Trump loves to grandstand after a tragedy. After massacres occur at schools or places of worship, he appears before the press and promises to support gun legislation for sensible background checks and restrictions on certain weapons of war. However, after he receives the first call from the NRA, he pivots to the narrative that mental health is the primary cause of gun violence. Kids are less safe at school because this president cares more about money and votes than he does about their safety and survival.
There are approximately 800,000 Daca Dreamers in the United States who were brought here by their parents when they were small children. Data indicates that 97% of the Dreamers are either working or enrolled in school and only .2% have engaged in criminal or gang activity. Instead of sympathizing with their story and rewarding their contributions, Trump wants to kick them out of the country. The policy to deny a pathway to citizenship to the Dreamers is popular with Trump’s base. A significant percentage of his supporters identify with a white nationalist ideology that the president and his policies promote. He shows no compassion towards these Dreamers and no willingness to protect them from traumatic, undeserved deportation.
Two more children recently lost their lives due to school gun violence. Saugus High School in California was the latest target of a young, disturbed gunman. There have been 45 school shootings in 2019 and many kids have died or been injured in these incidences. The violent deaths and injuries to these children seem to have no impact on Trump. He continues to govern based on NRA influence and voter poll numbers, not on protecting the lives. Barack Obama told us something accurate and disturbing about Trump during the 2016 presidential primary. He said, “Trump is not an ideologue.” What that has proven to mean is that Trump doesn’t passionately care about any particular issue. What he cares about is how any given issue affects his image and his ability to retain the power of the presidency.
Keeping this concept about Trump in mind helps to explain the multitude of disastrous results his policies have had on people’s lives, especially those of innocent, vulnerable children. If he cared about the epidemic of mass shootings, of which many involve children, he would force the majority leader Senator Moscow Mitch McConnell to allow the Senate to vote on the gun reform bill’s that the House has passed. If he recognized the contribution the Daca Dreamers have made to the country, he would consider a policy that would allow them a path to citizenship. If he cared about the suffering of asylum seekers fleeing for their lives from dangerous countries, he would work in a bipartisan way to establish a humane process for legal entry into this country. If he cared about the medical facts emerging about the danger of vaping to the respiratory health of children and teens, he would follow through with his recent commitment to encourage Congress to create legislation banning or regulating that industry.
However, instead of having a moral ideology to guide his leadership, he waits for policy direction from a special interest group or Mitch McConnell. Trump is a puppet, a criminal, and a liar. Worst of all is the destructive impact he has had on the lives of millions of innocent children. Hopefully, the Millenials will show up at the polls in rebellion and vote against him as payback for the assault his policies have had on the kids of this country.
