Donald Trump is being sworn in as president today. Some people are happy. Some people are not. Some people are just confused. I think Trump himself has realized that Presidents don’t just appear on TV and lie about stuff, like oh… there never having been a concert in front of the Lincoln Memorial:
Later, he laid a wreath at Arlington National Cemetery and attended his Lincoln Memorial inaugural concert, saying that one had never been held there before even though many similar events have taken place in front of the iconic seated statue of the 16th president.
In fact, you have to govern! And that means figuring out who is going to do what. I can’t imagine the amount of work that goes into a Presidential Transition, and it seems neither can Mr. Trump:
Since his election on Nov. 8, Mr. Trump has had little interest in the minutiae of his transition, saying it was “bad karma” to get too involved, according to a person who spoke with him at the time. At one point, he wanted to halt the planning altogether, out of superstition, the person said.
His lack of understanding of the task at hand, and his clear lack of intellectual curiosity are the things that really worry me about a Trump presidency. I feel like he’ll be governing from his seat of his pants and that’s no good.
I will say, however, that while I disagree with the VAST majority of Trump’s goals… I do like a few of his promises (which he won’t do). I’m all for spending money to:
- Modernize our nuclear arsenal – To make it safer, and with an eye towards reduction (though I think Trumps wants more nukes). I watched Command and Control the other day on PBS and it scared the pants off me. At least I’ll rest easy with Rick Perry at the helm of the Department of Energy. Oh, wait, I won’t. Sigh.
- Infrastructure – We need to spend a lot of money to fix/replace bridges, highways, and roads across America (in both rural and urban places). And that’ll even get people to work!
That’s about all I agree with, though I wouldn’t mind a better version of the ACA… I’m not sure the Republicans will deliver on that.