All I see is red and blue. The polls and their averages provide a variety of electoral maps and projections — numbers and possibilities. There’s lots of confusion. This is the home stretch, where the going gets tough, a welcome locale or period that is becoming all too familiar. We are one week out from Election Day. The work done, or not, in the seven days ahead will change the course of history.
This will hopefully be the last time I write about the former president, as if I ever wrote about him in the past at length at all. I have had my fill. Consider this and the ballot I cast on the first day of early voting in my home state of Texas as my deliverance.
The title of this piece might suggest that I will postulate a list of legislative wins from the Trump years and pick one standout, one silver lining. I’ll skip that narrow exercise, much better left to a pundit or a large language model, and get to the point because the Trump administration’s accomplishments are subjective, transient, and much more muted than what the former president did most effectively: his exposure and feeding of the worst qualities in otherwise decent Americans.
Let us recall, Trump launched his political career by calling Mexicans drug peddlers, rapists, and criminals. This is the same guy who publicly advertised for the execution of the wrongfully convicted Central Park Five. Like a middle school student, he refers to political rivals by disparaging nicknames, including Pocahontas. At his Madison Square Garden rally this past week, a comedian called Puerto Rico an “island of garbage.” The billionaire and booted New Yorker’s brand of politics is blatantly suspended on a platform of racism, white nationalism, and tawdry machismo.
His nearly decades-long quest, acquisition, and fall from power have been characterized by corruption and drama. Trump was twice impeached, once for withholding military aid to Ukraine for political gain and obstructing a congressional probe into said hold (i.e., abuse of power), and once for “incitement of insurrection” — leading to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.
The incessant whiner who cries that the media is the “enemy of the people,” who calls those who hold opposing political views “the enemy from within,” and who proclaims to be “tough on crime,” is in fact a criminal. Trump disguised payment installments as corporate legal expenses to pay for Stormy Daniels’ silence ahead of the 2016 campaign. The hush money scheme, inadvertent proof that he cheated on his third wife, made Trump the first convicted president in U.S. history. Special Counsel Jack Smith, appointed by the Attorney General, has charged Trump with four federal indictments rooting from attempts to impede a peaceful transfer of power. The Fulton County District Attorney in Georgia has filed a 98-page indictment against Trump — citing corruption and conspiracy (e.g., false statements and writings) — for his and his allies’ involvement in attempting to sway that state’s 2020 electoral results, most infamously captured in a phone call to Georgia’s Secretary of State. Upon leaving the White House, Trump stashed a collection of highly sensitive national security documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate. The FBI discovered 102 documents with classified markings, prompting federal prosecutors to seek and secure an indictment from a grand jury in Florida, charging Trump with 37 felonies. Although Trump claims to be “great for women,” a jury found him liable (i.e., guilty in civil cases) for sexually abusing advice columnist, E. Jean Carroll. Trump’s criminal record and consistent pattern of disgraceful practices over the span of decades, obscured by his lofty status and nearly always met with wails of victimhood, would make almost any other civilian unable to vote, let alone secure a job. Yet nearly half of the electorate wishes to send him back to Pennsylvania Avenue because, alas, we effectively hold comedians, actors, sportscasters, journalists, athletes, teachers, and medical professionals to higher standards. Why is that?
Because practically all of Trump’s political pitches and tactics are bigoted and fear-based. These are ancient procedures. It’s the narrative that there’s an invasion of immigrants, stealing your job and eating your pets. It’s the notion that transgender people are using taxpayer money for gender-affirming care in prison, care available to that population under the Trump administration. It’s the twisted idea that the Democrats are Marxists seeking to infiltrate and sabotage this country.
These fictions, while erroneous, are effective in mobilizing primary MAGA constituencies. At its most basic and lowest, however, these boogeyman ploys prey on people’s anxieties and uncertainties — all for the sake of temporary power. I wonder if we, as a people, will give in to such rehashed and flimsy maneuvers. Therefore, I ask: Are we scared puppies or fearless patriots?
“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity. Without it, no real success is possible, no matter whether it is on a section gang, a football field, in an army, or in an office.” — Dwight D. Eisenhower
Throughout his presidency, Trump called the bravest and most selfless among us — fallen American soldiers — “losers” and “suckers.” He didn’t want to be seen with military amputees because “it didn’t look good” for him. Speaking of the late Senator McCain, who spent over five years as a prisoner of war, Trump said, “I like people who weren’t captured.” This is disgusting commentary and quite rich, coming from someone who dodged the Vietnam draft.
The end of the Trump presidency revealed that there is no bigger sore loser in the country, and I’ve seen my fair share of junior soccer, basketball, and football games. This guy lost over 60 election cases and never conceded, and skipped Inauguration Day — making him the first outgoing president to forgo attendance since 1869.
Let’s be real and decent. Trump’s political career should have ended with “grab ‘em by the pussy” and the mocking of a disabled reporter. His 2024 campaign should have been suspended after he called for the termination of the Constitution. These are disqualifying words and actions. Yet, Trump wasn’t canceled because he tapped into widely shared and dreadful parts of humanity — the temptations to bully, deprecate, and fright. I’d venture to say that the majority of Americans would be appalled if their boss acted the same way. And that’s because character matters.
Trump’s erratic conduct and rhetoric subconsciously permit others to act the same way. It’s the “I can do it because he does it” type mentality or justification. We need not be inspired to behave so poorly. This nation’s posterity is watching and taking note.
People look up to leaders who hold high offices and wield positions of great influence. These responsible officials, who recognize and respect the weight of power, set the behavioral and emotional tone, monitoring their own impulses and actions as if carefully maintaining a thermostat. The president is arguably the most visible public figure in America. And there’s been too much vitriol, hostility, tumult, and violence in recent political times — which dares to stain the culture and determine a course for this nation’s future. That’s why I voted for Kamala Harris.
I cast my vote for the Vice President for several reasons, but mostly because she embodies far better values and demonstrates a far better demeanor. She is not a perfect candidate. I certainly take issue with this administration’s broad silence on the atrocities committed against the innocent Palestinian people. But if you are looking for perfect humans, I would suggest that you turn your focus from politics to scripture or philosophy.
It’s just refreshing to see and hear a politician so joyful. The Harris/Walz campaign is propelled by optimism, offering a counter to what the GOP is selling — fear and Trump Bibles.
“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” — 2 Corinthians 2:17
Over a dozen of Trump’s former allies and cabinet members have refused to endorse his recent bid. Former Vice President Pence is not supporting Trump this time around. Trump’s longtime “fixer” lawyer, Michael Cohen, recently maintained that Trump will be dedicated to a “revenge tour” if elected. Mary L. Trump, the niece of the former president, published a book about her uncle and how he “threatens the world’s health, economic security, and social fabric.” John Kelly, Trump’s longest-serving Chief of Staff, said that the former president praised Hitler while in office. Another Chief of Staff in the Trump White House, Anthony Scaramucci, has warned about the danger of another Trump presidency. The former First Lady, Melania Trump, is largely absent from her husband’s side and the campaign trail. If we send Trump back to the Oval Office, we run the risk of being labeled as foolish by the rest of the world. We would be called trashy — perhaps deservingly so. It needn’t be that way.
We will decide America’s position, agenda, and trajectory with our votes. It’s that simple. The highest glass ceiling can be shattered on November 5, 2024. Let us progress with boldness. Let us meet the moment.
Hugo is a writer of politics, culture, and fiction. Follow him on Twitter/X (@hugosaysgo) for recommended reading and memes, and on Instagram (@hugosnaps) for photography. Happy reading.
