David Brooks warns of multiple 'unravelings' he attributes to Trump

In a New York Times opinion column, David Brooks wrote that the country is headed toward “some kind of crackup,” echoing Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara’s fear of “the moment where it all explodes.” Brooks outlined four “unravelings”: the postwar international order; domestic tranquillity in places where Immigration and Customs Enforcement operates; the further unraveling of the democratic order, including attacks on Federal Reserve independence and “trumped-up prosecutions of political opponents”; and the unraveling of President Trump’s mind, which Brooks called the primary driver.

He argued that Trump’s narcissism has worsened with time, producing grandiosity, entitlement and a greater propensity for violence. Brooks wrote that in 2025 the United States “carried out or contributed to 622 overseas bombing missions, killing people in places ranging from Venezuela to Iran, Nigeria and Somalia — not to mention Minneapolis.” He drew on ancient and modern historians, including Tacitus and Edward Gibbon, to describe how tyrants create sycophants, erode civic virtues and normalize brutality.

Key Topics

Politics, Donald Trump, David Brooks, Brian O'hara, Federal Reserve, Ice