Protected: Trump’s Honeymoon is Over due to his Self-Inflicted Wounds: His Second 100 Days will be Even More Challenging

Christianity in the White House: We Need Less Spirit of Constantine and More Spirit of Jesus

On Good Friday of last week, the New York Times published an article “Christianity in the White House” written by their columnist Ruth Graham. She narrates the growing presence and influence of Christian leaders, especially evangelicals, in the White House. Her article is primarily descriptive. In this post, I first summarize the article. Then I describe some historical examples that were similar. Finally I raise questions about whether this influence is more positive or negative.

Summary of the Facts

Over two decades ago, then President George W. Bush established the White House Faith Office. During these first one hundred days of his second administration, President Trump has expanded the prominence of this Faith Office. It is now located in the White House West Wing (albeit in the basement). It is led by Trump’s spiritual adviser, Paula White-Cain and by Jennifer Korn. Their main stated purpose is to reduce hostility against Christianity and other faiths, by creating an American version of “a Church-state alliance. They point to the fact that prayers in the White House do not need to be generic, but can now be prayed in “the name of Jesus”. Nevertheless, their goals go way beyond “religious topics”. These include issues of gender and sexuality. They take pride in Trump’s executive orders that claim there are only “two sexes,” male and female.

The Faith Office has sponsored multiple briefings and listening sessions for Christian leaders. They deal with foreign relationships, trade and tariffs, education, etc. Rev. Samuel Rodriguez affirms that these sessions give Christian leaders unprecedented access to Trump’s staff.

Now we turn to the teaching of Jesus regarding secular rulers.

Jesus and “Secular Governments”

Jesus was quite aware that human governments exercise a special temptation for his followers. Many people are attracted to power. “Then the apostles began to squabble among themselves. They were arguing about which of them would be the greatest. Jesus said to them, ‘Kings of other countries use great authority over their people. Leaders of those countries want people to say good things about them. You must not be like that. The most important person among you must become like the least important person. The person who is your leader must become like your servant.’” (Luke 22:24-26)

Some observations:

Those who follow Jesus must use great discernment to distinguish between “true goodness” from the more common “fake goodness” of many rulers who claim they are doing good for their subjects…but are not.
By exposing the hypocrisy of kings and other rulers, Jesus expects his followers to rise above the idolatrous loyalty and fawning so typical of governments, because disciples of Jesus are called to serve a higher authority: the true and living God.

Historical Examples of Church/State Alliances

Throughout history there have been numerous examples of an alliance or “marriage” between secular rulers and religious leaders or causes that are perceived as “useful” for those rulers. The classic example is the “Holy” Roman Empire. Early in the fourth century A.D. there was a power vacuum in the Empire. four Roman generals began fighting and vying for the position of emperor. At that time, Christians and churches were expanding rapidly throughout the empire in spite of being frequently being persecuted. Although they were almost universally pacifistic and refused to take up the sword, their moral support could be useful to the generals. According to tradition, General Constantine had a vision in the night in which he saw a cross in the sky together with the words “with this cross you will conquer”. Although this vision is widely regarded today as mythical, Constantine defeated his rivals and became emperor. He changed the Church’s status from “illegal” to “tolerated”. A few decades later, Christianity became the official religion in the empire. Although there were some positive results of this alliance such as the creation of “sacred music” and Christian art, there were other devastating consequences. Freedom of religion was eliminated as the people of the empire were forced to accept Christianity or at least to go through the motions. Many followers of Jesus abandoned their Biblically based pacifism. They became Roman soldiers and did not heed the Biblical warning that “those who live by the sword will die by the sword”. The tragic truth is that the empire distorted Christianity more than the church positively influenced the Empire. The fall of the Roman Empire was largely due to its own inner corruption rather than as a result of foreign attacks. This corruption seeped into the church as well. Powerful clerical posts were sold to the highest bidder. Luther was correct in denouncing these moral failures of the papacy.

Two more recent examples merit some mention. During the 15^th and 16^th centuries, weak Popes made deals with monarchs in Spain. The Spanish Inquisition emerged. This permitted the monarchs to punish Jews in their lands and to wage war against the Moors with “God’s blessing”. Later, they and their Portuguese counterparts waged savage wars upon the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas. This was truly a continent-wide holocaust executed in the name of the God of the Conquistadores. Valiant voices of protests emerged, like Bartolome de las Casas.

In the twentieth century, Hitler was enabled to carry out his horrific attempt to make Germany great again by the acquiescence of the state church. Millions of Jews, Polish, gypsies and thousands of others made in God’s image “disappeared” and were massacred, all in the name of God and his chosen Aryan race. (God’s blessing appeared on the belt buckles of the German soldiers.) Here again people (like Bonhoeffer) arose to protest against this idolatrous alliance.

Concerns About Our Contemporary Situation in the United States

In light of lessons learned from history, I have questions about the presence and “access” of some Christian leaders in the White House.

It is well known that President Trump boasts about his transactional relationships (“I give you something, you give me something”.) These religious leaders gave Trump political support during the elections of 2016, 2020, and 2024, and partially due to their support, 80% of white evangelicals voted for Trump. What did they get in return? Invitations to go to the White House and to offer up prayers in the name of Jesus do not come close to “do justice and to walk humbly with your God”.
Paula White claimed she had received messages from God (prophecies) that Trump would win the 2020 election. Trump did not win that election. This makes her a false prophet. This is quite serious, as sincere Christians might believe, and act upon, her false prophecy.
Franklin Graham heads up the international Christian ministry, Samaritan’s Purse. His father was the famous evangelist, Billy Graham. Franklin was an outspoken supporter of Trump since 2015. In the Musk/Trump gutting of USAID a few months ago, Samaritan’s Purse received an exemption, and as a result, continued to receive millions of dollars. It seems to me like a transaction based on favoritism. Was it?
Trump has a difficult relationship with the truth. He frequently wanders far from it. Christian leaders in the White House could perform a valuable ministry to him if they had the courage to confront his lies. A very big lie has to do with the war in Ukraine. We all know that Putin started the war by invading Ukraine. But now, in his “peace talks”, the Trump administration claims Putin to be a “great man” and that it was Ukraine that started the war. Paula White and Franklin Graham, have you confronted Trump about this lie?

Jesus told his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” (Matthew 5:13).

Why Would Anyone Trust Trump on Trade and Tariffs? (Part II): Goals, Instability, Possible Corruption and Unjust International Trade

A week ago, I posted a brief article, “Why Would Anyone Trust Trump on Trade and Tariffs? ‘BE COOL’ Is Not an Adequate Answer”. In that post, I raised serious questions about President Trump’s six corporate bankruptcies and the huge national debt increase that took place during his first presidency. I also explained that tariffs are, in fact, taxes paid by import companies (not the exporting companies nor exporting countries), and the costs of these taxes are usually passed on to consumers. In today’s post, I want to add some other issues: goals for tariffs, the negative effects of “on again / off again” tariffs, possible corruption, and explore who has benefited from unjust international trading.

Goals for Trump’s Tariffs

One goal for Trump’s early tariff on Canadian goods was to punish that country for allowing great quantities of fentanyl to enter into the United States and contribute to drug addiction in our country. This is a bogus argument. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, only 43 pounds of fentanyl were intercepted coming from Canada into the U.S. last year. This is less than 1% of all interceptions (of which the overwhelming majority come across the U.S./Mexico border).
A more repeated goal or motivation is to make the tariff so high that companies will move their production to the United States. They hope that by avoiding the tariff, their products will stay cheap enough to avoid a decrease in their sales. This probably won’t happen for the following reasons. Some products (like coffee or bananas) cannot be economically grown or produced in the United States. For manufacturing jobs, the cost of labor is much cheaper in some countries (China, Mexico) and this comparative advantage makes it still more economical to produce in foreign countries (even including the tariff) than in the U.S.
The transition to production in the U.S. usually involves a significant investment of capital. These investments are risky if the tariff rules are subject to the presidential whims of “on today” and “off tomorrow”. The flow of capital requires a certain degree of stability not yet demonstrated by Trump’s trade negotiations and policies.
Another more reasonable goal for tariffs is to promote ”national security”. Why should the U.S. allow rivals/enemies (China) have control over the production of components (like semiconductors) that are essential for military weapons or the high tech utilized to obtain sensitive intelligence. This has led to opposite policies: (1) Semiconductors are so important that the president needs to carve out an exemption from tariffs for them, thereby guaranteeing their continued production and availability, at least in the short run; OR (2) Semiconductors are so important for our national security that we need to ensure their production occurs within our country. This can only done if we have high tariffs on them and thereby making it more economical to produce them here.
Trump is right when he affirms that international trade is sometimes unfair. He is wrong when he affirms that the U.S. is always the victim. A personal anecdote illustrates his error. I was living in Mexico in 1976. At that time the U.S. dollar was pegged at 12.5 pesos. Wealthy investors caused a run on the banks by buying up these “cheap” dollars. The Mexican government had to slow down this run on the banks and did so by devaluing their currency to a 24 peso to the dollar rate. Overnight the purchasing power of my dollars almost doubled whereas the ability of my Mexican friends to buy American products was cut in half. I personally benefited from the devaluation. My Mexican friends were the victims. What happened at an international level? Americans began buying more Mexican (now cheaper) products and Mexicans bought fewer products made in the U.S. Although this was seen as a trade “deficit” (from the U.S. point of view), in fact, Americans were beneficiaries of this dramatic weakening of the peso. Similar devaluations took place in Argentina, Brazil and much of the Global South with the corollary huge increase in inflation in those nations. These frequent devaluations have been pushed by the IMF, the World Bank, and others. The world winners have mostly been the United States and other countries in the Global North. Through decisions way beyond my control, my fellow Americans and I have benefited.
Insider trading takes place when some investors have advanced knowledge of some decisions which might greatly affect the rise or fall of stock indexes and then use this information to buy or sell certain stocks to make personal gains. This is morally unfair. President Trump’s 90 day “pause” on the reciprocal tariffs led to an historic skyrocket rise in the Dow Jones index. Did any of Trump’s friends have and utilize advanced knowledge about the pause? An independent investigation will reveal the truth. Given that officials in Congress and the Cabinet do have access to confidential economic information, all such officials should be barred from buying/selling specific stocks while they are serving in public office.
Handing out tariff exemptions is a highly lucrative business worth billions and billions of dollars. A week ago, Trump carved out exemptions on some electronics from China. Later, his economic advisers stated that these exemptions will be placed in a special “semiconductor bucket”. Do any of the president’s big donors control companies that will receive these exemptions? If so, this is corruption. Congress must grow some backbone and exercise its responsibility to oversee tariffs.

One of the greatest strengths of our nation includes the checks and balances codified in our Constitution. The Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary are co-equal branches of our government and are an essential component of those checks and balances. For the wellbeing of our country, may each branch do its job. This applies to issues of tariffs and trade raised in this post.

Why Would Anyone Trust Trump on Trade and Tariffs? “BE COOL” is Not an Adequate Answer

Why Would Anyone Trust Trump on Trade and Tariffs? “BE COOL” is Not an Adequate Answer

This has been a chaotic week for the U.S. economy. Late in the afternoon on Wednesday, April 2, President Trump announced sweeping tariff hikes across the board with all of the United States trading partners (except Russia). The president proclaimed this “Liberation Day” in which he would level the economic playing field, by applying reciprocal tariffs on goods imported into the U.S. equal to the percentage that countries impose on our exports. (The conservative Cato Institute sharply criticized the administration for inflating the percentages. For example, Trump claimed that India imposed a 52% tariff on U.S. goods, although the real amount was 12%.) The Dow Jones fell 1679 points, a 4% decline. The NASDAQ fell almost 6% and the Standard and Poor sank 4.8%. On Friday, they continued their decline. Over the weekend, national and international stock exchanges continued to crash. Leading economic advisers predicted that a recession was more likely than not. This past Wednesday morning, Trump tweeted “BE COOL” trying to persuade investors to start buying stocks and not to continue the sell-off. The situation became even more dire. Retirees saw their savings decline by over 10%. By noon, Trump knew he had to do something. He announced a ninety-day pause on almost all of the tariffs. (Some say, “he flinched”, or “he caved”, or “he retreated”. The Dow Jones which had been down a thousand points skyrocketed, and set a record for the largest turnaround in a single day. People hoped that the surge would continue yesterday (Thursday). It did not, because a China – U.S. trade war still looms on the horizon. China has imposed a tariff of 125% on U.S. products whereas Trump has placed a tariff/tax of 145% on Chinese items. The Dow Jones sank another 1000 points.

Trump’s tragic history with businesses – Anyone who knows the history of Donald Trump, the businessman, should not want him to be the CEO of our national economy. Although Trump has never filed for personal bankruptcy, he has filed for chapter eleven corporate bankruptcy on six of his companies:

1991: Trump Taj Mahal
1992: Trump Castle Hotel & Casino
1992: Trump Plaza Casino
1992: Trump Plaza Hotel
2004: Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts
2009: Trump Entertainment Resorts

Apparently, Trump has not learned from these mistakes. In fact, he does not even admit that they were mistakes. He claims these were savvy business practices. He personally did not lose much money…, his stock owning partners had colossal losses. These bankruptcies do not include the now defunct Trump University in which Trump was ordered to pay $25 million to the students who were swindled.

Some Trump supporters like to refer to his first presidential term (2017-2021) as a wonderful economic “success”. Nothing could be further from the truth! During that administration, Trump increase the national debt by $7.8 trillion. This was the largest increase in the national debt ever by a president in a four-year period! (Whether individually or nationally, irresponsible people can be “successful and happy” if they don’t have to pay the bills.)

Where Do We Go From Here?

This economic crisis is not due to a Covid 19 pandemic nor due to a natural disaster. This came about due to the irrational decision by one man, Donald J. Trump… and his “yes men” (like convicted trade adviser Peter Navarro). Elon Musk has repeatedly called Navarro a “moron”. It remains to be seen which man, Musk or Navarro, will win this squabble and which one will have to leave.

Trump is enamored with tariffs and has been for a long time. The overwhelming majority of trained economists disagree with Trump. Tariffs are taxes which are paid by importers, who then pass along these added expenses to the prices for consumers. Tariffs go against the logic of “comparative advantage” of free market capitalism. Tariffs are a form of protectionism which rewards inefficient national industries. This is why conservative economists oppose tariffs. On this issue, liberal economists agree with their conservative counterparts.

The trade war will probably continue until either the U.S. or the Chinese economy approaches the breaking point, because the Chinese and Trump are very stubborn. After pronouncing the beautiful economic benefits of tariffs, it is extremely difficult for Trump to walk back this policy and now to acknowledge it was mistake. But if inflation starts rising dramatically and/or if we enter into a recession, his supporters will demand he reverse his tariff policy. Maybe Trump and the Chinese can reach an agreement on a low reciprocal tariff. Let’s hope so.

I urge my MAGA friends and readers to examine the facts and to evaluate Trump by the consequences of his economic actions.

Pastor Niemoller Spoke Truth to Power in the Time of Hitler, and in Our Time as Well: First They Came for….

Pastor Niemoller Spoke Truth to Power in the Time of Hitler…and in Our Time as Well: First they Came for ….

Martin Niemoller was a German theologian and Lutheran pastor during the time of Hitler. Early in his adulthood, he was a national conservative. Like most German Protestant ministers, he supported conservative politicians who opposed the Weimar Republic. He voted for Nazis in 1924, 1928, and again in 1933, thereby welcoming Hitler’s rise to power in Germany. He even praised Hitler for beginning a “national revival”. Nevertheless, he changed his opinion of the Nazis due to Hitler’s discrimination against Jews generally, and against Christians with Jewish ancestry. (Niemoller himself had to acknowledge aspects of antisemitism in his own thoughts and actions.). In 1934, Niemoller, together with Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Karl Barth and other pastors founded the “Confessing Church” that increasingly criticized the Nazis for their racism and persecution of the Jews. In 1937, Pastor Niemoller was arrested. He spent much of the next eight years in detention and concentration camps. He is quite famous for the following illustration that he would frequently utilize in his sermons.

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a communist. Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak for me.” (There are many versions of this quote. This rendering of the original appears on the United States Holocaust Memorial.)

This famous quotenwas a dramatic speaking of truth to power. It defends our common human rights, even of those persons we disagree with. It was important to shout out this truth against the backdrop of Hitler’s tyranny. It is also important to emphasize this truth today in our politically charged climate. I trust Brother Martin does not mind that I borrow some of his words.

First, they came for the undocumented immigrants, and I did not speak out – because I was not undocumented (although some of my ancestors obtained lands in the U.S. without having permission from the true indigenous owners of those lands).

Then they came for vital USAID programs and employees, and I did not speak out – because I did not live in a refugee camp having fled from war.

Then they came for international grad students (with valid student visas), and I did not speak out – because I was a U.S. citizen.

Then they came for federal workers, and I did not speak out – because I was economically comfortable.

Then they came for (fill in the blank). Will I speak out?

Elon’s (Love of) Money Can’t Buy You Love…Nor Many Votes: A Case Study From Wisconsin

On Tuesday, people went to the polls in Florida and Wisconsin. In Florida there were two special elections to choose replacements for Representatives Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz who had resigned their positions in the House of Representatives to join the Trump cabinet. (In fact, Gaetz’s bad reputation led to his withdrawal as the nominee for Attorney General, whereas Waltz has become Trump’s National Security Adviser.). Both districts (#1 and #6) are predominantly Republican in which Trump won by over 30 percentage points last November. Both Republican candidates won their races, each by a margin of fourteen percentage points. As a result, Republican control of the House of Representatives is slightly improved. On the other hand, these two elections are warning signs for Republicans. A decline in their margins of victory from over 30% to just 14% is a clear indication of buyer’s remorse. Polls conducted this week show President Trump’s approval rate has slipped to 43%, his lowest level since the inauguration. As his widely unpopular tariffs take effect, inflation will increase and a recession is looming on the horizon (as I correctly predicted in an earlier posting on this blog site).

A more dramatic disaster took place in Wisconsin. The principal election in that state was to choose a replacement for a position on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court. Technically, this was a non-partisan race. The party initials (D) and (R) did not appear on the ballot. Nevertheless, party preferences were quite clear. Trump and most Republican state leaders endorsed the conservative candidate, Brad Schimel. Democrats largely supported Susan Crawford, the progressive candidate. Wisconsin is a “purple” state with almost an equal number of registered Republicans and Democrats. Biden won the state in 2020, but Trump won in 2024 by a margin under 1% of the vote. The election was quite important because it would tilt the Supreme Court, especially on the redistricting of the state’s federal districts for the U.S. House of Representatives.

The race was also the most expensive judiciary election in U.S. with a total of over ninety million dollars spent by candidates, and political parties and donors from within and outside the state. The richest person in the world, Elon Musk, took a special interest in the race and donated twenty million dollars from his personal wealth for the Schimel campaign. He proudly offered $100 to any voter who would promise to oppose “activist judges” and he wrote out checks for a million dollars to two lucky winners of an ideological contest. (This money for votes scheme was even more egregious than JFK’s giving away of two-dollar bills back in 1960.) Musk even made a personal visit to Milwaukee over the weekend to campaign for Schimel. His money and visit proved to be toxic. The liberal candidate Susan Crawford won the election by a wide margin (55% to 45%). Even more important than the issues (redistricting, abortion, etc.), the election turned into a referendum on Musk and his money involved in politics. In her victory speech, Crawford claimed that she ran against the wealthiest man on earth…, and she won.

Mr. President, When the Courts Rule Against You, Do Not Throw a Temper Tantrum. File Your Appeals, Then Trust and Obey.

One week ago, three airplanes, supposedly containing immigrants belonging to Venezuelan gangs, took off from U.S. territory and flew to El Salvador where the passengers were placed in a huge, infamous prison in that country. These deportations took place under the alleged authorization of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (which has only been invoked during wartime). Federal Judge James Boasberg, concerned that due process had not taken place, ordered that the planes not take off, or if already in the air, that they turn around and come back with their passengers to the U.S.

Mr. President, you threw a temper tantrum, more like a spoiled three-year old brat than someone who aspires to be a “great president”. Rather than dealing with the evidence, you labeled Boasberg as an “extreme leftist lunatic” (even though he was first appointed by Republican President Bush). You called him a “rogue” who should be impeached (although as you know an impeachment needs 67 votes in the Senate).

For your information, our government has three co-equal branches: the Legislative, which makes the laws and has the power of the purse; the Executive, which executes the legislation (here, “executes” means “implements”, not “kills”); and the Judiciary, which interprets the law and applies the penalties when violations take place. The Judiciary is like the umpire who calls “balls and strikes”. The courts don’t always get it right, but the beauty and wisdom of our government is that citizens can appeal the decisions they don’t like and take them to an Appellate Court, or all the way to the Supreme Court.

To be honest, your administration has not complied with Judge Boasberg’s orders. The judge has demonstrated great patience by extending additional time to your staff to provide the basic information regarding when the planes took off and landed, and when your administration became aware of the orders. Your administration is stalling and defying the court. Then yesterday, you came out and said you never signed the document invoking the Alien Enemies Act. Who forged your signature?

Mr. Trump, you swore to defend the Constitution. Do not, by your actions, allow our country to fall into a constitutional crisis. File your appeals if you wish. Trust the process. Obey the court orders.

The War in Ukraine: A Bit of Hope, but is Trump Getting “Played” by Putin?

Yesterday, U.S. President Trump and Russian “President” Putin had a lengthy (roughly two hours) phone conversation with the goal of ending the war in Ukraine. I do not fault Trump with reaching out to an authoritarian world leader who is guilty of war crimes (according to the International Criminal Court). I do raise concerns about Russia taking advantage of Trump’s lack of leverage in these negotiations. These conversations already have a history, including Trump’s meeting with Ukrainian President Zelensky in the White House and talks between Russian and U.S. envoys. In these preliminaries, Trump has made several unnecessary and unhelpful concessions to Putin:

Trump falsely accused Zelensky of starting the war and Trump defended Putin against charges of being the aggressor (in the UN vote)
Trump affirmed that Russia would be awarded some land in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO

By giving up these concessions up front, the United States has lost its leverage in these talks.

The Good News: Yesterday, Putin agreed to a 30-day limited cease-fire in which Russia would stop strikes on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure as long as Ukraine did the same. Putin also agreed to a significant prisoner exchange for later this month.

The Bad News: Putin did NOT agree to a complete 30-day cease-fire. To advance the negotiations, the U.S. cannot provide additional military assistance or intelligence information to Ukraine. Ukraine cannot send more troops to the front. These and other demands are totally unacceptable to Ukraine (and to our European allies).

The Results: Putin gives the impression that he is open and eager to end the war. In fact, he is stalling. Every day the war continues, Russia takes more territory. Trump’s peace initiatives will not be successful, because Putin is not acting in good faith. It sure looks like Trump, the author of “The Art of the Deal”, is getting “played” by Putin.

What can Trump do? He must regain leverage over Putin. He should impose new financial sanctions on Russia. These sanctions can be used as “bargaining chips” which can later be withdrawn if Putin removes his unreasonable demands.

The War in Ukraine: A Bit of Hope, but is Trump Getting “Played” by Putin?

Trump falsely accused Zelensky of starting the war and Trump defended Putin against charges of being the aggressor (by siding with Russian, North Korea, etc. in the UN vote)
Trump affirmed that Russia would be awarded some land in eastern Ukraine
Ukraine would not be allowed to join NATO

By giving these concessions up front, the United States has lost its leverage in these talks.

Trump’s Plan to End the War in Ukraine: Concessions and Non-negotiables

On the campaign trail, Trump promised that he would end the war in Ukraine BEFORE he took office on January 20. Of course, no sane person believed that promise and of course, Trump did not fulfill his pledge. Nevertheless, Trump does deserve some credit for attempting to end the war. Last night, Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff met with Russian “president” Putin in a preliminary meeting to suggest a temporary ceasefire. It is in everyone’s interest (Ukraine, Russia, United States, Europe) for this war to end and a “just peace” to emerge in which both Ukraine and Russia are in agreement with the terms.

This will not be easy. A poll came out overnight in which 59% of Americans believe that a just peace is unlikely or very doubtful. Both countries have non-negotiables and both sides will have to make significant concessions. Here are the most important issues.

Territory integrity – I believe Ukraine is right in demanding territory integrity, that is, the boundaries be the same as prior to the war: Russian occupied lands in eastern Ukraine should be returned. Although Ukraine would also like Crimea to be returned, this wish list item might need to be sacrificed. One option is for the United Nations to study and vote on the status of Crimea some time in the intermediate future.

Membership in NATO – Ukraine wants to join NATO for its future security. Of course, Russia does not want an additional large, NATO member as its next-door neighbor for its own security reasons. Although desiring to join NATO is a legitimate goal, I would be willing to see this deferred for 5-10 years in order for a peace agreement to take place.

Putin’s Responsibility – It is obviously clear to sane people that Putin started this war. He was the aggressor. His reckless invasion has caused the deaths of many thousands of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers and civilians. Justice requires that Putin make some financial remuneration for the deaths that he caused and for the rebuilding of Ukraine. It is doubtful that Putin would admit any guilt. Tyrants seldom acknowledge any mistakes. (Trump knows this all too well.) My suggestion is that Europe and the United States magnanimously and jointly offer to pay for much of the rebuilding of Ukraine. This would be a more economical option than continuing to finance an unnecessary war.

Trump has chosen a difficult challenge: Bringing about a just peace. I hope he can achieve the “art of the deal”.

Trump’s State of the Union Address: Some Good Points, but his Lies should Worry all Americans

In Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address on Tuesday evening, he was preaching to the choir. His MAGA base loved it. Republican leaders who were present got plenty of exercise as they stood up and applauded dozens of times during his 99 minute speech. He was disciplined in sticking to his text instead of his more typical going off script. He highlighted his “successes” and generally omitted his failed promises. Nevertheless, he made many claims that were totally false. I lay out some of the evidence below. I ask my readers, especially MAGA folk, to pursue the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. If the following information is inaccurate in any detail, please let me know. If Trump communicated false information, please speak truth to power.

Trump – “The presidential election of November 5th was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades…. We won the popular vote by big numbers.”

The Truth – Trump truly won the election, but it was not a mandate. He did not even receive a majority of the popular vote, just 49.8% of those who voted. In fact, it was the smallest margin of victory since the year 2000.

Trump – “Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction — in fact it’s an astonishing record, 27-point swing — the most ever.”

The Truth – “Thirty-four percent of Americans say that the country is headed in the right direction, compared to 49% who say it is off on the wrong track. When it comes to several specific issues, Americans are more likely to say things are off on the wrong track than going in the right direction: cost of living (22% right direction / 60% wrong track), the national economy (31% right direction / 51% wrong track), national politics (33% right direction / 50% wrong track), American foreign policy (33% right direction / 49% wrong track), and employment and jobs (33% right direction / 47% wrong track). Immigration policy is the only specific issue where more Americans say it is going in the right direction (48%) than off on the wrong track (39%).” (most recent Reuters/IPSOS poll)

Trump – “It has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency, it’s our presidency, is the most successful in the history of our nation. By many. And what makes it even more impressive, is that you know who number two is? George Washington. How about that? I don’t know about that list but we’ll take it.”

The Truth – We should be cautious when politicians (or anyone else) refuse to identify their sources. Who are the “many”? Where is the list? Was Trump really ahead of George Washington? According to the FiveThirtyEight average of national polls, only 46.1% of the U.S. citizens currently approve of the job Trump is doing, a decline of over 3% in these first six weeks of his presidency. (Donald Trump : Favorability Polls | FiveThirtyEight

Trump – “The United States has spent perhaps $350 billion on supporting Ukraine’s defense.” He also claimed that Europe has only spent $100 billion in aid to Ukraine.

The Truth – “According to the special inspector general responsible for overseeing the spending related to the war in Ukraine, Congress has appropriated or otherwise made available $182.75 billion for the overall U.S. response to the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Of that money, about $119 billion has been for the direct benefit of Ukraine, including approximately $65.9 billion in military assistance…. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, European countries have spent around $140 billion to back Kyiv, and pledged another roughly $120 billion to the cause.” (Shannon Kingston in Fact-checking Trump’s speech to Congress)

Trump – “Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control. The egg prices are out of control. And we are working hard to get it back down.”

The Truth – Egg prices rose under Biden. They have continued to rise sharply during Trump’s first six weeks. This is the same Trump who campaigned with the promise “I will bring down egg prices on Day One.” When I was a kid, we would hear the slogan “Boys make excuses, men make good.” I hear a lot of excuses coming out of the White House. Excuses need to be quite solid in order to justify failed promises.

Trump – “the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody.”

The Truth – During his first administration, Trump amassed the largest federal debt in U.S. history, $7.8 trillion. This does not lead to “the greatest economy in history”. This debt was largely due to his tax cut that primarily benefited the very rich. It was not a tax cut “for everybody”.

Trump – Although barely mentioned in his election campaign, tariffs have played a large role in these six weeks of his presidency. He called tariffs a “beautiful word”, his “favorite word”. On Tuesday Trump proclaimed that due to tariffs, “we will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”

The Truth – “The substantial tariffs that Mr. Trump is imposing on foreign products will raise revenue for the government. But total U.S. imports last year were about $3.3 trillion, meaning that tariffs would have to be incredibly high to generate the trillions of dollars of revenue that Mr. Trump claims.” (Fact-Checking Trump’s Address to Congress – The New York Times)

Trump – The specific special tariffs on Mexico and Canada (of 25%) were included in the written script of his address, but Trump (conveniently) skipped over these items in his oral remarks. Why?

The Truth – The conservative Wall Street Journal described these massive tariffs as the “Dumbest Trade War in History”. These tariffs took effect on Tuesday. In two days, the Dow Jones level fell some 1200 points (about 3% of its total value)! Mexico and Canada announced reciprocal, retaliatory tariffs. GOP leaders and the Big Three Automobile producers voiced their concerns to the White House. Faced with this bad news, Trump caved. On Wednesday he announced a one month “pause” on automobile tariffs with our two neighbors.

I could go on and on, but these lies are enough for now. The next big event is the budget that needs to be approved by Congress and signed into law by Trump. He says he wants a “balanced budget”. He has also promised not to touch Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. This is impossible. Republicans plan on cutting $880 billion from Medicaid which would lead to the closing of hundreds of nursing homes across the country and additional pain for millions of our citizens. Readers, what should we do with all these lies?