TRUMP UNHINGED
An Unrestrained Madman
On his first day back in office, President pro tem Trump declared that there are only two sexes, male and female. At his earliest opportunity to say or do something profound that would mark his return to the White House and define his legacy, the newly anointed idiot in chief chose instead to take this and other extraordinarily inconsequential steps. It may be comforting to some of his supporters to have their simplistic views of reality reinforced by the president, but this opinion defies well-established scientific knowledge.
On the same night, Trump took steps to deport all undocumented immigrants, as well as their children who have birthright citizenship under Article 14 of the Constitution. If this cockamamy plan is carried through, it will absolutely devastate our economy. Farmers, food processors, construction contractors, hotels, restaurants, and resorts will be forced to close because they are not able to find workers for the jobs that nobody else will take. For centuries, newly arrived immigrants have done the least desirable jobs while they learned the language, assimilated into the established culture, and moved up into more appropriate work. Closing the borders and repatriating undocumented immigrants is not a wise move for a country with full employment. This order alone will spike inflation and make groceries harder to find.
Although he has not yet imposed tariffs, Trump continues to threaten their use as he did in his disastrous first term. And, as they did then, the tariffs will make fresh fruits and vegetables, lumber and building materials, electronic devices, household appliances, vehicles, and clothing more expensive and less available. Unfortunately, this president does not have even the most basic understanding of economics, nor does he care how his policies affect his supporters.
All of these presidential orders are being challenged by blue states, public interest groups like the ACLU, and the Democratic National Committee, with dozens of lawsuits already filed. Many more are sure to come, and responding to them could hamper the attorney general’s ability to carry out the political retribution that Trump threatened during his campaign. Add to that the Republicans’ plan to fire government lawyers who are not loyal to Trump, and we will have a legal department staffed by a third-string team of attorneys. Commentators who have read the executive orders have noted that they were apparently written hastily and that their arguments are surprisingly weak. The flood of lawsuits is likely to clog the federal court system, further delaying implementation of many of the orders.
Overriding all of these issues, Trump’s ill-considered pardoning of the January 6th rioters is truly ominous. He now has a private army of vicious criminals that have fanned out across the country and are preparing to create disruption and havoc wherever they live. The rash and abrupt manner in which Trump made this decision demonstrates beyond any shadow of doubt that he is unfit to be the local fence viewer, much less a person who could launch a world war with the press of a button. Trump’s mental decline is palpable. It is even more scary because his intellectual ability was so limited at his prime. His poor understanding of the role of government, economics, and international relations, coupled with his fundamental dishonestly, drug use, rash behavior, and complete lack of moral fiber, make him extremely dangerous.
I cannot comprehend how this level of chaos and disruption can be sustained. It certainly will crash long before Trump’s four-year term ends. Once the pain hits from cuts to the benefits that are keeping most of his MAGA base alive, even they will have to cry “enough!”. The people who are taking over our national government are not the best and the brightest. Some may be successful entrepreneurs, but they certainly are not wise. Trump is showing his age. He is not healthy, either physically or mentally, and the MAGA party does not have another charismatic leader waiting in the wings. Something has to give way soon. We can only pray that the damage can be quickly repaired, and our once great nation can begin to rebuild its government, its economy, and its reputation.
(Thanks to my favorite political cartoonist, Dave Granlund, for today’s illustration.)