We were warned, and now we’ll pay

In the weeks before the election, a number of traditionally conservative newspapers insisted Donald Trump was not only unqualified for office but a danger to the republic.

We were warned.

The Arizona Republic said he was not a conservative and not qualified. The Cincinnati Enquirer wrote, ”Trump is a clear and present danger to our country.” The Houston Chronicle stated that “his erratic temperament, his dodgy business practices, his racism, his Putin-like strongman inclinations and faux-populist demagoguery, his contempt for the rule of law, his ignorance,” should be disqualifying.

The Dallas Morning News wrote, “Trump’s values are hostile to conservatism. He plays on fear — exploiting base instincts of xenophobia, racism and misogyny — to bring out the worst in all of us, rather than the best. His serial shifts on fundamental issues reveal an astounding absence of preparedness. And his improvisational insults and midnight tweets exhibit a dangerous lack of judgment and impulse control.”

Less than one month in, all of the above has proven true.

Despite his complaints during the campaign about Hillary Clinton’s connections to Wall Street and the wealthy, Trump’s cabinet appointees read like a who’s-who list of millionaires and billionaires with ties to big banks, including Goldman Sachs.

His first counter-terrorism raid went, by most accounts, terribly wrong. Yemeni locals were tipped off to the secret mission by louder-than-normal drone surveillance, a member of Seal Team 6 was killed along with many civilians, including women and children ages 3 to 13, and the raid ended with the destruction of a $75 million aircraft.

In his first phone call with Vladimir Putin, Trump informed the Russian president that the 2010 nuclear treaty (known as New START) was a bad deal negotiated by the Obama administration while, according to White House sources, having to place Putin on hold to ask his advisers what was in the treaty.

His poorly executed travel ban on refugees from Muslim-majority nations fomented fear and chaos around the world, despite the fact that no refugee has committed an act of terror in this country for decades. And when the courts brought a stop to his executive order, he tweeted his contempt for the rule of law at the “so-called” judge.

First Lady Melania Trump has chosen to remain at their home in New York, costing taxpayers an estimated $1 million a day. And though he constantly derided President Barack Obama for playing golf, Trump has already spent two of his first three weekends as president, staying and golfing at his Florida country club.

With the sudden resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn (after only 23 days on the job), our military commanders are rightly alarmed. Gen. Tony Thomas, the head of Special Ops, told The New York Times, “Our government continues to be in unbelievable turmoil. I hope they sort it out soon because we’re a nation at war. As a commander, I’m concerned our government be as stable as possible.”

Our government is unstable because Trump is, as we were warned so often before the election, unqualified for the job. A danger to the republic.

Being president of the United States is serious business. It cannot be reduced to impulsive tweets. Sadly, Trump did not want to be president. He simply wanted to be a bigger star. The biggest star. He wanted to headline stadiums filled with fans, dominate the daily news, increase the value of his brand, pummel the media and destroy his opponents.

He wanted to win at all costs. And win he did.

Trump has an insatiable, gluttonous need for stardom. There will be a steep price. And we will all pay.

This story was originally published February 15, 2017 at 5:21 PM with the headline "We were warned, and now we’ll pay."