Year-end Trump Outrages: Off the Tracks, Edition

Donald Trump seems rattled these days—and why wouldn’t he be? He’s still popular with the GOP rank and file, with approval ratings at 84-87%, but there are cracks in his Republican support in Congress and in his MAGA base. And his standing with US voters is at all-time lows (36 %, according to Gallup and the AP), foreshadowing a Democratic tsunami in the mid-term elections next year.

Rather than reign in his excesses, he doubles down. Trump reacted in characteristically horrible taste to the murder of film legend Rob Reiner and his wife this past weekend. Showing no empathy, compassion or class and once again putting himself at the center of everything, he said (before it was known the Reiners had been stabbed by their troubled son) that Reiner died of a “massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as TRUMP DERANGEMENT SYNDROME.” His statement was roundly condemned by Democrats, numerous celebrities and even five Republican Representatives, Thomas Massie (KY). Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA), Mike Lawler (NY), Don Bacon (Neb) and Stephanie Brice (OK).

In a jam, Trump is following his worst instincts. When two West Virginia National Guard soldiers were shot, one fatally, by an Afghan admitted to the US after aiding US forces, Trump went on a series of racist anti-immigrant rampages.

He vowed to “permanently pause” migration from “all third world countries”—and got wildly cheered by a MAGA audience when he undid his previous denial that he’d called them “shithole countries.”  He vowed to deport anyone “non-compatible with Western civilization.” He added “only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation.” He also threatened to “end all benefits and subsidies for non-citizens of our country,” “remove anyone who is not a net asset for the United States,” and “denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic security.” Then he paused all naturalization for anyone from 19 countries, even those who had completed the process but hadn’t yet been sworn in at a ceremony.

At a rally in Pennsylvania, he repeated a previous refrain, suggesting “let’s have a few from Denmark…but we always take people from Somalia, filthy, dirty, disgusting places ridden with crime.”

Caught up in his massive exercise of collective punishment were Afghans awaiting entry to the US as refugees from Taliban rule or due for admission based on previous aid to US forces, and especially Somalis. Trump labeled them “garbage,” even though Somalis in the US (about 260,000 of them) now consists 90 % of US citizens. With the exception of several dozen Somalis charged in welfare fraud cases costing more than $1 billion, Somali Americans are generally considered valued citizens of Minnesota and other states where they live.

The administration also ended Temporary Protective Status for 11,700 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban takeover. This was justified by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who said that Afghanistan was “safe enough” with an “improved security situation.” Human rights groups denounced her statement as an “obscene” falsehood and veterans groups and Members of Congress termed Trump policy a “betrayal” of Afghans who aided US forces and now face persecution or execution.

In addition, the administration increased its pace of arrests, detentions and deportations of immigrants in November in the 10 (soon to be 12) cities where ICE and the US Border Patrol are deployed along with National Guard troops. Of the 65,000 persons detained in the first half of November and the 200,000 persons arrested and deported earlier, less than 10 percent had convictions for violent felonies, though the administration still claims it is targeting “the worst of the worst.”

ICE and the Border Patrol are under increased scrutiny by news media, immigration lawyers and citizens with cameras and whistles for warning neighbors. They’ve recorded instances of excessive use of pepper spray and tear gas, the fatal shooting of an immigrant and a non-lethal shooting of an American citizen in Chicago, acts of physical violence against detainees, spectators, journalists and protesters, and arrests carried out at courthouses where immigrants expected to be interviewed for citizenship, green cards or asylum status. One man here in Washington State was mauled by a dog sicced on him by an ICE official though he did nothing to provoke the attack.

Losing It?

At a Mount Pocono, PA, event billed as an affordability/economic speech, Trump went wildly off message, serving up 90 minutes of self-congratulation: “There has never been a President who worked as hard as me. My hours are the longest and my results the best. I’ve stopped eight wars, saving millions of lives. I created the best economy in history, brought back American business, rebuilt our military, gave the biggest tax and regulation cuts in history, sealed our border when no one else could and made our economy respected around the world. I also do long, boring medical exams, watched by top doctors who gave me perfect scores. Some said they have never seen such strong results. I do these exams because I owe it to my country.” Observers said Trump’s performance showed signs of cognitive decay and fact-checkers said it consisted mostly of exaggerations and lies. These examples are piling up faster and faster.

Peacemaker and war-maker

Trump thinks he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize and has renamed the US Institute of Peace after himself. Yet he is making war on Venezuela—so far, bombing boats he alleges are run by “narco-terrorist” in the Caribbean, but threatening to bomb the land as well in order to drive Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro out of power. The US just seized a Venezuelan oil tanker like common pirates.

Trump has produced no evidence that Venezuela is shipping narcotics to the US. Experts dispute it and Democrats assert that the 87 crewmen killed so far are victims of illegal “extra-judicial executions” by the US. The administration claims it has solid intelligence to justify its actions but has released none of it to the public or Congress.

At the same time the administration claims it is saving “millions of lives” by interdicting narcotics flows from Venezuela, Trump has just pardoned former Honduran President Juan Hernandez, who was serving a 45-year prison sentence for shipping 400 tons of cocaine to the US, accepting millions in bribes from murderous drug cartels, and using his country’s military to help him cover up his activities.

Trump claimed Hernandez “was treated very harshly and unfairly by the Biden administration.” He said that “the people of Honduras” and “people I respect” appealed for the pardon, but Axios reported that political fixer Roger Stone lobbied for Hernandez’s release.

Lots of attention has been paid to the killing of two survivors of the first “narco-ship” bombing in September who were clinging to their damaged boat. But less attention has been focused on why Trump wants to topple Maduro, hardly the world’s only anti-American dictator or drug distributor.

I think the answer is oil. Trump was caught on a video lamenting US failure to topple Maduro previously: “we would have taken it over. We would have gotten ALL that oil.” Venezuela has more than 300 billion barrels, more than Saudi Arabia—a treasure to be exploited by US oil companies, Trump cronies and Trump himself.

Affordability as Hoax

On Nov. 21, Trump met with New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who’d campaigned to lower costs, and said, “I have no higher priority than making America affordable. On Nov. 29, he declared himself “THE AFFORDABILITY PRESIDENT.”

But at a Cabinet meeting Dec. 2, he said “the word affordability is a Democratic con job…a Democrat scam” designed to blame him for higher prices.

Trump asserts he has “crushed inflation” that he inherited from Joe Biden, but he is repeating Biden’s pattern of claiming economic success that the public doesn’t believe. Polling puts Trump’s approval on controlling prices at between 31% and 40%. His ratings on managing the economy are equally bad. Nonetheless, he claims he deserves a grade of “A+++++” for the economy.

The facts, according to, government data, are that some prices have fallen this year—eggs by 13%, bread 3%, tech equipment 2% and gasoline .4 %. But the price of beef and veal are up 14.7%, car repairs 7.7%; home insurance 7.7%; electricity 6.4%; hospital services 5.8%, and rent 3.4%.

Health insurance rose 4.2%, but that number will really rise when Obamacare subsidies end at the end of the year. Premiums are expected to double or triple for 22 million people and 4 million more are expected to lose coverage along with 7.5 million Medicaid clients.

Selling out Ukraine—Again

European leaders, led by French President Emanuel Macron, were caught on a leaked telephone call on December 1 raising the possibility that Trump will “betray” Ukraine by forcing the beleaguered country into giving up land without security guarantees.

Their skeptical attitude about Trump’s intentions was tame: Trump has repeatedly sided with Russia, “paused” weapons supplies to Ukraine, even sales to Europe for transfer to Ukraine. The latest stoppage, on Dec. 2, involved the very air defense weapons Ukraine needed to deal with accelerated Russian missiles and drone attacks on Ukrainian—652 drones and 51 missiles on Dec 6-7 and 465 drones and 30 missiles Friday night–striking Ukraine’s energy grid, rail hubs and ports. Russia has also been attacking civilian apartment complexes.

Trump has shifted again to blaming Ukraine for opposing his “peace plan,” while saying Russia “is fine with it” although Vladimir Putin has been sticking to his maximum demands: no NATO membership for Ukraine ever, no stationing of European troops in Ukraine as a security guarantee, a reduction in Ukrainian forces from 900,000 personnel to 300,000,  Ukraine’s ceding all of the Donbas region in Eastern Ukraine, including territory Russia has been unable to conquer, Ukraine’s holding new presidential elections and an amnesty for all leaders from prosecution for war crimes.

When Trump proposed roughly this plan on Nov. 20, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman awarded Trump “the Neville Chamberlain Peace Prize,” referring to the then-Prime Minister of Britain’s agreeing to Adolph Hitler’s demand that areas of Czechoslovakia be ceded to Germany. Friedman said Chamberlain (and Trump) deserved the prize as “the leader who most flagrantly sells out its allies and values to an aggressive dictator.”

In negotiations since, Trump’s 28 proposals have been reduced to 19, including allowing Ukraine 800,000 troops, removing the blanket amnesty, but retaining the ban on NATO membership, stationing of NATO troops in Ukraine and territorial transfers. Friedman described Witkoff and Kushner, negotiators of the change as “useful idiots,” the Soviet term for Western dupes during the Cold War. Russia, however has not accepted the latest plan. And Zelensky rejects any plan that requires him to cede territory to Russia.

If Trump & Co. were not appeasers or “useful idiots,” they would stalwartly defend a democracy fighting for its existence against an imperialist neighbor, giving (not selling) whatever weapons Ukraine needs to defeat Russian advances—or maybe help Ukraine win this war.

Trump’s new National Security Strategy document shows he believes in the old “spheres of influence” concept of foreign relations—that big, powerful nations should and will dominate their geographic areas—the US in the Western Hemisphere, Russia in Europe and China in Asia.

The document differs greatly from past NSS documents, rejecting US “global domination” and then advancing democracy either at home or abroad. It also dodges naming Russia and China as strategic adversaries and is more critical of Europe than either of them. China is merely an “economic competitor” and Russia, to the extent it practices aggression, is Europe’s problem.

It is also a Trump-centric document, hailing him for ‘“ushering in a new golden age” and describing him as “the President of Peace” for (it says) ending eight conflicts across the globe.

It also adopts his favorite policy, limitation of immigrant flows, as a “core national security interest” justifying huge expenditures for ICE and the Border Patrol. Europe, it says, is losing its character because it has opened itself to too many foreigners and can save itself only by adopting Trump-like immigration policies.

(The document ignores the need for immigration to increase the labor force, a key component of prosperity. Trump does value rich immigrants who can afford his $1 million “Trump Gold Card”—bearing his picture, of course—entitling holders to permanent residency and a path to citizenship and corporate sponsorships at $2 million per employee.)

The document does not imply US isolationism. Trump wants to dominate the Western Hemisphere and conduct economic policy on a bilateral, not globalist, basis. It does advocate US independence, though, proposing that the US achieve nuclear weapons superiority and dominance in computer chips, AI, and quantum computing.

Losing It, Part Deux

On several occasions, Trump has bragged that he’s reduced drug prices by “500, 600, 700% or more” or “1200, 1300, 1400, 1500%…I don’t mean 50%, I mean 1400, 1500%.” Each time, he’s been reminded it is a mathematical impossibility to go above 100% or drug companies would have to pay the government huge multiples of their prices, but he keeps repeating the numbers.

He also has said that he “brought Christmas back,” replacing the Democrats’ “Happy Holidays.”

Democrats’ “war on Christmas” has apparently been suspended. Thank you, Mr. President!