With the election rapidly approaching, I thought this would be a good time to recap the discussions that I have read and heard over the last few weeks. I know I am not going to change any tRumper’s minds, but these are my thoughts…
YES! I have NO respect for the current occupant of the Oval Office. And, I MAKE NOT APOLOGIES for that fact.
I respect the office, however the man that occupies the office is beyond redemption. He refuses to condemn the white supremacy and anti-Semitism movements, has called Mexicans druggies and rapists and called for the banning of all Muslims from entering the country. Now, he is calling for the arrest of his political opponents -just like a third world dictator. Always playing the victim, his narcissistic personality is an anathema to the office. I believe in total transparency and when we have a President that has lied, misinformed and misled at the rate this guy has, it is unforgivable.
While most tRump supporters point to the “great results” of this administration and point to the economy as their proof, I challenge that assumption based on $2.5 trillion in deficits, and terrible GDP results. The economy measures are more than the stock market (which incidentally, has not performed as well as it did under Obama) and tax cuts to the wealthy. The average American is in a worse financial position today than when tRump took office.
Our standing in the World order has taken a significant hit over the last 3.5 years. Respect for our Country is at an all time low. When we have an administration that doesn’t believe in science, belittles experts in the field of climate change and states that “science doesn’t know” in response to natural disasters, it is no wonder that publications like the Medical Journals and Science Journals that have NEVER previously weighed in on an election are calling for his defeat. It is also no wonder that so many retired Military officers and Government officials who have always supported the Republican Party have abandoned tRump as a viable candidate.
I am tired of listening to the trope that tRump has accomplished so much even though the main- stream media and the left have tried to impede him. There are currently 213,000 dead people in this country because of his incompetence in the handling of the pandemic. From the beginning, he downplayed the problem, stated it would go away, was a hoax and like a miracle, it would disappear. Meanwhile, he eviscerated Governors that tried to take steps to curb the rapid spread, even calling for the “liberation” of certain states.
Former vaccine director, Rick Bright, who filed a whistleblower complain against tRump said: "The messaging that President Trump gave to Americans and the world when he left the hospital...is probably the most reckless, deadly piece of information I have ever heard. This virus is deadly." I for one, choose to listen to the Doctors and the Scientists.
tRump’s embracing our enemies such as Putin and North Korea have put us in a disadvantage in dealing with these foes. His trade war with China is a colossal mess with the American consumer being the ones that are having to pay for the increased costs. Not to mention the devastation to the American Farmer.
Now his statements that the election is "rigged" and casting disparity open the legality of the vote does nothing but further his attempt to erode democracy, suppress the vote and cheat his way to office. But that shouldn't be surprising as that is how he has operated during his entire business career. Stiffing contractors, suing or being sued more than any other business executive, violating civil rights fair housing rules are just some of his failures. He is one of the only people that bankrupted a business where people literally give you their money. His business bankruptcies and failures are too many to list. A great businessman and negotiator? More like a carnival barker and conman.
Finally, let’s look at some of the “promises” he made in 2016 and since…….
1. He said coronavirus would “go away without a vaccine.” You bought it. But it didn’t. While other countries got the pandemic under control and avoided large numbers of fatalities, the virus has killed more than 213,000 Americans, and that number is still climbing.
2. He said he won’t have time to play golf if elected president. But he has made more than 250 visits to his golf clubs since he took office—a record for any president—including more trips during the pandemic than meetings with Dr. Fauci. The total financial cost to America? More than $136 million.
3. He said he would repeal the Affordable Care Act, and replace it with something “beautiful.” It didn’t happen. Instead, seven million Americans have lost their health insurance since he took office. He has asked the Supreme Court to strike down the law in the middle of a global pandemic with no plan to replace it.
4. He said he’d cut your taxes, and that the super-rich like him would pay more. He did the opposite. By 2027, the richest 1 percent will have received 83 percent of the Trump tax cut and the richest 0.1 percent, 60 percent of it. But more than half of all Americans will pay more in taxes.
5. He said corporations would use their tax cuts to invest in American workers. They didn’t. Corporations spent more of their tax savings buying back shares of their own stock than increasing workers’ wages.
6. He said he would boost economic growth by 4 percent a year. Nope. The economy stalled, and unemployment has soared to the highest levels since the Great Depression. Just over half of working-age Americans are employed—the worst ratio in 70 years.
7. He said he wouldn’t “cut Social Security like every other Republican and I’m not going to cut Medicare or Medicaid.” His latest budget includes billions in cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
8. He promised to be “the voice” of American workers. He hasn’t. His administration has stripped workers of their rights, repealed overtime protections, rolled back workplace safety rules, and turned a blind eye to employers who steal their workers’ wages.
9. He promised that the average American family would see a $4,000 pay raise because of his tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations. But nothing trickled down. Wages for most Americans have barely kept up with inflation.
10. He promised that anyone who wants a test for COVID will get one. But countless Americans still can’t get a test.
11. He said hydroxychloroquine protects against coronavirus. No way. The FDA revoked its emergency authorization due to the drug’s potentially lethal side effects.
12. He promised to eliminate the federal deficit. He has increased the federal deficit by more than 60 percent.
13. He said he would hire “only the best people.” He has fired a record number of his own Cabinet and White House picks, and then called them “whackos,” “dumb as a rock,” and “not mentally qualified.” Six of them have been charged with crimes.
14. He promised to bring down the price of prescription drugs and said drug companies are “getting away with murder.” They still are. Drug prices have soared, and a company that got federal funds to develop a drug to treat coronavirus is charging $3,000 a pop.
15. He promised to revive the struggling coal industry and bring back lost coal mining jobs. The coal industry has continued to lose jobs as clean energy becomes cheaper.
16. He promised to help American workers during the pandemic. But 80 percent of the tax benefits in the coronavirus stimulus package have gone to millionaires and billionaires. And at least 21 million Americans have lost extra unemployment benefits, with no new stimulus check to fall back on.
17. He said he’d drain the swamp. Instead, he’s brought into his administration more billionaires, CEOs, and Wall Street moguls than in any administration in history, and he’s filled departments and agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers, and consultants who are crafting new policies for the same industries they used to work for.
18. He promised to protect Americans with pre-existing conditions. His Justice Department is trying to repeal the entire Affordable Care Act, including protections for people with pre-existing conditions.
19. He said Mexico would pay for his border wall. The wall will cost American taxpayers an estimated $11 billion.
20. He promised to bring peace to the Middle East. Instead, tensions have increased and his so-called “peace plan” was dead on arrival.
21. He promised to lock up Hillary Clinton for using a private email server. He didn’t. Funny enough, Trump uses his personal cellphone for official business, and several members of his own administration, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka, have used private email in the White House.
22. He promised to use his business experience to whip the federal government into shape. He hasn’t. His White House is in permanent chaos. He caused the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history when he didn’t get funding for his wall.
23. He promised to end DACA. The Supreme Court ruled that his plan to deport 700,000 young immigrants was unconstitutional, and DACA still stands.
24. He promised “six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.” He hasn’t delivered.
25. He promised to bring an end to Kim Jong Un’s nuclear program. Kim is expanding North Korea’s nuclear program.
26. He said he would distance himself from his businesses while in office. He continues to make money from his properties and maintain his grip on his real estate empire.
27. He said he’d force companies to keep jobs in America, and that there would be consequences for companies that shipped jobs abroad. Since he took office, companies like GE, Carrier, Ford, and Harley Davidson have continued to outsource thousands of jobs while still receiving massive tax breaks. And offshoring by federal contractors has increased.
28. He promised to end the opioid crisis. Americans are now more likely to die from an opioid overdose than a car accident.
29. He said he’d release his tax returns. It’s been nearly four years. He hasn’t released his tax returns.
30. He promised to tear up the Iran nuclear deal and renegotiate a better deal. Negotiations have gone nowhere, and he brought us to the brink of war.
31. He promised to enact term limits for all members of Congress. He has not even tried to enact term limits.
32. He promised that China would pay for tariffs on imported goods. His trade war has cost U.S. consumers $34 billion a year, eliminated 300,000 American jobs, and cost American taxpayers $22 billion in subsidies for farmers hurt by the tariffs.
33. He promised to “push colleges to cut the skyrocketing cost of tuition.” Instead, he’s made it easier for for-profit colleges to defraud students, and tuition is still rising.
34. He promised to protect American steel jobs. The steel industry continues to lose jobs.
35. He promised tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations would spur economic growth and pay for themselves. His tax cuts will add $2 trillion to the federal deficit.
36. After pulling out of the Paris climate accord, he said he’d negotiate a better deal on the environment. He hasn’t attempted to negotiate any deal.
37. He promised that the many women who accused him of sexual misconduct “will be sued after the election is over.” He hasn’t sued them, presumably because he doesn’t want the truth to come out.
38. He promised to bring back all troops from Afghanistan. He now says: “We’ll always have somebody there.”
39. He pledged to put America first. Instead, he’s deferred to dictators and authoritarians at America’s expense, and ostracized our allies—who now laugh at us behind our back.
40. He promised to be the voice of the common people. He’s made his rich friends richer, increased the political power of big corporations and the wealthy, and harmed working Americans.
So, those are the facts…not alternative facts, not made-up facts. By all measure he has FAILED! So, if you want to believe that tRump is good for this Country, that is your right..but I am just not buying it!
And The Journey Continues…..
