(Caricature of Donald Trump is by DonkeyHotey.)Donald Trump recently held another "listening session" at the White House. This time it was to determine what could be done about gun violence in this country. Trump talked like he is ready to put the power of the White House behind changes. Some of the changes he says are needed is plugging the holes in the background check law, raising the age to buy an assault weapon, taking guns away from the mentally ill, and arming school teachers and other school employees.
Was he serious? Is he actually going to use the power of his office to make change happen? I'd like to see it, but there's a nagging voice in the back of my mind that says it's all just BS (more lies and promises to make him look good).
I'm reminded of the promise he made to provide good and affordable health insurance to all American citizens. That didn't happen. All he did was join his Republican cohorts to damage Obamacare, and increase (by millions) the number of people who don't have any health insurance.
I'm reminded of his promise to be a uniter. But his actions have just further divided this country, as he denigrated those wanting social justice and called white supremacists "good people".
I'm reminded of his promise to support any compromise Congress came up with to improve our immigration system and protect Dreamers who depend on the DACA system. But he reneged on that promise, and refused to support a bipartisan compromise in the Senate (because it didn't include full funding for his ridiculous wall).
I'm reminded of his promise to deliver a tax cut that benefitted the middle class without helping the rich. But the tax cut he delivered gave almost all benefits to the rich and corporations.
I'm reminded of Trump's accusations against Hillary Clinton for using a private server (saying it put classified information at risk), only to have more than 30 of his White House staff that could not get top secret clearance after a year on the job (and many of them had access to our most sensitive classified information).
Trump does a lot of talking. He will say anything that he thinks people want to hear. The problem is that he doesn't deliver on his promises (and I doubt he ever meant to deliver on any of them). He believes in propaganda and lies, and uses both extensively. But taking action and keeping promises are not high on his list.
I hope I'm wrong this time. I would love for him to really do what he's promised. But I'm not going to hold my breath. I think the NRA and his base of deplorable will soon remind him that they (and he) really don't care about the lives of children (or any other Americans victimized by gun violence).
Even if the GOP-controlled Congress did come up with some real change, I think Trump would blow it up (probably because it didn't include arming teachers, which people in both parties know is ludicrous). Trump is a bullshit artist -- not a change-maker. Nothing of substance will be done.
