Bearing Witness to Trump Month 42 July 26-31
With 150,000 deaths from Covid-19 and the economy in shambles, the President makes another attack on our democracy by suggesting that the Nov. 3 presidential election be delayed. He posted it shortly after the Commerce Dept. reported a near 10% drop in the nation’s GDP for the 2Q. Never in the history of our country, including wars and depressions, has a presidential election been delayed. Trump tweeted this week that with universal mail-in voting, 2020 will be the most “inaccurate and fraudulent” and “rigged” election in our history.
Do we need any more evidence of what this man is planning to do when he loses? There is like no chance he will concede after the election results are in, which are expected to take days if not weeks. If he loses by a big margin, he will claim that such a margin is proof it was rigged. If it loses by a small margin, he will claim there were irregularities, fake ballots, and voter fraud that made the difference. And when he finally does leave office, can we imagine him going peacefully, if he goes at all? What type of an ex-President will Trump be, if not an ex-felon doing time? Perhaps before justice is served, he and his family will escape to Russia and seek asylum just like another traitor Eric Snowden. Then perhaps he will broadcast a reality TV show claiming he is the legitimate president of the US in exile and calling upon his base to prepare for his triumphant return. Is that so far-fetched for someone like Trump? I worry it is not.
Civil rights activist and long-time Congressman John Lewis, who died last week, is remembered and honored all across the nation for his courage and service to the country helping us to live up to our best ideals to become a more perfect union. Born into a poor sharecropping family in rural Alabama he rose above one after another obstacle to lead the fight for civil rights and do “good trouble” using non-violence, all that changed the course of US history. Past presidents and even those on the opposite side of the aisle in congress had only good things to say about Congressman Lewis who was called the conscience of the Congress. But there was little from President Trump who was busy tweeting about voter fraud, clueless that John Lewis had been beaten and jailed fighting for the voting rights that the present administration and party are busy suppressing.
There could not be a greater contrast than the sacrifice and service John Lewis made for our country and the behavior of the current White House resident. Our country may have produced a selfish man like Donald Trump, but it also gave us a selfless hero like John Lewis. We are indeed a country and democracy worth marching and fighting for as the late congressman encouraged us to do in his last editorial published after his death where he wrote “Democracy is not a state. It is an act., and each generation must do its part to help build what we call the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.” Rest in peace Congressman Lewis.
President Trump this week promotes false claims from a doctor who says we don’t need masks and that hydroxychloroquine is a sure-fire cure. Trump said her voice was an important one to hear. This same doctor said that some health problems are caused by having sex with demons and that alien DNA is being used in medical treatments. That went even to far for Facebook who took it down. Other social media videos and tweets circulating claimed that Dr. Fauci actually manufactured the virus and shipped it to China, wearing masks make you sick, and of course the whole pandemic was a hoax created just to make Trump look bad and lose the next election. Trump retweets criticisms of Dr. Fauci trying to deflect blame for his handling of the crisis which has led to a paltry 32% approval rating.
The same week that Congressman John Lewis is laid to rest, Trump tweeted out his support of repealing Obama-era legislation that helped to promote fair housing for all Americans of any color.
Trump’s Defense Secretary Mark Esper formally announced what Trump had previously threatened, that the US will begin to withdraw some 12,000 troops from Germany. Just another sign of how under Trump the US is retreating from its leadership stature around the world. The Russians must be beyond joy that their boy in America continues to weaken the NATO alliance.
President Trump said this week during an interview that in a recent phone call with Russian President Putin he did not bring up CIA intelligence reports that the Russians had offered Afghans a bounty to kill American soldiers. He blamed the intelligence reports of the Russian actions on more fake news. Yes, pure Trump. Just like on a stage a year ago in Europe where he stood next to Putin and attacked Americans back home instead of Russia’s actions meddling in our elections.
More Republican politicians have become infected with Covid-19 including those who refused to wear masks and called for a premature opening of the economy. One prominent Trump supporter, Howard Cain has died. The late Cain had attended the President’s rally in Tulsa Oklahoma where it was thought he may have picked it up with so many not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.
In an act reminiscent of Nazi Germany, Politico reports that the Trump administration has conducted hundreds of loyalty tests for senior administration officials. Why are we not surprised?
Protests against police brutality and in favor of Black Lives Matter continue around the country. All the while the President, his Attorney General, and their media pundits call protesters anarchists, agitators, left-wing mobs, criminals, and domestic terrorists who seek to destroy the country and assault the government. No, the President and his enablers are the ones who have been terrorizing us for 42 months by attacking all the norms and institutions of our republic. More federal agents are being sent into mostly Democrat-controlled American cities without being requested. It’s obvious Trump is just trying to manufacture more civil strife so he can proclaim he is the only law and order president that can save our country from such carnage. Even the United Nation Human Rights panel have challenged the tactics of law enforcement against mostly peaceful American protesters.
The above news items have been taken from a number of international, national, regional, and local news media sources including print, digital, and broadcast. Additional editorial opinions and comments about these news items are those of this author.
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