Buying Love

Donald Trump isn't wrong about everything. He might have a point about our country's need to build a stronger manufacturing base so that we can employ more people and be more self-reliant. 

And he might be right about how to save his election chances. Before we get into all that, you have to remember the pattern: Trump generally promises things he doesn't deliver. But when it does deliver, it's window dressing. It looks like he's taking an initiative that will benefit ordinary working Americans. Among that larger group, only the white ones still support Trump.

But when the dust clears, we see that he didn't really make things better. Take the massive tax cuts of 2017. Our economy was still growing as it bounced back from the recession, but it needed some caffeine to keep expanding. The tax cuts were just the drug: they indeed stimulated the economy, unemployment went down, and real wages actually began climbing. 

But who really benefited from the tax cut? The rich are still getting lots--and lots-- richer, while ordinary Americans are still muddling around. 

And who's hurt? For decades Republicans will tell us we can't do anything constructive because we've run up such massive deficits. They'll even blame Democrats. We all know this.

So what now? 

Trump released several executive orders with the stated intention of lowering drug prices--a 2016 campaign promise he hadn't delivered on. He's probably not wrong about that. In fact, Democrats are saying he needs to do more. Matter of fact, Big Pharma stock prices tanked in response. 

Chaser? These price cuts won't take effect for a very long time, if they do so at all. Because it's Trump, right? Per NPR,

However, this order includes a section that says that before it can take effect, the secretary of health and human services needs to confirm that the order won't cause federal spending, premiums or patients' total out-of-pocket costs to increase. Since one of these is bound to result from the executive order, it likely will never go into effect.

The other thing? Having quit on the coronavirus, Trump has finally listened to his advisers: You're hurting OUR people. He's finally speaking out for masks. He revived the press briefings. Why now?

In the past couple of weeks, senior advisers began presenting Trump with maps and data showing spikes in coronavirus cases among “our people” in Republican states, a senior administration official said. They also shared projections predicting that virus surges could soon hit politically important states in the Midwest — including Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, the official said.

Right. Trump's uniquely horrid (ok, Brazil) coronavirus response has him way, way behind Joe Biden in the polls.

Meanwhile, the usual corruption continues. Trump says of child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, "I wish her well." And the money. Washington Post reporter David Fahrenthold continues doing the hard work of chasing the money. He tweets:

We still don’t know how much taxpayer $ has been paid to 

@realdonaldtrump

’s company.

How much data is missing? Here are the most recent records released by 

@DeptofDefense

 on its spending at Mar-a-Lago. April 2017.

BUT...they promise to produce new records this week. Stay tuned.

 

How Hot Is It?

One problem with Trumpism: it feels like it's getting hotter every day. Assaults on democracy big and small raise the pressure, raise the temperature, and it's hard to know when you've crossed the line and headed toward emergency.

There's a reason for that confusion. We crossed the emergency line a long time ago, so everything that happens now feels out of perspective.

Take what's going on in Portland. Unmarked vehicles with unmarked armed men pick people up off the street and detain them. You can't complain because you have no idea who assaulted you. (Yes, that's an assault.) They fire dangerous flash-bangs at totally peaceful protesters. They give ridiculous rationales like it's Soviet block Czechoslovakia. "We sent in the troops because somebody put graffiti on a building." Unconfirmed reports say the same things are happening in other towns.

Making things worse, an internal HHS memo indicated these "federal forces"--

wait a damn minute

what are "federal forces"?--

these "federal forces" weren't trained to deal with protests.

It's like we're living in Putin's Russia, but we won't rise up and squash the outrage.

Or Trump's interview with Fox Reporter Chris Wallace. Wallace fact checks Trump over and over. 

The coronavirus is getting worse; more people are dying. No, says the Black Knight, it's just a flesh wound. Dr. Fauci was too alarmist. 

People should wear masks. “No, I want people to have a certain freedom.... And I don’t believe in that, no. I don’t believe in the statement that if everyone wore a mask, everything disappears.” 

No, Joe Biden doesn't want to defund the police. Yes he does. I have his statement. Can't find defunding the police because it's not there. Well, he wants to defund the police, but he just uses other words.

And like it's 2016, No, I won't commit to honoring the election results. Scary antidemocratic words from a candidate. Outright treason by a president.

But we're all distracted because Trump mentor Roger Stone, fresh off having his prison sentence commuted by Trump, muttered "I can’t believe I’m arguing with this Negro" during an interview with Mo'Kelly. Stone denies it, of course. But there's a long record of Roger Stone's public racism and misogyny. 

Yes, it's essential to protest the stench of white nationalism that assaults us from Donald Trump and his minions. It's also essential to keep our eye on the thermometer. We've got a few months to hold on to this democracy, what's left of it anyway. We'd best be on point.

Meanwhile, read the transcripts available from Chris Wallace's Fox News interview with Donald Trump. It's evident you're dealing with someone at once vicious and uninformed. (So far the transcripts are incomplete.) It's hard to pick a sample more dumbfounding than the rest. I'll offer this.

WALLACE: You said our children are taught in school to hate our country. Where do you see that?

TRUMP: I just look at – I look at school. I watch, I read, look at the stuff. Now they want to change -- 1492, Columbus discovered America. You know, we grew up, you grew up, we all did, that’s what we learned. Now they want to make it the 1619 project. Where did that come from? What does it represent? I don’t even know, so.

WALLACE: It’s slavery.

TRUMP: That’s what they’re saying, but they don’t even know. They just want to make a change. Cancel culture – I hate the term, actually, but I use it

WALLACE: But are they teaching people to hate America?

TRUMP: Oh, I think so yeah, I think so. Look at the professors. Look at what’s going on in the colleges. If a conservative goes on a college – and look, we have as many as them. Excuse me, I think to the best of my knowledge, we’re sitting at the White House and the Oval Office is right behind me. We have as many as them.

Oh.  

Never Can Tell

With Trump, you never can tell the serious things from the distractions.

For example, lots of us cheered yesterday when the Trump administration backed off its initiative to expel international students who are forced to take online classes because of the coronavirus. But how serious were they anyway? The policy attacked two of Trump's favorite enemies: internationals and educational institutions, but it had little chance of holding up in court. So they folded. Did they ever mean to win?

Then there's the story that the administration has told hospitals they don't need to report statistics to the CDC. Just send it on to Health and Human Services. According to CDC Director Robert Redfield,

I do think the fall and the winter of 2020 and 2021 are going to be the probably one of the most difficult times that we experienced in American public health.

So the CDC thinks things are serious. Is Mike Pence serious? He said,

We don't want CDC guidance to be a reason why people don't reopen their schools.

 

Trump followed a disastrous CBS interview with a truly illegal Rose Garden press conference. Trump told CBS it is a "mistake" for Los Angeles to begin the school year online. When the CBS interviewer asked him what he'd tell parents and teachers who feel unsafe about going back to school, Trump had this gem.

You should find yourself a new person whoever is in charge of that decision because it’s a terrible decision.

Because he's compassionate like that.

The press conference was illegal because you can't campaign on federal property. Which is exactly what Trump did, 30 minutes of anti-Biden propaganda that led CNN to cut away from the event. I don't think the event helped Trump any. For example, I doubt it helped when he trashed Europe: "Europe, which has never treated us well." And I doubt it helped when he said his polling--"not the suppression polls"--was looking good.

It probably did help that he announced action against China for suppressing freedom in Hong Kong. Except his policy is stupid: he's punishing Hong Kong more than he is China.

We're in uncharted territory. We always are. The closer we get to the election, the more desperate Trump becomes. And therefore the more unpredictable.

But hey, there's always CNN's Jim Acosta. Anderson Cooper asked him, "Jim, is there anyone left in the administration who shakes their head when they hear the president rambling in the Rose Garden?" 

"No, Anderson, we are down to Kool-Aid drinkers and next of kin."

 

Those Trumpy-Foxey People in Your Life

A friend suggested that I should publish a piece about how to deal with people around us who are all Trump, all the time. The ones who watch Fox News, and therefore loaded for argument on the basis of disinformation. The Christians who say the Bible, speaking of the Persian king Cyrus, was somehow talking about Trump.

How do you respond effectively to those people?

I do not know. I don’t know anyone who knows. Simple as that.

I do know stories from friends who have lost or broken contact with family members and friends they really care about. Documentaries have been made about the pain of losing a loved one through Fox News. Serious journalists have covered the phenomenon. Folks have chronicled the reports. And people have tried to answer the question: Can Fox News watchers, can Trumpers, come back? 

Wait. I do know the answer, It’s in Proverbs.

Do not answer fools according to their folly,
    or you will be a fool yourself.
Answer fools according to their folly,
    or they will be wise in their own eyes. (26:4-5, NRSV)

Proverbs may be my least favorite book of the Bible. Well, there’s 2 Peter.  But I tend not to think of Proverbs because it offers so many formulaic answers: “Do the right thing, and you’ll prosper. Do the wrong thing, and you’ll come to grief.”

Not so here. Verse 4 and verse 5 directly contradict one another. That’s not an accident. True wisdom doesn’t always follow set rules. True wisdom requires discernment: in some contexts, speak up; in other contexts, let it go.

In other words, we may find freedom in knowing there’s no simple formula.

I welcome any wisdom someone wants to share. For the time being, these are some thoughts I have based on zero expertise whatsoever. I generally fail.

1. Rational argumentation has little chance of changing the dynamics. Let’s face it. It’s hard for us to change our minds quickly: why would we expect it to work differently for others? Remember, the person who watches several hours of Fox per day is receiving deep scripts. They can’t say, “protestors,” they have to say “rioters.” Taxes are socialism. Only their sources of information can be trusted. 

2. It’s okay to say, “I’ve looked into this, and I disagree with you.” Or, “That doesn’t make any sense to me.” And just move on. You may feel like the person you’re engaging is diminishing your integrity with their “Obama spied on Trump” bullshit. You can speak up for yourself without getting sucked in.

3. Be attuned to anger. Notice how Trumpism and Fox trade in anger. Watch 10 minutes of Fox News, and you’ll see how much of their energy is devoted to stoking outrage, fear, and resentment. I’ve noticed people I genuinely like, once the conversation moves to social issues, slide quickly into anger. Social psychologists have researched how conservative and liberal minds work: watch out for disgust. And if someone insults you, you have every right to stand up for yourself. In fact, you should. But ask yourself if fighting is the way?

4. Be attuned to yourself. When someone is directing anger at us, the fight/flight response kicks in. I’m not saying it’s never good to be angry. I am saying it’s often unhelpful. If you can disengage, disengage.

4b. I don’t know why Trumpy-Foxey people sometimes can’t let go of talking politics. It’s like a compulsion. Sometimes you can’t disengage. I’ve had several conversations where I’ve said, “I really don’t want to keep talking about this,” and the person just insisted. I’ve been insulted. 

5. Ask yourself what’s at stake. Do I need to remain present in this conversation? Is there someone here who needs my support? What’s the broader context? Is injustice happening in this very moment? Do I need to name the racism, homophobia, you name it?

It’s very painful to care about someone whose core values offend us. And it’s very, very hard to be our best selves. We have responsibility in those moments. Rarely is it helpful to have the argument.

Tough Days for Donald Trump, Dangerous Days for Us All

Let the whining commence. Today the Supreme Court ruled, and by a 7-2 margin, that New York prosecutors must have access to Donald Trump's tax returns. Putin's MiniHandsMe responded with a Twitter tantrum.

The he goes back to "prosecutorial misconduct" under Obama and Biden.

If I remember correctly, Trump's first big lie to the American people was his promise to deliver his tax returns. He also said he had no business dealings with Russia and that he would remove himself from his businesses.

But Trump never delivered those tax returns. Instead, he's fought tooth and nail to prevent them from being seen. We all know he never intended us to know what his filings look like, precisely for the reasons New York is looking into them.

It's all about corruption, all the way down. Story after story reveals how Trump's cronies benefited from the coronavirus relief package, money that was supposed to float vulnerable businesses and individuals during the crisis. 

It's all about corruption. This week ICE unveiled a wicked policy that would force students studying in the US on visas to return home if their institutions were offering only online classes. But Trump and his cronies never hide their motivations for long. Sure enough, Citizenship and Immigration Services acting director Ken Cuccinelli told CNN the policy isn't about immigration. It's designed to force colleges & universities to open, regardless of public health concerns.

It's all about corruption. Former NSC staffer Rich Higgins was booted from the office for promoting conspiracy theories about Trump's "adversaries." Here's the document that led to his dismissal. Now Trump wants him to be undersecretary for policy in the Defense Department. 

All these things hold together in one simple way: Donald Trump wants to effectively end democracy in the US. He's turning the government into a vehicle that will give him and his cronies more power and more access to money. The New York case exposes Trump to legal jeopardy, a risk he simply cannot tolerate. So things will get worse, way worse, before they get better. 

Trump will continue his racist messaging. His Mount Rushmore speech included this line, straight from the white nationalist textbook. (I've shared it before.)

Seventeen seventy-six represented the culmination of thousands of years of Western civilization and the triumph not only of spirit, but of wisdom, philosophy and reason.... Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values and indoctrinate our children.

It's right there. "Our history" is "Western civilization." That's white nationalism.

And democracy simply doesn't matter. I was surprised to see Jeff Sessions, once our attorney general and now running for his old Senate seat in Alabama, basically explaining why his flavor of Christianity trumps democracy. Some excerpts.

A banker I know from Greece, he said you could go to Aleppo, you could do business deals, you could even buy whiskey. Cross Assad, you’re in big trouble, but you could do business. There’s a difference between freedom and democracy. You need to understand this....

And you know who we want to run Syria? Assad. We are hoping that somehow he can get back in control. And there was no terrorism, no ISIS when he ran the place. He’d kill ’em. And if you didn’t cross him, he wouldn’t kill you. And he protected Christians; they were a part of his coalition....

You asked how Christians could support Trump. [Speaking of Egypt’s Christian minority under president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egypt's] not a democracy — he’s a strongman, tough man, but he promised to protect them. And they believed him, because they didn’t want the Muslim Brotherhood taking over Egypt. Because they knew they’d be vulnerable. They chose to support somebody that would protect them. And that’s basically what the Christians in the United States did. They felt they were under attack, and the strong guy promised to defend them. And he has.

There's a difference between freedom and democracy, Sessions says, even or especially when the government is corrupt.