I am of two minds when it comes to Donald Trump’s constant reliance on the Big Lie and his derogatory language of hate.

Part of me believes that after nearly a decade of this constant barrage the American people will say enough, too much, we are done with Donald Trump.  It will be similar to the rejection of Joe McCarthy and McCarthyism in the 1950s.  For a while he was riding high with his anti-communist crusade and his accusations and attacks, then people caught on, and he was exposed for what he was: a demagogue and purveyor of the Big Lie.

Sadly, part of me is afraid that Trump’s tactic of lying and engaging in deliberate disinformation may be working in America with enough voters to allow him to emerge victorious on November 5^th.  As we approach the end of this campaign, in all his rallies and interviews, he has ratcheted up the lies—insisting ad nauseum that he won in 2020, demonizing our democracy, accusing immigrants of eating cats and dogs, using language that is right out of the Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin playbook as Anne Applebaum so correctly chronicles. (https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/10/trump-authoritarian-rhetoric-hitler-mussolini/680296/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the-atlantic-am&utm_term=The%20Atlantic%20AM)

At some level, nearly a majority of Americans seem immune or at least numbed to the lies and the language.  They were in pre-war Germany and Italy, they were under Stalin too.  But the key may be to confront what Donald Trump and his cohorts plan to do if elected. It is the actions that will ensue that we must clearly understand.

Here is a partial, but terrifying, list. Admittedly, this is draconian but sadly, pretty close to the mark.

1 Trump will pardon those convicted of breaking the law on January 6, 2021 in the attack on the U.S. Capitol. An attack he now calls “a day of love.”

2 Trump will end all legal proceedings against him for violating the law.

3 Trump will take full control of the Justice Department, and it will be his personal and political arm. He will likely seek to prosecute those he disagrees with, possibly including the Biden family.

4 Trump will attempt to implement nearly all of the recommendations in the Project 2025 plan.

5 Trump will arrest and deport as many Hispanics, Haitians, and those he considers “undesirable” as he possibly can, no matter what the cost. He says 10 million people. CBS estimates the cost of deporting one million would be $20 billion, let alone the effect on the economy. Each person deported costs $19,599.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-plan-deport-immigrants-cost/

6 Trump will completely upend the tariffs on goods throwing our relations around the world and our economy into chaos. His projections—10%, 20%, 100% etc.—are staggering and absurd.

7 Trump will attempt to abolish agencies like EPA, Education, even the Fed, if he can’t find a way to control them by upending the civil service and installing idealogues who pledge their loyalty to him.

8 Trump will abandon the Ukraine and President Zelensky, allowing Russia and Putin to take over, threatening all of Europe.

9 Trump will abandon NATO and other international security agreements.

10 Trump will go all in for Netanyahu and support his aggressive policies in the middle east, rejecting a two-state solution.

11 Trump will continue his tax policies extending big breaks for the wealthy and basically nothing for the middle class or the poor, exploding the deficits by $7.5 trillion.

12 Trump will continue to describe climate change as a “hoax” and halt nearly all efforts to seek alternative sources of energy, increasing the policy of drilling and extracting fossil fuels.

13 Trump will appoint more extremist judges to the courts who will further erode a woman’s right to an abortion, increase criminal penalties and harm our basic freedoms. LGBTQ rights will also be under attack under a Trump administration.

14 Trump will turn the clock back on voting rights, civil rights and do his best to undermine the traditions of representative democracy by contesting elections that he and his allies do not win.

15 Trump will demonize and attack the free press and shut down those who question his authority. In contrast, he will embrace those like Elon Musk who support him and seek to control what people see, hear and read.

16 Trump will continue his personal grifting schemes to enrich himself and his family by creating companies like Trump Media and Truth Social, a cryptocurrency firm World Liberty Financial, selling gold sneakers, $100,000 watches, autographed bibles, renting out whole floors of his hotels to foreign governments, and on and on.  With Donald Trump the famous sign on Harry Truman’s desk, “The Buck Stops Here”, has a whole new meaning.

The words of Donald Trump are abhorrent and demeaning; his promised actions would serve to destroy our country and all it has stood for, for over 250 years. I would hope this is hyperbole and pray that it is, but those really are the stakes on November 5th.