Welcome to Trump World

You were tired of business as usual. You wanted someone who could blow up Washington. An outsider who didn’t know anything about government or politics. Who couldn’t pass a fifth-grade civics test. So, you voted for Trump. Overnight, the markets have crashed. Not just the U.S. stock markets but around the world. Welcome to Trump World.

 You were tired of political correctness. You wanted someone who said what you sometimes think about people who are different than you. The President-Elect, as a reality TV show host and self-proclaimed billionaire, is a man who has bragged about being able to assault women with impunity, who has incited violence at his rallies, mocked a disabled reporter, said he will bar whole groups of people because of their religions and is embraced by racists (who prefer the politically correct title alt-right) as one of their own. Do you think you will be able to let your children or grandchildren watch the TV news without their minds being polluted by the evil and hatred you have let loose? Welcome to Trump World.

You hoped that Trump would bring his gold-plated business magic to government and your lives? A man who stiffed his contractors. Declared bankruptcy in his business dealings so many times we’ve lost count. A man who cheated so big on his taxes that he ignored his own lawyers’ advice and took a tax write off for almost a billion dollars—of other people’s money—to avoid paying taxes for a couple of decades. Do you think he will fix the problems in this country? With the stock market dropping to historic lows just at the news of his election. Welcome to Trump World.

You liked Trump’s brash “tell it like it is”, take no prisoners, me-first approach to life and business. Marry foreign supermodels. When the first one gets to be a little old—35 is The Donald’s age cut off for wives—cheat on her and then import another. Shall we all try his approach--think about ourselves first and only—not pay our bills until we are sued and then try to whittle down the debts to cents on the dollar? Treat women as disposable. Everyone else is just a thing, not a real person. It worked for The Donald, why not me? I guess that’s the new business and personal standard. Welcome to Trump World.

You couldn’t vote for Hillary because you’ve heard she is corrupt. Trump said she is a criminal. So, it must be true. It doesn’t matter that she has been investigated more than any other politician and cleared of wrong doing. Trump is a man who is involved in more than 4,000 lawsuits in the last three decades, more than anyone who has ever run for President. He goes to trial this month on fraud charges related to Trump University. He’s been accused by multiple women of sexual assault as well as the rape of a 13-year-old. He’s admitted, in appalling language, recorded on tape, to thinking he can get away scot free with assaulting women. His Presidency could be totally consumed with his private lawsuits. That’s not even considering his conflicts of interest which he has refused to disclose or divest himself of in a blind trust. Trump doesn’t even seem to know what a blind trust is. He says he’ll let his children handle his interests. Let’s talk about real corruption. Welcome to Trump World.

You didn’t think Hillary Clinton, a woman who has worked for other people’s welfare for most of her life, was quite likable enough to get your vote. So, you voted for the guy who trash talked minorities, Muslims, foreigners, and women at his rallies, menaced and threatened to throw his opponent in jail at his Presidential debates. Who incited his followers to violence. If that’s your idea of niceness, welcome to Trump World.

You don’t like to think about climate change. You’d rather vote for The Donald and keep your heads in the sand. Trump says climate change is a hoax constructed by the Chinese. The Donald will get us out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Well, I hope you pull your head out of the sand long enough to learn to tread water or run for higher ground as the oceans continue their dramatic rise because of melting ice caps. Just because The Donald says there’s no climate change doesn’t mean Trump World won’t flood.

I’m angry and I’m sad. You, America, have elected the most vile, most unprepared, most deplorable con man in the history of our nation to our highest office. And you’ve given him a majority in both houses of Congress. Welcome to Trump World, indeed.