More precisely — of Trumpian politics. As people say: “Whichever way you turn, you hit a wedge.”
Let us begin with the single, at first glance, bright spot: the leaky border of the United States with South America has finally been sealed. Border guards and the army have stopped admitting criminal groups, blocking the channels that supplied narcotics and toxic substances. At the same time, a large-scale campaign is under way to deport illegal immigrants who have broken the law and to punish criminals. This is a good thing.
Yet the harshness of the operation has produced distortions: not only undocumented migrants but also legal residents are swept up, and the courts must correct the mistakes. It would have been possible to treat more leniently those who have worked honestly for years—allowing them to legalize their status. Because if they disappear, who will mow lawns, haul away garbage, clean construction sites and do repairs? Native Americans? Strictly speaking, only Indigenous peoples are native here; everyone else arrived from across the ocean at some point. Yes, the work will still be done, but for a very different wage. The average citizen’s bill will automatically rise.
Recall the tariff “shock” that Donald Trump pompously announced for the entire world—for everyone except Russia and other dictatorships. A black hole loomed: the destruction of the global system of production and trade, chaos, and for the United States—a recession. Instead of the promised “Make America Great Again,” a shrunken shadow flickered on the horizon.
A retreat became inevitable: part of the duties was canceled, the rest postponed for ninety days. Was it not worth thinking first and acting later? China’s reaction to the 145-percent duty is telling: Beijing raised its own tariffs on American goods and moved to conquer other markets. Trump grasped the threat and reversed course. The same danger hangs over the nearest partners—Mexico and Canada. Can one behave so brazenly toward neighbors? And what of the pretension to the sovereign island of Greenland…
“I will end Russia’s war against Ukraine in twenty-four hours,” Trump pledged. More than twenty-four hours and a hundred days have passed—much more—and the cart is still stuck. Could the war realistically have been stopped? Yes. Not in a single day, but in a short time: give Ukraine modern weapons in ample quantities, impose draconian sanctions that would force the Kremlin to climb the walls and beg for a truce.
The opposite has happened: the aggressor has grown even more insolent. Despite enormous losses, it keeps pushing along the front, firing missiles and drones at peaceful towns and villages, destroying homes, killing the elderly, adults, and children. It is worth calculating how many square kilometers have been seized, how many houses destroyed, how many Ukrainians killed during Trump’s presidency.
Why did the promise collapse? Blind love for Vladimir Putin? Or, rather, self-interest? Throughout his term Trump never called the war an act of aggression or its instigator a terrorist and murderer. Even before the election it was clear there was a connection between them. It continues: thanks largely to Washington, the ultimatum issued in Kyiv on 8 May by five European leaders, demanding an immediate cease-fire, was postponed. Instead came endless talks, while rockets still fly. Poland’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, remarked caustically: “Let Trump not threaten that he will step in. Let him finally step in—we shall manage without him.” But how can he step in when campaign promises and a coveted Nobel Peace Prize are at stake? It is easier to coddle the aggressor and drag the war into a black hole of uncertainty.
Modern American politics indeed contains many black holes. They suck into their dark gravity order and decency, mercy and compassion, feeling and sympathy—ultimately, simple Christian morality; they warp space and time. Yet there is reason for optimism: the American people—a great people, descended from millions of former immigrants who built this country—are capable of closing those holes and, at last, putting their own house in order.
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