Mired in Layers of Disgust and Dismay
By Nancy Colasurdo
I’m scrolling through Facebook memories recently and I see a video from last year of Johnny McEntee sharing his “joke” of how he gives fake money to homeless people so when they use it they’ll be arrested. He says it helps “clean up the street.”
Yeah, you’re a real philanthropist there, Johnny.
Still, that loud cheering laughter we all heard back then was MAGA in stereo. On social media. On the airwaves. Hardee-har-har.
The cruelty is baked in.
You may or may not know that McEntee – a former Fox News production assistant -- was hired as Donald Trump’s body man after he won the 2016 election, only to be fired by John Kelly for a gambling-related security issue in 2018.
But don’t you worry. Once Trump ditched the honorable Kelly, he hired McEntee back as the director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office in 2020. Hey, I guess that job doesn’t require clearance by Homeland Security. This left the door open for McEntee to play a pivotal role in the tragic events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Why am I dwelling on this guy right now?
Not because when I saw my year-old post of his gross TikTok video, I was reminded that he doesn’t think women should vote. Or that when he invented a failed dating app for Trumpies, he was accused of “inappropriate” behavior by several women.
No, it’s that McEntee is known as the main link between The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and the President who claims to not know what it is. Yet as each day passes, we see it being implemented.
The reality keeps setting in – this is who is running our country now. This kind of person. These types of principles. It washes over us in waves, day after day. Layers of … what do I even call it … disgust?
Illegality. Grift. Executive order and social media posts instead of legislative process by a now-crippled Congress. Governing like a bunch of influencers instead of people elected to serve the public. Ignorance. Hypocrisy. A sagging work ethic (even by Trump’s esteemed cabinet members who can’t seem to prepare for basic appearances before Congress). Shallowness.
Limited dolls and pencils for you. Hey, look at my swanky plane. What, you think I’m not gonna take a gift?
Don’t sweat it, Felon, while we’re appalled you took the plane, we’re not surprised. Our impression of your character is still intact, Mob Boss. Your ‘commit the crimes in the open’ cred remains as legit as ever.
The Slime family money is piling up, as big as a shiny skyscraper -- say, the upcoming Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai.
The guardrails on the executive branch keep getting removed, sometimes quietly, giving way to this forward march of destruction.
Layers and layers of unbelievable shit. Like watching the worst movie, only you realize you’re in it. But wait, no. You’re a spectator. But no. You have a stake. It’s not just you once removed, watching. It’s you taking the hits. Medicaid. Gut punch. Neighbors and even a mayor swept up by overly hyped-up ICE. Gut punch. President ignores a court ruling. Blip of concern. President ignores another court ruling. Stomach churn. President ignores another court ruling. DANGER senses light up red.
This is American life.
Just to remind us that it’s really happening and not some twisted nightmare, we wake up to our beloved entertainers in foreign lands, lamenting what’s happening in the United States.
“In my country, we are fighting like hell for the democracy we once took for granted,” said Robert De Niro at the Cannes Film Festival this week.
“The mighty E Street Band is here tonight to call upon the righteous power of art, of music, of rock ‘n’ roll in dangerous times,” said Bruce Springsteen on stage in Manchester, U.K.
He added, “In my home, the America I love, the America I’ve written about, that has been a beacon of hope and liberty for 250 years, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration. Tonight we ask all who believe in democracy and the best of our American experiment to rise with us, raise your voices against authoritarianism and let freedom ring!”
Gulp.
My heart and soul ache.
It's hard to think of anything to say. You have laid out the reality we are living in this country. You are appalled, and maybe a bit dazed and confused--and so is every thinking person who was raised to honor the principles we were told our country stood for. I empathize totally with this post and all I can add is I know (or believe anyway) that this will not last and that there are enough of us who are brave and strong who will withstand this disgusting period of time and will live to see it go away, one way or another.
and yet...why do the Trumpers seriously not see this...I am taken aback by this as well.