Feb 9, 2017 2 min read

The first weeks of the Trump presidency have been disastrous.

This is what happens when Americans no longer trust the politicians in Washington, D.C., and elect a candidate without a shred of governing knowledge or experience. Trump said his election would put the government back into the hands of ordinary citizens. Yet, he has filled his government with billionaires who question the need for the departments they will lead.

Instead of “draining the swamp,” he has filled it with some of the most predatory figures in the corporate world. President Trump’s Goldman Sachs Cabinet hardly reflects the white, working class voters who supported Trump in large numbers.

Steve Bannon, President Trump’s far-right senior adviser, tells the press to “shut up and listen,” as this president continues his own daily diatribes against journalists. A free press is a hallmark of American democracy and it has a duty to hold the powerful to account. When will Trump and his very inexperienced group of White House know-nothings realize that an adversarial relationship with the press does not make them the enemy, and that this White House’s “alternative facts” are not facts at all but blatant and unsubstantiated falsehoods?

While America’s problems continue to fester, our new president apparently is fixated on more

important concerns, like the size of the crowds at his inauguration, the 3-to-5 million undocumented immigrants he claims voted for Hillary Clinton, and provoking unnecessary trade wars with Mexico, Japan, China and other major partners.

What happens if the members of NATO don’t cough up their “fair share” of military expenses? Will he withdraw American military forces stationed in Europe? Most certainly, that will be cause for serious anxiety among our allies and more celebratory champagne cork-popping in the Kremlin.

God only knows what the coming months and years will bring.

Carl A. Haberl

Washington