(RNS) — Donald Trump is a godsend for political cartoonists, op-ed writers and social media enthusiasts, but I find him paralyzing.
Cartoonists are having a field day. A recent cartoon showed polar bears with AK-47s ready to defend Greenland from an American invasion.
Social media has also blown up with screaming outrage as Trump acolytes and Trump haters attack each other with fanatical rage.
Op-ed writers have been busy as Trump provides them with outrageous words and actions to write about.
But I find him psychologically exhausting — like being blasted by a firehose.
Every day, if not more frequently, he verbally attacks some person, group, institution or nation with demeaning and insulting language that should not be tolerated from a schoolyard bully, let alone from the president of the United States. He acts like a spoiled child who is out of control — except he is bigger, meaner and stronger than anyone around him.
If he were a private citizen, we could laugh him off as a lying, narcissistic egomaniac, but he is the president of the United States.
As president, Trump is destroying the United States. He has poisoned our political culture, setting citizen against citizen, celebrating conflict and even violence. He unites his base by stoking hatred of perceived enemies. His inflaming of partisanship has made a calm discussion of politics impossible, even among friends and neighbors.
He is enriching himself, his family and his cronies while president.
He has even corrupted religion, where pastors can lose their pulpits if they are not enthusiastic supporters of Trump, driving away those who want their churches to be free of partisan politics.
He has undermined the justice system by pardoning insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol and violently attacked police. Pardons are also handed out to political supporters and donors.
He has used the Department of Justice to attack his political opponents with trumped-up criminal investigations. He has also turned Homeland Security into a partisan tool of his vengeance. He has taken FBI agents away from investigating organized crime, corruption and national security threats so he can use them against politicians and areas of the country that do not support him.
He has invaded Democratic cities and states with poorly trained Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol officers who act against immigrants and citizens without restraint, resulting in two homicides by federal agents in Minneapolis.
The man who is the chief law enforcer of the nation shows a contempt for legal restraints that get in the way of doing whatever he wants.
His attacks go beyond Democratic politicians and cities. He attacks universities and the scientific community with lawsuits and unilateral cuts in funding. He uses the mistakes of a few to punish all. The damage he has done to scientific research will set back the country for decades just as China has caught up with and surpassed us in some areas of research.
Pretending to defend free speech on university campuses, he intimidates academia into silence. Pretending to defend Jews, he embraces antisemites if they support him.
The media have also felt his wrath. Reporters who challenge the administration or ask pertinent questions are insulted and demeaned. Reporters’ homes are searched; computers and phones are confiscated. Owners of news outlets find their other businesses threatened by government regulators and by the possibility of losing government funding and contracts.
Media outlets have become increasingly siloed, catering to rabid supporters or opponents of Trump. Attempts at objectivity in news coverage are ridiculed.
Even premiere law firms have been beaten into submission so they are now reluctant to take clients the administration considers enemies. Rather than being ferocious defenders of the law, they abandoned their clients like Chicken Little in the face of the president’s threats.
Trump has also destroyed the Republican Party by making it his own fiefdom that switches positions depending on which way the Trump tornado is blowing.
First it is for free trade; then it is for high tariffs. It goes from being an opponent of Russia to trying to be chummy with Vladimir Putin. The Hyde Amendment banning government funding of abortion used to be a pillar of the Republican platform; now it is negotiable.
During the 2024 election, Republicans promised to release the Epstein files; now they are buried or redacted to protect Trump and his friends. As president, Joe Biden was denying the reality of inflation; now “affordability” is a Democratic hoax. Americans have an unconditional right to bear arms, until a citizen with a gun permit comes to an anti-ICE demonstration; then he can be disarmed and shot.
The Republican Party no longer has any principles; it follows whatever Trump says like a puppy wanting a treat. This has undermined Congress’ ability to be a check on the imperial presidency.
If only John McCain, Barry Goldwater or someone of principle were alive and willing to speak truth to power. But the Republican establishment has kowtowed to Trump, fearing no one can win a Republican primary without his support. Republicans are destroying themselves and the country on the altar of Trump. If they lose big in this year’s election, they will be getting exactly what they deserve.
Trump has also undermined the American economy. Business leaders are kept happy with tax cuts and deregulation, but the long-term future of American business is in question. His tariffs have disrupted supply chains and alienated trading partners. Businesses can’t plan a year in advance because he changes policy so erratically. Making plans five or 10 years into the future is impossible.
Agriculture has been hurt by retaliation from importing nations who don’t like our tariffs. Farmers and food processors have lost workers who have been deported for no crime other than being undocumented.
Trump is destroying the American auto industry by disrupting supply chains and making sales abroad impossible. While the rest of the world is turning to electric vehicles, America has conceded this market to China. While Henry Ford catered to the working class with the Model T, Detroit is making SUVs and trucks for a shrinking population. Making an affordable car for the masses is no longer on Detroit’s agenda.
And the Trump administration is fighting green technology just as wind and solar energy have become cheaper than energy from fossil fuels. The country that invented these technologies has abandoned them to China, which is also leading in battery technology so wind and solar energy can be stored for when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine.
The revolution in energy shows why Trump’s Venezuelan adventure is so stupid. He is spending billions to get access to Venezuelan oil, which major oil companies are not interested in exploiting because long-term investments require economic and political stability. This is unlikely with the current or future regimes in Venezuela.
In addition, cheaper green energy is going to threaten the profits of fossil fuel companies. Even in Texas, the market is causing a green revolution that is unstoppable.
Meanwhile, Trump is threatening our national security by undermining NATO and alienating allies around the world. He does not care about international law or human rights. Ukraine is not his problem, and he is practically inviting China to invade Taiwan before he goes out of office.
Trump has been a disaster for the United States, and we still have three more years to go. He will go down in history as the worst president ever. But he alone is not to blame. We elected him. And we are sitting back uninvolved unless what he does affects us personally. We get the government we deserve.
The country must unite and block the stupidity and tyranny of Trump. Universities must unite and speak with one voice in support of academic freedom. Scientists must speak against the use of bad science for political and economic agendas. Law firms must develop a backbone. All races, ethnic and religious groups must not let him divide us into warring factions. Christians must affirm we have only one king: Jesus.
At the ballot booth and in the streets, we must show that nonviolent collective action is still alive in America. What is at stake is the soul of our nation.
