Some presidencies run on policy. Some run on vision.

Trump’s second term runs on not knowing a damn thing — and insisting that ignorance is a governing virtue.

This week, Trump announced that he had no idea who he was pardoning.

Not “misremembered.”

Not “the paperwork was rushed.”

No — he signed a presidential act the way the rest of us click Accept All Cookies.

Ignorance, but make it executive.

And the Republican Party applauded, because they had finally evolved into something recognizable: The Know Nothing Party, rebooted.

The original Know Nothings of the 1850s built a political movement around the power of not knowing — secrecy, conspiracy, and the belief that “ignorance is purity; knowledge is corruption.” Their members literally responded to political questions by saying, “I know nothing.” It was branding and insulation in one move.

Trump has accomplished what historians thought impossible: He brought back the Know Nothings and put them in charge of a nuclear arsenal.

The Ignorance Doctrine

Trump doesn’t know who he pardoned.

Speaker Mike Johnson — a man who governs by Bible verse and vibes — doesn’t know what’s happening in the House he supposedly runs.

When reporters ask Johnson about legislation, foreign policy, health care, and the shutdown, he shrugs and says, “Not my lane.”

He has a thousand lanes — and chooses none of them.

Meanwhile, the current government shutdown surpasses the previous record for federal government shutdowns; both record-breaking shutdowns occurred under Trump’s presidency.

Ironically, the House could fix it instantly by swearing in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who would become the 218th vote to force the release of the Epstein files. But that would require Johnson to know something, read something — or do something.

And tragically, all three are out of his lane.

The shutdown reveals the real plan:

The GOP already shredded the safety net in their “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” timing the pain for after the 2026 midterms, but the shutdown makes Americans feel that misery early.

Here’s a preview of life under government by people who refuse to govern:

·      The Venezuela Strikes: Foreign Policy by Improv

Needing a distraction from domestic collapse, Trump turned to foreign policy — which, like pardons, he prefers not to understand.

He ignored the War Powers deadline for Congressional authorization and launched lethal strikes in Venezuelan waters.

When asked why, he declared the boat crews were narco-terrorists.

Then journalists investigated.

They weren’t terrorists.

They were fishermen, bus drivers, men trying to feed their families.

Trump had the U.S. military bomb civilians — and called it national security.

Because in the Know Nothing worldview, the less you know, the easier it is to justify anything.

When Speaker Johnson was asked about the strikes, he declined to comment.

Any knowledge about the strikes was also  “out of his lane.”

The Modern Know Nothing Platform

·      The original Know Nothings stood for three things:

1.    Nativism

2.    Conspiracy beliefs

3.    Proud ignorance as identity

The Trump era GOP is the 21st-century expansion pack:

1.    Nativism (Build the wall)

2.    Conspiracy beliefs (Deep state)

3.    Proud ignorance as governing (“I didn’t know who I pardoned”)

The Know Nothings used secrecy as a defense. MAGA uses not knowing.

If you never learn anything, you can never be accountable for anything.

Ignorance isn’t a flaw. It’s a liability shield.

·      Authoritarianism Doesn’t Need Omniscience

Authoritarianism doesn’t need rulers who know everything. It only needs rulers who refuse to know anything.

If Trump didn’t know who he pardoned — someone else did.

If Johnson doesn’t know what the House is doing, someone else does.

Government becomes a puppet show performed behind a scrim of cultivated stupidity.

And we are governed by men proud of knowing nothing.

·      The Mask Was Never About Competence

Ignorance is the ideology.

• A president who doesn’t know who he pardons

• A Speaker who doesn’t know how governing works

• A foreign policy driven by labels, not facts

• Domestic policy is driven by politics, not people

The Know Nothings once promised purity through ignorance.

MAGA promises power through it.

The stakes are not abstract. When the president does not know who he pardons, the pardon becomes an instrument of corruption. When the Speaker does not know what the government is doing, the government becomes an empty stage set for someone else’s play. When foreign policy is crafted with labels instead of facts, civilians die — and because nobody in charge “knew anything,” nobody in charge is accountable.

Ignorance is not the absence of knowledge. It is the absence of responsibility.

A nation led by people who refuse to learn becomes a nation punished for knowing.

When leaders choose not to know, the people pay in rights, in dignity, and sometimes in lives.

Ignorance scales.  Consequences scale faster.

~ Dunneagin

Some presidencies run on policy. Some run on vision.

Trump’s second term runs on not knowing a damn thing — and insisting that ignorance is a governing virtue.

This week, Trump announced that he had no idea who he was pardoning.

Not “misremembered.”

Not “the paperwork was rushed.”

No — he signed a presidential act the way the rest of us click Accept All Cookies.

Ignorance, but make it executive.

And the Republican Party applauded, because they had finally evolved into something recognizable: The Know Nothing Party, rebooted.

The original Know Nothings of the 1850s built a political movement around the power of not knowing — secrecy, conspiracy, and the belief that “ignorance is purity; knowledge is corruption.” Their members literally responded to political questions by saying, “I know nothing.” It was branding and insulation in one move.

Trump has accomplished what historians thought impossible: He brought back the Know Nothings and put them in charge of a nuclear arsenal.

The Ignorance Doctrine

Trump doesn’t know who he pardoned.

Speaker Mike Johnson — a man who governs by Bible verse and vibes — doesn’t know what’s happening in the House he supposedly runs.

When reporters ask Johnson about legislation, foreign policy, health care, and the shutdown, he shrugs and says, “Not my lane.”

He has a thousand lanes — and chooses none of them.

Meanwhile, the current government shutdown surpasses the previous record for federal government shutdowns; both record-breaking shutdowns occurred under Trump’s presidency.

Ironically, the House could fix it instantly by swearing in Rep. Adelita Grijalva, who would become the 218th vote to force the release of the Epstein files. But that would require Johnson to know something, read something — or do something.

And tragically, all three are out of his lane.

The shutdown reveals the real plan:

The GOP already shredded the safety net in their “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” timing the pain for after the 2026 midterms, but the shutdown makes Americans feel that misery early.

Here’s a preview of life under government by people who refuse to govern:

·      The Venezuela Strikes: Foreign Policy by Improv

Needing a distraction from domestic collapse, Trump turned to foreign policy — which, like pardons, he prefers not to understand.

He ignored the War Powers deadline for Congressional authorization and launched lethal strikes in Venezuelan waters.

When asked why, he declared the boat crews were narco-terrorists.

Then journalists investigated.

They weren’t terrorists.

They were fishermen, bus drivers, men trying to feed their families.

Trump had the U.S. military bomb civilians — and called it national security.

Because in the Know Nothing worldview, the less you know, the easier it is to justify anything.

When Speaker Johnson was asked about the strikes, he declined to comment.

Any knowledge about the strikes was also  “out of his lane.”

The Modern Know Nothing Platform

·      The original Know Nothings stood for three things:

1.    Nativism

2.    Conspiracy beliefs

3.    Proud ignorance as identity

The Trump era GOP is the 21st-century expansion pack:

1.    Nativism (Build the wall)

2.    Conspiracy beliefs (Deep state)

3.    Proud ignorance as governing (“I didn’t know who I pardoned”)

The Know Nothings used secrecy as a defense. MAGA uses not knowing.

If you never learn anything, you can never be accountable for anything.

Ignorance isn’t a flaw. It’s a liability shield.

·      Authoritarianism Doesn’t Need Omniscience

Authoritarianism doesn’t need rulers who know everything. It only needs rulers who refuse to know anything.

If Trump didn’t know who he pardoned — someone else did.

If Johnson doesn’t know what the House is doing, someone else does.

Government becomes a puppet show performed behind a scrim of cultivated stupidity.

And we are governed by men proud of knowing nothing.

·      The Mask Was Never About Competence

Ignorance is the ideology.

• A president who doesn’t know who he pardons

• A Speaker who doesn’t know how governing works

• A foreign policy driven by labels, not facts

• Domestic policy is driven by politics, not people

The Know Nothings once promised purity through ignorance.

MAGA promises power through it.

The stakes are not abstract. When the president does not know who he pardons, the pardon becomes an instrument of corruption. When the Speaker does not know what the government is doing, the government becomes an empty stage set for someone else’s play. When foreign policy is crafted with labels instead of facts, civilians die — and because nobody in charge “knew anything,” nobody in charge is accountable.

Ignorance is not the absence of knowledge. It is the absence of responsibility.

A nation led by people who refuse to learn becomes a nation punished for knowing.

When leaders choose not to know, the people pay in rights, in dignity, and sometimes in lives.

Ignorance scales.  Consequences scale faster.

~ Dunneagin