One month in, the basic gambit of the second Trump administration seems to be that they think you’re stupid.
Donald Trump’s team seems convinced they can ignore the long-standing problems that have made normal life insecure or impossible for average people in the United States — even that they can make those problem worse and create whole new ones — and that you won’t notice they’re doing it if they carry out the political equivalent of jangling keys in front of a baby.
They think they can cut regulations that stop corporations from preying on Americans or endangering them by cutting corners; as long as they say it was “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI) or “critical race theory” (CRT), you’ll nod along gamely. They think that as long as they shout “wokeness,” they can take your health care away, put you out of a job, and turn a blind eye to predatory firms price gouging you, and you won’t realize you’re being screwed over — that you’ll be happy about it, in fact.
Look at US air travel. Earlier this week, Trump — or, technically, DOGE, his “Department of Governmental Efficiency” — purged nearly three hundred personnel from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), who do the invisible but vital work that ensures that you don’t have to worry about dying when you fly somewhere.
He did this even though there have now been four US plane crashes in the month since he took office, including the deadliest aircraft crash in twenty years and one just this week, when a Delta plane that took off from Minneapolis flipped upside down upon landing in Toronto mere hours after Trump’s purge of FAA workers. We’re still waiting to find out exactly what caused that incident, but it’s inarguable that one of the…
Auteur: Branko Marcetic
