In its editorial recognizing that Donald "Trump stands
without any real rivals as the worst American president in modern
history," The New York Times notes damage in an area largely ignored by
Democratic politicians and the media. It notes
He campaigned as a champion of ordinary workers, but he has governed on behalf of the wealthy. He promised an increase in the federal minimum wage and fresh investment in infrastructure; he delivered a round of tax cuts that mostly benefited rich people. He has indiscriminately erased regulations, and answered the prayers of corporations by suspending enforcement of rules he could not easily erase. Under his leadership, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stopped trying to protect consumers and the Environmental Protection Agency has stopped trying to protect the environment.
The editorial board concludes by encouraging "the American people — even those who would prefer a Republican president — to preserve, protect and defend the United States by voting."
In its editorial recognizing that Donald "Trump stands without any real rivals as the worst American president in modern history," The New York Times notes damage in an area largely ignored by Democratic politicians and the media. It notes
He campaigned as a champion of ordinary workers, but he has governed on behalf of the wealthy. He promised an increase in the federal minimum wage and fresh investment in infrastructure; he delivered a round of tax cuts that mostly benefited rich people. He has indiscriminately erased regulations, and answered the prayers of corporations by suspending enforcement of rules he could not easily erase. Under his leadership, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has stopped trying to protect consumers and the Environmental Protection Agency has stopped trying to protect the environment.
The editorial board concludes by encouraging "the American people — even those who would prefer a Republican president — to preserve, protect and defend the United States by voting."
If that seems overly apocalyptic, appearances are deceiving. In a rally last month outside of Pittsburgh
Trump also applauded acts of excessive violence by “big, strong” police while narrating them in detail, describing an instance in which, “they grabbed them, they grabbed them, they were grabbing them left and right.”
“Sometimes they grab one guy, ‘I’m a reporter! I’m a reporter!” Trump said gleefully, aggressively pantomiming a Guardsman throwing aside the reporter and shouting “get out of here,” adding, “they threw him aside like he was a little bag of popcorn.”
Trump said “you don’t want to do that,” but described such instances as “actually a beautiful sight” because of the “crap we’ve all had to take for so long,” mocking reporters for using the term “peaceful protest” to describe protests featuring looting and property damage.
The President was not only applauding violence against a reporter, he was laying the predicate for further, expanded state violence if he is re-elected. In a splendid combination of whine and threat, he brayed "honestly, when you watch the crap that we've all had to take so long, when you see that- you don't want to do that- but when you see it, it's actually a beautiful sight. It's a beautiful sight."
Trump has given us not only the promise; he has given us the excuse, made to order for a right-wing constituency that always thinks it's a victim- of liberals, Democrats, immigrants, freeloaders, Antifa, and the others who tell us we have to wear a mask. It may not make much sense, but it's there.
Five days after the murder of George Floyd, Vox ran an article entitled "Trump's policies have enabled police violence against black Americans." Of course, it begins with the powerless and most vulnerable.
Nonetheless, we learned of the Floyd/police encounter and the protests which followed because of a free press. As the President understands, if reporters such as the one Trump ridiculed at his rally are attacked and arrested for practicing their craft, he'll have free rein in a second term, and eventually there may be too few of us left to "preserve, protect and defend the United States."
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