The administration in Washington has turned over once again after four orbits around the sun. And this time it’s “déjà vu all over again” to quote former baseball player Yogi Berra. Many of us refused to watch the inauguration, retreating under blankets in darkened rooms to await four grim years of unbridled lies, anger, retribution, chaos and dust storms meant to keep us off-kilter.
I was struck recently when CNMI Gov. Arnold Palacios announced he was switching parties again. After serving as a Republican, he became an Independent to run for governor in 2023. Now, he’s returned to the Republican fold.
After all, the CNMI, like the other territories and the freely associated states, depends heavily on the United States for revenue. Best to stay on the Oval’s good side and join the sycophants asking for favors, money, or a pat on the head.
Among those invited to the inauguration was President Xi Jinping of China. In his stead, Vice President Han Zheng was sent as his representative. Han’s role in the government is mainly ceremonial, acting as an envoy for Xi and attending events like the coronation of Charles III. But his presence on Jan. 20 was unusual, given U.S.-China tensions and the fact that no foreign heads of state have ever attended an inauguration. This time was different with far-right leaders and dictators joining the display of autocrats, despots and tyrants “like no one has ever seen,” to borrow the president’s hyperbole.
Having spent one-third of my life in New York City, I am well aware of the derision heaped on the current Oval Office occupant before 2016. Mocked by the media, other developers, society and the public, he was the kid from the working-class outer borough of Queens pressing his nose against Manhattan’s window, desperate for acceptance. His father, a despotic landlord himself, happily built his fortune in Queens, but not Donny.
He wanted to “take Manhattan” (to steal from the Richard Rogers song, I’ll Take Manhattan) and take he did, tearing down an iconic art deco building, tossing its priceless ornamentation onto the scrap heap, and replacing it with the gilt and marble monstrosity that he called home until fleeing to Florida, middle finger raised in defiance to those who scorned him. Then, when the Democrats refused his overtures, he switched and found a party where he could bend members of Congress to his will.
Now, with the “tech bros,” foreign leaders, cabinet picks and governors traveling to that home by the sea to genuflect, he’s thumbing his nose at those who once mocked him for his bankruptcies, tabloid-fodder pursuits, never-ending lawsuits, felony convictions, tacky gold-embellished buildings and other shoddy endeavors.
Delighting in the attention, he echoes actor Sally Fields’ Oscar acceptance: “They like me! They really like me!”
When he’s out of office in four years, facing postponed felony charges and likely new ones, today’s allies will quickly switch allegiance. The orange pancake makeup, the heavily hairsprayed comb-over, too-long red tie and exaggerated scowl, the rampant narcissism—the producer of The Apprentice regrets creating this “monster” solely for entertainment purposes, saying the show “painted a positive picture of him that wasn’t true.”
Now, he’s theatrically scrawling his signature on executive orders that often flout laws and the Constitution. Lawsuits are challenging these moves, but if they survive, they will deliver a gut-punch to his supporters and hit the wallets of Pacific Islanders at home and on the mainland. For example, tariffs will raise prices on Canadian and Mexican food imports, the United States' first and third largest suppliers of agricultural products. Remember the promise to lower food prices? Not happening.
Next will be an increase in drug prices due to his reversal of Biden’s legislation that lowered them. Thankfully, this does not repeal the $35 cap for diabetes drugs that Biden enacted.
Then there’s the Affordable Care Act that, if he has his way, will impact eligibility requirements, federal subsidies and enrollment deadlines. According to a report in The Guardian, “Some of the Biden-era orders Trump has already repealed include…the Strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, which broadened access for Americans and their families, allowing more parents with young children to be eligible for more extensive coverage. Some estimates suggest that this repeal alone could result in a nearly 25 percent loss of ACA coverage.”
And how about the blatantly unconstitutional order to abolish birthright citizenship? Better rethink where you’re having your baby if you’re from the FSM. A federal judge overturned it before the ink was dry, but there’s sure to be appeals. He loves lawsuits more than anything and chalked up more than 4,000 between 1973 and 2016 alone.
But back to Xi and his emissary. The Chinese play a long game, waiting and watching for an opening. They’re masters of this strategy in the Pacific region, slowly gaining alliances by greasing the palms of those they want to influence. #45/47 is a grifter who loves flattery as much as he loves lawsuits, using his office to gain greater wealth for himself and his family. The “little red envelope” that Xi most likely sent with Han must surely contain a significant amount of cash to add to the accumulation that #45/47 is greedily raking in. After all, it’s always about personal gain, with the Constitution and ethics as mere obstacles.
Joyce McClure is a former senior marketing executive and former Peace Corps volunteer in Yap. Transitioning to freelance writing, she moved to Guam in 2021 and recently relocated back to the mainland. Send feedback to joycemcc62@yahoo.com
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