Canadien Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos was a magnificent example of what leadership and statesmanship look like. Trump’s speech was yet another rambling, self-serving, pile of hogwash which was a complete embarrassment to the United States. America has become the laughingstock of the entire world. We might have a cornucopia of bombs, rockets, and bullets, but Trump has destroyed almost everything else that once made this country the envy of the world.
I will be the first to admit this country certainly has a checkered past and has not entirely lived up to its stated ideals. If anyone has any doubts about that, I encourage you to read Howard Zinn’s book, “A People’s History of the United States.” However, even with our faults, we were generally viewed as the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave.” In general, we were a country that abided by the Constitution and the Rule of Law. We were a trusted ally with many countries around the world and when Trump took office, we had an economy that was the envy of the world.
The only thing that remains today is the bombs, rockets, and bullets. Trump has shattered virtually every alliance the US had build up over decades since World War II. Countries such as Canada and Mexico which are, or were, the two largest trading partners for the United States now look on the US with suspicion because of the threats Trump has made against each of those countries. In fact, Mark Carney just negotiated a trade deal with China because he realized the US could no longer be trusted. Don’t be surprised if Mexico does exactly the same thing.
The Rule of Law has become a joke in this country. Trump pardons convicted criminals on the sole basis of whether or not they support him. Pam Bondi has made the Department of Justice an organization that genuflects only to Trump rather than to protect and defend the Constitution which she swore to do. The DOJ has truly become something right out of Alice in Wonderland where everything is just flipped on its head – right is wrong, up is down, justice is in the eye of the beholder which in the current case is Trump.
Federal agents are terrorizing primarily blue American cities and states simply because they didn’t vote for Trump in the last election or they have been critical of his policies – which by the way is a right of all citizens under the Constitution. They are undertaking these invasions under the guise of capturing and deporting ‘the worst of the worst’ undocumented immigrants and that has been proven false repeatedly. It is really an ethnic purge against anyone who isn’t white. It is also to normalize the scene of federal agents or military personnel on the streets of American cities in the run up to the 2026 elections. It is about intimidation.
The United States has a long history of criticizing rigged elections around the world because we were the land of free and fair elections. That was true until Trump and his toadies came along to plant the seeds of doubts by continuing to propagate the ‘Big Lie.’ We are now facing an election that is likely to one of the most problematic in American history. Republican led states are doing Trump’s bidding by engaging in gerrymandering to try to secure their hold on seats in the House. Republican led states have passed numerous laws that are making it more difficult for people to vote – and those laws usually target voters who tend to vote Democratic. State election boards have been populated with election deniers from the 2020 election fiasco. Trump has threatened to seize ballot boxes and machines so he or his minions can count the votes and we all know how that will work out. In short, we have become the type of third world country that we used to rail against.
Trump campaigned on a promise to ‘drain the swamp.’ The fact is, he has replaced the swamp with a cesspool filled with corruption, widespread and sanctioned lying, capricious retribution, racism and misogyny, a black hole for US tax dollars, complete contempt for the Rule of Law and the Constitution, and malevolent behavior towards the American people and our allies. We can hope that ‘we the people’ will take action to drain this cesspool staring in November. However, even if that comes to pass, the stench left by this administration will be on this country for years.
