With Donald Trump’s pending return to the White House, Americans and, undoubtedly everyone in the world, are pondering if what we have heard from Trump during his campaign was bluster or if we will truly have someone leading this country who will threaten many norms of our democracy and countless individuals.
The term “trollicarchy” coined by The Atlantic writer Megan Garber captures the sense of the question of whether the xenophobia, violent and racist rhetoric, and threats we have heard were simply goading/trolling the “woke” citizenry, media, and democrats or if we will actually experience a negative radical shift in our country.
Let’s consider just a few of the positions (or maybe’ threats’ is the better word) we have heard and see if we can foresee the actual playing out of those positions will be something that even Trump voters will wish to live with.
Rounding up and locking up all illegals in this country: To pull this off, we should expect that any person that is not white will need to be stopped and checked for their proof of citizenship. Since most all illegals (“vermin” per Trump) entering this country have not been white, this action or suspicion would apply to every black, Latino, or Asian within our borders.
The next step would be camps/prisons to hold many people for processing. Since the processing will take time, we can expect the private prison sector will be a booming enterprise coupled with a large fiscal impact where our tax dollars go to pay for finding, rounding up, holding, and transferring possibly millions of people.
This removal of potentially millions of workers, consumers, and taxpayers (who receive minimal, if any, direct public funding support) portends an economic shock. Do Trump supporters think he was just making the point during the campaign that our immigration system is out of control? Is he only talking about criminals? The latter seems unlikely as catching and removing criminals of any sort or origin has always been a major job of law enforcement.
Extending and enhancing the tax breaks that go to corporations and wealthy citizens: There is undoubtedly very good reason that there has been a two to one ratio of billionaires supporting Trump. The tax breaks (and deregulatory action) proposed by Trump not only enlarges the nation’s debt which was evident immediately after the first round of cuts in Trump’s term, it threatens having sufficient funds for many governmental programs that everyday Americans depend upon. He wouldn’t let that happen, would he?
Drop support of Ukraine: Although this has not been spelled out directly by Trump, he has specifically avoided saying he would not do it and indicated he can end the war quickly. The “quickest” way to end the war is to give the green light to his ‘friend’ Putin to take part or all of Ukraine. We can anticipate this to occur in an even more bloody manner than now by stopping US aid to Ukraine - since Ukraine has given every sign it will not give up its sovereignty.
While this action may satisfy many Trump supporters in terms of a possible positive effect on the nation’s budget, is it worth throwing NATO into potential ineffectual disarray, empowering Putin to conduct more aggression, plus allowing the increased slaughter of Ukrainians? As viewed by those opposed to Trump, this type of action can possibly hamper the largest alliance to counter our adversaries as well as cooperation that improves life on our planet.
Putting only partisan loyalists in the US government bureaucracy and end burdensome regulations: Sounds good and easy to say for any politician to end any type of burden, right?
The issue in this matter will be who will benefit from regulatory relief. If a Trump supporter thinks it will be everyday small business owners and citizens, we should consider the old saying - follow the money.
Just under 70% of his campaign funding support came from large contributions (0% from self-financing). Will Trump supporters enjoy seeing (once again), unqualified rich donors heading cabinet positions with ranks of yes men beneath them? Can we guess what regulatory burdens will be relaxed? Trump is for the little guy right? (like most billionaires like him) Many opinions and polls express that many Trump supporters do not take him literally. They possibly love the in-your-face showmanship and take his threatening words and antics as entertainment. They could very well have resentments toward changes in our society that impinge upon their moral sentiments that he says he shares. Having someone seemingly on their side has been a special Trump talent.
That is wishful thinking for the many opposed to Trump. They are not at all sanguine about his threatening language. They saw consequences to his words on January 6. They believe those that worked with Trump during his first term when they say he was only held from directing terrible and harmful decisions by staff that stalled or diverted his attention. They also remember well the mismanagement and misinformation he threw into the pandemic leading to many excess deaths.
We can expect many more prognostications as to whether Trump was truly serious in what he has been saying during this buildup to his inauguration. Consider these few items as a start of what we need to watch for regarding whether Trump is strictly a blowhard or is truly demented and means to act upon the terribly consequential hatred he has said.
Meanwhile, many in this country are wary of what can happen while remembering the old adage – as ye sow, so shall ye reap.
W Laurence Doxsey, Retired, Former Director of Office of Sustainability for City of San Antonio, former Environmental Officer for US Department of Housing and Urban Development, former Sustainability Officer for City of Austin, resides outside Medina.
