After the first two years of the second Trump administration, uh, I mean after a little over two weeks of the second Trump Administration, we are learning even more about the President’s Shock and Awwww approach to governing. It’s fast. It’s everywhere
And most of it is performance art.
How else to explain the wide and questionable tactics being used by co-President, I mean, the unelected, not vetted oligarch Elon Musk and his Kiddie Korps that make up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which is working on eliminating departments at breakneck speed and questionable legality; the Senate confirmation of Cabinet member after Cabinet member whose loyalty is, first, to Trump, not the U.S. Constitution to whom they swear an oath; the proposed acquisitions of Greenland, the Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico and the previously named Gaza Strip, now to become to the, well, Riviera of the Middle East, and, well, you get the picture.
And it's largely painted with smoke and mirrors.
Look at his primary foreign policy: Tariffs.
He first used them against our continental neighbors and allies, Mexico and Canada. The leaders of both countries won delays in the tariffs by (sort of) agreeing to certain things (they've mostly already done) and a further negotiation.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaun quickly agreed, on a call with Trump, to sending 10,000 national guard troops to the border. Fact is, Mexico already has 10,000 troops stationed at the border. That was done last year after pressure form the Biden Administration, a move which helped drive down the arrests of migrants to four-year lows.
She is letting Trump claim credit for it, so a “win” for the new President.
With Canada, the President “won” a concession when Canada said it would create a $1.3 billion border plan. That plan was announced on Dec. 18, six weeks before Trump announced his tariffs. And about the same amount of time before he took office.
Again, Trump is taking and being given credit for the “concession.”
How about that "water valve" in California? Acting on an order from Washington, the Army Corps of Engineers allowed water to flow down river channels for three days, into the network of engineered waterways that fan out among farm fields in the Joaquin Valley.
Thing is that water typically is sent to the Valley and its farmers in the summer. That release of water, when agriculture doesn’t require it, means the growers likely will have less water when they do need it.
The release was intended to make a political statement – to demonstrate that Trump has the authority to order federal dams or pumps to send more water as he directs. Bravo!
Another thing is that water released form those dams typically does not reach the Los Angeles area, which instead depends on supplies from the aqueducts of the State Water Project on the other side of the valley.
So, that water would have done nothing to help firefighters battling the LA fires. They literally were doing everything they could with everything available to stop the unprecedented fires.
By the way, the Joaquin Valley is about 360 miles from LA.
But, Trump can say (and believe) he “turned on the valve” as he (over) simply said California’s leaders should have done.
We’re skipping over for the moment Mr. Musk’s manhandling of the federal government, using tactics he applied when he took over Twitter too. A difference is, Twitter is about making money.
The U.S. Government is about providing services and protection to its people. Something Mr. Musk knows, and cares, nothing about.
There is no profit motive in the U.S. Government because that isn’t the goal, the goal is to protect and provide services to people, not line anyone’s pocket with profits. This is what over-wealthy people like Trump and Musk will never understand.
Their goal is to make money. Not provide services people need to live.
And they do not understand the difference because, well, empathy.
Trust me, we lived without Twitter/X before they existed, we’ll live when they die.
Moving to Gaza, Trump stood with the leader of Israel, both of whom should be focused on maintaining the ceasefire, and the release of hostages. Instead, Trump proposed a real estate project.
First, he said he’d move the Palestinians out of Gaza to an unnamed country (none of which have said they’d take them). There are millions of Palestinians who would take untold time to move – if they even wanted to move!
By the way, moving them is against international law but if Trump and his people are not afraid of U.S. law, why should they let “foreign law” stand in their way?
So, just to track Trump’s promises in this regard: he promised not to get U.S. military involved in more wars (but so far, he hinted at military missions to take over Panama’s Canal, Greenland and, now Gaza).
Second, he said he wanted to cut back on sending aid to other countries but it would take trillions to clean up and build his Riviera in Gaza.
Trump has always wanted to win the Nobel Prize, but this isn't going to get him there.
Since I started writing this, about an hour ago, the White House press secretary backed the White House away from the whole Gaza Redevelopment Project. Just another failed Trump building project.
Another dumb idea from this two-week old Administration.
In this case, very bad performance art.
Worthy of neither a Nobel nor an Oscar.
And most of it is performance art.
How else to explain the wide and questionable tactics being used by co-President, I mean, the unelected, not vetted oligarch Elon Musk and his Kiddie Korps that make up the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) which is working on eliminating departments at breakneck speed and questionable legality; the Senate confirmation of Cabinet member after Cabinet member whose loyalty is, first, to Trump, not the U.S. Constitution to whom they swear an oath; the proposed acquisitions of Greenland, the Panama Canal, the Gulf of Mexico and the previously named Gaza Strip, now to become to the, well, Riviera of the Middle East, and, well, you get the picture.
And it's largely painted with smoke and mirrors.
Look at his primary foreign policy: Tariffs.
He first used them against our continental neighbors and allies, Mexico and Canada. The leaders of both countries won delays in the tariffs by (sort of) agreeing to certain things (they've mostly already done) and a further negotiation.
Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaun quickly agreed, on a call with Trump, to sending 10,000 national guard troops to the border. Fact is, Mexico already has 10,000 troops stationed at the border. That was done last year after pressure form the Biden Administration, a move which helped drive down the arrests of migrants to four-year lows.
She is letting Trump claim credit for it, so a “win” for the new President.
With Canada, the President “won” a concession when Canada said it would create a $1.3 billion border plan. That plan was announced on Dec. 18, six weeks before Trump announced his tariffs. And about the same amount of time before he took office.
Again, Trump is taking and being given credit for the “concession.”
How about that "water valve" in California? Acting on an order from Washington, the Army Corps of Engineers allowed water to flow down river channels for three days, into the network of engineered waterways that fan out among farm fields in the Joaquin Valley.
Thing is that water typically is sent to the Valley and its farmers in the summer. That release of water, when agriculture doesn’t require it, means the growers likely will have less water when they do need it.
The release was intended to make a political statement – to demonstrate that Trump has the authority to order federal dams or pumps to send more water as he directs. Bravo!
Another thing is that water released form those dams typically does not reach the Los Angeles area, which instead depends on supplies from the aqueducts of the State Water Project on the other side of the valley.
So, that water would have done nothing to help firefighters battling the LA fires. They literally were doing everything they could with everything available to stop the unprecedented fires.
By the way, the Joaquin Valley is about 360 miles from LA.
But, Trump can say (and believe) he “turned on the valve” as he (over) simply said California’s leaders should have done.
We’re skipping over for the moment Mr. Musk’s manhandling of the federal government, using tactics he applied when he took over Twitter too. A difference is, Twitter is about making money.
The U.S. Government is about providing services and protection to its people. Something Mr. Musk knows, and cares, nothing about.
There is no profit motive in the U.S. Government because that isn’t the goal, the goal is to protect and provide services to people, not line anyone’s pocket with profits. This is what over-wealthy people like Trump and Musk will never understand.
Their goal is to make money. Not provide services people need to live.
And they do not understand the difference because, well, empathy.
Trust me, we lived without Twitter/X before they existed, we’ll live when they die.
Moving to Gaza, Trump stood with the leader of Israel, both of whom should be focused on maintaining the ceasefire, and the release of hostages. Instead, Trump proposed a real estate project.
First, he said he’d move the Palestinians out of Gaza to an unnamed country (none of which have said they’d take them). There are millions of Palestinians who would take untold time to move – if they even wanted to move!
By the way, moving them is against international law but if Trump and his people are not afraid of U.S. law, why should they let “foreign law” stand in their way?
So, just to track Trump’s promises in this regard: he promised not to get U.S. military involved in more wars (but so far, he hinted at military missions to take over Panama’s Canal, Greenland and, now Gaza).
Second, he said he wanted to cut back on sending aid to other countries but it would take trillions to clean up and build his Riviera in Gaza.
Trump has always wanted to win the Nobel Prize, but this isn't going to get him there.
Since I started writing this, about an hour ago, the White House press secretary backed the White House away from the whole Gaza Redevelopment Project. Just another failed Trump building project.
Another dumb idea from this two-week old Administration.
In this case, very bad performance art.
Worthy of neither a Nobel nor an Oscar.
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