Friday, November 06, 2020

The Trump I remember

It's Nov 6, 2020 and I believe Trump's presidency is ending. I look forward to forgetting him, but one day I'll be asked what all the fuss was about.

For that day, to remind me, here is what I know of him know:

  1. The crimes for which he was impeached -- extorting a foreign power to attack a political opponent.
  2. The crimes for which he was not impeached -- the collusion with Russia against HRC.
  3. The obstruction of justice.
  4. The personal corruption.
  5. The corruption of government and of industry, including running a protection racket against businesses.
  6. The casual racism.
  7. The people who worked for him.
  8. The anti-science -- from CO2 to COVID to the environment and beyond.
  9. Inserting Christian fundamentalism into American government.
  10. The constant lying. (He was paradoxically transparent however. An accusation was invariably a confession.)
  11. His mockery of persons with disabilities.
  12. The threats and the cruelty. Not least the separation of migrant children and parents.
  13. The stupidity. He really didn't seem to know very much about anything beyond corruption and real estate.
  14. The propaganda.
  15. The destruction of the ACA without a replacement.
  16. The complete disinterest in art, culture, and the humanities.
  17. The destruction of government agencies.
  18. A complete lack of honor, compassion, or decency.
  19. COVID mismanagement.
  20. QAnon.
  21. The authoritarianism.
  22. The pardons. (Remember Al Kinani)
  23. The post-election conduct.
  24. The record-breaking federal executions.
  25. The Gallagher war crime pardon
  26. The illegal destruction of government records. 
...he has divided our people; he has pitted race against race; he has corrupted our democracy; he has shown contempt for American ideals; he has made cruelty a sacrament; he has provided comfort to propagators of hate; he has abandoned America’s allies; he has aligned himself with dictators; he has encouraged terrorism and mob violence; he has undermined the agencies and departments of government; he has despoiled the environment; he has opposed free speech; he has lied frenetically and evangelized for conspiracism; he has stolen children from their parents; he has made himself an advocate of a hostile foreign power; and he has failed to protect America from a ravaging virus"
Was there anything he did that was good?
  1. Accepting North Korea as a nuclear power. It was the only viable choice, but I'm not sure HRC could have taken it (esp. with a GOP Congress).
  2. He understood the Left Behind -- the majority of Americans who will never be knowledge workers. I don't think my team gets this. He didn't know what to do for them, but he knew what they wanted.
Update 1/18/21 - adding Unthinkable from The Atlantic.

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