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President Donald Trump and his team pledged lots of “shock and awe” during his first days in office.
After less than two weeks, there’s plenty of shock. Awe, not so much. Unless you are somehow awed by making other people’s lives miserable. Or by chaos and confusion, or by outrageous remarks.
The shock comes from the sheer volume of confounding, sometimes illegal, but typically mean-spirited and intentionally divisive executive orders, memos and missives coming from the White House. Perhaps that’s the goal, to drown people in a flood of confusion and dismay so that they don’t know how to respond or what to respond to.
Whatever the rationale, it isn’t helping average Americans afford their groceries or fix the many things supposedly ailing America that Trump pledged to take care of soon after taking office.
The shock began within hours of Trump taking the oath of office when he issued a flurry of executive orders, including one pardoning all of the people implicated in the violence storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The convictions and guilty pleas of more than 1,500 men and women who beat law enforcement personnel with flag poles, bats and fire extinguishers, was essentially wiped away by Trump, who pledged to bring law and order to America.
He also quickly began the deportation of immigrants that his administration said were criminals. This involved a flight to Mexico that was turned back and a brief tariff war with Colombia last weekend that ended with that country agreeing to accept the return of some of its citizens.
This week, Trump turned his attention to the federal work force and federal spending. He fired 17 inspectors general, those who monitor if U.S. money is being spent appropriately.
The administration sent a questionable buyout offer to all federal employees offering eight months salary if they agreed to quit next month.
The administration, through a variety of memos and other actions, put a pause to medical research, jeopardizing the development of new treatments for diseases. This amidst a worsening outbreak of bird flu and the worst outbreak of tuberculosis in the U.S. in decades.
In a sweeping, confusing, and heartless move, his administration stopped all federal grants and loans, although the White House feebly said this isn’t what the president meant. This broad action stalled funds for housing, shut down state Medicaid programs and upended scientific research. The action has been challenged by attorneys general from 22 states, including Maine.
A federal judge quickly blocked the funding freeze and the memo ordering the suspension was withdrawn the next day. But the White House press secretary said the intent behind it was still very much in effect.
On Wednesday night, Americans were heartbroken after an Army helicopter collided with a passenger jet near Washington, D.C., killing all 67 passengers and crew on the two aircraft. It was the worst air disaster in the U.S. in decades. Trump, on social media, quickly responded with his usual crass and inhumane bluster of blaming other people. Empathy, of course, was nowhere to be found in our president’s initial response.
On Thursday, he expressed sorrow while reading scripted remarks but quickly blamed the tragedy on former Democratic presidents and “DEI hires,” the new bogeyman of the right. He even signed an executive order assigning this false blame on diversity, equity and inclusion.
Meanwhile, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration had resigned the day of Trump’s inauguration after being harassed by Elon Musk and Trump fired all the members of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee the day after his inauguration. Trump appointed an acting head of the FAA the day after the crash.
Trump’s misplaced focus on DEI after a horrifying plane crash is as heartless as it is wrong. It is also racist and misogynistic. Under this anti-DEI rationale apparently, everything that goes wrong in America is the fault of people of color, women, members of the LGBTQ+ community, or people with disabilities. The corollary is that these bad things would stop happening if white, straight men were in charge. It is patently absurd, and offensive.
Trump’s outrageous and divisive remarks, his administration’s rash and, in many cases illegal, actions, and his unqualified cabinet nominees do not make America great again. The flurry of misguided policies and othering of millions of Americans doesn’t usher in a golden age for America.
The Trump administration has already changed course of several edicts because of court orders and pushback from members of Congress and others. That doesn’t mean that they won’t soon be back pushing these initiatives and cutbacks with new orders and new rationales. But, it is a reminder that although Trump is immensely powerful, especially because Republicans control Congress and the conservative-led Supreme Court has been largely deferential to Trump, he is not a monarch. Rules and laws, although weakened and undermined by Trump, still matter. As does public reaction. Continue to speak out, and to support those who can’t.
