By Greg Tafel
As Americans, we should always count on our leaders to exhibit sound judgment and the best ethical character. To cite Thomas Jefferson, if “we maintain these truths to be self-evident,” then Donald Trump stands an opportunity of being considered the worst president in our fabled historical past. Whereas Barack Obama tried to construct the theme of his administration on hope, justice, civility, decency, eloquence and inclusion, Trump’s path to energy is paved with bricks of concern, intimidation, retribution, self-aggrandizement and just-plain dishonesty. It might be simple to quote his 34 felony convictions, 26 sexual misconduct allegations, 2 impeachments, and 30,000+ documented lies throughout his time as chief government, however these are simply the tip of the iceberg because it pertains to proving simply how unfit he’s to be our president. Let’s begin with among the main occasions of this second time period.
Whereas undocumented immigrants must be topic to intense scrutiny as to the legality of their standing on this nation, they shouldn’t be abused or denied any due course of rights as assured by the Fifth and 14th Amendments. Their presence also needs to not enable exaggerated MAGA fears that “these individuals are terrorizing our nation, killing our youngsters, raping our ladies, and destroying our Western Christian tradition” to be promoted as reality.
Trump’s unprecedented assault on alleged drug-running velocity boats within the Caribbean and Pacific areas has produced, to this date, 29 strikes, 99 deaths and 2 rescues. These reprehensible actions have been taken on mere suspicion and but are defended as being proactive to cease the circulation of unlawful medicine into our nation. Nonetheless, they can be seen as unwarranted murders the place the suspects’ lives are indiscriminately taken. On this mild, Pete Hegseth is perhaps retitled the Secretary of Warfare Crimes. And who’s his Commander-in-Chief, I ask? Trump’s vendetta towards the accused narco-terrorist Venezuelan dictator, Nicolas Maduro, may be interpreted as hypocritical while you attempt to make heads or tails of Trump’s latest pardon of ex-Honduran president, Juan Orlando Hernandez, who was convicted by a Federal jury in 2024 and sentenced to 45 years in jail for conspiring to smuggle cocaine and firearms into our nation. It begs the query about his true Latin American motives: is it to cease medicine or take Venezuelan oil (see tanker seizure)?
Talking of pardons, how can Trump justify pardoning the 1,000+ rioters who assaulted our Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021? Additionally, what was his motivation for pardoning Changpeng Zhao, CEO of Binance (a cryptocurrency firm), who pleaded responsible to unlawful enterprise dealings? May Zhao’s partnership with World Liberty Monetary, a Trump family-owned crypto enterprise, have something to do with it?
Trump’s repeated use of the phrase “pretend information” displays his contempt for anybody within the media who criticizes or disagrees with him. In his try and utterly management the narrative, he has lashed again at social commentators resembling Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert in a very uncivil method. His misogyny additionally shines by way of with latest references to feminine reporters who requested questions he didn’t like as being “piggy” and “silly” and “how silly are you?” He renamed one among his most ardent supporters (Marjorie Taylor-Greene) as “Marjorie Traitor Greene” as a consequence of her insistence that he launch the Epstein recordsdata, which he has been carefully related to. What does he have to cover, and why is his pores and skin so skinny?
I might go on and on about his apparent character flaws, which proceed with such claims that he has ended “8 or 9 wars” or that his tariffs have raised “trillions of {dollars}.” Whereas earlier administrations might need thought of taking questionable and/or controversial actions. It appears that evidently there might need been a frontrunner who opposed it due to its potential illegality and long-term undemocratic penalties. Trump’s cupboard and group of advisors, nevertheless, appear to ignore these issues in favor of an “finish justifies the means” strategy, with the objective being to complement themselves and the remainder of the highest 1% economically — all on the expense of our treasured American democracy. Once more, Donald Trump is a humiliation and might be remembered as our worst president ever.
Greg Tafel lives in Longmont.
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