The Measure of the New Administration That Really Counts

Today, Donald Trump was sworn into office as president of the United States.  I was amazed at how his inaugural address was so completely the voice of the bully. “Protection will lead to greater prosperity and strength,” he said.

Later on he said, “At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.”

A bully wants nothing more than complete, unwavering loyalty. As Greg Sargent wrote in the Washington Post, “The implied subtext here is that if racial or ethnic prejudice continues to exist it Trump’s America, it will be due to the failure of its victims to be sufficiently zealous in their total devotion to country.”

This has made me reflect on something Trump said Thursday: “One thing we’ve learned we have by far the highest IQ of any Cabinet ever assembled.” Setting aside the fact that no one has administered an IQ test to previous Cabinets so we have no metric by which to measure, this may or may not be true. However, one thing is for sure—this president and his team seem to be sadly lacking in EQ. Like most bullies his emotional intelligence continues to be sadly lacking. 

Credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

When a Bully Moves into the Whitehouse, Resistance Matters

The American people are looking for ways to effectively protest. Unfortunately we can no longer rely on the mainstream media to provide necessary checks and balances, even though they are more necessary now than in any time in our lives. Perhaps this is why non-profit journalism groups are receiving an unprecedented flood of donations—Americans want to stay informed during what is beginning to look like an authoritarian regime from the incoming presidential administration.

As I discuss in my new book, From Bully to Bull’s-Eye, Donald Trump is the textbook definition of a bully, so it’s no surprise that Americans are looking for ways to make their voices heard. And, like the bully that he is, he’s already made an unprecedented move to smother free speech by having his presidential inauguration committee block access to the Lincoln Memorial, and effectively most of the National Mall, with a massive omnibus blocking permit. To compound things, this is in effect days before AND after the January 20 inauguration. Hundreds of thousands of women have already made arrangements to join the Million Woman March during the inauguration. This effectively shuts them down. No wonder independent journalism groups are receiving such support. They will be desperately needed in the weeks and months to come.

Credit: Unidentified Photographer, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963