UNDER THE RADAR: TRUMP’S ABHORRENT MIDDLE EAST POLICY EMERGES YET AGAIN

Dr. Common Good

While we have been distracted by the shotgun blast of craziness during the Trump administration’s first week, Trump’s stance and emerging policy towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict represents a disgraceful approval of the extreme right-wing takeover of Palestinian land, rejection of a Palestinian state, and the ongoing, forced removal of Palestinians from land and homes that have been theirs for generations, long before the influx of Jewish settlers via the Zionist movement beginning around the turn of the 20^th century, and well before the existence of Israel as a state.   

Let’s start with two key Trump officials up for nomination. Former Representative Elise Stefanik, up for UN Ambassador, testified in a January 21 confirmation hearing that she agreed with Israeli hardline Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich’s and former Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir’s claims that Israel has a biblical right to the entire West Bank. She also dodged and did not answer a straightforward question about Palestinian self-determination. Trump’s nominee for US Ambassador to Israel, millennialist, evangelical Christian Mike Huckabee, has regularly supported Israeli settlements in the West Bank and the biblical justification for such settlements, calling the West Bank Judea and Samaria. He has also stated that “there’s really no such thing as a Palestinian.”

The flurry of executive orders on Trump’s first day included one that rescinded Biden’s sanctions on Israeli settlers in the West Bank who have committed violence against Palestinians (Why, we ask, would he do that?). This early action, combined with his choices for UN and Israeli ambassador, signal a rapid return to Trump first-term policies, which included moving the US embassy to Jerusalem, recognizing Jerusalem – a unique, multi-denominational city — as Israel’s capital, deciding not to recognize the repeated UN declarations and legal rulings that settlements are illegal under international law (also the conclusion of a 1978 State Department legal opinion), cutting aid programs to Palestinians, and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

While we cannot say that Biden’s approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been either productive or admirable, with virtually no attempt to restrict Israel’s grossly disproportionate destruction of Gaza, at least there was some recognition of the need for a two-state solution and acknowledgment of the terrible toll exacted upon innocent Palestinians – a toll that now stands at about 46,000 fatalities, along with 1.9 million displaced from their homes. [Who can possibly claim that such a toll is a rational military response or justifiable retribution for the Hamas attack, as brutal as that attack clearly was?]

Thus, the second Trump administration brings back, once again, an appalling ignorance and disregard for history and human rights. Dr. Common Good supports the safety, security, and self-determination of both Palestinian and Israeli peoples, which is the only route to peace. Both peoples have long histories in these lands and no claim to exclusivity has any merit whatsoever. This cannot happen with Trump administration endorsement of current Israeli right-wing, bigoted and nationalist aims under the Netanyahu government. Right now, these actions are being overshadowed by the barrage of outrage in Trump’s first week. So, pay attention, because the United States should not be party to such injustice.   

TRUMP AND AMERICA THE UGLY

Dr. Common Good

It is only two days into the administration of this travesty of a president, and here is just a tiny sampler of the ugliness he has wrought:

• He blanket-pardoned 1500 people who were charged with crimes in relation to the January 6, 2021 insurrection, including at least 200 who were convicted of violent attacks on capital police officers.
• He is attempting to change the language of the 14^th amendment to the Constitution by executive fiat, stripping it of the birthright citizenship provision.
• He issued an executive order rescinding the order signed by President Biden that would have lowered prescription drug costs for patients on Medicare and Medicaid. (I ask, what possible reason would prompt that other than a big wink and nod to Big Pharma?)
• He pulled the US out of the World Health Organization – a completely stupid and malicious move, since our participation in WHO helps prevent, among other things, future pandemics.
• He issued an executive order overturning Biden’s sanctions on Israeli settlers who are committing violent acts against Palestinians and blatantly stealing their property.
• In a petty, spiteful move, he pulled the security detail that had been assigned to former Trump national security advisor John Bolton, who has received threats from Iran (Mr. Bolton is not a favorite of this blog, but this is completely uncalled for).
• He has ordered ICE to go into churches and schools to find undocumented immigrants. Churches and schools!

And that’s just a few. In summary, Trump, in very short order, has covered this country in a coat of slime. He is utterly incapable of making America great, and his single-minded pursuit of retribution, vengeance, and unchecked power is driving this country right into the gutter.

To you who voted for Trump – Is this what you voted for? Do you know he is doing these things? You may not, because it won’t be reported on Fox or Newsmax. But these are the things he is focused on. The economy? Well, as he said even to Sean Hannity yesterday in an interview on Fox News, “I don’t care.”

How’s that vote looking now?

THE LYING PREMISE IN TRUMP’S NEGATIVE PORTRAYAL OF THE BIDEN YEARS

Dr. Common Good

In his farewell address and final remarks, President Biden noted the long list of achievements during his presidency. Whatever your views are of his administration, or of specific policies, much was indeed accomplished. This stands in stark contrast to Trump’s bleak portrayal of decline in his inaugural address, which primarily served as a justification for his claim to be “restoring” or “saving” the country. Some of these Biden-era achievements include:

• Basically, saving the country from Trump’s disastrous neglect of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to distributing masks and vaccines (the largest mass vaccination campaign in US history), and facilitating testing for millions, the US was one of the only nations in the world to rebound economically after COVID-19 (via the American Rescue Plan Act). The US, in fact, reached a record low child poverty rate in 2021.
• In contrast to Trump, restoration of US alliances in the EU, NATO and around the globe, and rejoining the Paris Climate process.
• Marshaling allies in Europe to coordinate sustained support for Ukraine in its fight against a Russian invasion.
• Securing the first bipartisan infrastructure deal in a generation – something Trump promised, but never delivered.
• Creating the most jobs ever in a single term, and dropping the inflation rate from around 9% in 2022 to under 3% when he finished (though the cost of many goods has remained high).
• Making the largest investment in climate and green energy in world history (Inflation Reduction Act).
• Allowing Medicare to negotiate drug costs for the first time in US history (Inflation Reduction Act).
• Passing the first major gun violence prevention bill in a generation.
• Passing the first bill to ramp up production of semiconductors and computer chips here in the US (The CHIPS and Science Act).
• Protecting and preserving the largest amount of land of any President.
• Insuring a record number of Americans through the Affordable Care Act.
• Confirming almost 250 Federal judges, including the first Black woman on the Supreme Court.
• Recognizing, for the first time, the Equal Rights Amendment as law of the land.

In short, and to be blunt, decline my arse. There were certainly some less-than-stellar moments during Biden’s time, but I challenge Trump and MAGA to top this list, or even come close.

TRUMP’S CLOWN SHOW – EXCEPT IT’S NOT FUNNY

Dr. Common Good

I ask, is this the United States of America? One wonders. A brief look at the roster of Trump’s bizarrely unqualified or at least inappropriate, undemocratic, dangerous, and sycophantic nominees cannot help but raise the question. Here are a few of his “gems”:

Pam Bondi for Attorney General?

This committed Trump loyalist and personal lawyer offered some stunning testimony in her confirmation hearing:

• She still does not admit that Biden won election and still claims there was fraud.
• She seems either strangely unaware of well-known facts about Trump’s election manipulation attempts (especially for a lawyer) or is falsely denying knowledge – for example, claiming that she was not aware that Trump asked the Georgia Secretary of State to “find” votes that would overturn the election results in his favor, or that he had any role instigating the January 6 insurrection attempt. How could she not know this? She even claimed that there was a “peaceful transition to power” in 2021.
• She says she will “look into” birthright citizenship. Really? It’s in the 14^th Amendment to the Constitution, clear as day.  

On top of all that, she made over $3 million from the creation of Trump’s Truth Social parent company and has invested millions in Trump Media. Last year she earned over $1 million lobbying for companies that have a direct interest in Justice Department affairs or have been the subject of recent DOJ investigations (Pfizer). She also earned over $500,000 consulting for the Trumpist America First Policy Institute. How can she possibly serve as an independent AG?  

Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary?

In addition to all the significant allegations of sexual abuse and alcohol abuse, even while on the job, Hegseth is patently unqualified:

• He has no experience with global organizations, regional organizations, security organizations, or managing any government agency. He was even kicked out of several small nonprofit veteran’s organizations for mismanagement. And during his hearing, he could not even name a single member of ASEAN, or the range of security arrangements to which the U.S. is a party.
• He has no apparent commitment to the US Constitution — refusing to say whether or not he would order troops to shoot protesters if Trump told him to, and stating that he would not rule out using invasion forces to take over Greenland and the Panama Canal in line with Trump’s expansionist fantasies. Generally, he would not answer whether or not he would obey an illegal order from Trump.

How can this man be Defense Secretary?

Tulsi Gabbard as Director of National Intelligence (DNI)?

Although this born-again Trump loyalist and new MAGA star served four terms in the House, she has never held any senior government role and has no intelligence experience. And even more troubling:

• She was a public supporter of brutal Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad, even meeting with him in 2017 and denying that he was responsible for the atrocities so clearly linked to his regime.
• Russian media have praised the choice of Gabbard for DNI, hailing her public rationalizations for Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and her opposition to the Biden Administration’s support for Ukraine’s resistance.

Our allies are not likely to share intelligence with the US if she is DNI. So, what possible reason is there for her to hold this office?

RFK Jr. as Director of HHS?

There is just too much here to cover. He is so flagrantly inappropriate and unqualified for HHS Secretary it defies explanation:

• He has no science or public health background, and does not apparently understand the nature and process of scientific research, and he has no experience in government.
• He has been a leading promoter of misinformation and lies about vaccines and their consequences – promoting the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism, the purported danger of COVID-19 vaccines, and that there are generally no safe vaccines, ignoring the vast body of medical studies that have demonstrated that the opposite is true and that vaccines have been one of public health’s greatest success stories.  
• He has dangerously promoted numerous unproven and demonstrably ineffective alternative therapies, including raw milk (a transmission vector for H5N1/avian flu) and the use of Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine for COVID-19.
• He even promoted the racist and antisemitic theory that the COVID-19 virus targeted white and Black people but not Chinese or Ashkenazi Jews.
• He has stated that he would shut down infectious disease research for eight years and fire 600 NIH employees on Day 1.

HHS is a massive organization overseeing 13 agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and others – all highly important for the nation’s health.  RFK Jr. has no business whatsoever leading this agency.

Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary?

While he does have some of the background common to Treasury Secretaries, his policy positions are clearly oligarchic:  

• As a billionaire hedge-fund manager, he supports extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which are estimated to increase the deficit by $ 4 trillion over the next ten years (per the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget).
• He opposes raising the federal minimum wage from $7.25/hour, a rate that has stayed the same since 2009. A person earning that amount makes just over $15,000 annually. It is not a living wage.
• He opposes raising taxes on high income earners at any level as a means to pay down the deficit, making the age-old and many times debunked claim that these are job creators.

TRUMP ENERGY POLICY – A RECIPE FOR AMERICA LAST

Dr. Common Good

Trump announced on January 7 (as reported by The Hill) that his administration would oppose all wind energy production, saying “we’re going to try to have a policy where no windmills are being built.” His rationale, apparently, is that wind energy requires a subsidy and he pretends not to favor subsidies, though of course he has also opposed wind energy for some time based on entirely unfounded and ridiculous claims about threats to whales, cancer risk, and other purported problems. Meanwhile, fossil fuel actually continues to receive extensive subsidies — increasing by 85% to an all-time high in 2022 according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and totaling $7 trillion in 2023, as reported by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). So, on that point alone, Trump’s rationale is specious, without merit and baseless.

But this is just one alternative energy source. He also wants to roll back regulations favoring electric and hybrid vehicles, open or re-open land for drilling, and again stay away from global climate change agreements. His repeated “drill baby drill” mantra speaks for itself. So here we are in 2025, and Trump’s understanding of the energy landscape remains retrograde, ignorant and foolish. What is it about big gas-guzzling vehicles that he finds so compelling? As yet another symbol of the dominance he craves?

As much as one might want to make some sense of this, there isn’t any. Like almost everything else Trump asserts, it is lunacy, founded on nothing, though in the case of fossil fuel, he may have a myopic sense that there is short-term money to be made.

If Trump, or his MAGA minions, really represented anything like America first, with a goal of advancing American interests above all, the opposite position should actually follow. A smart businessperson would understand this, because any minimal observation of energy trends, markets and needs would clearly indicate that global leadership in the energy sector will come from being at the top of the game with respect to green energy. China knows this. The EU knows this. Even oil-rich countries know it.

But Trump and his sycophantic MAGA-world? They cling to the drill mantra, against all real-world evidence, against any rational foresight. And we have not even touched the environmental and climate-change consequences of fossil fuels in this post, because that is yet one other major real-world phenomenon that Trump and MAGA-world just don’t believe in. Yes, they insist, the world is flat.

So ask yourself, whether you are a Republican, independent, or anything else, even if you are sympathetic to an America first stance, does Trump’s irrational, regressive energy policy put America first? No, it does not. It puts America last.

THIS IS CRAZY! TRUMP AND THE IMPENDING TRUMPVERSE

Dr. Common Good

Just listen to recent Trump pronouncements as his second term approaches. Here are just a few:

• Trump wants to gain American control over Greenland and Panama, and he “does not rule out the military” in achieving those objectives.
• Trump says that “We’re going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.”
• Trump threatens that “all hell will break loose” if the Israeli hostages are not released by his inauguration.

On top of that, his servant-judge Aileen Cannon just blocked release of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report on the investigation into Trump’s well-documented and unconstitutional efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Judge Cannon previously prevented the cases from going forward because she ruled that the special counsel’s appointment was unconstitutional, an absolutely absurd ruling and egregious conflict with the unchallenged appointment of special counsels over many years and across multiple administrations, Republican and Democrat.

And then there is the absolute and shameful kowtowing of Mark Zuckerberg, who has now said Meta will get rid of fact-checkers in favor of user-generated “community notes” similar to what is on X. That, of course, means even less control over the wild disinformation that already confounds any notion of fact or truth. This, on top of the abject self-subjugation of media owners, including Jeff Bezos and others, who have censored content favorable to Democrats or critical of themselves and/or MAGA influence over information.

People, this is crazy. Way out there. Unprecedented. And not the America that once stood as an idea, at least as an aspiration. The unchecked sociopath that many warned about is now out of his cage, and his followers see no guardrails. Caveat emptor.