What Trump Believes His Base Demands: Racism

 

What Trump Believes His Base Demands: Racism

From his obsession with “shithole” countries, immigrants from Somalia are all gangsters and laggards, immigrants from third world countries need to reverse migrate, white people – from here in the United States to Afrikaner farmers in South Africa – face the most discrimination, diversity, equity and inclusion are evil and must be stamped out, our white Christian European legacy is the only source of legitimate rule, and thus the United States must be purged of impure immigrants and returned to white Chistian nationalism. The largest segment of American crime is thus caused by Black and Brown residents here. That these refugees have much lower rates of criminality than native born citizens thus must be a Democratic “hoax.”

Yet, in the early days of this nation, most people moving here were not rich folks; they were mostly piss-poor immigrants ready to work hard and build this nascent republic… or slaves. Trump truly succumbs to flattery (he loves the fake awards and building names changed in his honor… and demands “donations” to his pet projects and political causes as the price of government approvals and contract, and unfortunately presidential pardons). Winners (his mega-wealthy cronies) are rewarded with tax cuts, exemptions from tariffs and lucrative contracts… and the rest – losers – have to pay for that. His Supreme Court 6-3 rightwing majority might as well be on his personal payroll, and he now controls the largest law firm anywhere on Earth, his instrument of retribution, the incredibly corrupt Department of Justice.

A few short months ago, Trump declared that he was the “affordability President,” but today, he tells us that we have the best economy in history, cheap prices and a solid job market (both severely and obviously untrue) and that “affordability” is a “hoax” fabricated by the Democratic Party. He is pushing a replacement for the Affordable Care Act – providing a refund for Americans to get healthcare insurance in the public marketplace – a tired old Republican ruse that has been rejected every time it has been suggested (with parallel suggestions to replace Social Security). Not only would this give insurance companies the right to set exclusions and skinny policies, adjusting their premiums and deductibles accordingly, but it would require Americans to evaluate complex alternatives designed to favor people who are healthier and younger.

Republicans, who have spent 15 years trying to repeal the ACA and minimize those who might access Medicaid and SNAP programs, and they twist the dictionary definition of “socialism” to suggest that their efforts are nothing more that stopping “creeping socialism.” A total false use of that word. The notion that corruption is acceptable permeates his appointments. Kristi Noem has a series of ICE-supporting ads with her as the star… and it seems if he the ad agency tasked with making those commercials is somehow related to her and her cronies, and got that DHS contract without having to make a bid. Crypto billions anyone? Foreign hotels? Golf courses?

Soon-to-be-removed (in my opinion), clumsy and perk-loving Kash Patel (damn he loves his new government private jet… and so does his Nashville girlfriend) leads a hollowed out and demoralized FBI, agents pulled off their traditional work to join ICE agents in immigration enforcement or to review thousands of pages of Epstein documents, redacting Donald Trump’s name which seems to be everywhere.

Believing that no amount of research, empirical data gleaned over more than a century of experience, policies that have never worked before, will work this time, Trump implements these inane failed policies. Tariffs will generate revenues (highly regressive de facto taxes that impact average Americans and lower-level earners the most), allow us to end income taxes (trust me, the de facto sales taxes would slam most Americans a whole lot harder than income tax) and will protect manufacturing jobs here? What, that under 10% of our economy engages in manufacturing, will give a whole lot of reshored jobs to robots?

That Trump believes that Article I of the Constitution, that empowers Congress, should somehow be moved to Article II (presidential powers) so he alone can set tariffs/taxes, initiate war, fire almost anyone Congress has funded, cancel citizenship and deport or prosecute his enemies without the inconvenience of warrants, due process and neutral courts. As armed soldiers march down US city streets under Trump’s orders, peaceful protests are “illegal” to him, and those protestors who oppose him and his policies, must be arrested and prosecuted… but violent protestors who support Trump, know that if they are convicted of crimes, they will be pardoned. Pro-police unless police are attacked by his supporters. Not a “law and order” president no matter what he says.

Ah the other practice Trump caters to in an effort to ensure his base remains loyal is supporting their pet conspiracy theories… other than that other Democratic “hoax” – the Epstein scandal – and to destroy “elite” universities and end bona fide medical and scientific research… replacing established scientists and medical experts with toxic hacks. RFK, Jr – disowned by his own family – runs the most dangerous conspiracy theory mill in the country: The Department of Health and Human Services. Measles, once ended in the US, is coming back with a vengeance; research to contain other current and possibly future diseases is being defunded, and RFK’s replacements for competent medical researchers are, once again, linking autism to vaccines and, of all things, Tylenol.

RFK, Jr and his conspiracy-theory-loving replacements are now focused on stopping vaccine recommendations that have so far saved potentially hundreds of thousands of children from a potentially fatal future. Alice Park, writing for the December 6th Time, explains: “On Dec. 5, the CDC’s Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 8 to 3 to eliminate the first dose of hepatitis B vaccine that has been recommended for all newborns since 1991. It now recommends the birth dose only for mothers who are positive for hepatitis B or whose hepatitis B status isn’t known, and in remaining cases, leaves families and doctors to decide when to administer that dose. The committee also voted to allow ‘shared decision-making’ about whether babies receive all three doses of the vaccine. Currently, CDC recommends babies get vaccinated for hepatitis B within 24 hours of birth, then when they are one to two months old, and finally at six to 18 months.

“The decision led to immediate pushback from infectious-disease and public-health experts. ‘The ACIP recommendation to end the universal birth dose of the hepatitis B vaccine puts millions of American children at greater risk of liver damage, cancer and early death,’ said Dr. Tom Frieden, former CDC director and president and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives, in a statement. ‘Now obstetricians, pediatricians, insurers, state health departments and others should stand up for fact-based care, protect our children, and not mess with success—not accept this misguided and dangerous recommendation.’”

An older and obviously unhealthy Trump seems to be sliding into a new desperation with more name-calling, inappropriate attacks mostly against women, to me he seems increasingly reflective of behavior that is typically associated with dementia. And still, most elected Republicans jump at his command… and too many are consumed with disenfranchising voters likely to vote against his candidates and his policies. But he has clearly tapped into the MAGA rage that elected him.

I’m Peter Dekom, and it is most depressing that my granddaughters are going to grow up in a nation that was ransacked and shredded by Donald Trump and his followers.