There are a bunch of emotions to describe our reaction, and the fallout from Donald Trump’s audacious opening act in his second term in the White House. But as malicious and odious as his pen has been the first days of his administration, Trump’s emotionally draining antics are less of a blow when we focus on why he is doing what he is doing, and recognizing he’s not even doing it well.
So far Trump’s pardons and commuted sentences have angered cops and made prosecutors and court witnesses fear for their lives. Orders he has signed have cost jobs and revenue in communities that voted for Trump and re-ignited the fear of the unknown in Latino communities, a chunk of which supported Trump. This is a lousy way for Trump to treat his rank and file voters, and they should be reminded of that repeatedly.
Cold, clueless, or both, Trump already imposed economic hardship on communities where he’d never won until last year. The resulting loss of jobs and investment is in a memorandum he signed to suspend for review new or renewed offshore and onshore leases for commercial wind projects, and to end leasing of the outer continental shelf. Somerset, Massachusetts voted for a Republican president last year for the first time since 1956. Trump’s thank you to those supporters was killing a $300 million project for a wind power components manufacturer that pulled out when it learned Trump was going to try to derail wind power. The mostly white middle and working class community of more than 18,000 people was set to be part of the geographic center for a budding regional wind electrification industry. The company’s now upended plan was a move into an obsolete waterfront power plant, creating up to 350 new manufacturing jobs.
In another order guaranteed to hit us in the wallet, Trump basically flipped off just about all American consumers (who make up about 70 percent of the U.S. economy) when he killed President Biden’s order to seek out ways to negotiate for lower prescription drug costs. What a bonehead move at a time when we need work to be done to bring inflation down further.
What really jumps out about this first week, and worth repeating over and over, is nothing Trump has done has lowered the price of eggs, a loaf of bread, a gallon of gas, or the coming rent hikes. He doesn’t seem to be taking inflation seriously. Trump hasn’t made America safer or stronger, or more affordable.
It's crystal clear Trump wants to intimidate his opposition, see us panic, feel hopeless, and ultimately capitulate to the whims of his regime. Overwhelming us is a big part of why he’s trying to mess around in so many areas all at once, but anticipation and adequate response are potent antidotes to Trump’s shock and awe style of bullying. Twenty-two state attorneys general and a handful of citizen groups were prepared and ready to engage when Trump signed an order removing the birthright to citizenship for children born to documented immigrants.
Those AGs and groups are now successfully suing Trump in multiple courts around the country, arguing the 14th Amendment guarantees citizenship to anyone born in the United States. It’s a strong case against Trump. The opening line of the 14th Amendment is clear: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
By design, we will see uncomfortable images from Trump’s deportation program, which is threatening to go so far as to pull children out of schools, patients out of hospitals, and worshipers out of churches that are deemed to be undocumented immigrants. Pay attention to the numbers of people that are being deported compared to the Biden administration and the first Trump term. Right now there is parity, but we don’t know what is coming and should remain prepared and vigilant. At the moment, Trump is mainly interested in making headlines and delighting in the news coverage of immigrants being removed from quite a few Blue States, at least at the outset, which has got to be a kick in the teeth to Red State MAGA, who expected to see ICE blanket their communities.
MAGA climate change deniers, however, are delighted by Trump leaving the Paris Accord (joining Iran, Syria, and Yemen as non-participants) and his promises to open up oil exploration and drilling offshore and in other sensitive areas. MAGA absolutely wallowed in Trump’s disregard for curbing climate change, even amid a freak snow storm that reached as far south as the shores of Red States along the Gulf of Mexico, and the deadly firestorm that now threatens Republican enclaves in San Diego County.
Trump poured his own brand of kerosene on the California wildfires this week, threatening to hold federal disaster aid hostage unless the state pays a political ransom. Disregarding loss of life, property and the lasting economic burden the devastation will put on residents and communities, a cold hearted Trump wanted a deal for emergency aid in exchange for a big hike in the federal debt limit (telegraphing his plans to blow out the deficit again), but then shifted to seeking to force the state to pass a voter ID law in exchange for disaster relief. It’s disgraceful to do that to any Americans, but it really triggers wise Californians, who pay more in federal taxes than they get back in federal aid.
The TikTok flip flop was already a work in progress, but do you remember Trump’s tough on China tirade? Trump suddenly sounds more like a pussycat when it comes to Beijing. The sizable support Trump discovered he had on TikTok was the shiny object that caught his eye. Like snakes in the grass, the TikTok bosses and a first of its kind high level delegation from Beijing to attend a presidential inauguration aptly came off like vassals in Trump’s mind. The suck-up sirens song was too much for Trump to say no to. He extended the deadline that he set in motion during his first term, so TikTok’s Chinese owners allegedly could find a suitable buyer outside of China. Trump is already scheming to personally profit from whatever happens to TikTok, and he most certainly will ensure a rightwing corporate stooge or mad tech bro gets control of the platform.
Speaking of mad tech bros, had enough of Elon yet? A lot of the people who might consider buying his cars dislike him, there is a constant exodus from the social media platform he poisoned, and his spaceships do blow up on occasion. If it talks like a duck, hangs out with other ducks, and flaps like a duck, guess what?
There is an underlying hatefulness and need to target the most vulnerable among us throughout the Trump world. We know Trump does not fight for the underdog. We know that he does not have a humanitarian calling. We know Trump won’t protect Americans from the mob as long as the mob wears the red hats. He has no desire to seek a pursuit of universal happiness.
Among the most targeted groups by Trump, who flooded the airwaves with a deceitfully inaccurate but painfully effective anti-trans TV ad, is the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ Americans face an erosion of rights and maybe worse under Trump and the theocratic extremists he is beholden to. The idea that Trump, a despot who rejects science, could even begin to comprehend gender identification is laughable and frightening all at once. The personal privacy and individual decisions made by every American are worth protecting.
We are for sure enduring a deafening needle scratch on the soundtracks of our lives. For MAGA, Trump’s hit-list is a victorious melody of vindictiveness and brutality. This is why they stood in lines for hours to hear Trump ramble, bought the Trump bibles, invested in Trump cryptocurrency, and wore the red hats made in China – just to see somebody else get screwed over. Well, MAGA supporters should enjoy it while they can, because the orders signed by Trump are pretty much the bulk of the reward for all their loyalty and support. The real payoff is yet to come, but that’s not for MAGA, that’s going to be for the wealthiest Trump backers and friends and the Trump-friendly corporations.
Written by Ken Bazinet, a former White House correspondent, has covered three presidents and five presidential elections. Still writing, he works with organizations and individuals that focus on opening and expanding ballot access to Black, Latino, Women, Native American, pro-worker and rural voters. He is third generation organized labor.
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