Since November 8, 2016, the character of the United States swerved away from a democratic nation, and toward one that represses the rights of citizens. From that day forward, the threat that people of color, especially those from Mexico, were rapists and murderers became a vicious policy of the Trump Administration.

We had no idea that this president would act on his threats that he mouthed on the day he announced his run for the Oval Office. As soon as he was in office, he banned all Muslims from entering the United States if they lived in any one of eight nations. He appointed very wealthy people to most cabinet positions, and they, in these powerful positions, began to carryout a program that inflicted damage and harm to the people of the United States, and other countries, especially allies of the America.

It turns out that much of Trump’s rhetoric is based on white nationalism. Trump uses phrases of hatred toward Hispanics. The El Paso shooter published a manifesto using many of the phrases that Trump uses at rallies that demean people of color, especially Hispanics. The killer seemed to carry out Trump’s hateful attitude toward immigrants from Hispanic nations.

Slavery

Repression is not new in the United States. We often associate repression with nations under the rule of despots and dictators. Repression, however, doesn’t require a dictator. For 400 years, millions of African people, who were forced onto ships to endure a tortious trip to North America, were sold into slavery. The New York Times has documented this in its The 1619 Project. The project aims to reframe the country’s history, understanding the beginning of American slavery, and exploring the consequences and contributions of black Americans at the center of the story of America.

Immigration

Repression has also been part of immigration policy in the United States. Politicians have sought to make immigration more complex than it is. There is a U.S. Policy on immigration, but it does not meet the needs of people seeking to enter the country.

People can immigrate to the United States in a number of ways, including the family unification principle, the employment principle, and as a refugee and asylees. There is no limit on the number of individuals who may be granted asylum in a given year nor are there specific categories for determining who may seek asylum. In FY 2014, 23,533 individuals were granted asylum.

The current administration is determined to undermine these policies, and Trump has led the way, with the help of Senators such as David Perdue (R-GA) to inflict harmful damage to people seeking to come to the United States. The separation of children from their parents, most of who are seeking asylum, is an inhumane treatment of desperate people, who should be treated with dignity, not treated as criminals. Trump has instigated hatred toward these families, and there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight.

Physical repression, placing people in holding cells, is a notorious aspect of the Trump administration. Sending children hundreds of miles from their parents, who have no idea where they are placed, has created a crisis on the border.

Enemies of the People

Political-psychological repression is an underlying aspect of the Trump government. A key feature of the Trump repressive strategy is constant lying, denial, and the naming and targeting of enemies. Politico has documented that Trump has made more than 12,000 untruthful statements and out right lies. Trump also has bewildered Americans with his penchant for denying whether an event happened, or that he took part in the event. Do you remember what he said when asked if knew anything about the payment to Stormy Daniels? Better still, consult The Mueller Report, which identifies nearly a dozen cases in which Donald Trump may have obstructed justice by trying to interfere with the Mueller investigation.

The naming and belittling of people he considers his enemies is a harrowing aspect of this man. He has a name for every political rival. And he will go after them with the full force of the presidency. His constant refrain is that members of the press are enemies of the people. Perhaps this is one of the most significant designations that Trump continues to use.

Trump didn’t invent the term. Stalin, Lenin, and Hitler used the term, and its important to note that these despots, especially Stalin, identified anyone on the other side or critical of the government as an enemy of the people. They were arrested, and many of them were sent to labor camps for decades. In present day Russia, Putin has been accused of ordering members of the press or political opponents arrested, and in some cases killed. There is documentation that the violent deaths of journalists in Russia was started in Yeltsin era, and continued into the Putin years. Of the 200 murders of journalists in Russia, only 50 trials have been held.

Trump’s words that encourage his followers to despise the press, and his use of the phrase, “Fake News” represents a policy of repression aimed at destroying “freedom of the press.” These are dangerous signals, and it wouldn’t be surprising if there were journalists that suffered physical harm during the Trump years.

The Trump Wall against Science and Rational Thinking

And finally, in preparation for a future post, there is an alarming degradation of scientific research in all departments of government. Government scientists have censored their own writing and thinking in order to prevent departmental administrators from carrying out reprisals.

Jacob Carter has documented this, and he has shown that the Trump administration has attacked science more than 100 times. Although not the first administration to present impediments to scientific research and reasoning, Trump has outdone his predecessors. Under George W. Bush, many scientists had their work altered and blocked. But under Trump, scientists are not only being hounded, and reprimanded for not following policy (their research is in conflict with Trump policy), some are being exiled hundreds of miles from their place of employment, or fired.

Trump has reduced his administration to one—-himself. Any checks on his behavior have vaporized. He uses Twitter rants to determine government policy. And we simply are on the sidelines, and yell WTF.