It’s quite possible that the greatest legacy of the Trump presidency will be a lesson in how important it is to vote. Good people who ignore or even hate politics learned that politics actively shapes the quality of their lives. I believe the majority of Americans are decent and reasonable people who want the best for themselves and their loved ones. I also believe that most Americans knew that Trump wasn’t fit for the White House. And yet, a full third of eligible citizens sat out the 2024 presidential election. And today we are collectively experiencing the consequences of their failure to vote. I pray that by the 2026 midterms this November and the 2028 presidential election those people will make voting a priority. What we have right now is nothing short of a fiasco comprised of decisions being made by Trump’s poor judgement, oversized ego, and ignorance.
Trump followed the Project 2025 playbook and surrounded himself with loyalist who would follow his every command no matter how ill-conceived. He handed over the federal government to Elon Musk and three inexperienced 20-year-olds who decimated federal agencies and the federal work force without regard for their crucial knowledge base and it’s efficient functioning moving forward. In the end, DOGE didn’t save much money and we lost services. In fact, federal spending in 2025 actually increased 6% (co-pilot) and tax revenues dropped because of less IRS enforcement. By most accounts, DOGE was a shortsighted failure that cost innocent government workers their jobs, is responsible for the death of millions who relied on U.S. aide for food and medicine and caused the loss of government competency and accountability.
The fiasco continued with the imposition of “illegal” tariffs on most of the world as Trump tried to convince the American people that tariffs were paid by foreign governments and not by the companies who import goods and passed on the cost to consumers. Of course, all he did was destroy our trade relationships, disrupt commerce, put farmers in peril, close small businesses that depend on imports, and cause prices to rise. Then the Supreme Court finally stepped in and confirmed that his tariffs were illegal without congress as the Constitution clearly states. But the damage was already done.
Then there are his mass deportation efforts. He claimed he was going to rid the country of violent criminal illegally in the country when in fact the vast majority of people detained are not criminals at all and a good number are not even here illegally. In an outlandish move, untrained ICE agents of questionable backgrounds were given the right to violate the due process rights of anyone they came into contact with in order to fill “for profit” concentration camps before deporting people to other parts of the world. The disregard for basic human rights and even the constitutional rights of citizens through brutality led to the unlawful death of protesters Renee Good and Alex Paredy. Those two murdering ICE agents still have not been prosecuted. The cruel and unlawful actions of ICE rightfully led to protests across the nation and the eventual replacement of that weird puppy-killing Cos-playing ICE director, Kristi Noem.
That brings us to the Epstein Files. Trump promised folks that he would release the files, but instead has been ordering his FBI and Justice Department to hide the fact of his extensive involvement and deep friendship with Epstein. Trump is implicated as not only knowing what Epstein was up to, but of being an active participant. Most people believe that we have an unprosecuted pedophile in the White House. And now we are seeing evidence that the first lady is a former prostitute. The whole Epstein fiasco along with the failed attempts to prosecute Trump’s political rivals, critics, and criminal prosecutors led to the firing of Pam Bondi. Now we have Todd Blanche as acting Attorney General who was his former defense attorney. He is under investigation for defrauding the court by agreeing to a $1.8 billion dollar “weaponization fund” designed to give people money who were prosecuted for crimes related to supporting Trump and a tax immunity deal for Trump, his family members, and his businesses. It’s plain crazy that this whole nonsense is to settle Trump’s lawsuit bogus $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS (under his own Administration) for leaking his tax returns. Thankfully more than 30 judges saw through the ruse and filed briefs with the court to stop it.
We have to contend with the illegal war in Iran that he started that has cost the life of 160 innocent middle school girls, about 4,000 Iranian soldiers, and 13 American soldiers for nothing in addition to billions of our tax dollars. In addition, this war has turned the world upside down as oil and fertilizer are held up in the Strait of Hormuz. Gas prices have soared and food shortages are expected to further raise the price of food. The MOU Trump signed has politicians, historians, and analysts disgusted by the actual concessions to Iran and the weakening of the U.S. position regarding Iran’s nuclear weapons. Nothing was gained by attacking Iran. The fact that the French president, Emmanuel Macron, mocked Trump by having him publicly sign the MOU at Versailles where the Germans surrendered is not lost on anyone but the feckless Trump Administration.
The list of messes we are enduring with the Trump Administration is long and includes the appointment of ridiculously unqualified cabinet members, the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, the silly and wasteful military parade no one wanted, plastering his name on the Kennedy Center and taking over the chairmanship only to have entertainers withdraw and the court rule that his name has to be taken off the building. Then there was that vulgar UFC fight at the White House. Hegseth removed the flu shot mandate and of course, soldiers are getting sick in numbers so high, that he has to restore the mandate. JFK, Jr. ushered in the return of measles, and we are unprepared for a new pandemic. There are the attempts to erase or rewrite history and eliminate the contributions of people of color from the public record. Trump’s insider trading to enrich himself and his family is by far the most corrupt thing we have ever seen. The fact that independent agencies like the FCC, FBI, Homeland Security, and the DOJ are doing his bidding counter to the welfare of the American citizens is difficult to stomach.
We are watching the erosion of our nation and its reputation in real time. Finding a new channel that isn’t afraid to report the news is difficult. Trusting that our government will act in our collective best interest is no longer a given.
The fiasco at the reflecting pool clearly demonstrates where we are. Trump gave his pool guy a $14 million no bid contract to beautify the reflecting pool, because clearly aesthetics, not the welfare of the American people, are his priority. The pool was drained, sealed, painted blue and then filled with water. Of course, algae quickly set in and the blue became green. So, they poured in jugs of hydrogen peroxide. The algae around the edges dissipated but the blue paint began to peel. So now, for $14-million dollars, we have a reflecting pool full of algae and peeling blue paint.
The fact of the matter is that Trump destroys everything he touches. And right now, he is destroying our country. I hope those who didn’t vote in 2024, realize that voting truly does matter and that they will move heaven and earth to vote from now on.