It has been one week since Donald J. Trump took the oath of office (again), marking his inauguration as the 47th president of the United States of America. What a week it has been. It won’t get any easier, as he tests the limits of presidential power.
I am disappointed in the Republican Party, but I am not shocked. The party leaders are living down to my expectations.
Trump ran a campaign focused on anger and resentment.
Consider the $215 million spent to stoke the fear of transgender athletes. How many such athletes are there? Was it truly a $215 million problem? How many local girls’ teams could those dollars have supported? The Girl Scouts could always use some funds, too. The NCAA located only 15 transgender high school athletes, two of whom were transexual girls. Two.
Immigrants are not going around taking over our towns and cities, either, but Trump and his vice-presidential nominee spread outright lies and baseless rumors about immigrants. Yes, we all remember the cat memes. What utter nonsense, yet it worked.
The worst, absolute most vile act of this new-old Trump administration has been the pardoning of the January 6, 2021, rioters. These people were insurrectionists, and he was the Traitor-in-Chief. Yet, spineless Republicans refused to impeach him when they had the chance. Now, these violent, unrepentant felons are free.
I expect at least a third of those now pardoned by Trump to be arrested on different charges — or to die in violent confrontations. These are not good, peaceful patriots.
Trump has convinced many people that the 2020 election was stolen by a “Deep State” that is out to destroy the “American way of life” (white Christian Nationalism).
Whatever the issue, Trump was selling fear and loathing to his supporters.
So, I expect executive orders galore after this first barrage. Trump has already targeted not only undocumented immigrants but also those granted temporary legal status. He has targeted the LGBTQ+ community, especially the transgender minority. He is threatening to shut down and defund existing agencies and departments, regardless of congressional budget priorities.
When Democrats managed to avoid a blowout during the 2022 midterms, which I did not predict, they became convinced that abortion rights and loathing for Trump would help the party’s nominee win in 2024. That didn’t happen.
Admittedly, I missed the 2022 midterms. I predicted a Republican Red Wave based on the unpopularity of Joe Biden. I was wrong then, but two years later, enough voters were upset with inflation and economic stagnation that they punished the Democratic Party.
The “establishment” Republicans did not do enough to defeat Trump in 2016. They did nothing at all to stop him in 2024.
Maybe there was nothing Republicans or Democrats could do. Trump is a cult-of-personality. He embraces his status as a stand-in for all the resentments of his voters. He won the popular vote (by less than Hillary Clinton, it should be noted) and the Electoral College. It’s depressing to know that nearly half of the voters supported the reelection of such a vile, amoral (or immoral) person.
In one long week, Trump has shown how willing he is to destroy everything in his path. The voters will cheer the destruction of a government they have come to distrust. People believe that whatever the government does must be benefiting someone else.
Sadly, his popularity will rise the more damage he does. We’re not entering a dark era — we’re already within it.
It’s going to be a long, long list of outrages within the first month.
I don’t even assume Democrats will retake the House in the 2026 midterms.
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