Unfortunately, we have eyes to see what he really is, a man who worships strongmen and wants to think of himself as one of them. He has kowtowed to Putin and Xi. Don’t let the tariffs fool you. By gutting USAID, the president has pleased Putin, and at the same time, he cedes soft power to China.

I don’t know if he doesn’t understand or just doesn’t care, but you can be a humanitarian and a savvy leader at the same time. If you build friendships and coalitions, the cost in dollars pales in comparison to what is gained. Xi understands this.

Then there are tariffs that will make prices go up. He’s made it clear that bringing prices down was just another one of his electioneering lies. So is reducing the deficit. He could do that by insuring that the wealthiest among us pay their fair share. Instead, he is firing IRS agents, a move that will reduce the amount of unpaid taxes that are collected. Add to this his extension of tax breaks that mostly benefit those who can and should be contributing more to the treasury. He has surrendered to the oligarchs.

He’s taking his sledgehammer to Social Security, as well. A good deal of our work force are essential workers who are not citizens, but who pay into Social Security despite not being able to sign up for benefits when they reach retirement age. Without their input, Social Security will be on even shakier ground.

As he points accusations at our former allies and threatens to take over territory that doesn’t belong to us, to whom will he surrender next? Evidently that’s President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported to an infamous Salvadorean prison. He left El Salvador as a youth to escape gang violence. Now he’s locked up in a place designed to hold gang members. The administration called his deportation “an administrative error.”

President Trump’s meeting with Bukele came to nothing. Trump accidently sent Garcia to prison, but he doesn’t have the power to bring him back? Do we know for sure that he’s still alive?

The president’s surrender is Garcia’s family’s loss. Here’s a hard truth: none of us should count on justice until this administration is gone. We are all Garcia’s family.