Trump: A study in protests
Months of protesting the Trump administration have shown me several different kinds of objection can be made. Consider the following classifications.
Policy. Policy disagreements are fundamental. For example, since climate change threatens life on our planet, I oppose President Donald Trump’s moves to eliminate research on the subject and to hide results already found. Because extreme wealth inequality is politically destabilizing, I oppose measures that encourage upward wealth redistribution.
These protests are crucial, but they are not peculiar to Trump. They preceded him and will continue after he is gone. Ultimately, they will have to be settled as people have always worked out political differences, by reasoned debate, mockery, research, marching, stirring rhetoric, prayer and hurling abuse at one another in the media. It’s the American way.
Personality. Even those who embrace Trump’s agenda should be embarrassed by his ignorance. A president attending a Black History month celebration should not suggest that Frederick Douglass is an up-and-coming figure. (He died in 1895.) He should not express surprise that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican. (Admittedly, Republicans have changed a lot since then.)
Other personal deficiencies include laziness — consider the number of days Trump has spent golfing (21 at this writing). Also, his unwillingness or inability to understand issues that require more than a single page to explain — it is galling that NATO and the European Union have to dumb down presentations because America has chosen so dimwitted a leader.
Corruption. Even someone who agrees with the president on issues and thinks him competent should be appalled at the selfdealing and conflicts of interest openly flaunted by the White House. Government functions take place in Trump’s private club, from which he profits. Foreign governments deal with the Trump organization to curry favor with him. Saudi Arabia openly bribes Ivanka Trump’s foundation with a $100 million “contribution,” while her husband Jared Kushner is negotiating a weapons deal with them. Will we ever see Trump’s tax returns?
At its limits, corruption turns to fear of treason. Sound extreme? Maybe. But attempts to conceal connections between the Trump campaign and the Russian government have raised concerns even among Fox News commentators.
Unreality. Last and worst is the sheer unreality of living in a country whose president is Trump, a man without experience, without curiosity, without integrity and apparently without awareness of what he is doing. (“Nobody knew that health care could be so complicated,” Trump said. Who knew that a president could be so clueless?)
White House officials are openly contemptuous of facts. The president routinely insults individuals who disagree with him. He hurls groundless accusations about wiretapping of Trump Tower; then pretends he said nothing. Budget proposals of monumental cruelty rest on bad arithmetic and sheer fantasy.
Not that long ago, the idea that Trump could be president was a joke. The Simpsons imagined it back in 2000. It was supposed to be a dystopian nightmare fantasy.
I miss ideals. The United States used to be the defender of freedom. We had allies in opposition to tyranny. Now, Trump’s best friends are autocrats (Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan), and our message to NATO is “pay up or you’re on your own.” We are mercenaries. The American promise of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” was once a beacon of hope to the world. Now it has come to this: we are being led by a bankrupt casino operator and fraudulent huckster. My country has become a sad joke. Should I laugh? Cry? Both?
In sum, when protesting the Trump administration, be aware whether you are disagreeing (policy), scolding (personality), accusing (corruption) or gasping (unreality). It’s good to be clear.