This is the second in a series of articles that serve as a reminder of the terrible job Donald Trump has done as President. This one is focused on his nonstop assault on American ideals and norms. As Trump has intentionally caused or stumbled into one fiasco after another, it has been too easy to forget the full scope of his assault over the past 3–1/2 years on American democracy, human rights, the rule of law, the free press, and more.
Undermining Democracy
Donald Trump has undermined our democratic system by:
- Repeatedly inviting other countries including Russia, Ukraine, and China to interfere in our elections
- Promoting conspiracy theories about mail-in voting
- Casting doubt on validity of election results
- Undermining the US Postal Service
- Encouraging state legislatures to bypass the election results if their citizens vote for Biden
One of the most unique things about American Democracy has been 244 years of peaceful transitions of power. George Washington set the example by willingly stepping down when there were calls for him to keep serving. In contrast, after manufacturing unsubstantiated concerns with the election system, Donald Trump won’t even commit to a peaceful transition of power.
Attacking Racial Equality
Donald Trump has undermined equality and promoted racism. Here are some of his most notorious instances:
- His “very fine people on both sides” statement in response to Charlottesville and
- His response to George Floyd’s murder
- His characterization of Black Lives Matter
- His dog whistles and even more overtly racist statements
- Lying about people coming across our southern border
- Anti-semitic comments
- Comments about “shithole” countries
His racist rhetoric matters, and it has prompted both an increase in white supremacist propaganda and right-wing violence in the United States.
Undermining Civil & Human Rights
Trump has violated human rights, perhaps the most notorious being that his administration put immigrant children in cages, separated from their parents. He also:
- instituted a Muslim travel ban that was later struck down by the courts
- praised foreign leaders who crack down on religious and other minorities, such as Modi (India), Xi (China), Duterte (Phillippines), Bolsonaro (Brazil)
- rolled back LGBTQ rights and protections
- targeted reproductive health programs
- shut the door to refugees pursuing legal asylum in the U.S., reducing the number from 110,000 per year to only 18,000
- undermined indigenous rights with projects like the Dakota Access Pipeline.
Undermining the Rule of Law
Trump has been a poison pill for the rule of law, one of the most important foundations of our democracy. He has done this by:
- Claiming his authority is total
- Undermining the judiciary with attacks on individual judges
- Firing whistleblowers, who were afforded (clearly insufficient) protection after Watergate. Even Republicans have spoken out against Trump’s repeated whistleblower firings, which is the ultimate indication that Trump did not only “drain the swamp,” but is himself the “swamp creature.”
- In a very Soviet-Russia-inspired move, firing inspectors general, whose job is to make sure government employees (including Trump) obey the law, and replacing them with loyalists
- Pardoning convicted friends and supporters such as Robert Stone
- Politicizing the Justice Department and the FBI
- Promoting corruption by directing federal money preferentially to red states
- Using plainclothes law enforcement to capture protesters and put them in unmarked vehicles
- Undermining government agencies by appointing unqualified people or those who are hostile to their purpose, like Dejoy at USPS or Scott Pruitt and Andrew Wheeler at the EPA
- Using the presidency for personal gain
- The obstruction of justice, lying under oath, and other criminal matters that were well documented in the Mueller Report
- The treasonous behavior that led to Trump’s impeachment
Instead of draining the swamp, Trump supporters elected the Swamp Creature, and he has demonstrated his corruption through and through.
Undermining a Free and Independent Press
Trump has been on a crusade to demonize the real press so he can make supporters believe that only his version of things is true.
- He promotes organizations that are first and foremost political, such as One American News Network, as if they’re real press
- Admits to doing it so his supporters don’t believe it when the true free and independent mainstream news organizations report the terrible job he’s doing
The list goes on and on, and not just in these areas. Now he’s even blocking social media apps. I thought blocking citizens from accessing social apps and services was unique to China. Then again, Trump does admire the Chinese Muslim concentration camps, so maybe he’s taking another page out of Xi’s playbook.
This is Trump’s legacy. He has been the biggest domestic threat to American Democracy since perhaps the Civil War. Vote this dangerous man out now!
