As I write these words, I really don’t know what to say. The start of the new administration defies analysis save to say that it is reckless and characterized by chaos. The first thirty days we have witnessed an American Caligula strutting about like a crazed peacock, wrecking federal agencies, riding roughshod over constitutional prerogatives and threatening friends and foes alike. Trump’s performance makes me want to ask my MAGA friends and acquaintances how they feel about their candidate now, but I’m afraid they don’t care or more frighteningly, they are delighted.
I’ve not written lately because, like many of you, I was exhausted by the election and saddened by the outcome. How, I asked myself, could we reelect a monomaniac consumed by greed and hate, a former president twice impeached who denied a legitimate election and instigated a coup to stay in power? Further, I have been determined to wait and see what happens, giving the new administration the benefit of doubt, conceding that just maybe my tribulations are unwarranted. After all, sometimes the least qualified leaders, ignorant of conventional wisdom, succeed where others have failed; Wait and see, I keep saying.
It would be easy at this point to write a scathing indictment of Trump’s executive actions, his cabinet appointments, and his bluster about foreign policy. The truth, however, is that nothing much has really happened yet – the much ballyhooed deportations seem stillborn, and the huff and puff about Greenland, Panama, the Gulf of Mexico and Denali don’t amount to much. The Ukraine-Russian War, which was to be settled immediately, is still waiting attention despite its urgency. So far Trump 2.0 has been more show than action. Unfortunately, big questions loom that could threaten our constitutional democracy and the peace of the world.
Hold on to your hat!