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Jan. 27, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: Let’s review some developments from the first week of the Trump presidency 2.0. Trump issued blanket pardons for or commutations of the sentences of nearly every January 6th rioter, including those who pled guilty to and were convicted of assaulting police officers.
With one stroke of the pen, he invalidated the existence of more than a million Americans who identify as non-binary or transgender.
He unilaterally declared that birthright citizenship under the 14th Amendment was null and void, an action which a Reaganappointed federal judge called “blatantly unconstitutional.”
He created new barriers to insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
He threatened to withhold federal disaster aid to victims of the recent California wildfires unless the state adopted a wholly unrelated voter identification law.
In the dead of the night, he fired from federal agencies more than a dozen inspectors general, whose job is to identify waste and corruption; this decision appears to violate a federal law that requires 30 days’ notice to Congress and runs completely counter to his alleged interest in increasing government accountability and efficiency.
This isn’t draining the swamp; it’s taking a firehose to fill it as fast as possible with fetid water.
Finally, he demanded an apology from a member of the clergy who dared to direct to the president a message of compassion and mercy, a galling act of hypocrisy by a narcissist who revels in every opportunity to offend others with his words but who apparently cannot tolerate the Christian gospel of love. Several Republican elected officials have taken the criticism a step further and called for her deportation. No doubt If Jesus were preaching in this country right now, there would be calls to deport him too. PHILIPCOULLING Lexington
