By Christopher Young,
Contributing Writer,
We see what we see on a daily basis with the United States President, reelected to the office for a second non-consecutive term. Fits and starts, upheaval, chaotic decision-making, all wrapped in a level of verbose grandiosity that has had few, if any, equals for a president. It’s going to be a long four years. Four years of wickedness that this country won’t soon forget. Sometimes it’s difficult to see the end game, even when it’s staring right at us. So, what then are the aspirations of the Trump presidency? However unholy it appears, what is the holy grail of Trump 2.0?
Long before the 2024 election we knew who Donald Trump was and there is little likelihood a leopard will change their spots. He is an unsavory salesman. He sold just barely enough voters that America was broken and that he alone could save it from the horrible Dems. In the eyes of just barely enough Americans, regular hard-working folks that know the difference between right and wrong, that believe in telling the truth, that believe in God almighty – he succeeded in portraying himself as the one and only indispensable solution. He made the sale!
Some experts have labeled Trump a narcissist. Other folks have claimed he is godless, or selfish, or lawless, or evil. At this point it’s irrelevant. What we do know is his playbook. It is most akin to a dictator.
He deceives: On April 29, 2025, major media hubs, including CNN, reported specific details of his lies during the first hundred days of the new presidency. Often he continues to regurgitate lies that have been publicly debunked for days, even years. He suppresses dissent from dismantling the White House Press Corps to publicly labeling any reporter or their media organization as fake or horrible. Despite the constant lies, he would have others believe that only he knows and speaks the truth. He has put people in key positions to then fire anyone who might ever voice opposition to him; lawyers, investigators, attorney generals, inspector generals, long-experienced military officers, etc.
He divides: He rules by fiat, through Executive Orders, as the Republican controlled Congress holds the line, fearful of crossing him. Key issues such as environmental regulations, free speech, civil rights, and court rulings are either tossed away completely or fully diminished. Birthright citizenship, the Department of Education, diversity, and equity principles in the federal government are all on the chopping block; thus, breaking down long-held systems of national checks and balances.
On February 16, 2025, he posted on X, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.” Bizarre and offensive to the conscience – The White House posted an AI generated photo of Trump as the Pope, even as cardinals gathered in Rome to elect a new pontiff, after the passing of Pope Francis. No decency, no decorum, just an exhausting division of people, principles, norms, and values.
The unholy grail of Trump 2.0 is immersed in identity politics and cancel culture. Each new day is a heaping helping of division and exclusion – never uniting, and these are all mechanisms to help him achieve his ultimate aspirations – a three-legged stool of 1) supreme power, 2) a tectonic restructuring of America as anti-democratic, and 3) personal wealth. A recent article by Axios, https://www.axios.com/2025/05/02/trump-crypto-world-liberty-business-profits, summarized –“The bottom line: Trump’s first term blurred the line between public office and personal gain. His second term has erased it — turning the presidency into a profit engine for his brand and bloodline.” What he does at America’s expense is malfeasance, not misfeasance – deliberate, not accidental.
Due to the expansiveness of Trump’s directives, it is difficult to see who will not be negatively impacted. It begs the question, what does America value? Is it really wealth, power, greed, and lawlessness? Is it the antithesis of “love thy neighbor?” Is there no longer a place in the American ethos for peace and harmony and moral justice?
It reminds me of a deployment I once had in the North Atlantic, during the winter, encountering swells estimated above 30 feet. On a Navy destroyer, it’s like a cork in a bathtub, watching the bow of the ship and the forward gun mount disappear underwater at the bottom of the trough, then eventually reappearing. Initially it was scary, then over time the experience taught you about buoyancy, believing in the 9,000-ton ship and crew, having faith we could weather the storm.
Will America be the same? Will we weather the pain, chaos, and racial hatred? It may not be a thought shared by most Americans, but it seems to me that he’s on the thrill-ride of his life, all as “we the people” foot the bill in every imaginable way.
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