Donald Trump ran for president in 2023 with campaign promises to make America great again by creating more manufacturing and other jobs for real Americans who are struggling to pay the bills and to put American interests first. Regardless of whether or not you think that’s what’s been happening, consider the following.
How many businesses have opened or expanded since Trump was elected to a second term? Instead companies are reluctant to make any long-term business decisions because the on-off tariffs make it impossible to predict future markets. Instead Trump is steering the economy towards AI, cryptocurrency and robots (which ironically will replace real American workers). Also, most real Americans don’t have the qualifications to work in these industries. And since he calls all claims of fossil-fuel burning adding to global warming are a bunch of hoaxes, he is promising a green light to drill baby drill for oil and natural gas, and to reopening coal mines so that the huge demands for electricity to run AI computers will be met. Yes these industries provide jobs for many real Americans, but the truth is that oil, natural gas and coal is becoming less profitable, when compared to wind and solar, causing job reductions in those three industries.
America first? How is it that Trump can find funds to help starving Argentinians, but can’t find any to continue SNAP benefits for Americans? Or because Hungary is landlocked he won’t impose sanctions if the country buys oil from Russia so Hungarians won’t freeze. But he is considering ending fuel assistance program funding for Americans. So it’s OK for Americans to freeze?
The massive tariffs he imposed on China backfired when it canceled massive soybean contacts with American agribusinesses. Now he will subsidize those millionaire farmers’ losses with taxes raised from tariffs on other countries. And he’s agreed to lower tariff on Chinese goods to 10% now that China has agreed to resume importing American soybeans. Great for huge farms but consider what he’s doing to small rural American farms. Our local farmers were awarded grant money for expensive vital improvement on their farms only to have Trump cancel the payments leaving the farmers stuck with huge debts which may cause some to go under.
Trump’s executive orders are primarily aimed at concentrating all branches of government under executive control. What other reason is there for condoning Texas for redrawing Republican voting districts, but condemning California for redrawing their Democratic districts? If Republicans continue to control the House and Senate, he can continue to impose his orders without any successful resistance. By threatening to withhold grant money to left-leaning universities or licenses to liberal media outlets, he can control education and the news to suit him. Once he has all that control he will barrel ahead with his plan to make it real easy for the rich to get richer with the collateral damage being born by the rest of us.
He claims the economy is in great shape based on the stock market and 401K upturns. How many real Americans have substantial investments in the stock market or in 401K plans? He wanted to have Hunter Biden crucified for allegedly using his father’s position as president to make cushy deals with Ukrainian businesses but it’s perfectly OK for Donald Jr. and Eric to do the same with Saudi Arabian businesses. And isn’t the use of the Presidential Seal to promote his TrumpCoin against the Emolument Clause? What about accepting a gift of a luxury airplane from a foreign adversary?
Were they real Americans who threw feces at the walls in the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2020 and then given get-out-of-jail cards? In a Trump world someone can be arrested for throwing a sandwich at an ICE agent, with no chance of being pardoned. And speaking of his fight against crime, why didn’t he call out the National Guard in 2020 to stop the crimes being committed in Washington D.C. but did so in 2025 when the mayor didn’t want or ask for the Guard to be deployed to the city?
And moving on, speaking of feces, do real Americans really want someone running this country to spend his time using AI to generate a post on social media of him piloting a jet fighter while wearing a king’s crown and dumping brown stuff on Americans peacefully protesting his kingly approach to running their government? Or someone who knowingly spreads lies about Haitian immigrants eating Americans’ pets in Springfield, Ohio to scare people into voting for him? Or claiming he could shoot someone in the middle of New York’s Fifth Avenue and not lose any votes? Or someone who proudly boasts of grabbing women’s private parts? Or what about someone who orders the killing of foreign nationals without first proving they were guilty of drug trafficking? Or did real Americans say it was OK for their tenant to tear down the East Wing to build a gold encrusted ballroom, so unlike anything in a real American’s house?
So my suggestion is that in Trump’s world MAGA doesn’t stand for Make America Great Again, but more like Make America Greedy Again. That way he, his family, his buddies at the Heritage Foundation (remember now, he claimed no knowledge of the Project 2025 while campaigning) and rich whatever-you-say-Mr.-President cronies can conduct themselves as they wish while they race to see who will become the first trillionaire. Of course Tesla’s CEO deal with Elon Musk is fake news.
Remember the adage, be careful what you wish (vote?) for. Die-hard Trumpers will never see any fault in their man, but please, any of you fence straddlers do some serious soul-searching before you vote in our future elections.
Reenie Grybko Clancy lives in Deerfield.