POLITICS

History is Watching an Un-American President Betray Ukraine

There has been no shortage of moments in the last few weeks that have made me cringe. Watching an American president let an unelected broligarch in a t-shirt raid the executive branch with a laptop and a cadre of twinks was one thing. Talk of shuttering the Education Department another. I turned the TV off when he announced his desire to turn the Gaza Strip into Vegas. “The man is fucking nuts,” is what I said to my partner as I tossed the remote.

We all have our own lists. We all have our own moments that make us want to scream. In general, though, I have actively stepped away from the noise. When pushed, I come down on the side of the process: even though I don’t think he should have been even given the chance to run, he was elected by the American people. I had a vote. I cast it. So did everyone else. The electoral college is mind-boggling, but the popular vote was clear. Now, it wasn’t as close a contest as the myth-making will tell us and future generations, but he did win.

I come from a family of Trump supporters. We have spent the last ten years debating, yelling, laughing, drinking — mostly around Sunday dinner. I am used to being the only liberal at the table. I railed against the Iraq War. I argued forcefully for gay marriage. I pushed for gun control in the face of…