Since Donald Trump first took office in 2016, we have struggled to answer whether his defining characteristic—and that of his administration—is ignorance, incompetence, greed, or malevolence.
You might ask whether choosing among these base traits is useful, given that each clearly plays some role shaping the outcomes with which we must now contend. But it matters. If Trump and those around him are merely not up to the job, or they are just bumbling clowns, then it’s easier to shrug off what they say and do. If they lack the capacity to achieve their goals, then we needn’t worry so much— all we need do is cringe and wait for it all to collapse beneath the weight of its own stupidity.
Yes, it is dumb that Elon Musk’s gang of pimply-faced minions accidentally fired the people who are responsible for keeping our nuclear weapons safe. Sure, it is absurd that one particularly dim-witted Congresswoman is now leading an effort to make Trump’s birthday a national holiday.
But it has become increasingly clear that the roots of the current U.S. administration are not just reckless. Recent developments have shown that laughing off Trump & Co. is a dangerous miscalculation.
Maybe Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth did not realize it was not in the U.S. best interest to suggest that we would not be capable of defeating the Russian military, or that it would take “seven years” to match their maritime might?! But in multiple separate events, the President and his top aides have made it clear that the United States is now actively taking the side of the Kremlin against our own allies and interests. Tulsi Gabbard, who has embraced and promoted Kremlin propaganda, has been elevated to be the head of the U.S. intelligence community. Secretary of State Marco Rubio started the wheels in motion for “peace talks” with Russia to which Ukraine would not be invited. Trump continued to promote the lie that the war was Ukraine’s choice, while sending Vladimir Putin veritable Valentine’s Day kisses!
Hegseth has also said the U.S. could no longer be counted on to defend our European allies, while in Germany, Vice President J.D. Vance refused to meet with the country’s elected Chancellor—and lectured the German people that they should be more open to the neo-Nazis among them.
Meanwhile, Musk, a man who is not officially a government official, has been leading a reckless effort to tear down vital institutions at home. Tens of thousands are being forced out of their jobs, with the only apparent rationale driving the cuts being a desire to inflict suffering among the most vulnerable among us. Through edicts withholding aid from programs designed to promote diversity and inclusion, Musk, DOGE and their president have taken steps to institutionalize racism in the United States in ways that have been illegal in this country for decades.
The damage they are doing is compounded—to the brink of a constitutional crisis unlike any we have ever seen—by the flagrant derision for court rulings and a campaign to vilify and condemn judges who seek to uphold U.S. law. Trump ended the week with a statement echoing the sentiments of dictators from Napoleon to Hitler when he stated via social media “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
This administration has made relentless progress in weakening our country, our system of government, our alliances and the international institutions we created to help keep the peace worldwide. It has weakened vital pillars of our national security and stability, from our ability to identify and thwart overseas adversaries to the ability to protect ourselves against disease, educate our citizens, or resolve our differences.
It has sought to effectively eliminate laws against overseas corruption by American companies and to pardon corrupt American politicians purely because they would support the president. A systematic effort to eliminate civil servants who might place loyalty to the country above that to the president only compounds these perils.
We have faced national crises before. But never we have we had the president and his party be the greatest threat we faced.
To all those who thought Trump might not be so bad this time around, to those who thought they might move slowly to attack our democracy or promote kleptocracy, you have seen your hopes dashed. With breathtaking speed we have become a country few of our parents or those who came before them would recognize.
Other “optimists” see a rude awakening ahead. Congress is unlikely to embrace Trump’s most draconian cuts to the budget, and squawks are already being heard in red states about programs shut down by DOGE. But it is also possible that, in the next weeks or months, the Supreme Court upholds Trump’s and Musk’s worst initiatives. If they do, checks and balances in our system will be a thing of the past and we must face the reality of one-man rule by a bigot whose loyalty is divided amongst his family, a handful of amoral plutocrats and an odious group of overseas enemies.
So, then, this past week has snuffed out the ability to laugh or shrug off Trump, Musk and MAGA. It has also demonstrated how ill-prepared the leaders of the Democratic Party are in calling out or standing up to the threats we face. And therefore, is the question for all of us who recognize the danger that has descended on our nation: What sacrifices are we willing to undertake to stand up and defend against these attacks on our system?
Are we willing to stand up to an administration that is seizing our personal data and promises to take vindictive action against its own citizens? If so, when? If so, how? And if we don’t, what will we lose and for how long?
