Fourth & Democracy | Trump Fumbles at Army vs. Navy, Shootings at Home and Abroad, & Help for Veterans during the Holidays

Welcome to another edition of Fourth & Democracy.

The Army-Navy game – the biggest day of the year for two U.S. military academies – took place this weekend with President Trump in attendance, taking part in the coin toss, even as the nation was processing the deaths of U.S. service members in Syria.

Grief extended well beyond the field. A mass shooting at Brown University left multiple people dead and injured, while overseas, a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach in Australia was targeted in a deadly attack. Both tragedies struck during the holiday season, underscoring how fragile moments of gathering and celebration have become.

We’ve got a lot to get to this week. Let’s get started.

1st & 10: Army vs. Navy and a Botched Coin Toss

For more than a century, the Army-Navy game has been about far more than football. It’s one of the oldest rivalries in American sports – a rare moment when bragging rights, pride, and selfless service converge on the same field. For the cadets and midshipmen who play in it, this isn’t just the final game of the season. It’s a legacy. It’s an identity. It’s something they carry into service and long after the uniform comes off.

The stakes are always high, but beyond the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, this game defines a season. Seniors take their final snaps. Underclassmen stake their claims. Entire academies live with the result for a full year. Win or lose, everyone on that field will soon wear the same flag on their shoulder – which is exactly what makes the rivalry sacred.

This year’s game delivered the intensity we were looking for. Punishing hits. Discipline on every snap. Mistakes corrected immediately. No flashy celebrations – just old-school football played by young men who understand consequences better than most. Navy jumped out to an early 7-0 lead after the first quarter. Army answered with multiple second-quarter scores and carried a 13-7 lead heading into the half. When the final whistle blew, it was the Navy Midshipmen who walked away with a 17-16 victory.

President Trump attended the game as well. He was met with boos from the crowd when announced to conduct the ceremonial coin toss, which he appeared to flub with an awkward underhand toss. His presence came after news broke earlier that morning of the deaths of multiple U.S. service members in Syria.

The Army-Navy game has always been about honor, sacrifice, and the quiet understanding of duty. To have the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy decided in front of a man who has never demonstrated a grasp of those values was a distinct contrast, and one the moment deserved better than

President Donald Trump attends Army Navy football game at M&T Bank Stadium. December 13, 2025. | Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok via Flickr

2nd & Long: More Gun Violence, Home & Abroad

In Providence, Rhode Island, a mass shooting at Brown University’s campus left two students dead and at least 10 others wounded during a final exam review session in the School of Engineering Building. Police detained a person of interest in his 20s at a hotel outside the city after a multi-day investigative operation using the suspect’s cellphone data, but released him. Shelter-in-place orders on campus were lifted shortly after, although a large police presence remained to help support the community.

Halfway around the world in Sydney, Australia, an attack at Bondi Beach struck hundreds gathering for a Hanukkah celebration and turned a holiday event into a terror attack. Police said at least 15 people were killed and around 40 wounded when two gunmen opened fire on crowds celebrating the first night of Hanukkah. One suspect was killed at the scene, while the other had his weapon taken away by a Muslim man later identified as Ahmed al Ahmed, saving potentially dozens of lives. Authorities also reportedly found an improvised explosive device in a car linked to the suspects at the scene.

Witnesses reported chaos and panic as shots rang out, with the youngest victim being 10 years old. Worldwide leaders have condemned the Bondi Beach attack as antisemitic terrorism, and law enforcement in major U.S. cities have increased security around Hanukkah events out of caution.

None of this happens in a vacuum. When figures like Nick Fuentes and Tucker Carlson flirt openly with antisemitism by dressing it up as “just asking questions,” irony, or edgelord skepticism, they don’t just poison the discourse, they blur moral lines. Legitimate criticism of the Israeli government’s actions becomes deliberately confused with attacks on Jewish people themselves, creating a fog where hatred can hide in plain sight.

That confusion gives cover to extremists who no longer feel isolated, but validated. At the same time, in the United States, years of incendiary rhetoric from the right, grievance politics, and Trump’s glorification of violence have helped normalize the idea that public spaces – campuses, places of worship, celebrations, anything “other” – are fair game for rage. When leaders and media figures strip away accountability and human consequence, the result isn’t just uglier speech.

It’s blood spilled.

3rd & Short: Miami Shows Up, Too.

The wins keep rolling in for Democrats, and last week, Miami voters flipped the city’s mayor’s office for the first time in almost 30 years, electing Democrat Eileen Higgins in a decisive runoff victory over Trump-endorsed Republican candidate, Emilio Gonzalez. Higgins won by 19 points, becoming the city’s first woman and first non-Hispanic mayor in modern history – all in a city that Trump carried in 2024 and had been reliably Republican at the local level.

The result wasn’t a fluke, but a continuation of the message voters continue to send Washington. They’re going to turn out, in every community, and say emphatically that they want leadership that is focused on working-class concerns like housing, affordability, and inclusion – not culture-war bullshit.

At a moment when cynicism about democracy feels constant, Miami is the latest place where the people reminded the nation they still care, still engage, and still show up to vote when the stakes are high. That’s a reminder worth celebrating.

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4th & Democracy: Beware the Season

As the holidays press on, the noise gets louder – the lights, the music, the expectations. And for a lot of people, especially veterans, the silence and oftentimes solitude gets heavy. Seasonal depression rises. Isolation deepens. The routines that keep people grounded begin to fall to the wayside, and the weight of memory, loss, and unfinished battles – compounded by news of new wars breaking out – brings old moments rushing back to life.

Veterans are especially vulnerable at this time of year. Many were trained to endure pain quietly, conditioned to push through, to be “fine,” to never be the problem. But the transition back to civilian life doesn’t always come with a debrief – it comes with distance. Fewer check-ins. A country that thanks them for their service and then largely moves on.

The numbers can be staggering, but they aren’t abstract. They represent people you pass every day. Friends. Brothers. Sisters. Loved ones. Too many veterans are lost to suicide each year, not because they are weak, but because they are carrying more than they were ever meant to carry alone.

This isn’t a call to abandon the joy and celebration of the holidays. It’s a reminder that in a season defined by giving, a kind word, an extra dollar to a homeless veteran, or a warm meal offered to someone in need can matter more than we realize. Many struggle with their mental health, and the loneliness of the holidays can become overwhelming. For others, it’s the chaos of family gatherings that pushes them to the edge – a reminder of someone lost, or a Christmas spent far from home.

If you’re reading this and someone comes to mind, reach out. Send the message. Make the call. Sit with them if you can. You don’t need the right words – you just need to show up. And if you’re the one struggling, listen to me: asking for help is not failure. It’s strength.

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If you or someone you love needs support:

• Veterans Crisis Line: Call or Text 988, then press 1. 24/7 confidential support run by a lot of people who are veterans themselves.

• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Available to anyone, anytime.

• Local VA mental health services can connect veterans with ongoing care and peer support.

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What To Watch:

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – Netflix

The Knives Out franchise is back and doing what it does best – smart, sharp “whodunits” that trust the audience to keep up with the plot. The latest, Wake Up Dead Man, leans darker than the previous films. Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) is back to decipher the details of a murder which took the life of a Monsignor, possibly by his apprentice. It’s clever without being snobby, and stylish without being hollow. A perfect watch if you want something engaging during the holidays.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

We all need a reminder once in a while of what the season is supposed to feel like, and A Charlie Brown Christmas is still undefeated in that department. It’s short, gentle, a little sad, and deeply human – which is why it still works. Sit down with the family, some friends, or yourself for a break from the news noise to enjoy a classic Christmas movie.

What to Read (Or Gift for the Holidays):

Why Marx Was Right by Terry Eagleton

If you’ve ever been told Marx is a cartoon villain or a sacred prophet, Terry Eagleton cuts through both of those myths. Why Marx Was Right isn’t about dogma, it’s a readable defense of Marx’s ideas as tools for understanding power, labor, and inequality in the modern world. You don’t have to agree with everything to come away clear-eyed about how capitalism works, and why so many people feel crushed by it.

The Courage to Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi & Fumitake Koga

This one feels simple at first, and then quietly tears you apart. Framed as a dialogue, The Courage to Be Disliked challenges the idea that we are trapped by our past, our trauma, or the expectations of others. It’s not about indifference – it’s about choosing freedom, responsibility, and self-respect in a world that constantly tells you who you’re supposed to be.

And as always …

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