Maya Angelou stated "When someone tells you who they are, believe them the first time." Twice impeached, disgraced, 23 times indicted ex-president Trump has been showing who he is for years. He praised China for their response to the protest at Tiananmen Square, he called for the death penalty to the now exonerated New York 5, he cheated his workers and used undocumented immigrants to build Trump Tower. That's just part of his disreputable history. But that history defines the present. He was dangerous when on office for four years and will be seriously more dangerous if he ever comes close to the White House again.

 

Listen to what he and his sycophants say. This time he will not have people around him to control his worst impulses. Trump has stated quite clearly his admiration for authoritarian leaders, Kim Jong Un, Putin and Orban. He has said what he would do – put the homeless in tent cities and immigrant children in cages, destroy the Justice Department in concert with the Heritage Foundation, replace career civil servants who have institutional knowledge with loyalists, eliminate birthright citizenship, invade Mexico, use the military to take control of  "Democratic cities" and this is only the tip of the iceberg. He  stated quite clearly "We've been waging an all out war on American Democracy." 

The systems that are in place to protect our Democracy have been weakened. The Republican Party has capitulated to the cult of Trump. We cannot slide into fascism and authoritarianism because people are not paying attention. Listen to those who worked with him and are finally speaking out. Listen to Liz Chaney. It is my hope she has not become our Cassandra and our Democracy the modern day Troy. Be aware and think seriously about the country you want to live in and act accordingly.

 

Bonnie Ginger

 

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