Trump Versus Reality

This country, this America that I live in, is bigger and more important than I am. I think most Americans feel that way. But Donald John Trump does not feel that way. By his words and by his actions, repeated not just during the four years when he held the Oval Office but throughout his life, he has shown us this clearly over and over again. Trump cares only about himself; he has no sense of duty or responsibility. He demands loyalty from others but will not give loyalty to others. He does only what he thinks will advance his interests.

"I have an Article 2 where I have the right to do whatever I want as president."

Trump said that in June 2019. It is an exact quote; you can look it up. However, that is not what Article 2 says. Trump lied.1

Date	Action	Likely Result	Public Reaction
1/20/25	Trump pardoned Enrique Tarrio, head of the Proud Boys, who had been serving a 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy. Fourteen offenders had their sentences commuted. This included Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, also convicted of seditiou conspiracy. All others, some 1,550 rioters who stormed the Capitol on 6 January 2021, received a blanket pardon. The Justice Department was ordered to make out certificates of pardon for them, and to dismiss "with prejudice" all pending indictments related to January 6 conduct. The Federal Bureau of Prisons received explicit orders to implement all Justice Department instructions regarding both the releases and the dismissal of pending cases. As of 21 January 2025, 6 Republicans in Congress have condemned Trump's pardons. But they aren't pushing back.	Trump's actions free what amounts to a covert, private militia. These people will not stand down; they will do his bidding, just as they did when he called them to the Capitol to "fight like hell or you won't have a country any more." Trump knows the drill. He will not explicitly order them into action. His rhetoric will be the trigger, just as it was for Cesar Sayoc and others. This is how stochastic terrorism works.	Public reaction to the pardons has been markedly unfavorable. 77% of voters in the top 43 congressional battleground districts opposed pardons. This includes 57% of Republicans and 63% of current military and veterans. 78% opposed pardons for those convicted of using a deadly or dangerous weapon, including 59% of Republicans and 70% of current military and veterans.

Date

Action

Likely Result

Public Reaction

1/20/25

Trump pardoned Enrique Tarrio, head of the Proud Boys, who had been serving a 22-year sentence for seditious conspiracy. Fourteen offenders had their sentences commuted. This included Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes, also convicted of seditiou conspiracy. All others, some 1,550 rioters who stormed the Capitol on 6 January 2021, received a blanket pardon. The Justice Department was ordered to make out certificates of pardon for them, and to dismiss "with prejudice" all pending indictments related to January 6 conduct. The Federal Bureau of Prisons received explicit orders to implement all Justice Department instructions regarding both the releases and the dismissal of pending cases.

As of 21 January 2025, 6 Republicans in Congress have condemned Trump's pardons. But they aren't pushing back.

Trump's actions free what amounts to a covert, private militia. These people will not stand down; they will do his bidding, just as they did when he called them to the Capitol to "fight like hell or you won't have a country any more." Trump knows the drill. He will not explicitly order them into action. His rhetoric will be the trigger, just as it was for Cesar Sayoc and others. This is how stochastic terrorism works.

Public reaction to the pardons has been markedly unfavorable.

77% of voters in the top 43 congressional battleground districts opposed pardons. This includes 57% of Republicans and 63% of current military and veterans.
78% opposed pardons for those convicted of using a deadly or dangerous weapon, including 59% of Republicans and 70% of current military and veterans.

There's a whole lot more to say about how Trump would handle domestic policy. I've barely touched on his foreign policy. And I haven't even mentioned the many crimes he's been charged with — about which shelves full of books have been written.

I aim to cut to the chase here: to show here that, for both practical and idealistic issues, Trump is a bad choice. He's got a track record. He botched the response tO COVID. He balloned the natioan debt. His tariffs raised the prices of home appliances and caused farm bankruptcies to spike by 24% in 2019. His greatest initiative, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, gave 83% of its benefits to the wealthy. You can look all that up.

Look, I understand that many people like Trump. He's bold and brash; he can stick it to the man, and shake things up. Liking Trump is every citizen's protected right. But every citizen also has a duty to understand the national interest and their own self-interest, and to spurn candidates who refuse to help in either area. Trump, by his track record and by the things he says now that can hurt victims of hurricanes in the southeast, is not going to help anyone but himself. He does not deserve your vote, and I expect that anyone who cares about getting a better life for his family will see that.

The mainstream news services cover all of this extensively. I've compiled some useful information.

LEARN

THINK

VOTE

References

1 I hope no one is shocked by this revelation.

2 Here is The Washington Post's final tally.

3 This long game is too complex to describe here. But see my documentation of some aspects of it. And have a look at the lists of books I have compiled.