COLUMN: Pelosi Sounds the Alarm, Trump Crowns Himself, and America Looks the Other Way

Freedom of the press is no longer guaranteed

Pelosi was unequivocal: the First Amendment is under siege. Facts are being distorted, the truth is being twisted, and the press is being treated by those in power as an enemy rather than a vital partner. These words resonate with particular urgency at the start of 2026. Attacks on journalists are on the rise. Reporters have been arrested simply for doing their jobs. Funding for NPR and PBS is under threat. White House press conferences increasingly resemble intimidation sessions where uncomfortable questions are dismissed with contempt and critical journalists are barred from attending.

When Corporations Turn Their Backs on Journalism

But the attack isn’t coming only from the government. It’s also coming from boardrooms, from corporate decisions that are draining newsrooms of their resources. Pelosi emphasized this forcefully: a free press cannot fulfill its mission if it is deprived of the means necessary for its survival. And when newsrooms weaken, the entire republic weakens with them. Because democracy dies in darkness, as the motto of The Washington Post reminds us—a newspaper that has just suffered devastating cuts.

I think of all those journalists who are losing their jobs, who are seeing their careers collapse because billionaires have decided that news is no longer profitable. I think of those who remain, who carry on despite everything—despite the threats, despite the precariousness, despite the prevailing hostility. They are our last line of defense, and we are letting them down one by one.

The legislative branch has capitulated

Pelosi’s accusation is scathing: Congress has effectively abolished itself. It wasn’t Trump who destroyed the legislative branch; it was Congress that chose to step aside, to relinquish its constitutional prerogatives, and to let the executive branch encroach on its territory without resistance. Republicans in Congress no longer fulfill their role as a check on executive power. They have become courtiers, vassals of King Trump, ready to approve any decision, turn a blind eye to any abuse, and justify any transgression. The system of checks and balances that was meant to protect American democracy has turned into a farce.

Institutionalized Cowardice

What makes this abdication even more revolting is that it is voluntary. No one is forcing members of Congress to remain silent. No one is physically threatening them. They choose submission out of political calculation, out of fear of losing their seats, out of tribal loyalty to their party. They prioritize their careers over their constitutional oath. They prioritize their reelection over the defense of democratic institutions. And while they remain silent, Trump amasses power, pushes the boundaries, and tests how far he can go without encountering resistance.

Cowardice has a distinct smell. It reeks of compromise, of subtle betrayal, of the gradual abandonment of everything that should matter. I look at these elected officials who lower their eyes, who look away, who always find an excuse not to act. And I wonder how they look at themselves in the mirror in the morning.

The Judges Who Betrayed Their Oath

Pelosi did not spare the Supreme Court in her indictment. She called it “rogue”—an extraordinarily strong term to use when referring to the nation’s highest court. But how else can one describe a court that has granted Trump presidential immunity so broad that it effectively places him above the law? How else can one describe judges who seem more concerned with their ideological agenda than with the impartial defense of the Constitution? The Supreme Court was supposed to be the last bulwark against abuses of power. It has become an instrument for legitimizing those abuses.

When Justice Becomes Politics

The Court’s recent decisions have systematically favored the expansion of executive power at the expense of the other branches of government. They have weakened constitutional protections, curtailed individual rights, and granted the president powers that the Founding Fathers would never have imagined bestowing upon a single man. The separation of powers, that fundamental principle of American democracy, has become a fiction. And the Supreme Court, instead of defending it, has buried it.

There is something deeply disheartening about seeing the institutions meant to protect us become the instruments of our oppression. The Supreme Court should be our ultimate refuge, the place where justice prevails over politics. Instead, it has become a partisan weapon, a tool in the service of an authoritarian vision of power.

A 38-year career is coming to an end

Nancy Pelosi announced in late 2025 that she would not seek reelection in 2026. After 38 years representing San Francisco in Congress, after becoming the first woman to serve as Speaker of the House, and after weathering countless political battles, she is stepping down. “I want you, my fellow San Franciscans, to be the first to know that I will not seek reelection to Congress,” she said. “With a grateful heart, I look forward to my final year of service as your proud representative.” At 85, she is leaving the political stage just when her voice might be needed most.

A warning that resonates like a testament

Her speech on February 4, 2026, takes on special significance in this context. It is not simply another political address. It is the testament of a woman who has dedicated her life to American politics and who sees everything she has fought for threatened with destruction. Her words carry the weight of experience and the urgency of someone who knows that time is running out. She will no longer be here to continue the fight. She is passing the torch, but to whom? Who will have the courage, the determination, and the stature to stand up to Trump and his administration?

There is something tragic about the timing of her departure. Pelosi is leaving just when we need her most—her tenacity, her experience, her ability to mobilize resistance. She’s leaving, and I feel orphaned, as if we’ve lost our last line of defense against the chaos that lies ahead.

The Washington Post Is Bleeding

The mass layoffs at The Washington Post are not an isolated incident. They are part of a broader trend of the dismantling of traditional media. More than 300 employees have been laid off—a third of the workforce cut with the stroke of a pen. Experienced investigative journalists, seasoned editors, reporters covering essential topics—all sacrificed on the altar of profitability. Jeff Bezos, the newspaper’s owner, ordered these deep cuts even though his personal fortune exceeds $200 billion. The message is clear: quality journalism is no longer a priority, even for billionaires who claim to defend democracy.

A pattern repeating itself everywhere

What is happening at The Washington Post is happening in dozens of newsrooms across the country. Local newspapers are closing, news networks are downsizing their staffs, and online news sites are laying off employees en masse. Pelosi is right to call this a “reprehensible pattern” in which corporate decisions are emptying newsrooms across the country. Without resources, without journalists, without the means to investigate, how can the press still fulfill its role as the fourth estate? How can it hold the government accountable for its actions when it is simply struggling to survive?

I think of all these emerging information deserts, of all these communities that no longer have a local newspaper to cover their city councils, their schools, and their police departments. I think of the ignorance that is taking hold, of this vulnerability to misinformation. And I tell myself that we are in the process of losing something irreplaceable.

Arrest that send a chill down the spine

Pelosi referred to the intimidation tactics used against members of the press. This is not a rhetorical exaggeration. Journalists have been arrested for covering ICE operations. Reporters have been threatened with prosecution for publishing information embarrassing to the administration. Photographers have been prevented from doing their jobs at public events. The atmosphere has become toxic, hostile, and dangerous for anyone who dares to practice journalism with integrity and independence.

The Rise of Self-Censorship

The most insidious aspect is the effect this intimidation has on the entire profession. When journalists see their colleagues arrested, threatened, or fired, they begin to censor themselves. They avoid sensitive topics, tone down their criticism, and hesitate before publishing disturbing information. This self-censorship is exactly what the Trump administration is seeking. There’s no need to shut down newspapers or imprison every journalist. All it takes is creating a climate of fear intense enough for the press to muzzle itself.

Fear is a slow-acting poison that gradually paralyzes. It doesn’t kill instantly; it slowly erodes courage, determination, and the will to resist. I see this fear in the eyes of journalists I know—this newfound hesitation, this excessive caution. And it breaks my heart.

A System on Its Last Legs

Let’s take stock. A president who acts like a king. A Congress that has abandoned its role as a check on executive power. A Supreme Court that legitimizes abuses rather than sanctioning them. A press that is weakened, intimidated, and deprived of resources. Democratic institutions stripped of their substance. What exactly remains of American democracy? The appearances, the rituals, the symbols—but no longer the essence, no longer the reality of power of the people, by the people, and for the people. Pelosi speaks of a “crisis of conscience,” and she is right. America must choose: accept this drift toward authoritarianism or wake up before it’s too late.

The Dark Days Ahead

Pelosi warns of dark days ahead. This is not alarmism; it is a lucid assessment of the current trajectory. If nothing changes, if no one resists, if institutions continue to crumble, America will become unrecognizable. Not overnight, not through a spectacular coup, but gradually, insidiously, through the accumulation of small capitulations, successive compromises, and repeated abandonments. Democracy does not always die amid the clamor of revolutions. Sometimes it fades away quietly, amid general indifference, while everyone looks the other way.

I don’t want to be the one who says later, “I warned you.” I don’t want to have to explain to my children how we let all this happen. But I feel this sense of helplessness rising, this feeling that the die is cast, that the train is in motion and no one can stop it anymore. Pelosi is crying out in the wilderness, and I wonder if anyone is really hearing her.

One Last Warning Before Silence

Nancy Pelosi has sounded the alarm. She said what needed to be said, with the brutal clarity of someone who has nothing left to lose. America is in crisis. The First Amendment is under siege. Democracy is dying. Trump reigns as an absolute monarch. The institutions have capitulated. The press is under attack. These aren’t opinions; they’re facts. Facts that too many people prefer to ignore, downplay, or rationalize. But facts don’t disappear just because we refuse to look at them. They remain there, stubborn, relentless, and increasingly difficult to deny.

And now

The question is no longer whether Pelosi is right. She is right, and deep down, everyone knows it. The question is what we’re going to do with this warning. Are we going to shrug our shoulders and carry on with our lives as if nothing has happened? Are we going to tell ourselves that someone else will take care of it, that it’s not our problem, that things will eventually work themselves out? Or are we finally going to wake up, stand up, and resist? Pelosi won’t be here to lead the fight anymore. She’s passing the torch. It remains to be seen whether anyone will have the courage to take it up.

I’m finishing this piece with a bitter taste in my mouth. I’ve written thousands of words, and I don’t even know if it will change anything. Pelosi has spoken, and tomorrow, the world will keep turning as if nothing had happened. Trump will continue to reign, Congress will continue to remain silent, the Supreme Court will continue to betray us, and the press will continue to weaken. And we will continue to watch, powerless, as everything falls apart. But maybe—just maybe—somewhere, someone will read these words and decide that enough is enough. That it’s time to say no. That it’s time to fight. Because if we don’t fight now, it will soon be too late.

Signed, Jacques Provost