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Frank O’Hara is a retired public policy consultant living in Hallowell.
I believe there’s a madness about President Donald Trump’s behavior and language that must concern even those who voted for him last fall.
You may have voted for Trump because you think that immigration was too loose under the Democrats. But are you not uncomfortable with the sight of masked and armed federal agents pulling people out of their cars, and with no hearings or trials, sending them to torturous conditions in foreign prisons? And when mistakes are made, insisting that innocent people stay in foreign cells?
You may think that foreign aid was misdirected in the past. But did you intend for the government to yank food and medicine away from starving children in Gaza and Africa and Asia?
You may think that the federal government is too big. But did you intend that critical functions in health, education, veterans affairs, and national security be ransacked by a seemingly random elimination of thousands of federal jobs? Would any business downsize in such a cavalier way?
You may think that universities got too liberal in recent years. But did you intend that essential research into fisheries and forests and cures for cancer would be cut off?
You may think that free trade the last 30 years has hurt rural America. But did you intend for the price of cars to rise by thousands of dollars, and the price of fruit and vegetables at the grocery store to jump?
Trump is behaving like a man possessed, it seems to me. Even when the root concern of his policy actions are defensible, the solutions are extreme, like using a shotgun to kill a fly. And the language is absolutely crazy. In announcing his new tariffs earlier this month, Trump declared that “our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered” by other nations. Really? Because I bought maple sugar cookies made in Canada at a local store, Canada is “raping” me?
In his telling, judges are “radical left lunatics.” Democrats are Marxists. The press are the “enemy of the people.” Federal employees are frauds and cheats. Immigrants eat cats and dogs. Everyone who disagrees with him is a liar. And once declared an enemy, the full power of the federal government can be brought to bear to deprive you of your livelihood and freedom.
Last fall, many Trump voters said that they didn’t like his language but liked his policies. But now his language and policies are indistinguishable. This creates a dilemma. Should Trump voters now speak out against policies that are leading to a recession? Should they keep silent and stay safe?
Shakespeare dealt with the problem of mad rulers in several plays. At the end of one such play, “King Lear,” a character speaks up: “The weight of this sad time we must obey, Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.”
It’s good advice for Trump voters with second thoughts: Speak up.
