Another View of the Trump Administration

Last week, we saw a review of the Trump administration published in these pages. Here is a different viewpoint.

A list of 365 ‘wins’ is presented at the end of the article. From the list, one example says that homicides were lower in 2025. A truthful statement as far as it goes, but homicides have been declining since they spiked during the pandemic in 2020, the last year of Trump’s first term. Another boasts of achieving negative net migration in 2025, which is true; however, this ignores the consequences of this policy. According to Forbes Magazine, the potential impact is wide-reaching. The CBO estimated in 2024 that immigration would add $8.9 trillion to our GDP over a ten year period. Rather than taking American jobs, immigrants are 80% more likely to start businesses than natives. The Center for American Entrepreneurship states that 45% of Fortune 500 companies are founded by 1st or 2nd generation immigrants, as of 2023. In a July 23, 2024, report, the CBO states that the immigration surge from 2021 to 2026 would contribute to lowering deficits by $.9 trillion projected over the 2024 to 2034 period by people paying taxes. That surge would boost economic activity and, in turn, tax revenues. Of course, that effect will no longer take place with the negative immigration.

Trump is a source of disorder. By alienating allies, he has forced our long-term partners to seek new economic and political alliances. The EU is looking outside the American influence for partnerships. India has been courted by the US for years, only to be alienated by tariffs and temper tantrums, and has now signed a deal with the EU. It is termed a free trade zone of two billion people, excluding the US. Canada, South Korea, the EU, and many other nations are angered by Trump’s heavy-handed tactics and are realizing that the US is no longer a stable partner when an election can produce such radical transformations in policy. Last week, the EU signed a deal with Latin American countries, making shopping cheaper for more than 700million customers.

Disappointment and mistrust after Trump’s statements about acquiring Greenland and annexing Canada have ruptured the bond forged during the Cold War. Realizing that the US can no longer be considered a stable partner, other countries are reassessing the 75-year relationship that kept the peace in Europe. The economic and political turmoil has strained these relationships, but hopefully not to the breaking point. There is a great deal of concern over whether Trump favors the Russian aggressor over Ukraine, a war he promised to settle within days.

We will increasingly be affected by the difference between Trump’s perceptions and the realities of the world. This gulf is limiting American progress. The long-held resistance of the Republican mind to the realities of a deteriorating environment is not only endangering our environment but also ensuring that the scientific and economic progress on alternative forms of energy is lost to the US.

We are forfeiting the benefits of immigration, abandoning much of the scientific advantage that propelled American progress, increasing the national debt, and doubling down on unproductive ways of thinking and acting. Forbes estimates that Trump’s net worth has increased by 3 billion since he returned to the presidency. At any other time in our history, this would provoke outrage.

Domestically, Trump assigned vitally important Cabinet positions not to people experienced in their fields or academics familiar with policies and protocols but instead chose people largely because he could be assured that they would obey his whims, regardless of merit. The repercussions are seen with the turmoil caused in Minneapolis, among other cities.

This is a vastly different view of Trump and his policies. We have not discussed the Epstein files, but that is yet another question mark about this regime. It is imperative that members of our society be involved and aware.

Steve Foreman
Warren Couty, VA

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