The New America

 

Saddened Statue of Liberty

 

I haven’t written much lately. It’s not that I haven’t had opinions or feelings about recent events. It’s just so overwhelming. And there’s the feeling of helplessness. I can’t believe Trump will be in office for another 3 ½ years. Maybe things will cool down a little after the midterms if Congress returns control to the Democratics, but Trump doesn’t wait for Congress to act, he seems to have the Supreme Court on his side, and he does most things by executive order anyway. 

Just judging Trump’s actions according to my standard of doing what’s good for people, I can’t think of one single thing he’s done that benefits anyone, except maybe the extreme wealthy, who seem to be falling in line, except for Bill Gates, who said of Elon Musk, Trump’s head of DOGE, Department of Government Efficiency, “The richest person in the world is killing the world’s poorest children.” I kind of expected Warren Buffett to say something about Trump, but I haven’t seen anything. Maybe he’s afraid, like the Republican Congressmen. 

It's hard to decide what’s Trump’s worst action. Maybe it’s his dismantling of USAID, the agency that used to give food, medicine, and much more to poor starving people around the world. Ending that program will cause thousands of deaths. That certainly doesn’t do anybody any good. I think his justification for ending the program was to decrease government spending. 

Then there’s Trump’s immigration policy. He claims without evidence that other countries are sending criminals to the United States although the crime rate among immigrants is less than among native born Americans. There’s certainly criminal activity among immigrants, but he doesn’t seem to be targeting criminals. In fact, he’s rounding up “immigrants” where they work, or at court appearances where they are required to go to apply for visas or citizenship. The “officers” who arrest them are wearing masks and no proof of authority. Then they are placed in jail, often far from home, even in foreign countries like El Salvadore or Sudan. Families are separated. There’s no legal process. Legal aliens or even American citizens have been arrested. This certainly doesn’t help anyone. In fact it’s just cruel. 

So, how about foreign policy?  Trump has met with and befriended heads of authoritarian states like North Korea, Russia, China, Hungary. During his last term he said that he trusted Putin more than our CIA. On the other hand, he has criticized and alienated our traditional allies, Mexico, Canada, and NATO, accusing them of cheating us. He has continued assisting Israel in their war against the Palestinians, and withheld aid from Ukraine in their defense against Russia. Whatever you think about who’s right or wrong in these conflicts, Trump’s actions have led to more killing and starvation. He has justified his actions in several ways. Those that stand out to me are economic - he thinks our allies are letting us bear most of the burden of foreign aid and defense - and just plain admiration for dictators. 

Then there’s the idea of annexing Canada, Greenland, and Panama. Kind of sounds like Putin.  These are actions that would require military action, which would certainly increase death and suffering. For what? More security? It seems to me that it would make more enemies in our own hemisphere. 

What about the economy? I think that’s what got him elected. He’s supposed to be a successful businessman, even though he’s gone bankrupt three or four times -I forget which, and has cheated on his income tax, and not paid his workers. His answer for the USA is to cut taxes for billionaires, money they don’t need, thinking this will stimulate the economy - the trickle down theory, which has failed over and over again, even though the Republicans keep touting it; tariffs, which is actually a sales tax on Americans, thinking this will be a big source of revenue to replace losses from the tax cut, and will bring business back to the US. Of course, the reason businesses outsource to other countries is because it’s cheaper over there. So tariffs will make life harder for our middle and lower classes, and probably harder on foreign workers as well. 

Science is another category that Trump seems to oppose – I don’t know why. He’s cut funding for medical research, medical care, higher education, global warming. Even during his prior administration he moved the headquarters for the Department of Agriculture, leading to the resignations of many of its workers. His cuts to vaccination have already led to large increases in the number or measles cases from hundreds to thousands. Funding for research in cancer, infectious disease, medical transplantation has been cut. Enrollment in institutes of higher learning, as well as funding in general, has been cut, which will result in the loss not only of research, but the loss of many gifted students, many of whom stay after graduation. There’s no telling how many lives will be lost because of these inexplicable changes, for what? Saving money? 

For example, Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr., has decided to do safety studies on all new vaccines, and also to change the CDC recommendations for giving COVID and flu vaccines, without consulting CDC vaccine experts. In fact, most of the vaccine experts have quit, and six leading medical organizations have filed a lawsuit over the matter. 

Trump has announced that he’s getting rid of FEMA, and he’s already cut staffing for the National Weather Service, just as the death toll from the flooding in Texas has passed 100, possibly because there was no warning for residents to evacuate the area. 

Another broad category of Trump actions is DOGE, or Department of Government Efficiency. His henchman, Elon Musk, has been going from department to department, even to departments that are supposed to be independent, firing workers indiscriminately, and copying records. How does that make the government more efficient? He’s not looking for waste or inefficiency. He’s just firing people. Of course this actually creates inefficiency, leading to more plane crashes, less time for warning of natural disasters. I don’t know why he’s copying records. Is it to identify aliens, find justification for the firings? It’s illegal, of course, and there are umpteen lawsuits challenging his actions, but the damage is already done. People will move on, and your personal information is already out there. 

How do you estimate the damage DOGE has done? Government departments are there for a reason, and cutting staffing will make them unable to do their jobs. We’ll continue to have more plane crashes, more epidemics, more food poisoning, and the world will continue to get warmer. 

Trump has certainly made more money in office than any other president. He has brazenly sold everything from watches to trading cards. He held a dinner for million dollar donors, and has started a cryptocurrency firm. 

Trump has already gotten control of the Republican party. Because of our antiquated political system in which there is gerrymandering, and nomination of candidates by the party instead of the people, Trump can end the career of any Republican who opposes him. He has eliminated any criticism within his administration by appointing only staunch supporters who are totally unqualified for their positions. Because of his support by billionaires he is gradually getting control of information distribution, and may thereby win more independents over to his side. 

The legal system has been kind of a thorn in Trump’s side. Because of his conviction on 34 Felony counts, he should be in jail now, but because he was running for president, they put that on hold, thanks to the Supreme Court, which ruled that he can do pretty much anything he wants. 

One of the first things Trump did as president was to pardon all the January 6 rioters. He called them “heros.” Among his pardons was a gang leader serving six life sentences, and the son of a $1 million donor. He’s using the Justice Department to get revenge on his enemies. He got free legal help from several law firms by promising not to sue them for representing his enemies. Letting criminals out of jail is surely not making life better for the public. 

Possibly Trump’s most serious crime is against the legal system itself, ignoring the freedom of speech, birthright citizenship, forbidding of emoluments, and due process. 

Some future historian will probably estimate the number of lives lost because of Trumps actions. Life will certainly be worse for a long time. Maybe we won’t even emerge from his reign as a democracy.