolen 2020 election, the orchestrated fedsurrection on J6, the various crimes against humanity perpetrated during covid, and so on. There is a pattern here that is plain to see: what is important to the American people, i.e. accountability for documented crimes and sticking to campaign promises, is clearly not what is most important to Donald Trump.

Thus, rather than prioritizing election integrity, criminal accountability, e...