Public Comment

On January 20, Donald Trump becomes President. Let’s review what we know about him and see what that suggests about his first 100 days. 

1.Trump can’t be trusted. Those of us who didn’t vote for Trump have many reasons, but a common thread is that we don’t trust him. Trump doesn’t have deep moral convictions. He will say or do whatever is expedient to get votes. There are many examples of this bad behavior: Trump advocates tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthy; he does this not because he supports some economic theory but because it’s what his rich donors want. Trump believes that global climate change is a “hoax’” he takes this position not because he has scientific evidence that supports his position but because his rich donors – the fossil-fuel industry – support this. There are daily examples: recently Trump blamed the Southern California wildfires on Governor Newsom’s water policies, but the truth was Newsom had nothing to do with the LA water system. 

2, Trump is intellectually lazy. There’s a lot of debate about how smart Trump is and whether he’s showing signs of senile dementia. We’re unlikely to get unbiased information on his mental capacity. What we can agree on is that Trump is lazy. He doesn’t exhibit signs of a disciplined mind. For example, Trump doesn’t study briefing documents and is as likely to be influenced by something he just saw on Fox News, or read on X, as he is the testimony of experts.  

3. Trump has surrounded himself with sycophants. In 2016, Trump’s cabinet included folks with impressive credentials; for example, General James Mattis as Secretary of Defense, Senator Sessions as Attorney General, and Christopher Wray as FBI director. In 2020, Trump’s cabinet is full of sycophants: Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense, Pam Bondi as Attorney General, and Kash Patel as FBI director. These are very poor choices, particularly Hegseth and Patel who have no substantial management experience. 

Donald Trump wants to be in the White House, but he has no appetite for the work required as President of the United States. Some of this work might be delegated, but Trump has surrounded himself with sycophants, many of whom are unqualified for their positions.  

Imagine that you are crossing the ocean on a large liner and discover that the captain only works on sunny days and most of the crew are inexperienced teenagers. That’s a metaphor for the Trump White House.  

Consequences: Trump 2.0 has been short on policy detail. What we know is that Donald Trump wants to launch a massive effort to deport those he believes are in the US illegally. We also know that Trump promised to “fix” the US economy – to bring consumer prices down and to address housing and medical costs; Trump believes he can accomplish this by levying tariffs on our trading partners. Many of us believe that Trump carries grudges and will launch investigations into those he deems “enemies.” 

Meanwhile the world goes on. This moment is similar to January 2001 when George W. Bush became president. Like Trump, Dubya wanted to be President but not do the heavy lifting. Dubya’s lackadaisical mindset contributed to the terrorist attack on September 11. 

Trump has limited capacity. He sees some of the problems besetting the United States but is unaware of many others. This suggests that Trump 2.0 will be weak and, therefore, the US will be vulnerable, 

a. National Security: David Brooks ( https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/15/opinion/pete-hegseth-hearings-defense.html ) reminds us that China threatens the US; experts believe China is preparing to invade Taiwan. How will Trump respond if China, or Russia or some other evil actor, attacks us or one of our key allies? 

b. Climate Change: Trump may believe climate change is a “hoax,” but that won’t stop climate-related events from happening. Republicans have a rigid economic agenda that says new appropriations must be paid for by cuts in the federal budget. How will Republicans respond when FEMA requests additional funds to cover Climate Change-related damage? 

c. Social Unrest: Trump won the 2024 election because a majority of voters suffered from economic hardship and believed Trump would fix the economy. How long will aggrieved voters give Trump to reduce inflation? What will happen if, after 12 or 18 months, a strong majority of Americans feel that Trump hasn’t solved their economic problems?  

Summary: The United States is heading into troubled waters led by a president with glaring faults who has surrounded himself with sycophants. This suggests that 1) Trump won’t keep his campaign promises and 2) Trump 2.0 is ill-prepared to deal with unexpected threats. Buckle up.