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The following is a non-exhaustive list of all the horrible things that Trump has done since taking power. Sourced from the official White House announcements of executive orders, social media posts by federal employees, and posts by those impacted by the executive orders.
- Rolling back Civil Rights Era legislation that literally gives people civil rights.
- Firing all the non-partisan watchdogs in the federal government.
- Halting federal grants and funding.
- Banning groups such as the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from communicating about new and current illnesses, including tracking the massive bird flu outbreak right now and announcing food recalls due to safety.
- Instructing all federal websites from removing all mentions of LGBTQ+ people, including sites dedicated to health and safety, such as the HIV prevention and resources page.
- Firing a massive chunk of air traffic and safety workers and then blaming a tragic collision on “DEI” somehow.
- Giving Elon Musk essentially complete control over all federal information and systems.
- Not allowing people to work for the federal government, especially leadership positions, unless they swear a loyalty oath to Trump.
- Erasing the existence of transgender and non-binary (TNB) people on legal documentation, to the point where trans people are reporting that they are unable to get new passports, regardless of the gender designation they are seeking, and are even having their identifying documents confiscated at passport offices.
- Mass deportation efforts, which have led to the harassment and detainment of tens of thousands of human beings, including citizens and Native Americans.
- Breaking the North Atlantic Free Trade Association (NAFTA) by imposing tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, and nearly starting a trade war with Colombia (which official documents misspelled as Columbia, like the university).
And so much more that I am probably missing.
Nothing that would help the economy and lower the cost of groceries. Nothing that would help the “little guy” in America. Nothing. In fact, we are looking at a horrific economy on the horizon due to the tariffs we will be forced to pay, the disruption of the agricultural industry by the deportation efforts, the large layoffs within the government, a decrease in the corporate tax rate, an increase in the tax rate for lower-income Americans, the rollback of federal assistance and grants, etc.
These are all things that people who do not support Trump had been saying would happen if he became president again. And now, some folks have the audacity to act shocked when these horrible things are happening. He ruined the economy and increased international tensions in his first term, so why would the second term be magically better?
Trump voters were duped into believing he would solve economic issues, despite literal economists with Nobel Prizes in Economics telling us that he would ruin things. These people have somehow convinced themselves that a billionaire who is best friends with other billionaires is somehow anti-establishment.
At the end of the day, Trump voters were willing to sacrifice minority groups for the false promise of a better economy.
And while all these horrible things are happening, Democrats in the federal government are just sitting there and not doing anything about it. Make a bigger fuss about things! Make sure information is being properly shared with the public! Stop sitting there acting all surprised!
I can’t articulate more right now. I’m exhausted from waking up every day hearing horrific news, while I then have to still work and go to school.
I have to hope that my loved ones and I will make it through this, and that the people who voted for this will learn. I am going to do my best to channel my anger at the oligarchy into love and compassion for my neighbors. We need to come together and support each other in our communities. I am going to work on my PhD and continue to advocate for marginalized groups within my profession. I am not going to comply with the regime. I am going to live as my authentic self, loudly and proudly.
I extend my love and support to others victimized by the regime, from immigrants to disabled people, to LGBTQ+ people, to people of color, to women. We deserve better, and I hope we can support each other in the years to come.