Many of the people in Donald Trump’s orbit are what Vladimir Lenin once called useful idiots. These are individuals Trump has manipulated into advancing his own personal interests while believing they are serving some larger cause.

View in browser ([link removed] )

NL-Header_DD-Premium2 ([link removed] )

August 11, 2025

Many of the people in Donald Trump’s orbit are what Vladimir Lenin once called useful idiots. These are individuals Trump has manipulated into advancing his own personal interests while believing they are serving some larger cause.

There is another, more dangerous, group I call the useful liars. CEOs like Jeff Bezos and Tim Cook fall into this category. So do world leaders who shower Trump with praise and offer nonsensical nominations for the Nobel Prize. Media executives who throw money at Trump and law firm leaders who cut deals with him are also in this camp. These are highly intelligent people who know better but do Trump’s bidding, and spread his lies, in order to advance their own interests.

The most visible useful liar in the administration is Vice President JD Vance, a Yale Law School graduate who once called Trump “unfit for our nation’s highest office” and questioned whether he could be “America’s Hitler.” If you spend time listening to Vance...

Want to know what JD Vance’s latest TV tour was really about? Democracy Docket founder and voting rights attorney Marc Elias unpacks the lies, the media failures and the stakes for our democracy — exclusive for members.

Support our mission and access premium insights, including this piece, by upgrading today. ([link removed] )

JOIN PREMIUM TODAY
([link removed] )

Facebook ([link removed] )

X ([link removed] )

Instagram ([link removed] )

Bluesky_Logo-grey (2) ([link removed] )

YouTube ([link removed] )

Website ([link removed] )

TikTok ([link removed] )

We also understand that not everyone is able to make this commitment, which is why our free daily and weekly newsletters aren’t going anywhere! If you prefer not to receive samples of our premium content and only want our free daily and weekly newsletters, you can manage your preferences ([link removed] ) or unsubscribe ([link removed] ) .

Donate ([link removed] )

Democracy Docket, LLC

250 Massachusetts Avenue, Suite 400

Washington, D.C., 20009