Bearing Witness to Trump Day 1

January 21, 2017

I have not felt this sense of hope in months. Hundreds of thousands of Americans turn out from coast to coast to protest the mean-spirited dystopian vision of America that Trump has cast upon us as his dark shadow. It’s like a fever I have had since November has finally broken, and that we who feel this way are not alone.

Meanwhile, in Trumpandia, the first executive action he took was working towards repealing health care and rescinding lower mortgage insurance requirements for millions of Americans. Tell me Americans who voted for him, how do we reconcile this along with the cabinet of billionaires and generals who are now poised to wreck what few safety nets the working class has?

The next action was to have his press secretary, Stan Pricer, come out blaming the media for misrepresenting the size of the inauguration crowds versus the protest crowds. Instead of listening to what millions of Americans were saying, he chose again to attack the public with more lies. As Trump’s mouthpiece  he cannot open his mouth without exaggerating, self-aggrandizement, blaming, attacking, bullying, or lying. I worry how can those who surround him not fall victim to this same dangerous culture? And true to style, there was no opportunity for the press to ask questions or challenging our new Imperial Presidency during the press conference.

Also on Day 1, Trump goes to the CIA, and instead of it being about the courage of this agency in performing their work, while standing in front of the wall honoring the fallen, it is once again all about him. And the evil news media who misrepresented his sentiments when he said they were acting like Nazis. He called the press “the most dishonest human beings on Earth.” I suppose it takes someone predisposed to this Nazi-like behavior to project that part of their dark shadow on others.

Ending on a hopeful note, we thank even the conservative David Brooks for getting how important this moment is. He writes on Jan. 20 in the NYT that “We’ve never had a major national leader as professionally unprepared, intellectually ill-informed, morally compromised and temperamentally unfit as the man taking the oath on Friday. So let’s not lessen the shock factor that should reverberate across this extraordinary moment.”

Yes, it is an extraordinary moment that requires our bearing witness, moral courage, and public resistance.

The above news items have been taken from a number of international, national, regional, and local news media sources, both print and digital. Additional editorial opinions and comments about these news items are those of this author.