LAYING IT OUT

By Ruth A. Sheets

May 20, 2026

I do believe our various media gave Donald Trump the tools he needed to become a national, then global menace.  Trump was "glib," a New Yorker with money and properties (didn't matter how he got them or what was being done with them), and he had friends. 

This trio of circumstances launched an ignorant, narcissistic, hateful charlatan onto a stage where he didn’t belong.  Unfortunately, the various media found a lot for themselves in what he was doing, and kept promoting him ("The Apprentice, Miss Universe, The Regis and Kathy Lee Show” ).  They enhanced Trump's actions and created a “star” who could travel in all sorts of circles plugging himself and his supposed greatness. 

However while Trump was being lauded by  the media, he was involved in let’s call them “crimes” that included theft, rape, fraud, rape of minors, lying, cheating contractors for his properties, red lining, and more, on to the present.  Some people knew about Trump’s behavior, but just considered him one of the “bad boys” who were to be tolerated.  There were rumors of his involvement with the New York Mafia, though people rarely talk about it. 

Developing a “connection” with New York’s media was critical to Trump’s rise.  From the day of Trump’s ride down the “golden escalator” in 2015, Trump or his actions were the first or second phrase or story in nearly every newscast.  That was true even when he wasn’t president or anything else official, and it is still happening.  That was primarily because he did or said things designed to direct attention to himself.

Trump’s dementia now makes it harder for him to even know what is going on, but that doesn't matter since he,  Toddler-Trump (as I refer to him), has an entire toddler pool of sycophants surrounding him that we pay for that includes a  traitorous white house staff (Miller, Vought, Wiles, Vance, etc.; 6 Supreme Court justices, Republicans in Congress; all cabinet heads; all whom Trumplandia nominated for any government position with Senate approval; Republicans throughout state legislatures; the Heritage Foundation, The Federalist Society, and other similar right-wing political organizations; many white evangelical fundamentalists; the oligarchs, including Musk, Theil, the Ellisons, and more, who use Trump as much as he uses them. 

That sounds like a lot, but in reality, it is a small minority of Americans.  However, they are in power and as they say, "have all the weapons."  It seems to me we are going to need a significant resistance group formed everywhere in this nation to stand up to these anti-American, anti-democratic thugs who have an ignoramus at their head and a lot of money in their pockets.  We need to be louder, broader, and more demanding in protest of Trumplandia.

This group of Conservative, Republican, amoral entities are doing their best to undermine our government.  They began in Trump’s first term with a huge tax cut that went nearly all to the super rich who already have far far too much.  Then in the second term, Trump released the illegal DOGErs (Department of Government Efficiency) young computer guys   under Elon Musk, to tear apart many of our government agencies and departments.  They are responsible for the deaths of at least 700,000 people around the world who depended on the food, medicines, and healthcare provided by US-AId.  We don’t have a count yet of the deaths here from programs cut and conspiracy theorists in important offices making false pronouncements. 

Trump and the Dept. of Homeland Security (Dhs) set ICE on innocent immigrants in our communities, while lying they were only going after serious criminals.  Alas, lies are Trumplandia’s coin of the realm, and Republicans these days must be able to lie with skill all the time if necessary (if Trump orders them to do it). 

Trump now owns the Republican Party and  our amoral Supreme Court Roberts 6. 

 

Each member of Trumplandia has their “job.”  Congressional Republicans push through every stupid, illegal bill Trump and his white house toddler pool give them.  The Roberts 6 rule on cases in ways that will give Republicans more seats in congress and enhance the racial, gender, and other differences among us.  Republicans in legislatures across the country must take their states to levels of racism and misogyny that haven’t been seen for decades.

 

Trump’s cabinet was nominated and approved because they will permit Trump to do as much damage to this nation as possible.  Trump ordered the start of a stupid deadly war for his own ego and he and Pete Hegseth of DOD have been playing it as though it were a video game, adding destroying small boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific as their bonus plays.  All of this is illegal internationally, but who is going to charge them or hold them accountable, particularly now that Trump is building a white house fortress as described by Heather Cox Richardson (and Trump himself, although not in those exact words).  Trump is also trying to reward the January 6^th insurrectionists for their something:  bravery, loyalty to Trump, willingness to “stand ready?”

 

I suspect everyone I write to knows all of this, so I want to provide some suggestions for things we can do to surround these thugs with a wall of disapproval created by the diversity that is America, something that really scares Trumplandia.

• Make a list of the issues most important to you.  Figure out who to contact regarding that issue, then write, call, sign petitions, etc. related to each issue.
• Find and support organizations with similar values to yours, read their publications, and support them financially if you can, even if it is only a tiny donation.
• Attend public protests, townhalls, and local actions related to the issues that concern you and your community most.  You can’t do everything, so do what you can when you can.
• Talk to young people about what is going on and encourage them to pay attention, to work hard to get a good education, even if they are a little bored.  Those in power now don’t want them to become educated at all, so do it to spite them.
• Read books from different cultures, particularly those the right-wing fearmongers want to ban, then share favorites with others.
• Use public transportation when possible.  Walk when it makes sense.  Use your car less often.  Encourage others to do this too.
• Stand with neighbors to stop ICE, using a warning system if you see them.  Protest them when you can.
• Attend school board meetings when possible to say your piece about what is happening in the schools in your area. 
• VOTE IN EVERY SINGLE ELECTION!!!  Don’t tell yourself “ah this election is just a primary; it doesn’t matter”; it does!  Those In power want us to stay home so their pathetic whiny white candidates can get into or stay in power; we don’t need them!

 

I bet you have lots more ideas.  When we pool them together, we can have a set of strategies to stand against the authoritarians, the would be kings.  We can stand strong in this 250^th anniversary of our Declaration of Independence, and tell Trump and his toddler pool that We the People of the United States aren’t gonna take them and their anti-American bullying anymore”!