The utter shamelessness of the Trump agenda by J.E. Dean

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Last night, I had a dream that I was in the spin room following a Trump rally. Spin rooms are set up at political events to provide journalists with a place to ask questions about a politician’s speech. Typically, aides answering the questions spin the information in hopes of getting positive press.

In my dream, the Trump spin room was filled with Trump campaign staff. One staffer got my attention. She was a tall woman wearing a large button that read, “Ask me about the concentration camps.” I know Trump is right-wing, but he is not a Holocaust denier. So why did I hear someone say his plans for a second term include setting up “concentration camps” as part of his plans to “close the border?”

I walked up to the woman and introduced myself. I smiled and asked, “Tell me about the concentration camps.” She returned the smile and proceeded to tell me, with more than a hint of excitement in her voice, that to deport more than five million “illegals” from America quickly, they will have to be “rounded up” and housed in large camps built to keep them from escaping before they are transported to “whatever shithole country they came from.”

The woman did not wince at using the words “concentration camps” or “shithole.” When she noticed my discomfort she offered, “Don’t forget how many of these people came here illegally after being released from jails and insane asylums.” She looked pleased that I wrote that down.

I asked if the Trump campaign had any projections on how many “illegals” would go to which “shithole countries.” She responded, “You know, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and a bunch of other places—I can’t remember them all.”

I responded, “I see,” before asking if it was a good idea to call the camps “concentration camps” given the Holocaust.

The woman, still smiling, but not as much as before, said, “We are not going to gloss over what needs to be done. Nobody is planning to kill any illegals; we are just going to get them out of the country. They do not belong here.”

I responded, “I see,” before thanking her. She asked for my card, and I gave it to her. But as I walked away, I worried about what the Trump campaign might do with my information. I have read about plans for “retribution” and know it includes journalists, but how seriously should Trump’s rhetoric be taken?

In my dream, I continued my tour of the spin room and had another conversation, this one with a bald-headed young guy who wore a badge reading, “Ask me about getting transgenders out of woman’s sports.” I was curious but continued walking until I met another guy, also in his 20s, wearing a MAGA cap and a red tie that extended three inches below his belt with a badge reading, “The Ukraine War ends when we win. Ask me how?”

I took the bait but was not prepared to hear how simple ending the war might be. Without notes, he told me, “Trump will phone Zelensky on election day, right after he wins, and tell him to either quit or wait for America to give Russia weapons.”

I waited for more, but he was done, so I asked, “Are you sure?” He was. “Yes, I heard it from Trump himself. He hates wars and to stop the killing will do whatever it takes to end the war, even if that means switching sides.”

Nodding my head, I asked a final question: “So, Trump is okay with Putin having invaded Ukraine?”

The Trump aide paused, looked at the floor, and then looked back at me. “That is Zelensky’s problem. We here in America don’t care.”

With that gem still in my mind, I woke up. I realized my dream is not that far from reality. Donald Trump has no shame regarding any of his policies. He believes in doing whatever it takes to win. And for Trump, “winning” means Trump winning even when he knows so many others could lose.

It is easy to imagine every question—no exceptions—about Trump’s policies being answered with shameless admissions or blatant lies.

As I think about who Trump is and what he plans for his second term, I realize that he is, as Kamala Harris says, a threat to democracy. But Trump is more than that, he is a threat to decency, empathy, and for many people who will get caught up in his policies—his political enemies, undocumented migrants, transgender folks, and many others—a threat to their lives.

Election day is now 27 days away. Don’t assume Harris will win. She will not win the election by default. She must win it the hard way—by earning it. And she can only do that with the help of people who feel the same way about Trump’s agenda as I do. We must do what we can to mobilize the electorate and encourage all people to vote.

J . E. Dean is a retired attorney and public affairs consultant. He writes on politics, government, and, too infrequently, other subjects.

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The utter shamelessness of the Trump agenda by J.E. Dean

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