On March 9, 2025, President Donald Trump, now two months into his second term following his January 20, 2025, inauguration, declared on Truth Social at 6:32 PM ET that “the Democrats are crazy and have totally lost their minds,” pointing to a series of recent incidents as proof of their descent into chaos. He highlighted a shooting outside the White House earlier today, where, at around 2:15 PM ET, a man fired a handgun near the perimeter before Secret Service agents neutralized him—no deaths occurred, but the incident jolted a capital still adjusting to Trump’s return. Trump linked this to Democratic “radical rhetoric,” suggesting it’s a symptom of their instability, though no evidence yet ties the shooter’s actions to partisan motives. With his administration underway, Trump uses such events to paint his opponents as unhinged, reinforcing a narrative of a nation besieged by leftist extremism.
 

Trump’s claim also leaned on the weekend’s F-16 interceptions of civilian planes over Mar-a-Lago, where NORAD deployed jets on both Saturday and Sunday—March 8 and 9—to divert aircraft from restricted airspace near his Palm Beach estate. Per a NORAD release at 3:59 PM PDT today, these marked the 20th and 21st violations since 2017, with flares used to redirect pilots likely unaware of the security zone. Trump fired back on Truth Social, alleging “Democrats are so desperate they’re buzzing my home with planes,” despite no evidence suggesting these were anything but routine civilian errors in Florida’s crowded airspace. Now president again, he frames these incidents as personal attacks, amplifying a persecution complex that resonates with his base, even as the FAA insists such measures are standard for protecting high-profile figures.
 

Adding fuel to his accusation, Trump cited a group of Los Angeles professors who today, at 1 PM PST, published an open letter in the LA Times calling for a “military coup d’état” to oust him, claiming his presidency—reaffirmed by voters in November 2024—endangers democracy. Signed by 12 academics from UCLA and USC, the letter lacks a concrete plan but argues military action is justified to “save the republic,” a stance Trump blasted as “insane” on Truth Social. This radical proposal starkly contrasts with American democratic norms, where elections dictate power, not coups—a principle Trump defends despite his polarizing style. The White House shooting, Mar-a-Lago flyovers, and coup call together form the core of his claim that Democrats have “lost their minds,” a narrative he’s weaponizing in 2025 to solidify his grip on power and discredit opposition as his second term unfolds.