Don't Fall for the Trump Outrage Machine
Stay focused
Many of Donald Trump’s actions are for show. He understands how to work the media—whether it’s remarks about Mexican "rapists," immigrants "eating pets," or a laundry list of other inflammatory statements. He’s done this so many times that, while you don’t expect him to say anything meaningful, you still end up hanging on to every word and watching his every move.
He regularly generates media waves to shape narratives to his advantage. This nonstop barrage exhausts you, me, the media, the opposition, and many others around the world. The latest wave he’s stirred up involves the reckless appointments he recently announced.
Matt Gaetz for Attorney General and Tulsi Gabbard for Director of National Intelligence. I was surprised he hasn’t yet announced his pick for the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; perhaps Marjorie Taylor Greene should remain hopeful.
Some of these outrage appointments are likely to fail in the Senate.
Mitch McConnell: 53rd vote
Lisa Murkowski: 52
Susan Collins: 51
John Cornyn: 50
Done.
Until a replacement arrives, imagine the collective time we’ll have wasted, while Trump and his allies quietly work behind the scenes to steer the country toward autocracy.
Rather than being distracted by outrageous appointments, we need to stay focused on strategic picks like Tom Homan as Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Stephen Miller as Homeland Security Advisor, and Elon Musk to lead the newly proposed Department of Efficiency.
Team Trump is gearing up to deliver the “mass deportation” plan promised on the campaign trail, and there’s a 100% guarantee they will initiate a trade war with China. A sudden drop in the workforce, combined with tariff-induced price increases, will stoke inflation and startle the economy. How bad? That will depend on how aggressively they pursue their agenda, but it could range from messy to gloriously messy.
One of the first actions leaders with autocratic ambitions take is to target agencies responsible for collecting, analyzing, and disseminating statistical data:
U.S. Census Bureau
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)
National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and more
The Department of Labor is crucial here, as it’s responsible for tracking the Consumer Price Index and Producer Price Index. We need to keep a close watch on any actions affecting these agencies. If they start interfering, we could be in serious trouble. They can’t overhaul everything overnight, but unless we stay vigilant and push back against any attempts to manipulate these agencies, we’re headed down a slippery slope.
Thankfully, the GOP will have only a wafer-thin majority in the House, which means not everything they aim for will be achievable. But they’re going to try. If they try to create an environment for manipulating data, a strong pushback will be essential.
We’ve done this before. The massive backlash against GOP attempts to dismantle the ACA forced them to step back. It can be done again, but it must be selective; constant resistance dilutes its impact. Our focus must be on any moves that edge the country closer to autocracy.
As for the rest, we can take the punch.
If most things are for show, here is my thought on the round-up of migrants: that will also not happen in every state to the extent feared, possibly. There will be an extravagant, horrible show in blue state cities, but not rural and agricultural areas. The made-for-TV shows and appeasement of MAGA rage will be at the extent of some blue city economies, but not the red states or their economies. After all, he does not want to collapse the dairies and decrease the slaughterhouse outputs and increase the price of meat and strawberries and lettuce. Time will tell whether I am guessing correctly.
From The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, Stephen Covey writes that’ the principles of fairness, of integrity and honesty, of human dignity; the principle of service to others, the striving for excellence and the principle of potential; that we can grow and develop more and more talents. These are natural laws that are woven into the fabric of every civilized society throughout history and comprise the roots of every family and institution that has endured and prospered. These principles are part of every enduring religious tradition, as well as enduring social philosophies and ethical systems throughout the history of human civilization.
However, today we live in a world where opinions are conflated with facts and there has been a complete eradication of values from those in control who wield enormous power and wealth. It’s becoming the new ‘normal’. We are like a runaway train. We need to bring out the better angels in ourselves, to allow for the flowering of our humanity and work together to save our planet, and save our democracy from the New Robber Barons running this whole shit-show before we lose everything. The people in control are not going to do it, so it has to be a grassroots movement, starting with our family, friends, co-workers, and communities. America will lose its freedom, its democracy if Trump is re-elected. And once you lose a democracy, history has shown us, you never get it back.
While we were scrolling through our soul cages, anticipating the next tweet, clicks, ‘news feeds’, friends and search engines four to five hours a day, drinking from the fountain of deceit, manipulation, and exploitation for your daily dose of confirmation bias, it pains me to say it, but you have all been led like sheep for the slaughter, and oops, there goes democracy, there goes saving the planet, feeding the poor and fixing the broken system. But if you have been led too far down the rabbit-hole of your soul cages, you will actually believe that a crowd of crooked and unhinged megalomaniacs are going to lead you to the promised land.