What have you done, America? The warning signs have been everywhere, but too many people failed to heed the warnings, instead turning a blind eye and deaf ear. He trained them well. He trained them to distrust reputable news sources, so instead they became uninformed, instead only feeding into whatever lies he has fed them. Those who’ve claimed we’d be fine no matter how the election turned out, you’re going to find out. Now we must endure Act II of the Trump Shit Show, and there will be consequences to pay for many years to come.
Personally I HAVE bothered to be informed by reputable sources, I have fact checked using reputable critical thinking resources, I have trusted media sources that are accountable to the FCC for disseminating factual information. I personally have shared factual information in an attempt to reach those who fail to seek factual information themselves. But again, they turned a blind eye and a deaf ear and chose ignorance and blind allegiance to a liar instead. I am exhausted and I feel defeated. But I tried.
How could those with any sense of intelligence whatsoever not to have listened to those closest to Trump who admonished their warnings:
His vice president, Mike Pence: “The American people deserve to know that President Trump asked me to put him over my oath to the Constitution. … Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”
His second attorney general, Bill Barr: “Someone who engaged in that kind of bullying about a process that is fundamental to our system and to our self-government shouldn’t be anywhere near the Oval Office.”
His first secretary of defense, James Mattis: “Donald Trump is the first president in my lifetime who does not try to unite the American people – does not even pretend to try. Instead he tries to divide us.”
His second secretary of defense, Mark Esper: “I think he’s unfit for office. … He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country. And then, of course, I believe he has integrity and character issues as well.”
His chairman of the joint chiefs, retired Gen. Mark Milley, seemed to invoke Trump: “We don’t take an oath to a wannabe dictator. We take an oath to the Constitution and we take an oath to the idea that is America – and we’re willing to die to protect it.”
His first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson: “(Trump’s) understanding of global events, his understanding of global history, his understanding of US history was really limited. It’s really hard to have a conversation with someone who doesn’t even understand the concept for why we’re talking about this.”
His first ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley: “He used to be good on foreign policy and now he has started to walk it back and get weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine. A terrible thing happened on January 6 and he called it a beautiful day.”
His presidential transition vice-chairman, Chris Christie: “Someone who I would argue now is just out for himself.”
His second national security adviser, HR McMaster: “We saw the absence of leadership, really anti-leadership, and what that can do to our country.”
His third national security adviser, John Bolton: “I believe (foreign leaders) think he is a laughing fool.”
His second chief of staff, John Kelly: “A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law. There is nothing more that can be said. God help us.”
His former acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, who resigned as US special envoy to Ireland after January 6, 2021: “I quit because I think he failed at being the president when we needed him to be that.”
One of his many former communications directors, Anthony Scaramucci: “He is the domestic terrorist of the 21st century.”
Another former communications director, Stephanie Grisham: “I am terrified of him running in 2024.”
His secretary of education, Betsy DeVos, who resigned after January 6: “When I saw what was happening on January 6 and didn’t see the president step in and do what he could have done to turn it back or slow it down or really address the situation, it was just obvious to me that I couldn’t continue.”
His secretary of transportation, Elaine Chao, who resigned after January 6: “At a particular point the events were such that it was impossible for me to continue, given my personal values and my philosophy."
His first secretary of the Navy, Richard Spencer: “…the president has very little understanding of what it means to be in the military, to fight ethically or to be governed by a uniform set of rules and practices.”
His first homeland security adviser, Tom Bossert: “The President undermined American democracy baselessly for months. As a result, he’s culpable for this siege, and an utter disgrace.”
His former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen: “Donald’s an idiot.”
His White House lawyer, Ty Cobb: “Trump relentlessly puts forth claims that are not true.”
A former director of strategic communications, Alyssa Farah Griffin, who is now a CNN political commentator: “We can stand by the policies, but at this point we cannot stand by the man.”
A top aide in charge of his outreach to African Americans, Omarosa Manigault Newman: “Donald Trump, who would attack civil rights icons and professional athletes, who would go after grieving black widows, who would say there were good people on both sides, who endorsed an accused child molester; Donald Trump, and his decisions and his behavior, was harming the country. I could no longer be a part of this madness.”
A former deputy press secretary, Sarah Matthews, who resigned after January 6: “I thought that he did do a lot of good during his four years. I think that his actions on January 6 and the lead-up to it, the way that he’s acted in the aftermath, and his continuation of pushing this lie that the election is stolen has made him wholly unfit to hold office every again.”
CBS News reported that “a group of more than 200 who worked for former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, as well as Sen. Mitt Romney and the late Sen. John McCain signed onto a letter supporting the Democratic nominee.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/republicans-endorsing-kamala-harris-2024/ And that didn’t give his followers pause either?
Supposedly the economy had the greatest impact on voter’s selection of President. There have been many misconceptions portrayed regarding our nation’s economy. Trump posing the question to people as to whether they are better off now than they were four years ago—four years ago we were in the midst of a pandemic, a pandemic that might have been avoided had he not terminated the National Security Council’s pandemic response unit. And the economic crisis that ensued was due to the pandemic that his actions had allowed to happen. Shutdowns worldwide led to a shortage of goods, resulting in substantial price increases that negatively impacted the global economy. It has taken years for our nation and others to be headed towards economic recovery. It is wise to fact check the Trump administration’s economy versus the Biden administration’s economy, which people apparently have failed to do. Fact checking the Trump administration’s economy, we find:
The economy lost 2.7 million jobs. The unemployment rate increased by 1.7 percentage points to 6.4%.
Paychecks grew faster than inflation. Average weekly earnings for all workers were up 8.4% after inflation.
After-tax corporate profits went up, and the stock market set new records. The S&P 500 index rose 67.8%.
The international trade deficit Trump promised to reduce went up. The U.S. trade deficit in goods and services in 2020 was the highest since 2008 and increased 36.3% from 2016.
The number of people lacking health insurance rose by 3 million.
The federal debt held by the public went up, from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion.
Home prices rose 27.5%, and the homeownership rate increased 2.1 percentage points to 65.8%.
Illegal immigration increased. Apprehensions at the Southwest border rose 14.7% last year compared with 2016.
Coal production declined 26.5%, and coal-mining jobs dropped by 25%. Carbon emissions from energy consumption dropped 11.3%.
Handgun production rose 12.5% last year compared with 2016, setting a new record.
The murder rate last year rose to the highest level since 1997.
And fact checking the Trump administration’s economy against the Biden administration’s economy, we find:
Trump and his followers fail to listen to the economic experts. In his interview with Bloomberg’s John Micklethwait at the Economic Club of Chicago October 15, 2024, Micklethwait asserted that “Trump’s tariffs would lead to higher prices for consumers and that his promises of various tax breaks would blow up the deficit,” to which Trump responded that “It must be hard for you to spend 25 years talking about tariffs as being negative and then have somebody explain to you that you’re totally wrong,” https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-joins-interview-forum-at-the-economic-club-of-chicago Who is the expert here? Trump claims to know more than the experts.
Evangelical Christians, blinded by their tunnel vision regarding the abortion issue, have especially supported Trump, thus tarnishing their own reputations as supposedly representing God, by supporting a man who blatantly demonstrates a severe lack of moral character.
This is a man who has more than once been unfaithful to his wives, paying off those women with hush money; has been found guilty in court of raping a woman; has openly expressed he thinks it’s okay to grope any woman. When Bill Clinton was unfaithful to his wife, it was a huge national scandal—he was chastised and publicly embarrassed. Trump has not been held to the same standards—Why?
This is a man who has threatened violence against those who disagree with him—Liz Cheney, Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff, the media, comedians--anyone who is not on board with his extreme agenda.
Donald Trump said that former Congresswoman Liz Cheney should have guns “trained on her face” and be fired upon, which the Congresswoman said was akin to a death threat.
This is a man who’s been dishonest in his business dealings, inflating the values of his properties to garner more favorable interest rates; whose bankrupting of Trump University was later deemed as an “education scandal”—three lawsuits from 2010-2013 claimed deceptive practices, and Trump ultimately paid our $25million to settle the suits. https://www.americanprogress.org/article/trump-university-look-enduring-education-scandal/ He didn’t even honestly run his own businesses, so why should he be entrusted with the economics of the most powerful country in the world?
This is a man who attempted to overthrow our government by not accepting the results of the 2020 election, who incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol--resulting in six deaths and 174 people injured--a man who has characterized the event supposedly as a “love fest!” People, that was NOT love! He lyingly paints inaccurate pictures of events that, because he has duped his followers to distrust the mainstream media, they fail to know or to believe truth over lies! Lies and violence are not traits of a moral individual.
And while we’re at it, let’s take a closer look at the horrendous fallout from abolishing Roe v. Wade, a decision Trump proudly credits himself with, having appointed three Supreme Court Justices that led to a major Republican majority in the Judicial Branch. The Associated Press reported that more than 100 women in medical distress were unable to obtain care in states with restricted or banned abortion since the 2022 Dobbs decision. Some pregnant patients had to be airlifted out of their state for care, miscarried in public restrooms, or waited in parking lots hemorrhaging or waiting to develop sepsis before being able to get care because of the limitations on care resulting from abortion laws. https://apnews.com/article/pregnant-women-emergency-room-ectopic-er-edd66276d2f6c412c988051b618fb8f9 A statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) further describes the problems associated with these severely restrictive abortion laws:
“ACOG unequivocally condemns the misrepresentation and exploitation of the medical emergencies, complications, and deaths of pregnant people by groups aiming to advance their harmful anti-abortion political agenda.
“Their attempts to misuse examples of tragic deaths that result from abortion bans reflect a shocking disregard for the very real people who pay the price of ideological interference in essential reproductive health care. This latest misinformation campaign proves once again that anti-abortion activists are willing to see people suffer and die to prevent access to abortion care and miscarriage management.
“There is no doubt that abortion bans are preventing ob-gyns and other clinicians from providing health care to their patients, and that those patients and their families are suffering as a result. We know this from the heart-wrenching personal accounts shared over the last two years that show doctors and patients alike forced into impossible situations that risked their lives, health, freedom, and livelihoods.
“People driven by ideology who worked tirelessly to put these anti-abortion laws in place are blaming everyone but themselves for the mounting harms these abortion bans are causing.
“An Associated Press analysis found that more than 100 women in medical distress were unable to obtain care across states that have restricted or banned abortion since the Dobbs decision in 2022. We’ve heard stories of pregnant patients being forced to be airlifted out of their state for care, miscarry in public restrooms, or wait in parking lots to hemorrhage or wait to develop sepsis before they’re able to get care because the limitations on care created by abortion laws are so great. This is the inevitable result of laws that replace medical judgment about real-life situations with legislatively mandated limits on care.
“Clinicians practicing in restricted states who have trained for years and built careers on providing dedicated, compassionate care for others desperately want to help their patients and provide the care they need. Doctors are being forced to practice under draconian laws designed to prevent care in the nuanced and complex situations that occur in real life. These doctors are struggling, too, facing the despair of being prevented from providing lifesaving care. They are suffering grave moral injury, serious risk to their livelihoods, and potential loss of their personal freedom alongside their patients’ lives.
“There is no edit, no amendment, no addendum to these terrible bans that can undo the harm they have created and allow for full access to care. Simply put, abortion bans must be repealed in order to ensure full access to safe, essential reproductive health care for all people. Decisions must be left to patients in consultation with their trusted clinicians, not abortion opponents or laws designed to prevent life- and health-saving reproductive health care. It is the purpose, intent, and effect of these laws to deprive patients of access to safe and reliable reproductive health care. A belated cry of ‘blame the doctors’ will not change that fact; it is only a callous attempt to divert attention from the damage done by legislative interference in decisions surrounding reproductive health care.”
How many women have to die because they can’t get the care they need? These abortion bans are misguided and are causing great harm. Supporters of these bans have mischaracterized abortions. According to the CDC,
Nearly 93% of abortions were performed at less than 13 weeks' gestation.
Abortion pills, which can typically be used up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, made up 54% of abortions in 2020.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) provides the following information regarding reasons for abortions:
Many factors influence or necessitate a woman’s decision to have an abortion. They include, but are not limited to, contraceptive failure, barriers to contraceptive use and access, rape, incest, intimate partner violence, fetal anomalies, illness during pregnancy, and exposure to teratogenic medications.
Pregnancy complications, including placental abruption, bleeding from placenta previa, preeclampsia or eclampsia, and cardiac or renal conditions, may be so severe that abortion is the only measure to preserve a woman’s health or save her life.
Where abortion is illegal or highly restricted, women resort to unsafe means to end unwanted pregnancies, including self-inflicted abdominal and bodily trauma, ingestion of dangerous chemicals, self-medication with a variety of drugs, and reliance on unqualified abortion providers.v,vi Today, approximately 21 million women around the world obtain unsafe, illegal abortions each year, and complications from these unsafe procedures account for approximately 13% of all maternal deaths, nearly 50,000 annually.5,6 https://www.acog.org/advocacy/facts-are-important/abortion-is-healthcare
Trump’s appointment of three justices to the Supreme Court during his prior administration has worked in his favor to basically be given a free pass to do whatever he wants, with the presidential immunity awarded him on July 1, 2024. This undermines the checks and balances that is supposed to exist in our republic and gives the president greater unchecked power. One of those Supreme Court appointees should have been made by Barack Obama when the seat opened February 2016 due to the death of Antonin Scalia, but his rightfully being allowed to make the appointment was blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, stating, “he would consider any appointment by the sitting president to be null and void” and stating the next president would appoint Scalia's replacement instead. https://www.npr.org/2018/06/29/624467256/what-happened-with-merrick-garland-in-2016-and-why-it-matters-now Obama did make a nomination, but it was not considered by the Senate. This was unethical and unfair. The same standards didn’t apply to Trump near the end of his presidency when another Supreme Court seat became vacant due to the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and he appointed Amy Coney Barrett on September 25, 2020 to fill her seat, which was promptly confirmed by the Senate, and she was appointed the following day. How is it fair for Trump to be allowed to make a Supreme Court appointment during an election year, while Obama was not allowed to? Either the first Trump appointee was not his to make OR the last Trump appointee was not his to make. The whole situation is case in point of what a bully the Republican Party has become.
Trump has no respect for our democratic system of government. Aside from his not accepting the results of the 2020 election and inciting a mob to attempt to forcibly remain in office, he has repeatedly spread baseless lies to sow distrust in our election process. An audio recording with the Secretary of State of Georgia January 2, 2021 clearly reveals his intent to disregard the results of the 2020 election in Georgia and his attempt to change the outcome of the election in that state, crimes he likely now will not be held accountable for. Recently he stated that he should never have left office—that’s NOT how our democracy works—when you’re voted out, you leave. He has several times stated he plans to rule as a dictator on day one. He has stated plans to use the Justice Department and the National Guard against his enemies. He has characterized the January 6th rioters as martyrs and indicated plans to pardon them. These were people who blatantly disregarded our democratic form of government, incited by him.
So, how much more, people, do you need to hear about this man before you finally open your eyes to the truths about him? The facts have been placed before you over and over again for a few years now. Those who served in his administration have given the greatest insights as to who this man is, along with his own words from his mouth. I have heard that people have become desensitized to his rhetoric and don’t even take it seriously. Well, maybe you should. I believe you’re in for a great awakening. Life as we know is going to be changed forever, and you only have yourselves to blame. You failed to heed the warnings—you didn’t even receive them, because he directed you away from the truth and you’ve bought into his lies.
America as we’ve known it will be no more.
To read more of Jo Gamm Witt's writings, CLICK HERE
