There is a known problem with noting my disdain for Donald J. Trump every year. It will convince no one, I realize. Those who love the Donnybrook – which I find inexplicable – will still love him. Those who despise him will continue to so.
For the record, I write about it anyway. Every year he’s been President, on his birthday I write. It’s also Flag Day, of course, so it’s likewise a reflection of how the country is doing.
In this regime, the Justice Department doles out mercy and second chances to the undeserving, the rich, and the powerful, and his cronies. But this is seldom afforded to others. A study shows that the Department of Justice prosecutions of white-collar criminals is at an all-time low.
The tax law, passed in late 2017, provided more breaks to the wealthiest Americans while doing little or nothing for everyone else.
The turnover rate in his regime has been massive. The absence of expertise in top government jobs is especially dangerous during emergencies. Also, “when positions are filled they have not necessarily gone to the strongest candidates.”
I’ve long wondered whether this is a flaw or a feature in the process. Picking a known enemy of education to head education, of the environment to lead EPA, et al. was no accident. And by keeping the administrative plates always spinning, the chance for a Cabinet to toss him out using the 25th Amendment becomes less likely.
If he had released his taxes, perhaps there would be fewer questions about him enriching himself. Most of his controversies are vehicles for self-justification, self-preservation, and self-enrichment.
His actions have damaged U.S. credibility and influence abroad. “America first” has hurt America, except with fellow authoritarian leaders.
Corona catastrophe
But the single biggest disaster of his regime has been his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unsurprisingly, his response is like what he does a lot in other areas. He refuses to take responsibility for the surge of cases in March or people ingesting disinfectant. Even when he claims absolute authority, he dodges any culpability.
He had shut down the White House pandemic office back in 2018. And his team had been briefed before his inauguration about the threat posed by pandemics. Intelligence warnings in January and February from U.S. intelligence agencies were ignored. After the disease hit, the regime waited 2 months before bolstering medical supplies. This forced states and other entities to bid against each other to obtain them.
He picked the four men responsible For America’s COVID-19 test disaster. Among them, Mike Pence, a known science denier. The standard lie about the availability of testing became untenable.
But he always spread lies and disinformation. Early in the crisis, he said that the coronavirus would simply vanish. “It’s going to disappear. One day it’s like a miracle—it will disappear.”
Exhausting
There are so many more examples of incompetence and/or greed, I have literally lost track. The purge of Inspectors General should be a national scandal. It’s always about him, as he threatens the press and his other so-called enemies.
The result of all of this is that the man is making us worse people. “He is draining the last reserves of decency among us at a time when we need it most.” From today’s Boston Globe: The nationalist president and the white supremacist. “In June 2015, Donald Trump and Dylann Roof ushered in a new era of racist violence and white resentment.”
In other words, Donald Trump Is the “Worst President Ever.” He has surpassed James Buchanan. And that is a low bar indeed.