The Ides of March 2026 brings us plenty to beware of
By: John Baer (pennlive)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
The Ides of March 2026 brings us plenty to beware of
John Baer is the Keystone State’s most recognized government and politics columnist. Sean Simmers | ssimmers@pennlive.com
Ever since a soothsayer's warning in Act 1, Scene 2 of William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar (written around 1600), "Beware the Ides of March" is a phrase associated with danger.
The phrase simply refers to a date, March 15, but was delivered to Caesar as a portent of calamity, in his case a mortal one. Yet in broader context, when applied to the present, it seems a fitting alarm.
As in, hey, everybody, beware. Seems something bad is out there. Seems chaos and uncertainty is spreading. And that can't be good.
Take our war (or non-war) in Iran. President Trump says it's "very complete, pretty much." Defense Secretary (or Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth says, "This is just the beginning." You don't have to read between the lines to figure somebody doesn't know what's happening.
It's like that U.S. Tomahawk missile hitting a girls elementary school in southern Iran killing more than 170, mostly children. All evidence points to it being from U.S. forces. Yet Trump said it came from Iran.
Asked at a press conference why he was the only person in his government saying this, he said, "Because I just don't know enough about it…I think it's something that I was told is under investigation."
You were. Earlier, on Air Force One. When you said, "Based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran." And when a reporter asked Hegseth — who was standing right behind you — Hegseth said the bombing is under investigation. Talk about a tell.
(It's been widely reported that the U.S. is the only force in the Iran conflict using Tomahawks. And Politico reports Hegseth last year gutted the Pentagon office that would have investigated the school bombing. But, as Trump often says, "We'll see what happens.")
And while a foreign war costing an estimated $1 billion a-day throws energy markets into disarray, further disrupting a tariff-tossed U.S. economy, Washington threatens gridlock games.
Democrats say they'll shut down the Senate unless the Trump administration agrees to public hearings with cabinet officials under oath on the war, its costs and endgame.
And Trump says he won't sign another piece of legislation on anything unless Congress passes his SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) America Act, requiring proof of citizenship and a photo ID to vote in federal elections. The measure passed the House, but is seen as dead in the Senate.
So, D.C.'s message to America at large? Pack up all your cares and woes. When we'll address them nobody knows.
This collision of current events adds to a pile-up of divisive controversy over everything from ICE to the unending Jeffrey Epstein saga in the whiplash world of Donald Trump.
It's a world in which any day can bring "beware" alerts. For Canada, Greenland, Cuba, Venezuela, foreign affairs in general. For tariffs, gas prices, the overall economy. And, occasionally, for the just plain bizarre.
(The Wall Street Journal recently reported Trump keeps a stash of his favorite $145 Florsheim dress shoes that he gives to staff, cabinet members, J.D. Vance, White House visitors. One insider told the Journal, "It's hysterical because everybody's afraid not to wear them.")
It's also a world in which, at least for now, national leadership isn't leading in the direction most Americans want to be led. In Real Clear Politics latest average of Trump polling on issues, 57% disapprove of his handling of the economy, 54% disapprove of his handling of foreign affairs; 53% disapprove of his handling of immigration. And his approval rating on Iran, which several polls showed a majority of support since the war started, has fallen to 44%.
Thing is? In a democratic republic, people get the government and leadership they choose. So maybe we need to consider Shakespeare's Act 1, Scene 2 of Julius Caesar again. When Cassius tells Brutus, "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."
John Baer may be reached at baer.columnist@gmail.com.
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Julius Caesar didn't know what was coming. If I were Trump, I would have stayed hidden today.
Why?
I actually need to reply by saying that Trump acts like an emperor?
Et tu, J.D.?
Since this is my article on my group I won't be concerned that some ignoramus will delete my reply.
Johnny Depp or Judi Dench?
That's the crux isn't it?...
And they can suffer from making the wrong choice.
Absolutely, but at least a choice is made.