Donald Trump is an immoral, cruel man who is now the face of America.

When horrified Americans realized Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy meant separating migrant parents and their children, they chorused, “This is not who we are.” Really?

Just as Trump alone can decide to praise North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, who orders opponents killed and threatened us with nuclear weapons, so, too, he alone made the cold-hearted decision that children could be abused to serve his political purpose.

Did you listen to the Republican cacophony against this policy? Yes, it was muted. When Trump went to Capitol Hill to defend this Nazi-esque position, no Republicans openly challenged him. “No questions were permitted.” Instead, these elected officials who swear an oath to the Constitution gave Trump a standing ovation.

In November we must remember.

Before public outrage forced a change in “zero tolerance” to mean not snatching children from parents, Trump and his Cabinet had insisted caging toddlers, while arresting their parents for the misdemeanor of trying to enter the U.S. illegally or legally seeking asylum, was a deterrent to desperate parents fleeing violence in their home countries. There is no evidence for that.

Advertisement

The United Nations says the U.S. has violated human rights. Leaders of religions ranging from Catholics to evangelical Baptists protested. The federal government kept journalists from reporting on children stuffed into tent cities, at a nightly cost of $800 a person.

In November we must remember.

Trump falsely claimed the law requires such separation. It was a Trump policy plotted a year ago. As a result of this bungling, as many as 2,300 children who were taken from detained parents may never see their parents again. There is no valid mechanism to reunite them.

Trump has said he even wants to curtail legal immigration. So much for his wife, her sister, ex-wife and parents-in-law, all immigrants.

In November we must remember.

Trump and his people used child abuse against migrant children to make them hostages for the vital November midterm elections. They hoped the heart-wrenching plight of the children would force Congress to spend billions on a wall that experts say will not work.

Advertisement

In November we must remember.

After the violence in Charlottesville during a white supremacy march, Trump defended the white nationalists. After two hurricanes ripped apart Puerto Rico, whose citizens, Trump was surprised to learn, are Americans, the federal response was pitiful.

Trump constantly uses ridicule and bullying against opponents and those weaker than he. His tweets are often nasty and vulgar. He said immigrants “infest” this country.

In November we must remember.

Since becoming president, Trump has been caught in an average of six verifiable lies – lies – a day. During just one day he said he’s been exonerated from his campaign’s colluding with Russia during the 2016 election. Not true. Same day he said the jailing of Paul Manafort has nothing to do with him. Manafort was the key campaign chairman in Trump’s campaign for 145 crucial days. Trump then said the arrest of his former national security adviser Michael Flynn for lying to the FBI was unwarranted. Trump himself fired Flynn for lying. He insisted he has solved the problem of the pariah state of North Korea. No, he has not.

In November we must remember.

Advertisement

For years Trump boasted about extramarital affairs. Now we know he paid a porn star $130,000 and a Playboy bunny $150,000 to keep quiet.

He and his family have used the presidency to make millions of dollars for their personal use.

Until the courts intervened, Trump tried to ban Muslims from coming into America because of their religion, force immigrant girls who had been raped to deliver, keep transgender Americans out of military service and deport Dreamers who are working or going to schools. Trump is rapidly replacing judges.

We must remember in November.

In November we will decide if Republicans continue to control the entire government, including both houses of Congress. Republicans, who so far have refused to buck Trump on his immoral and cruel tendencies, will make sure Trump prevails. He may well be reelected in 2020.

The argument that “this is not who we are” will simply crumble.

Ann McFeatters is an op-ed columnist for Tribune News Service. Readers may send her email at: amcfeatters@nationalpress.com.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.