Trump won. The people have spoken, and I accept the outcome. However, I'd like to clear up the record for those who claim they voted for this man because the last time he was in charge he did a good job. In my view, he did not do a good job. In order to make my case, I will use his own words whenever possible. It is those words and data that I believe will show Trump was a poor choice for president this time around.
"Mobile Morgue" Outside a Hospital in Hackensack, New Jersey U.S., April 27, 2020, COVID Pandemic
Credit: Lawrence Purce. Used under CC 1.0 license.
I'll consider his management of the pandemic, crime statistics, economic factors, his record on peace keeping, his inclination toward violence and his poor understanding of history.
The Pandemic. He led with ignorance, and dishonesty. His lack of transparency led many to behave unwisely and also led to a loss of trust in institutional actions. Here is an article that describes what it was like at Elmhurst Hospital, NY, in March of 2020.
In the video below Trump displays his ignorance of human biology and basic medical principles.
In this video (below) he expresses repeatedly a belief that the virus was inconsequential and would disappear.
While telling the public the virus was harmless, he knew those statements were false. He admitted, later, that he knew as early as February 2020 that the virus was deadly and would pose a serious threat to national well-being. Here is a video in which he admits to having lied and in which he tries to justify lying to the people of the United States.
His ignorance about science and medicine, his inaction and his lies led to a catastrophic death rate from the virus, despite the advanced medical technology U.S. possessed. Note the chart below, which shows how the U.S. death rate from COVID was much higher than that in other developed nations. These are deaths per 100,000 for all ages (Chart provided by Statista).
Crime and Public Safety. It was difficult to find a chart showing rates through 2024. However, below this paragraph you will find a chart from SNOPES which shows crime rates in the U.S. from 1980 to the present. The chart clearly shows that there was no crime spree during the Biden Administration. If you read the article associated with this chart, the data and the historical significance of the data are explained in detail. The article affirms that that there was no violent crime surge by the end of the Biden Administration.
Economy. The sources for the following charts are:
U.S. GDP Historical Data: Macrotrends.net
National Debt: The Balance Money.com
Cumulative increase in hourly wages Statista
Annual Growth of Real Wages, Eurozone Statista
Real Wage Growth Forecast Around the World Statista
In the charts below you are offered a snapshot of some economic vital statistics. In the charts, Trump years are compared to Biden years.
- National debt: Highest under Trump in 2020
- Real wages (which figures in the effect of inflation): While these declined under Biden, this was a post-pandemic global phenomenon. By comparison (look at the charts), the U. S. under the Biden Administration did better than the Eurozone.
- Real wage growth forecast. The U.S. wage forecast today, after four years of the Biden Administration, is better than that of almost every other developed country.
- GDP soared under Biden, especially in 2021, and plummeted under Trump in 2020.
No Wars: Trump and his followers often say there were no wars during his first administration. The actions noted below indicate that there was not peace during the Trump Administration. There was significant military action, and Trump was not averse to engaging in military conflict. All events noted below were initiated by Trump. The actions listed are not all-inclusive, but they are sufficient to prove that Trump was not a peace president.
The U.S. conducts the first direct assault on the Syrian government , April 7, 2017
Trump announces expansion of the scope of engagement in Afghanistan. He drops the "mother-of-all-bombs", the most powerful non-nuclear bomb, April 13, 2017.
U.S. war against ISIS. Air support, ground forces (U.S. troops) increase in both Syria and Iraq, 2017-2019.
2017-2019 U. S. conducts air strikes in Libya
"Major escalation of tension" between Iran and U.S.Escalates tension with Iran by ordering air strike on Iranian general in Baghdad, January 2020. Observers express concerns for wider war.
Character/Fitness for Office
Degrading women, and asserting the right to assault them sexually.
Ridiculing the disabled. In the video below he is mimicking a reporter, Serge Kovaleski, who has a condition called arthrogryposis.
- Promoting violence (Many instances, just a few of them noted below).
1.He suggests that former congressional representative Liz Cheney should have rifles pointed at her face.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-attacks-liz-cheney-says-she-wouldnt-be-a-war-hawk-if-guns-are-trained-on-her-face/ar-AA1tjPLS
2.Mocks Nancy Pelosi's 82-year-old husband, who was attacked in his home by a man wielding a hammer
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trump-mocks-paul-pelosi-speech-212408279.html
3.Suggests to followers at a rally that his followers "beat the crap" out of someone
https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2016-35793103
4.Tells the police to be 'rough' during an arrest. (The police clap and smile!!)
Autocratic Inclination
1.In this Truth Social post he calls for termination of the Constitution.
2.In his January 6 speech at the Ellipse he calls for ignoring parts of the Constitution that do not suit him.
https://www.c-span.org/video/?507744-1/trumps-jan-6-rally-speech
Poor Understanding of History
The U.S. Civil War. The country spent decades trying figure out a way to live with slavery. Laws were passed (Fugitive Slave Law). Supreme Court decisions were rendered (Dred Scott Decision). Compromises were crafted (Missouri Compromise). But, as the country grew and added more states to the Union, the South became convinced that numerically the slave states would be less powerful and free states would eventually prevail in Congress. It was this reality that impelled the South to secede. The slave states believed it was the only way to preserve their way of life. And yet, Trump cavalierly states that the Civil War could have been negotiated peacefully.
Trump claims Andrew Jackson would have avoided the Civil War. Andrew Jackson died 16 years before the Civil War broke out. He was a slave holder who bought and sold slaves. He was a strong nationalist. When South Carolina tried to secede from the union in 1833, Jackson was ready to use troops to prevent the secession. Although Lincoln was president in 1861, at the start of the Civil War, and not Jackson, in a sense Jackson was there. Lincoln apparently used Jackson's response to the South Carolina secession crisis as a model to shape his own inaugural address. Thus, we know what Jackson would have done. It was exactly what Lincoln did.
Trump tells Zelensky "This is a war machine you're facing. That's what they (the Russians) do they fight wars. They beat Hitler. They beat Napoleon. We got to get this war over with." In fact, Napoleon's poor strategic planning beat Napoleon, not the Russians. The Russians merely repelled him. He invaded them. They didn't invade him. It is true that the Germans were defeated by the Russians on the Eastern Front, during a multi-front war. However, as one Russian general explained in his memoir, "If the United States had not helped us, we would not have won the war." Russia had assistance in defeating Germany. Meanwhile Russia did lose two wars in relatively modern times. Russia lost the Crimean War (1853-1856), and it lost the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905). Both wars were fought because Russia sought to expand into new territories. The war with Ukraine is a war of expansion. Winning a war of expansion is very different from repelling an enemy on your own territory.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/video/news/trumps-big-praise-for-russia-military-victories-tells-zelensky-to-back-off-against-putins-army/vi-BB1qGTfw#details
I know many people voted for this president because they agree with his proposed policies. This, for example:
Many people look past the man and focus on what he promises to do. But it is the man who will wield the power. To hand almost unlimited power to such a person, that's quite a risk voters are willing to take.
I wish the best for my country.
That's all I have to say about Trump and the election for now. Thank you for reading. Hive on!
This is a brilliant piece of writing, @agmoore. I watched several of the videos, which was quite painful because I have spent 9 years trying to tune him out and feeling a little ill every time I hear that voice. Or see him do his little dance. All that history is there in living color. Great job.
I am trying not to live in fear and trepidation of what's coming. But between the cabinet he's putting together, his plans to tear apart the Department of Education, the Department of Justice and who knows what else, and the fact that all of his bigotry and misogyny have inspired people to come out of the woodwork to treat others with similar disrespect, I will admit that I have trouble sleeping at night.
Rachel Maddow is a voice of reason and does an amazing job of sharing the facts and bringing these things to light. This podcast about the cabinet he's putting together should make anyone shudder.
On a positive note, I think most people did not vote for Trump because of his misdeeds, but in spite of them. They have forgotten what happened during Covid, maybe didn't pay attention to all of the horrible scandals in his administration (see the Rachel Maddow podcast I mentioned above), and maybe even don't believe that he is all that bad based on his threats to use the military against his own citizens... etc.
I think there are two primary factors at play:
I get it. I really do. Inflation slowed, but not fast enough. A great GDPR and a soaring stock market simply don't put shoes on children and meat on the table. But it's unfortunately a situation where the guy who made the louder claims about what he's capable of bumped up against a candidate representing the current administration and the pain people feel in the pockets today.
And here are. Emotion speaks louder than facts. Because honestly, for as many times as Trump proclaimed how terrible the economy is, there are just as many fact-filled articles explaining that leading economists disagree with Trump that he can make inflation go away, that Trump's tariff plans will hurt consumers, that Trump's tax plans will increase taxes on 95% of Americans, and the economy does better under Democrats.
Well, my dear, thank you for letting me jump on your blog with my concerns. I agree with everything you've shared. You did a wonderful job collecting facts and stating what's true. I truly hope facts don't cease to matter entirely.
Hello my friend, @jayna,
Thank you for sharing all of that with me. I've been upset. Of course it's because I fear for the country. I think the worst part for me, though, is that people voted for him. They know him. He's not shy. He comes right out and says all those horrible things, and people accept it.
I didn't refer to autocrats in the past when I wrote this, because I wanted to keep this anchored in fact. How could his supporters respond? He didn't lie about COVID? He didn't laugh about Pelosi's husband? He didn't admit to sexual assault? He didn't say he wanted to tear up parts of the Constitution?
His supporters know these things, and it's OK with them. That is what is upsetting to me.
Years ago I worked in a warehouse from time to time. One of the delivery men was disabled. He limped and had an issue with speech. Danny. That was his name. The other drivers would stand around and mock him. Those are the people who elected Trump.
He gives them permission to be cruel. He allows them to say and feel things that they have to suppress ordinarily. He gives them a sense of freedom and power.
There are those who like his tax policies, and those who like his tariff policies, etc. But people at his rallies aren't thinking of that. They are cheering on the brute. The more brutish he acts, the more excited they get. It reminds me of Ann Jackson's The Lottery. There's a headiness in being part of an impassioned group (mob), a freedom, a primitiveness that ordinarily is forbidden.
I can't watch the news. Every now and then I read a headline so I can keep track of the broad outlines of what's coming. It's sickening. Don't know what to do about it. I think of people in the past, trapped by a government that's gone sideways.
We may need courage, but courage doesn't always help. Do I have that courage? I don't know.
It really helps to read the words of someone who is dismayed by what has happened. 50.2 percent of the electorate voted for him. That means 49.8 of the people did not. There is hope in that number.
I don't think I can listen to Maddow, or anyone else talking about what has happened. Writing my blog was one way of dealing with my emotions. As time passes these may be less raw and I may find other ways to help my country. People to support, organizations to support, someone, something that has potential to affect what is happening.
Yes, I’m in full agreement on all of the above, @agmoore. I’ve had to disconnect too. I put myself on a news diet for my mental health.
I have the same concerns and feelings of despair about the enabling of that mob brutality, and the brutishness of the MAGA movement. That said, one of my points which I really believe in (being a cockeyed optimist) is that it’s just not at all about that for most people. They do want change. They want a bold change agent. And they’re willing to avert their eyes on the negatives that come along with it.
That’s what I’ve had to tell myself, anyway, so I don’t go through life looking at everyone in my path as possibly one of the jerks that helped to unleash the destruction of democracy. I fear that’s where we may be heading, and yet I can’t lose my faith in humanity.
And meanwhile, the people I meet and cross paths with in daily life are kind and good natured. So I can’t even match my real life experience to some of the nasty rhetoric I’ve seen amongst Trump followers in the news. Literally one guy I can think of that I’ve spoken to in the past 9 years was in that camp and had bought into all idealism, bizarre patriotism and angry rhetoric that has emerged out of this movement.
Sigh. We must carry on. And yes, I too will be looking for things to do that are positive and can help counterbalance where things are heading.
⭐️🌈🍁
You really should’ve been an investigative journalist! You handled this debunking most adroitly; pinpointing all the fallacies, falsehoods and pure overriding, roughshod managerial ineptitude.
You’re wonderful @agmoore
Agmoore for president!
😂
I had to do this. People name call, label, generalize. It's like a swamp. I needed to pin the arguments down in reality. Let the people not read this. Let them dismiss its truth. Doesn't matter. This was my catharsis. State my case and then move on and try to protect my country.
Thanks for reading @itsostylish. It was quite a long piece. I didn't really expect anyone to read it all...although the videos are entertaining, although depressing.
Dear @agmoore,
thank you for your post.
Overall I agree. The first term of Trump was not that good.
But I'd like to add nuance to 2 topics.
Economy: there are diverse long and variable lags, both concerning fiscal and monetary decisions as well as regulatory changes. The (absurdly named) inflation reduction act will increase the debt (thus inflation). Both debt and inflation will later be attributed to Trump - though it is caused by Biden. If the economy and the stock market crashes next year, whose responsibility will that be? Trump's? I don't think so. There are diverse cycles (Kuznets cycle, business cycle, secular cycle, ...).
What caused the economic boom during Biden's term? The fact that Biden was/is President? No, it is the result of manifold decisions (by individuals, companies, and government) and coincidences that happened days, months, years ago. What we can say is that the measures during March 2020 (Covid shock) played a (significant) role. Increasing the money supply (by fiscal debt) pushed the economy... and inflation. Covid-related supply chain problems and the Ukraine war also pushed inflation and influenced the economy. The inflation reduction act (which is debt-financed, of course, and which can be attributed to Biden) increased inflation directly, too.
In my opinion, judging a President by the state of the economy during his term is not correct. It's impossible to say, a posteriori, what measure caused what effect and how much exactly.
What we can do is judge political decisions a priori: we can say that increasing debt causes (or rather IS) inflation; enormously increasing regulation is probably going to hamper economic growth and thus the capacity of a society to tackle environment problems.
Wars: Trump was not anti-war nor was his term marked by zero wars. The USA are the global hegemon, the world's policeman. Thus they are always involved in some bigger or smaller conflicts. Trump inherited certain theatres (Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, etc.), mostly by Bush and Obama. Bush engaged in 2 big wars. During Obama's terms the world shattered: Syria fell, Libya fell, Crimea was conquered, Georgia was attacked and carved up, Yemen fell, ... Obama encouraged the terror regime of Iran, he disregarded all of his self-drawn red lines against the butcher Assad. During Biden's time Ukraine was invaded and it is still being ravaged, Israel's civilians were slaughtered by Hamas (funded by Biden via the terrorist organization UNRWA as well as Iran). Terrorist agents such as Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran's regime are waging a genocidal war against Israel, while the Democrats became increasingly anti-Semitic. And we all remember the ugly photos of how Afghanistan fell.
Did something comparable happen in Trump's 4-year term? Why not? I don't know. Perhaps it's coincidence. Perhaps it's Nixon's mad man theory. Perhaps Putin wouldn't dare start a war against a President that seems to be uncalculable?
I wish you a great day,
zuerich
Well done and thank you!
It was a lot of work, but I feel better😇
Thank you!
My heart was aching. I felt it coming. I'm comforted in knowing that all things must play out in their own time for other, more significant events to come to pass. It has been written. The Trump era is only a part (puppet I must say) in the bigger scheme of things.
Thanks for sharing this. I certainly appreciate it.
!LADY
Thank you very much, @justclickindiva. There is so much going around that is inaccurate, so much that is misleading. I can't use the word lies, because that word has been stripped of significance in recent times. I had to do this for me. Even if not one person cared, I had to piece it all together and get it on paper, clear.
I'm hoping for a polite and rational rebuttal. Maybe then I could understand how a good person could justify voting for this man. If the rebuttal is not polite and rational, I will simply ignore it.
Thank you again.
How can one defend the indefensible? I've asked that numerous times over the past eight years.
Maybe that explains the silence.
Probably the two biggest arguments I have seen is that they don't care about his words, they care about his actions. In my opinion, that isn't much better. Also, they claim there were no wars under Trump's administration. I don't think that will be the case this next time.
There are people who also say he did a good job. These are the facts. He didn't. Not only that---he escalated engagements in several instances: Libya, Iran, Syria, Afghanistan. He is more than willing to go to war, and not defensive war. Aggressive war.
If this is the country they want to live in, then I think of other times and other people who have had to live under unsavory governments. All we can do is hope and do our best to protect our country.
I don't disagree with you.