It hasn't been quite a week yet since Donald Trump was inaugurated, and already there are signs that we're in deep, deep trouble. Since taking office, Trump has signed executive orders restarting both the Keystone and Dakota pipelines, endangering women's health by banning federal funding to international organizations that perform abortions, or even provide information about the procedure, and ordering the construction of a wall on our southern border. To top it all off, on Wednesday, Trump announced that he would launch an investigation into alleged voter fraud in last fall's elections, in which he claims three to five million people voted illegally.
All of these actions are troubling. They show a man who is so afraid to put his ideas to a vote before Congress that he would rather govern by executive fiat. And isn't it interesting that we have yet to hear one peep from Republicans about executive overreach? But the action that is most troubling to date is his call for an investigation into alleged voter fraud
There are several problems with the proposed investigation. First, there is absolutely no proof that any kind of voter fraud ever took place. None. So, we're going to ask the Justice Department to divert time and resources (not to mention taxpayer money) investigating something for which there is no proof that it ever took place. Talk about your government waste.
Second, this investigation will only serve to undermine the legitimacy of our entire electoral system, as well as the legitimacy of Trump's own victory. Trump believes that the three to five illegal voters all voted for Hillary Clinton. And what if the investigation proves him right? That would mean that Trunp lost the popular vote, not by three million votes, but by six to eight million votes. And what would that mean for the number of electoral votes he supposedly won? You see where this leads? It could destabilize the entire system.
Trump doesn't care about that, though. The only reason he's concerned at all about voter fraud is because he (and his massive ego) can't tolerate the FACT that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton. He can't tolerate the fact that more people preferred her to him, that she was the real people's choice. And so we're going to waste government time and money chasing after one of Trump's fantasies.
This is the problem with Trump. He is a malignant narcissist who lives in his own, parallel reality. He can't stand the thought of losing or of being proven wrong. He can't even tolerate a whit of criticism. And now he holds the job where everything he does is going to be criticized from one quarter or another? Geez. It's going to be a long four years.
People keep telling me that I need to sit back and give him a chance. And I'm trying. I really am. But his actions so far give me little hope that the next four years will be anything but a complete disaster.
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