# A Perfectly Reasonable Amount of Schadenfreude about Things Happening to Trump & His Enablers (Part 3) **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [January 20, 2025, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175 "2025-01-20T19:23:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 146
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2901 "2026-02-13T14:07:26Z")
Tough one. Just assuming the new boss is going to be an illegal sleazebag is not a great thing to do but, at the same time, the realistic assessment should have been that it was a distinct possibility. So, probably stay on, at least until there were clear, explicit, written directives to do something hinky. Otherwise, much of their job would have been normal, necessary functions to keep things running. And that seems to be what many did - stay and do their jobs until told to do something unsupportable, and then resign, often publicly, in protest. At least those who weren’t pre-emptively dismissed. I don’t have much sympathy for anybody who is still there, though. It’s never easy looking for a job, but compared to immediately after the election (the inauguration was probably a better point though), at this point the argument that some good can still be done on the inside to fight the worst of the abuses wears rather thin. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2902 "2026-02-13T14:24:12Z")
But if you know that the person brought in to fill your spot will be a loyal sycophant, does quitting in protest make an impact or difference? I’d say the only ethical choice is to stay on and fight from within, but it’s obviously a personal choice. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2903 "2026-02-13T14:41:08Z")
I could see it going either way. Staying on to fight from within sounds a lot nobler than it ends up being in reality. That lawyer in Minnesota was one example. If her words were to be taken at face value, she ended up helping 1 or 2 ICE victims from within while directly enabling the abuse of hundreds if not thousands more. At that level, the line blurs or rather doesn’t even exist between subtle sabotage and delusional rationalization. Also, the notion of a loyal sycophant ‘filling your spot’ ended up not even happening. The DOJ fired hundreds of lawyers without replacement and basically shuttered several divisions. Others they did replace but after firing them first, without giving them the chance to resign in protest. So, I’d say waiting until after the election (or rather after the inauguration) would have been about right. At that point, it was pretty clear what was going on and that sticking around to fight from the inside was not a tenable plan. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2904 "2026-02-13T14:43:40Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > It brings up the question: if you’re a DOJ lawyer when Trump is elected, do you stay on and try to fight, or leave in protest? I stay on to fight, but I also start looking for a new job for the day I’ll have to leave in protest. I also start stealing as many files as I can, because leaks are the only way these people will ever even possibly be held to account. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2905 "2026-02-13T16:57:41Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Also, the notion of a loyal sycophant ‘filling your spot’ ended up not even happening. I think this is an important point. Staying on simply enables the machine to keep running, even if you attempt to throw a few sticks into the gears. If enough people leave, the machine simply stops, especially if there are not enough replacements to get it moving. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2906 "2026-02-13T17:01:22Z")
Or especially, especially if the incompetents in charge think they don’t need so many people to keep the machine running. They sabotage themselves without realizing it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2907 "2026-02-13T17:47:58Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > It brings up the question: if you’re a DOJ lawyer when Trump is elected, do you stay on and try to fight, or leave in protest? You stay and document the hell out of everything you are asked to do and asked not to do. That way, when you are finally fired, you can release the evidence. If you resign in protest, they will hire a lacky who will do exactly what they ask and hide the evidence. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2908 "2026-02-13T17:50:18Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > It brings up the question: if you’re a DOJ lawyer when Trump is elected, do you stay on and try to fight, or leave in protest? I’ve been in that position before, so I know exactly what I would do. I worked for a tribal government, where my bosses were an elected council. It was a great job until the wrong people got elected. Then it became a horrific nightmare. People around me getting fired left and right, a group of 6 people whittled down to a group of 2 in my particular department. My new direct supervisor was totally powerless to actually do anything to help me. Sound familiar? Very DOGE-like. But despite all the bullshit, I still had a job, and I stuck around and tried to keep things going as long as I could, even embroiled in an FBI investigation (I was a witness, not a suspect). It was when I realized that things were falling apart, I was being directed to do things that could put me in legal jeopardy, and I was being badly taken advantage of, that’s when I quit. So yeah, having been in that situation myself, that’s exactly what I did. Stick around and try to do my job until they order me to do the wrong things, and then the only smart thing to do is get the fuck out of there. ---
**Author:** ![dougrb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/76d3ee/32.png) [@dougrb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougrb)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2909 "2026-02-14T21:01:07Z")
Ironically, an anti-abortion march turned into a measles super spreader event. [https://newrepublic.com/post/206352/march-for-life-measles](https://newrepublic.com/post/206352/march-for-life-measles) ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2910 "2026-02-18T02:32:46Z")
[MAGA mayor facing jail time for illegally voting.](https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pro-trump-mayor-accused-illegally-223320867.html) > [@](#): > > A Kansas mayor who has supported President **Donald Trump** for years is now facing years behind bars after state prosecutors said he voted as an illegal immigrant. > > _The New York Times_ ran a feature on **Joe Ceballos** this week, who is currently facing multiple charges of voter fraud just months after being re-elected mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, which has a population of 687. The 55-year-old Ceballos is now battling three counts of election perjury and three counts of voting without being qualified. > > “Nobody ever told me that I couldn’t vote or register to vote,” Ceballos [told _The Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/us/kansas-mayor-vote-immigration.html). “And so, as a young man, yeah, I did it. I registered.” > > Ceballos was born in Mexico and moved to the U.S. at the age of four, according to _The Times_; the report does not say whether his family moved legally or illegally at the time, but Ceballos later received a green card in 1990. Ceballos said he believed his status as a permanent resident allowed him to vote in elections. > > “His defense, essentially, is that he did not understand that being a permanent resident should have precluded him from voting and holding office, and that no one ever told him he was not eligible,” the paper wrote. But, hey, he’s not holding a grudge, I guess. > [@](#): > > Ceballos said he voted for Trump in 2016, 2020, and 2024 and that he still supported much of the president’s crackdown on illegal immigration — but that he wasn’t thrilled he was now being targeted, obviously. > > “I still strongly believe in Trump’s immigration laws about, ‘Let’s get the bad guys out of here.’ You know, they’re murderers, they killed people, they molested people, let’s get them out of here,” Ceballos said. “But I feel like I don’t fit that category. And I feel like that’s how they’re treating me.” ---
**Author:** ![irae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f0a364/32.png) [@irae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irae)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2911 "2026-02-18T15:13:19Z")
Womp womp, asshole!! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2912 "2026-02-18T16:29:34Z")
> [@irae](#): > > Womp womp I vaguely remember some MAGA-type posted that some time ago. I’ve often wondered: Did he mean ‘womp’ as ‘beating someone down’? Or was it a failed attempt at representing the ‘sad trombone’ sound (‘Wah, waaaaah’) in text? ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2913 "2026-02-18T16:59:28Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Or was it a failed attempt at representing the ‘sad trombone’ sound (‘Wah, waaaaah’) in text? [Corey Lewandowski](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/20/corey-lewandowski-girl-down-syndrome-655495) used it for this purpose during a Fox News panel during maladministration 1.0. Video at the link. ---
**Author:** ![irae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/f0a364/32.png) [@irae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irae)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2914 "2026-02-18T17:13:16Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I vaguely remember some MAGA-type posted that some time ago. I’ve often wondered: Did he mean ‘womp’ as ‘beating someone down’? Or was it a failed attempt at representing the ‘sad trombone’ sound (‘Wah, waaaaah’) in text? This still enrages me. Fucking triumphant illiterates. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2915 "2026-02-18T18:01:13Z")
> [@SunUp](#): > > > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > > > Or was it a failed attempt at representing the ‘sad trombone’ sound (‘Wah, waaaaah’) in text? > > [Corey Lewandowski](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/20/corey-lewandowski-girl-down-syndrome-655495) used it for this purpose during a Fox News panel during maladministration 1.0. Video at the link. OK, to me it sounds like ‘Wah, wah’, mock crying, instead of ‘beat down’ or ‘sad trombone’. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2916 "2026-02-18T18:12:56Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > > “His defense, essentially, is that he did not understand that being a permanent resident should have precluded him from voting and holding office, and that no one ever told him he was not eligible,” BTW does this not also mean nobody _at the voter registration office_ knew what was the law? ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2026, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2917 "2026-02-18T18:23:37Z")
That’s the thing, they keep talking about presenting ID at the polls but registering to vote is where a positive ID is required. Trying to vote under someone else’s name isn’t an effective way to rig an election… as many Republicans have discovered. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2918 "2026-02-19T10:34:06Z")
This isn’t happening to Trump or his enablers per se, but I’m sure when he hears the news there will be ketchup spattering the lovely fake gold trim of whatever room Trump is in: > **[Yoon Suk Yeol: South Korea’s ex-president jailed for life for masterminding...](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cq8gy8nexvdt)** > > Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached and indicted for declaring martial law in 2024. > **[Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested at Sandringham estate](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/feb/19/police-former-prince-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-sandringham)** > > Former prince arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office A good day for accountability. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2919 "2026-02-19T11:14:04Z")
Interesting to see the cultural differences on display during these times. Some countries hold the powerful accountable, while here in the US we build entire institutions around the powerful, to protect them from responsibility. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2026, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-perfectly-reasonable-amount-of-schadenfreude-about-things-happening-to-trump-his-enablers-part-3/1013175/2920 "2026-02-19T11:15:51Z")
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