Has Trump Done Anything Right?

Donald Trump is completely incompetent.  If he does something presidential it was probably an accident.  I really believe he is trying to destroy the country although I can't figure out why other than his personal and mental deficiencies.

Below is a list of issues where I disagree with what he is doing.  Some represent failures to honor his presidential oath, others are just illegal, some are flagrant corruption.  Many are just the result of his outrageous stupidity and ignorance.  Some are all four. 

• Incessant lying to confuse all the unpresidential actions the administration is taking. Trump lies about everything.  He lies constantly.  Add to that he can't keep his mouth shut if he thinks he can make himself look good.  This includes spilling  national security issues. 
•  The rule of law is ignored.  Due process is ignored.  Laws that Trump doesn't like are ignored.
• Disdain for the separation of powers as defined in the Constitution.
• Coercion is used to effectively neuter congressional oversight.
• Courts and judges are insulted and abused.  Judicial orders are ignored. 
• Politicization of historically independent agencies like the Department of Justice and the FBI. 
• Executive actions are often invoked to inflict pain and damage on individuals, political enemies, businesses, institutions (independent, public and private).
• Willful cruelty has become a political tool and in some cases, a policy. 
• Willful ignorance as to what made this country the "leader of the free world" and how his actions are diminishing our standing in the world.
• Disrespecting and punishing allies who are not sufficiently obsequious.
• Failure to understand that are allies are part of what make us the most powerful country.  At least we were the most powerful country.  Trump may change that. 
• Putting clearly unqualified people into important positions. 
• DOGE: Every administration is expected to fight waste, fraud and abuse.  They will try to delete, remove or improve the actions of previous administrations, but DOGE seemed like more of an attempt to destroy departments, agencies and civil service employees for no apparent reasons except maybe retribution or spite.  
• Lack of support for Ukraine.
• Reverence for authoritarians. 
• Politicization of the military.  The military is just another tool to protect himself or increase his power.
• Use of the active military for domestic police activities. 
• Politicization of the federal civil service work force. 
• His war on DEI.  His lack of respect for historical individuals and institutions that have helped to make this county great. 
• Denigrating the military service of women. 
• Removal of protections for LGBTQ+ people.  Banning trans individuals from the military.  
• His war on trans individuals, especially trans children and their families. Life can be hard enough for these people without Trump using them as political tools.
• Rewarding MAGA states, sycophants and supporters while punishing political opponents, liberals and blue states.
• Renaming military institutions to honor Confederate soldiers and politicians. 
• Rolling back protections for the environment.   Actions to increase fossil fuel production which includes opening formerly protected federal lands.  Reducing pollution controls on coal fired energy plants.
• Relying on extortion as his primary negotiation strategy.  He is not good negotiator.  He is a bully. 
• Destruction of USAID.
• Dismantling the Department of Education.
• Dismembering agencies like FAA, FDA, NIH, CDC...  
• Disdain for scientific research.  Casual destruction of research which could take years to restart.
• Ignorance of basic scientific facts and a refusal to listen to people who could help him understand these issues.   I think he hates scientists because they obviously know more than he does about their areas of expertise.
• Oblivious to the harm his rash actions cause. 
• Destroying ongoing research in many areas of study. 
• Attacks on the freedom of the press and attacks/de-funding of PBS, NPR, CPB, Voice of America and related communication agencies that promote democracy and truthful reporting around the world. 
• Tariffs.
• Disrespecting and punishing allies who are not sufficiently obsequious. 
• Attacks against out allies. Especially the bullying of  Canada, Greenland, Mexico, Panama, Europe, NATO, etc.
• Border and immigration issues.  What started as a policy to deport illegal immigrants who had committed serious crimes became actions to roundup and deport many non-citizens for no apparent reasons.  People who are here legally were also caught up in their lawlessness.  Some were arrested without warning by people who were not clearly identifiable as legal officers of the government, forced into vehicles with nothing that identified them as official vehicles and then they were moved around the country and out of the country to prevent them from getting the legal support they were entitled to. 
• Attacks on higher education.  Our higher education institutions were the envy of the world.  Trump wants to destroy them or make them subservient to the administration.  Especially Harvard which Trump clearly wants to destroy. 
• Measures were taken to intimidate foreign students in the U.S. to force them to leave the country.  That is so stupid.
• Corruption.  Using his position as president to enrich himself, his family and key supporters.
• Meme Coins.
• Special rewards for  people who buy large amounts of Trump's meme coin.
• The Qatari luxury jet.
• Openly selling presidential access. 
• Trumps relatives and friends making money off of their relation to him.
• Trump's eagerness to financially hurt working people so he can reward the rich.  
• Pardons of the January 6th rioters and other pardons seemingly to help Trump supporters. 
• Despite his outrageous boasting, Trump realizes he is not the smartest and most knowledgeable person.  Many of his actions are attempts to hide his very, very low self esteem.  This mental anguish is so debilitating he spends a great deal of effort trying to make other people convince him he is really great.  His desire for to remake the rose garden, add big flag poles around the White House, win a Nobel Prize, have his bust added to Mount Rushmore, put his picture up in multiple places in the White House, get his own opulent Air Force One are all examples of desire to cement his historical legacy and make him feel important.  It would all be very sad if his mental deficiencies were not hurting all of us. 

I will add more issues as I identify them.  Trump is obviously proud of his ability to break all the laws, rules and norms he can so we can all expect more outrageous acts. Please comment on any issues I've missed.

No DEI For Republicans

Republicans have been complaining for years that higher education in the U.S. is too liberal and has been treating conservative scholars and students badly.

They want to see more conservative faculty, students and administrators in higher education.  They want more respect for conservative thought and policies.  They want a full seat at the table.

Sorry Republicans, that sounds like DEI. 

Why The Hell Destroy Harvard?

Why the hell is Trump trying to destroy Harvard?  His purported reason is that they haven't done enough to suppress antisemitism on campus.  Of course that is bullshit.  Just  another of Trump's continuous string of  lies. 

Does Harvard have some problems?  Name one institution that doesn't have some.  Are some Jewish students feeling uncomfortable on campus?  Well of course.  Jews have faced prejudice for millennia.  They may be facing more now because of the current war in Gaza.  I deplore antisemitism, but I also deplore Israel's current actions in Gaza.   

Antisemitism is not a justification for the multiple actions Trump is taking against Harvard.  What is Trump really trying to accomplish by going after Harvard?  My guess he wants to show Harvard (and all of us and the world) that he has power over everyone and everything.  Harvard is a widely respected institution and Trump wants to make sure that even they have to kneel to him.  He really does want to be king of the world.

Higher education in the U.S. is the envy of the world.  Many of the worlds best scholars and researchers want to work at Harvard.  The most talented students from around the world want to study at Harvard.  Harvard is a power house of research and an engine of academic advancement.  Harvard's affect on the economy and health of the world is tremendous. 

Yet Trump seems to relish the idea of destroying the institution and its on-going research.  He wants to make Harvard less appealing to foreign researchers and students.

Why is he doing this?  If Trump destroys Harvard or brings the institution to its knees, will antisemitism be decreased?  I don't think so.

The fact that Trump is trying to destroy for no valid reason just shows how significant his mental decline is.

Trump Is Not Presidential And Is Getting Worse

I'm having trouble putting the word "President" in front of Trump.  I know he won the election, but practically every day he does something that is clearly not presidential.

He seems to be working very hard to destroy this country.  I'm not sure why.  My guess is there are four impulses that are driving him.  

First, he is a narcissist  He only cares about himself. He does not care about anyone else except to the extent he can use them to bolster his ego or increase his wealth.  His obvious corruption and lawlessness doesn't bother him as long as it helps him. He is deeply flawed psychologically.

Second. as has been pointed out by many people, he is transactional.  He makes decisions on what to do or say by calculating what the most beneficial action would be for him personally in that particular moment.  It is reported that he doesn't read his daily intelligence briefings.  We have to depend on him to keep us, the country and the world safe, but he shows no interest protecting anyone or anything except himself.

His transactional method of governing explains his most significant and obvious personality trait, constant lying.  If Trump says something, there is a better than even chance he is lying.  That is why he can say something and then soon after say the exact opposite.  Both of the contradicting statements were true to him when he said them; even if the first true statement was reversed later.   

Trump never admits a mistake.  So you won't hear an apology or a reason.  He feels it would be weak to admit a mistake.  He only admits to a mistake when doing so would benefit him.  And even then he will claim that the mistake was caused by someone else.

Trump continually violates his oath of office to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States".  He has dismantled important independent agencies such as the  Department of Justice and the FBI.  He neutered the legislative branch and he is trying to destroy the judiciary.  He insults and alienates our  allies.  He is trying to destroy important institutions such as Harvard for seemingly no reason.

Third, Trump can hold a grudge for a long time. Trump promised to be the president for everyone in the country, not just the people who voted for him.  That is clearly not the case.  The pardoning of January 6th rioters is a good example.  Another is his actions that benefit states or groups he considers part of the MAGA movement while trying to hurt states or groups that are not MAGA.

Fourth, Trump's mental condition is declining rapidly.  Republicans have been making a lot of noise about Joe Biden's mental health while he was in office.  I wonder if any Republicans are thinking about how and when they are going to be faced with removing Trump from office?  My guess is they are hoping for some health issue bad enough that it is obvious he can no longer perform his duties as president (as if he ever has actually performed like a president).

Trump was never fit to be president in his first term and he is much worse this time around.  

I worry that without some help from Republicans Trump will irreparably damage our  country before we can vote in a Democratic legislative majority next November.  And that assumes enough voters wake up and see how dangerous Trump is.