America held a government-sponsored Christian prayer rally on the National Mall, sold Taiwan out in Beijing for a handshake and some future oil money, politically executed a senator for remembering January 6th, passed a Medicaid bloodbath that the president had to be briefed on like it was a surprise plot twist, and now the deportation machine is humming, the tariffs are landing, and the guy who thinks vaccines are a conspiracy is running HHS. The bee swarm was a metaphor. The hive didn’t just swarm — it started stinging itself and calling it strength.
Support Me:
Story I: Church & State
GOD SAVE THE BRAND
Yesterday the United States government hosted a Christian prayer rally on the National Mall called “Rededicate 250.” Giant cross. Stained glass. Columns that looked like the Lincoln Memorial got baptized and joined a megachurch. Pete Hegseth on the jumbotron. Mike Johnson speaking. Trump sent a video. All 29 speakers? Christian. Every single one. This is on public land, with federal involvement, in a country whose first rule is that the government shall not establish religion. The First Amendment isn’t subtle. It’s the first one for a reason.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
“We’re simply inviting Americans to come together in prayer as the nation turns 250. It’s patriotic. It’s beautiful. It’s historical.”
The Reality
A government-organized religious event with zero non-Christian voices, on federal property, featuring cabinet officials. That’s not a rally. That’s an establishment of religion wearing a flag pin. The founders put that rule in first because they’d seen what happens when governments pick a team and call it holy.
The opening prayer declared: “The battle is not between the donkey and the elephant. The battle is between the serpent and the lamb.” Let that sit. A government official said that on public property. The mainstream response was mostly a collective shrug, like this is just how things are now. It’s the kind of line that sounds deep until you realize one side is being cast as literally demonic in a taxpayer-funded production.
“They didn’t forget the separation of church and state. They remember it perfectly. That’s why they’re dismantling it slowly enough that you’ll argue about the timeline instead of the outcome.”— Rxan Smith: Uncomfortable
Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Story II: Foreign Policy / Taiwan
WE SOLD TAIWAN FOR AnHANDSHAKE And SOME OIL
Trump returned from Beijing this week with twelve American CEOs in tow — Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, the whole entourage. It looked less like diplomacy and more like a garage sale where the item on the table was an entire democracy. No formal agreements. Just vibes. Xi called Taiwan “the most important issue.” Trump called it “a place.” A place. Like it’s a rest stop on the way to somewhere that actually matters.
When asked if Taiwan should feel more or less secure, Trump said: “Neutral.” Twenty-three million people asked if America still had their back. The answer was “neutral.” That’s not strategic ambiguity. That’s strategic indifference with better lighting. Xi negotiates like someone who plans to be there in ten years. We negotiate like someone who wants the photo and the exit.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
“Trump showed strength in Beijing. Trade tensions are stabilizing. A visit to the U.S. is planned. This is dealmaking.”
The Reality
No agreements. Taiwan downgraded to “neutral.” China got to call the summit “historical”… which, when Beijing says it, usually means they got what they wanted. We got a promise of a fall visit and some nice footage. One side plays chess. The other side plays for the highlight reel.
Story III: Republican Party / Primaries
THE LAST REPUBLICAN JUST LOST HIS PRIMARY
Bill Cassidy, Louisiana senator and one of the last Republicans who voted to convict Trump after January 6th, finished third in his own primary. Not second. Third. He didn’t lose an election — he was escorted off the premises. In his final days he was out there saying “If you want somebody who works well with President Trump, you vote for Bill Cassidy.” A man who voted to convict, spending his last political breath trying to convince people he was actually a team player. Trump, for his part, announced Cassidy’s career was “OVER” on Truth Social like he was enjoying the show. He was.
“Cassidy voted to confirm RFK Jr. as HHS Secretary — a physician confirming an anti-vax crusader — because the alternative was extinction. That’s not cowardice. That’s a man publicly sawing off the branch he’s sitting on because the only other option was falling alone.”— Rxan Smith: Uncomfortable
What’s left: Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins. Two. The math is doing what math does when the only survival skill left is loyalty.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
“Trump’s hold on the party is strong. The base is energized. Republicans are unified heading into midterms.”
The Reality
Trump’s approval is sinking while his primary infrastructure peaks. The party is being optimized for loyalty at the exact moment it needs people who can win swing voters. You don’t win midterms with a roster that can only survive purity tests. That’s not a coalition. That’s a hostage situation with excellent turnout..
Story IV: Medicaid / The Big Beautiful Bill
$536 BILLION IN CUTS. 29% APPROVAL: IT PASSED.
The Big Beautiful Bill — yes, that’s the actual name — cut nearly $1 trillion from Medicaid over a decade. The CBO said it triggers another $536 billion in automatic Medicare cuts. Only 29% of Americans supported it. It passed anyway. Twelve million people are projected to lose coverage by 2034. The work requirements don’t kick in until end of 2026 — perfectly timed for midterms so the people who voted for it can run from the consequences.
The part that would make a satirist weep: Trump had to be told in a meeting with his own House members that the bill cut Medicaid. The man whose name is on the bill did not know what was in the bill. Three sources confirmed it. He was informed. By a congressman. About his own signature legislation.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
“This is about waste, fraud, and abuse. Real reforms. Getting able-bodied people back to work.”
The Reality
Most Medicaid recipients already work or are disabled, elderly, or children. The cuts hit red states and swing districts hardest. The guy who signed it had to be briefed on what he signed. That’s not reform. That’s signing a contract in the dark and then acting surprised when the lights come on and half the room is gone.
Moat commentary confirms what you already feel. We tell you what’s actually happening and trust you to handle it. If that’s your frequency consider subscribing for free, or go paid and help me take this to the next level..
Story V: Immigration / Enforcement
DEPORTATION MACHINE WARMING UP. THE ECONOMY IS NEXT.
While everyone was still processing the prayer rally and the Beijing trip, ICE operations started ramping up in a very public way. High-profile arrests, buses, the whole production. Not just the “worst of the worst” — though that’s always the line. We’re talking long-term residents, mixed-status families, people whose kids are in school here, people working jobs Americans supposedly don’t want. The kind of enforcement that sounds tough in a rally speech and looks chaotic when the tomatoes start rotting in the fields because the workforce just got thinner.
Businesses in agriculture, construction, and hospitality are already quietly panicking. The same people who spent years complaining about “open borders” are now discovering that removing a significant chunk of the labor force has consequences that don’t show up in campaign ads. It’s the political equivalent of shooting the hostage and then wondering why the ransom never arrived.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
We’re finally securing the border and removing criminal elements. This is what the people voted for. Law and order.”
The Reality
Most of the people being targeted aren’t recent border crossers or violent criminals. They’re people who have been here for years, paying taxes, raising families. The economic disruption is immediate. The “worst of the worst” talking point is cover for volume. When you treat human beings like inventory that needs to be moved for political points, you eventually run out of easy targets and start hitting the ones holding the economy together.
Story VI: Economy / Trade
YOU WANTED CHEAPER EGGS. ENJOY PAYING MORE FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.
The Beijing trip didn’t just downgrade Taiwan. It also came with the usual post-summit tariff energy. More threats, more “reciprocal” talk, more promises that China will pay. Spoiler: China doesn’t pay tariffs. American importers and consumers do. The costs get passed along. The prices go up. The person who voted for cheaper groceries is now looking at higher prices on electronics, cars, clothing, and whatever else has a supply chain that touches Asia.
Markets reacted the way markets react when policy is announced via vibes and Truth Social posts instead of actual negotiated outcomes. The “art of the deal” is starting to look a lot like the art of announcing victory and then watching the bill come due later. China, for its part, is happy to play the long game. They have patience. We have election cycles.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
Tariffs are a negotiating tool. China will cave. American workers will win. This is how you bring manufacturing back.”
The Reality
Tariffs are a tax paid by Americans. They raise costs across the board. Retaliation hurts exporters. Supply chains don’t rewire themselves in one election cycle. The people who get hurt first are the ones who can least afford higher prices. It’s protectionism sold as tough love, and the love part is mostly theoretical.
Story VII: Health Policy / HHS
THE DEPARTMENT Of “HAVE YOU TRIED NOT VACCINATING?”
RFK Jr. is now running HHS. The same man who spent years platforming vaccine skepticism and alternative health theories is now in charge of the agencies that regulate drugs, vaccines, food safety, and public health messaging. In his first days there have already been the predictable signals: reviews of existing vaccine schedules, questions about fluoride, interest in “natural” approaches, and the general vibe that institutional science might be the problem rather than the solution.
Public health experts are watching with the kind of expression you see on someone’s face when the pilot announces he’s going to try landing the plane using intuition and essential oils. The institutions that actually do the work (the CDC, FDA, NIHare) are filled with career scientists who now have to navigate a boss who spent the last decade treating them like an enemy. This isn’t just a personnel change. It’s a hostile philosophical takeover of the part of government responsible for keeping people alive when things go wrong.
NARRATIVE VS. REALITY
The Narrative
“We’re finally bringing fresh thinking to health agencies captured by Big Pharma. This is about questioning assumptions and putting people first.”
The Reality
Questioning assumptions is good. Replacing evidence-based systems with vibes and grudges is not. The agencies exist because diseases don’t care about your podcast. When you put someone in charge who has spent years undermining the very tools that reduced childhood mortality and increased life expectancy, you’re not reforming the system. You’re conducting an experiment on the entire population and hoping the lab rats don’t notice
“You can call it disruption. You can call it draining the swamp. But when the swamp includes the people who track outbreaks and approve medicines, what you’re really draining is the floor. And then everyone wonders why the water is rising.”— Rxan Smith: Uncomfortable
Closing Argument
THIS WEEK WASN’T COMPLICATED. IT’S JUST GETTING LOUDER.
There’s a version of political commentary that asks you to hold nuance, weigh competing perspectives, honor the complexity. I still believe in that. But let’s be honest about what happened this week, because the pattern is getting harder to miss.
The government held a Christian prayer rally on public land and called it patriotism. A president went to Beijing, traded an ally’s security for a photo op and some future oil interest, and called it strength. A senator got destroyed in his own primary for the sin of remembering January 6th, and his last act was begging for approval from the man who helped create the conditions. Legislation that takes health insurance from twelve million people passed because the guy who signed it had to be told what was in it. Then we started rounding people up at scale, announced more tariffs that will raise prices, and put the guy who distrusts vaccines in charge of the vaccine program.
None of that is complicated. What’s complicated is what you do with the information once you stop pretending it’s normal. The institutions have told you what they are. The party has told you what it tolerates. The administration has told you what it prioritizes. Beijing has told you what it won. The stage with the cross told you exactly where this is going.
The question isn’t whether you’re paying attention. You’re here. The question is whether you believe them when they show you who they are. Because they’re not hiding it. They’ve been showing it for years. We keep hoping they’re exaggerating or that someone will eventually tap the brakes.
They are not exaggerating. And the brakes appear to be decorative.
The week ended with a prayer rally asking God to rededicate America. I would simply ask: to what, exactly? Because the document they claim to love says the government cannot do what they just did on that stage. The people who wrote that document had seen what happens when religion and state get too comfortable with each other. They weren’t being poetic. They were being specific.
We used to know the difference between patriotism and performance. One of them requires something from you. The other just needs good lighting and a compliant audience.
We are being asked to care deeply about institutions that do not care deeply about us. Act accordingly. And maybe keep an eye on the price of eggs while you’re at it.
uncomfortable.rxansmithmedia.com | rxansmithmedia.com | May 18, 2026
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Thanks for reading! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Join Rxan Smith’s subscriber chat
Available in the Substack app and on web
Truth > Comfort.
Instagram: https://instagram.com/RxanSmithUncomfortable
X/🐦: https://x.com/@rxaNNsmith
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Ryan.X.Smith
Homepage: https://rxansmithmedia.com/
My Live Debt Clock: https://rxansmithmedia.com/debtclock/
Support Me: https://buymeacoffee.com/rxan
