Sunday Issues-January 19, 2025
The day before. The day before what?
Good morning. Tomorrow is Inauguration Day. Forty-eight hours from now, we will know more about what Donald J. Trump has planned for America. So why speculate on it today?
I will have much to say about two things tomorrow night or, more likely, Wednesday. I will listen carefully to the Inaugural Address and compare it to the gloom and doom he delivered eight years ago. I will also focus on the Executive Orders issued tomorrow, especially those relating to immigration and border security.
Today, I limit my discussion of issues to the poll reported in this morning’s New York Times, showing that “Many Americans who otherwise dislike President-elect Donald J. Trump share his bleak assessment of the country’s problems and support some of his most contentious prescriptions to fix them.”
The New York Times/Ipsos Poll is worth reading. It shows an America ready to embrace a large-scale deportation of undocumented migrants, especially those with criminal records. It also confirms that many Americans have accepted Trump’s claim that the federal government is rife with waste.
Notably, the poll shows that Americans do not support Trump using his power as president to prosecute his political enemies. I was relieved by that finding.
If you read the NYT, read the page one article about the poll. If not, go here.
The poll findings are not surprising.
Is America “moving right?” More than one poll suggests it is, but I wonder for how long. Americans, like people everywhere, tend to believe their political leaders. If a president, or soon-to-be president, says drilling more oil will make America prosperous, the public wants to accept them. Similarly, if a claim is made that climate change is “a hoax,” many people skeptical about global warming (especially this coming week) may start to believe that increased hurricanes, fires, and polar vortexes are normal.
Trump will enjoy a short honeymoon that will enable him to achieve some of his goals. Some will be achieved through Executive Orders that will be challenged in court and others will result from Congress doing what it usually does at the start of a new administration—passing at least some of the new president’s agenda.
Is the Trump team up to running the government?
It now seems likely that the Senate will confirm all or almost all of Trump’s cabinet choices. That is no surprise, despite the nominees’ lack of experience and, in several cases, troubling personal histories. It will soon be time to stop arguing about Trump’s nominees. They will be in office. The new game will be to see how they conduct their jobs, who the first one will be that crosses Trump and gets fired (via a Truth Social post), and who creates the first scandal.
Americans, including those who voted against Trump, don’t want a failed presidency. They want some of Trump’s policies rejected.
The presidential portrait.
One last item today. Last week, I saw what I think is the official presidential portrait of Trump, which will hang in hundreds of federal office buildings, military bases, and other facilities. The picture could be mistaken for Trump’s mug shot, which he has proudly posted on his social media site and placed on coffee mugs and other items offered for sale by organizations associated with Trump.
The portrait is not of a happy president. It is meant to intimidate. Trump is saying, “Take me seriously.”
I take Trump seriously now that he is about to be president. I hope everyone else does as well. We’re in for a bumpy ride.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading today’s Sunday Issue. Later this week, I will have more on the new administration.
That is quite the photo. Giving us all the Evil Eye is quite a way to start. I think we are supposed to be afraid. I intend to show up at my local MLK Day tomorrow. Persist.