Our new president, Donald Trump, won the election (barely) I believe for three primary reasons: First, he received unlimited financial resources from the Tech Bros and other billionaires and was more skilled in social media. Second, we Democrats made some mistakes, coming off as elitist and insensitive to the everyday situation most working class families face and the devastating impact of inflation on those who live from paycheck to paycheck, and third, and most important, Joe Biden should not have run for reelection. Period. He should have announced at the midterms that he would not run for a second term (as he said he would do when campaigning for the office in 2020) and that he was going to pass the torch to the next generation. I do not believe that any candidate could have survived the disastrous debate performance that Biden had. He came across as too old, and he is. I am just a tad older, and I know how I–and almost everyone I know– have slowed down after passing eighty. Plus, the electorate clearly wanted change from the status quo.  Kamala I thought did about as good as could be expected given the hand she was dealt, and few could have overcome the obstacles she faced. In fact, it is surprising that the race was as close as it was.

Part of the reason Trump won is that he did better than expected in getting votes from people without a college degree–White, Black and Hispanic. (see Brooking Report by William H Frey, “Trump Gained Some Minority Voters, but the GOP Is Hardly a Multiracial Coalition” Dec 5,2025.) One reason for this is that he campaigned as anti-establishment and populist, supporting the Little Guy, the working class, and calling out the Democrats for being elitist and too “woke.”

Welcome to the Great Bait and Switch.

There is nothing in Trump’s agenda that is going to help the working class.  Every responsible economist has warned that sky high tariffs will result in much higher prices in the U.S. Yet Trump places this as the centerpiece of his economic agenda. If he is able to implement this initiative, how long will it take for people to realize that it is not working? And what happens when our trading partners respond in kind with higher tariffs on American goods? Demand for exported goods and services will surely plummet. His fundamental economic initiative makes no sense.

And what about the mass deportations of immigrants? Undocumented immigrants account for over five percent of the total workforce in the United States with very high numbers in areas like agriculture (13.7%), construction (12.1%), administrative support (9.7%) and hospitality/food service (7.1%).  With an unemployment rate of around four percent, if these workers are hauled off to “holding centers” and deported, who is going to do the work? Plus, wages will surely increase due to the need to recruit from a smaller work force pool, also causing more inflation. Plus, what is the tab going to be if millions of people are housed, policed, and fed in deportation camps and then packed into planes and trucks? Where will the money  come from to pay for this? In a word this is insanity. Even if he stops the madness after deporting only the criminals, which seems highly unlikely, the cost is still likely to be high.

And what about the proposed “Agency on Government Efficiency” that Musk is supposed to head up? Social Security and Medicare ($3.8 trillion) account for more than half of the budget. The military accounts for another $820 billion (15 %) and paying interest on the national debt $726 billion (14%). In other words, these items, which have been considered off limits for budget cutting, amount to over 80 percent of the budget. That does not seem to be bothering Musk, who has pledged he will get the job done although he has warned that for a period some Americans may feel the impact.

But what is Musk’s real job? To figure out how to cut more taxes, of course. But not for everyone, just the “job creators” like himself. He has hinted that the low hanging fruit will be the ACA (naturally), SNAP (food stamps), social services, education, housing assistance, foreign aid, health care, clean energy, climate change, and similar initiatives. But many economists warn he can’t make a huge dent without touching entitlements.

Good luck.

Friends, we are headed for some rough sledding. As bad as Trump’s “policies” appear and how they will likely cause pain and suffering, especially for the working class, the poor and the disadvantaged, the hardships that we will likely face pale when compared to the temperament and character of Trump himself. He is a card carrying narcissist and wannabe dictator. With this deranged egotist at the helm, our 250 year old democracy is at risk.