loyalists

Maybe she's also a stand-in for a nation perpetually haunted by the Troubles, the violent escalation between Northern Ireland's Catholics and Protestant loyalists through which “Say Nothing” travels.

A kind of subconcern underneath that was that these loyalists, unlike so many of the advisers Trump kept around him during that initial term, could be hardworking and knowledgeable about the operations of government, enabling him to actually, successfully carry out his most impulsive and punitive schemes: having enemies arrested, shutting down CNN because Jake Tapper made him mad, overthrowing the government because he doesn’t like the outcome of an election, that sort of thing.

But Trump has married his demagoguery to an extreme right-wing agenda that calls for disinvestment in public projects and public benefits, replacing federal employees with Trump loyalists, breaking alliances with our more liberal allies while forging stronger ties with reactionary regimes.

Donald Trump, claiming a mandate from his narrow popular vote win, intends to purge the U.S. military from top to bottom and put a Fox News host in charge of the whole thing, hoping to root out any “woke” dissenters and install loyalists in their place who will not object to his using America’s armed forces in ways that may be ill-advised, malicious or both.

Musk threw millions behind Donald Trump's successful re-election bid, and was hotly tipped for a role in the administration that has so far rewarded loyalists.