Let me be absolutely clear about this: I detest Trump. And yes, I fully expect that one statement to drive away half of my readers, but I’m reminded of an old quote: “For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”

Fortunately, I had the good sense not to vote for the convicted criminal. His actions upon taking office should surprise no one—fire anyone involved in his conviction, including FBI agents who were just doing their job. Standard practice for FBI termination includes a non-disclosure agreement, but I have to wonder: what is he so desperate to bury? What did they uncover, or did they simply hurt his fragile ego by performing their job?

And let’s not forget all the Jan. 6 criminals he released. So does that mean I can assault any police officer I want as long as I shout, “Trump is great” while doing it? Sorry, that was out of line—I actually respect most of the officers I’ve encountered. But how about this: I can burn a Tesla to the ground as long as I’m shouting, “Trump is great” while doing it.

Then there are the tariffs. Can someone please explain how he can unilaterally impose them without Congress stopping him? More importantly, does anyone even understand how tariffs work? Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. The importer pays the tariff, which goes into the U.S. Treasury. Then the importer raises prices and passes the cost—plus markup—to the distributor. Guess who gets stuck paying for it in the end? That’s right—us.

Did you remember not having to budget for toilet paper? Get ready—because that’s about to double.

The bottom line: More money for the U.S. Treasury, less money for us. Trump will probably reduce taxes, sure—but that $100 or $200 tax cut won’t even begin to cover what we’ll be paying due to tariffs. Of course, if you’re a billionaire, who cares? Paying $100 for a family pack of toilet paper is just an afterthought. And if your superyacht costs a few million more, well, you’ll make up for it in tax cuts.

I can already hear people saying, “Just buy American!” Okay, but let’s go back to that toilet paper example. Trump’s first term placed tariffs on Canadian softwood, and what happened? Prices skyrocketed. We’ve had six years—have you seen the ‘Buy American’ concept work? We used to have a global economy. Your car has parts from Canada, Mexico, the U.S., China, and at least a dozen other countries. If you want everything to be made in America, you have to build the infrastructure first.

And guess how long that takes? Years. Maybe decades. And guess what? It’s not cheap. Somebody has to pay for all that setup and development. Spoiler alert: That’s us too.

Sure, Trump had a long talk with world leaders and “postponed” tariffs on Canada and Mexico—for a month. But what he conveniently failed to mention is that he had to commit to stopping the flow of guns to Mexico. Oh, and those 10,000 troops to be stationed on the border? Mexico already had 15,000 troops stationed there.

Let’s not forget about out former friends to the North. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Trump announced a 30-day pause in the implementation of tariffs. Trump announced that Trudeau agreed to appoint a border czar and to implement a $1.3 billion border plan. He didn’t mention  that Canada had already announced this in December. In other words, Trump created an economic crisis that threatened both domestic and global stability, then claimed Biden administration achievements as his own and declared victory.

His so-called victory was nothing but a cheap political stunt.

And then there’s the censorship. The CDC is not allowed to send out reports (don’t worry, it’s just “temporary”), climate change isn’t happening, and the FDA can’t even acknowledge pregnancy. Let that sink in.

And what about the government employees he’s pushing to quit? Where’s the money coming from for all those termination packages? I know Congress hasn’t authorized it. Right now, the last thing I’d do is quit. If you quit, they can just say your position is eliminated and, since Congress hasn’t approved your severance, you get nothing. At least if you get fired, you qualify for unemployment, severance pay, and possibly legal action. But quitting? All you get is an empty promise. While writing this, that so-called ‘termination package’ was already modified—it now says Congress hasn’t approved the funds, and accepting it waives all your legal rights. What a deal!

Does anyone really believe this is going to stop? Trump is following Putin’s playbook to the letter. Say anything supporting your case, don’t worry about the facts. You do know that Putin is technically not a dictator, right? He’s a “President.” The people voted for him. They voted to remove term limits. And sure, they could vote him out—except anyone who opposes him ends up in prison.

Sound familiar yet?

Mark my words—Trump’s FBI purge is just the beginning.

And let’s talk about his military ambitions. The threats about the Panama Canal and making Canada the 51st state sound an awful lot like what Russia is doing to Ukraine. Make wild accusations, justify military action, and then claim the land. Ever wonder why Trump is so obsessed with Canada and Greenland? Look up rare earth minerals. It’s not about patriotism—it’s about money and power.

And then there’s the Russian oligarchs. Ever wonder how they got so rich? They were put in charge of “improving efficiency” in Russian departments. And guess what? They improved that efficiency—straight into their own pockets.

Remind you of anyone?

Musk is following the same path.

Speaking of which—how’s his great social media empire going? You know, the one formerly known as Twitter? He started by firing everyone he thought was “non-essential,” then had to beg them to come back. That worked out well, didn’t it? X is now worth one-tenth of what it was when Musk bought it.

And yet, Musk is using the same playbook on our government.

I’ve even heard the termination notices going out to federal employees are eerily similar to the ones used at X. Great job recycling bad ideas.

Of course, I’m sure the Russian people would say that life is better under Putin. Not that they’re allowed to say anything else. After all, both Trump and Putin have told us it’s patriotic to suffer.

And then there’s the DNC. American democracy is on the brink of extinction, and you still want to argue about pronouns?

How many votes did that win you in the last election?

How many votes did it cost you?

I’m guessing it was a net loss.

Pronouns aren’t even on my list of concerns right now. Take a long, hard look at what Americans actually care about. Ask yourself why so many people voted for a convicted felon than your candidate.

Your platform shouldn’t be focused on the priorities of a vocal minority.

And meanwhile, while all of this is happening, the news is flooded with coverage of Trump and Musk. Where are the Democrats? The only response I’ve heard so far is, “We’re preparing our actions.”

Seriously?

People’s careers are being destroyed and you’re preparing your actions. Enough with the empty statements. If you’re actually doing something, speak up before Musk decides that Congress is “useless and wasteful” and shuts it down.

Realistically I don’t expect this to change anyone’s opinion of Trump, love him or hate him, that’s your privilege but unless more people start speaking out, we’ll all be saluting President for life, Trump.

Please people, wake up—while we still have a right to an opinion.

© 2025, Byron Seastrunk. All rights reserved.