Part 4 - The Misbegotten Trump Presidency

Summary

Introduction to Part 4

I loathe Donald J. Trump. I not only voted against him twice; I opposed much of what his administration did—or attempted to do—once in office. Needless to say, I thoroughly condemn his conduct after Election Day 2020 (including on January 6, 2001) in the strongest possible terms. (I do applaud his administration's initiation of the Abraham Accords in the Middle East, its championing of school choice, and some other measures).

During the early days of the Trump administration, I published a long limerick, reproduced here, that mocked the President, his character, and some of his actions. I later published some pieces criticizing the Trump administration on a number of policy issues, including its severe limita¬tion on the number of refugees to be admitted and its efforts to implement some of its most controversial policies by declaring national emergencies. I wrote a favorable assessment of the Supreme Court's decision upholding the Trump administration's travel ban, although I opposed the ban as a policy matter. Finally, I published another article excoriating Trump for crudely and cruelly defaming TV commentator Joe Scarborough and a private citi¬zen, Lori Klausutis, whose story had been featured on the “Morning Joe” show.

Limerick*

Let's honor the day we gave birth

To a nation like none then on earth

Many would say

That's still true today

Though this year has tested our worth.

A brash, boastful brander named Trump

Thought he’d do quite well on the stump

His past he admired:

Pageants, deals and “You’re fired”

He’d easily trounce Jeb (lazy lump!)

His campaign excited the masses

Who think that the feds are all asses

He heaped endless scorn

On all foreign-born

While giving bigots fulsome passes.

His passion, as Yeats had foreseen,

Ran to the worst and obscene

McCain, a true hero

To Trump is but zero

Just money, not valor, is green.

His coiffure absurd but well-kempt

His rallies cascades of contempt

With words out of kilter

And tweets without filter

One wishes he felt more verklempt #

Trump saw that his opponent was lame

Her platform just more of the same

Deploring each skeptic

With words narcoleptic

Ne’er was she or her party to blame.