Donald Trump has gone much faster than anyone could have guessed (except, perhaps, those mental health experts who understand his malignant narcissism and hypomania). In record time, he has achieved a level of incompetence, self-destructiveness, cruelty and corruption that simply cries out for his removal from office.
In case you have been sleeping during the last nine months or so, here is a partial list of Trump’s “achievements” since starting his second term (I thank Simon Rosenberg for much of this): (1.) his cover-up of his role in the Epstein sex-trafficking ring; (2.) his unprecedented corruption; (3.) his abandonment of Ukraine and our European allies; (4.) his assault on our health care system; (5.) his cruel refusal to use the government’s reserve to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits during the shutdown; (6.) his utter lack of compassion toward the possible killing of millions of the world’s poorest due to his destruction of the U.S. Agency for International Development; (7.) his weaponization of the Department of Justice to go after his political opponents; (8.) his willingness to trample due process and the rule of law to “smooth” the way to the mass deportation of immigrants, including many innocent citizens of long standing; (9.) his push to put the military on our city streets to quell “fake” emergencies; (10.) his illegal killing of people in boats on the high seas; and (11.) his ceding of the future health of our planet to China.
In short, Trump has thrown away America’s exceptionalism. To use Simon Rosenberg’s memorable words: “(Trump’s legacy) is a failed government that has done incredible harm to the American people, … and a star wars bar collection of pathetic quisling advisors.”
It is high time for members of Congress to man up, impeach Trump, convict him of high crimes and misdemeanors, and remove him from office.
Frederick Longacre
Hockessin
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