An undistinguished tenure

To the editor:

When confronted with the many objectionable statements or acts committed by Donald Trump, supporters often say “I know, but he did good things.” So exactly what are those “good things”?  Was it the huge corporate tax cut that he gifted himself and other wealthy businessmen or his failed attempt to strip health care from the millions who received it under the ACA? 

Perhaps, it was Trump’s mismanagement of a healthy economy, which distinguishes him as the first U.S. president to lose jobs since Herbert Hoover, including 5,000 coal mining jobs he promised to save. Maybe it was Trump’s pathetic 1.03 percent annual GDP growth, again the worst performance since Hoover. 

Or, it could be his rollback of Obama-era rail and banking regulations that led to numerous train wrecks, toxic spills and the collapse of several banks, most notably Silicon Valley Bank. It might even be the total chaos Trump has wrought upon the Republican Party where it is impossible to name a House speaker, let alone govern.

What I believe Trump supporters mean by “good things” comes down mostly to one thing, immigration. Separating children from parents, his failed attempt to build a Mexican-funded border wall, reducing immigration numbers (even among those who come here legally) and his inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric are all seen as “good.” I could almost hear the cheering in MAGA circles when Trump recently said that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country,” a near exact quote from Adolph Hitler regarding Jews. 

It’s a sad state of affairs when half our country’s population is so strongly opposed to immigrants that they would eagerly re-elevate an incompetent, dishonest, intellectually-challenged failure back to our nation’s highest office.

Joseph Cannisi

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