An old friend of mine indicated he intended to attend a protest against President Trump, for reasons summed up in an article by Yale Professor David Brooks posted in the New York Times calling for a civil uprising. Because I wanted to understand my friend’s point of view, I read the article. My conclusion?
The article is well-written hogwash from a professional university teacher and long term DC swamp dweller (once somewhat centrist, now an unbashed leftist), David Brooks. Let’s dissect it. Initially, his premises are greatly flawed. He calls Trump an “authoritarian” seeking to “dismantle” civil society. Actually, the opposite is true: President Trump is a populist seeking to restore power to the people while wresting it away from a snobbish pseudointellectual leftist elite class. That recognition that the power in a Constitutional Republic should belong to the people, not the ruling class, is a primary reason President Trump was elected, and will serve to strenghthen civil society as we diminish crime, drugs, fentanyl deaths, human trafficking, and eliminate the closet racism and divisiveness inherent in DEI.
Now let’s look at the core underlying thesis. According to the pedantic Professor Brooks,
“In one lane they [President Trump and his team] are going after law firms. In another they savaged U.S.A.I.D. In another they’re attacking our universities. On yet another front they’re undermining NATO and on another they’re upending global trade.” On such accusations does Professor Brooks base his call for a civil uprising.
Let’s take these claims in reverse order.
1) Upending global trade. This accusation is true. But “global trade” desperately needs upending, for both economic and strategic reasons. In World War II, America saved the world with our economic power. Now, in a similar crisis, we would falter and fail, because our manufacturing is gone and our industrial knowledge has been stolen. We are running a 37 trillion dollar debt, 7 times our GNP. China has all but taken over the Panama canal that we built, with ports at both ends and a bridge being built over the middle.
However, on the bright side, faced with Trump’s tariffs, 90 countries immediately stepped up to the plate to negotiate trade deals. And China will follow…as their factories grind to a halt and their ports are backed up. Actually, it will happen soon, as Indonesia, Vietnam, and India will gladly take China’s place supplying America’s vast consumer market. Less fentanyl will arrive. So I say thank God that President Trump has the backbone to do as he promised and level the playing field. Also, he has already attracted 4.5 trillion dollars in new investment in our country by his policies (a fact Professor Brooks conveniently fails to mention).
2) Savaging USAID. This claim is also partially true. Thanks to the work of DOGE, we know that USAID has become a slush fund used by Congress to ignore its fiscal oversight responsibilities. That slush fund is being used to finance such wacky projects as transgender comic books in Peru, gay plays in Ireland, condoms in the Mideast (ok, they are not for HAMAS, but still…) millions to Chelsea Clinton, and many more dubious leftist causes.. Time to stop ALL of it and scrutinize it. Restore what is worthwhile. If this be “savaging” USAID, I say BRAVO! Savage away.
3) The attack on Universities. This accusation is rich. Our prestigious learning institutions are promoting hatred of Jews and ignoring the brutality of October 7th, 2024 when HAMAS cooked babies in ovens, tortured unarmed men in front of their wives, then raped the wives and kidnapped them after murdering the husbands. Ironically, while applauding the cruelty of Hitler’s hatred of Jews, elite universities indoctrinate their students to accuse President Trump of being Hitler. Rich. And ridiculous.
These same schools want females to tolerate men in their locker rooms, and biological males stealing their dreams, scholarships, and medals on the athletic field. President Trump is 100% right to cut off their federal funding. Bravo. Our taxes should not pay for leftists’ puzzling promotion of mental illness.
4) The attack on “Law firms”. Really? Don’t make me laugh. President Trump has NOT declared war on law firms; if anything, certain leftists have declared war on any lawyer helping him.
President Trump has been personally victimized by idiotic lawsuits, including one for fake “mortgage fraud” by AG Latisha James, who committed real mortgage fraud by pretending her father as her husband (to get a better rate); calling a 5 bedroom house a four bedroom house (to get a better rate), and by lying that her primary residence was in Virginia while she worked as an AG in NY (to save taxes). President Trump was also victimized by what may be the most ridiculous criminal suit ever brought, essentially claiming that it was a “felony” for his underlings to cut checks with the memo line saying “legal services” after being billed for–legal services. Ok. President Trump has no great love for dishonest lawyers. Neither do I. If he declares war on unethical layers, more power to him. But the eminent Brooks gives no examples for his theory that Predident Trump is “attacking law firms”, because no good examples exist.
So what did I tell my friend? I said: “Protest away, my friend, if it makes you happy, but Professor Brook’s article is reminiscent of St. Thomas Aquinas’ characterization of much philosophy: ‘it reminds me of straw’. Have fun.”
If you enjoyed this article, then please REPOST or SHARE with others; encourage them to follow AFNN. If you’d like to become a citizen contributor for AFNN, contact us at managingeditor@afnn.us Help keep us ad-free by donating here.
Substack: American Free News Network Substack
Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@AFNN_USA
Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/afnnusa
Telegram: https://t.me/joinchat/2_-GAzcXmIRjODNh
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AfnnUsa
GETTR: https://gettr.com/user/AFNN_USA
CloutHub: @AFNN_USA