June 19, 2020

Years ago, before retiring, I was pursuing a very large project in a country that, shall we say, didn’t have a lot of transparency in how things got done.  It was challenging and very frustrating at times, but even more so for the executives that I worked for.   They asked me questions for which I had no answers and often became impatient at the lack of transparency I was able to provide on when or if this project was really going to happen.  At one point, they (against my advice) hired a consulting company that was headed up by the former CIA station chief at the US Embassy in this particular country.  After a few weeks, he came back with his report that really had no new information in it and told the executives that trying to clearly understand what was going on was like looking at a pond of dark muddy water that was filled with all kinds of aquatic life.  You could see from the roiling surface of the water that there was a lot of activity going on, but you couldn’t really see enough to fully understand what was actually happening.    This is the perfect analogy for the Trump administration.

If you look back over the last three and a half years, there is one constant – Trump, supported by his sycophants, has done everything in his power to minimize, obfuscate or block any and all attempts to provide oversight or transparency into his presidency.    There must be a reason.     And this should concern every single citizen.   It’s our country.  It’s our taxpayer dollars.  It’s the fate of our children.   Don’t we at least have the right to see how decisions are made?  How money is spent?  Who we are making strategic alliances with?  

Trump promised during the campaign to release his tax returns.  He lied.  He is the first president in modern history to do this.  And he has used the Dept. of the Treasury, his personal lawyers and the Department of Justice to keep these documents from being released.  Any reasonable person should ask ‘why’?

 He has refused almost all requests to provide witnesses to most Congressional Committees, even if those individuals have been issued legal subpoenas.   Even Nixon didn’t go as far as Trump. This White House is operating above the law. I wonder what would happen if we all ignored subpoenas?

He met with Vladimir Putin for almost two hours with no other US officials there and then confiscated the interpreter’s notes.  That is totally unprecedented, not to mention dangerous.

He has severely limited the number of people who can participate in calls with foreign leaders after the whistleblower came forward about the Ukraine call.  

He fires people left and right with no justification, even though in some of these positions, a justification is legally required to be provided to Congress (which he ignores).  The replacements he puts in place have one qualification – they espouse loyalty to Trump.  (I’ve been under the obviously mistaken belief that people were supposed to swear an oath to uphold the Constitution).  He continues to surround himself with acolytes whether they are qualified or not.  The most significant qualification in this administration is loyalty to Trump – not loyalty to the Constitution

He and his administration most recently have stated that Congress has no oversight over $ 1 trillion that they authorized under the CARES stimulus program. These are taxpayer dollars!!! It is not a Trump administration slush fund!!

And, of course, there is the all-out assault in trying to silence John Bolton and the publication of his book and others before him who have tried to speak out.  When anyone speaks out against Trump or his administration, he and his minions immediately launch a smear campaign and engage in full fledged character assassination.   The message is clear – no one should dare speak out against Trump!!!

Finally, he is constantly lying – about everything.   Most of these lies are provably false and yet he continues. 

If this administration is allowed another four years and the Republicans retain control of the Senate, this situation will get even worse.  The first term will look like it was conducted under a spotlight compared to what will happen in a second term. Accountability and transparency will be forgotten concepts in American democracy.

And here are a few more prognostications for a second Trump term.  I seriously hope I’m wrong, but after all of the reading I’ve done on how dictators come to power, I don’t think anything I’m going to say is much of a stretch. 

1. There will be a significant increase in white supremacist groups.  They are essentially unchecked now and will be even more so in a second term.  They will become more visible and more vocal in their support of Trump.
2. There will be a significant increase in racial unrest and rather than address any of the root causes, Trump will use the ‘bigger hammer’ approach and protests will be violently put down.  If it gets too bad, Trump may even take the opportunity to declare martial law.
3. There will be a significant increase in the sale of fire arms.  This will not help make the country safer but will lead to more gun related deaths.
4. Unfortunately, RBG probably won’t make it another 4 years and Trump will pick an ultra-conservative judge to replace her on the Supreme Court.  Roe v Wade will be overturned.  (And regardless of where you stand on this issue – it isn’t worth the price of our democracy!)
5. The overturning of Roe v. Wade will lead to a black-market abortion business that will be exploited by criminal networks.  It will lead to even more division in this country.
6. Restrictions on non-white, non-Christian immigrants will become the most restrictive in the nation’s history.
7. Given the ballooning national debt, social programs will be gutted – including Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and most other programs that many of the poor depend upon
8. The gap between the wealthiest in this country and everyone else will continue to widen
9. Trump will try to put restrictions on the press and if he’s successful at packing the Supreme Court, may even be successful
10. Trump will threaten to pull out of the G7 if Russia is not re-admitted. 
11. Trump may even pull out of NATO and attempt to negotiate new deals with Russia and China at the expense of NATO. Our allies around the world will find that they can no longer count on the US and alliances that have stood for years will be irreparably damaged.
12. I truly believe Trump will try to repeal or circumvent the 22^nd Amendment limiting any one person to two terms as president.
13. Lastly, the United States, once viewed as the ‘Shining City on a Hill’ which stood as the beacon of democracy around the world, will become irrelevant on the world stage.   China and Russia will be more than happy to fill the vacuum.

I’m sure many will look at this list and say, “That can never happen.”   I wish I could be so sure.  Given all of the mounting evidence, not one thing on this list is beyond the realm of possibility.