I owe my Trump-supporting friends an apology. Iâve been critical of the Trump presidency and am still exhausted from the experience.
But to be fair, President Trump wasnât that bad, other than:
âĸ when he incited an insurrection against the government,
âĸ mismanaged a pandemic that killed over a million Americans
âĸ separated children from their families
âĸ lost those children in the bureaucracy
âĸ tear-gassed peaceful protesters on Lafayette Square so he could hold a photo op holding a Bible in front of a church
âĸ tried to block all Muslims from entering the country
âĸ had the worst jobs record of any president in modern history
âĸ pressured Ukraine to dig dirt on Joe Biden
âĸ fired the FBI director for investigating his ties to Russia
âĸ bragged about firing the FBI director on TV
âĸ took Vladimir Putinâs word over the US intelligence community
âĸ diverted military funding to build his wall
âĸ caused the longest government shutdown in US history
âĸ called Black Lives Matter a âsymbol of hateâ
âĸ lied nearly 40,000 times
âĸ banned transgender people from serving in the military
âĸ ejected reporters from the White House briefing room who asked tough questions
âĸ vetoed the defense funding bill because it renamed military bases named for Confederate soldiers
âĸ refused to release his tax returns
âĸ increased the national debt by nearly $8 trillion
âĸ had three of the highest annual trade deficits in U.S. history
âĸ called veterans and soldiers who died in combat losers and suckers
âĸ coddled the leader of Saudi Arabia after he ordered the execution and dismembering of a US-based journalist
âĸ refused to concede the 2020 election
âĸ hired his unqualified daughter and son-in-law to work in the White House
âĸ walked out of an interview with Lesley Stahl
âĸ called neo-Nazis âvery fine peopleâ
âĸ suggested that people should inject bleach into their bodies to fight COVID
âĸ abandoned our allies the Kurds to Turkey
âĸ pushed through massive tax cuts for the wealthiest but balked at helping working Americans
âĸ incited anti-lockdown protestors in several states at the height of the pandemic
âĸ withdrew the US from the Paris climate accords
âĸ withdrew the US from the Iranian nuclear deal
âĸ withdrew the US from the Trans Pacific Partnership which was designed to block Chinaâs advances
âĸ insulted his own Cabinet members on Twitter
âĸ pushed the leader of Montenegro out of the way during a photo op
âĸ failed to reiterate US commitment to defending NATO allies
âĸ called Haiti and African nations âshitholeâ countries
âĸ called the city of Baltimore the âworst in the nationâ
âĸ claimed that he single-handedly brought back the phrase âMerry Christmasâ even though it hadnât gone anywhere
âĸ forced his Cabinet members to praise him publicly like some cult leader
âĸ believed he should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
âĸ berated and belittled his hand-picked Attorney General when he recused himself from the Russia probe
âĸ suggested the US should buy Greenland
âĸ colluded with Mitch McConnell to push through federal judges and two Supreme Court justices after supporting efforts to prevent his predecessor from appointing judges
âĸ repeatedly called the media âenemies of the peopleâ
âĸ claimed that if we tested fewer people for COVID weâd have fewer cases
âĸ violated the emoluments clause
âĸ thought that Nambia was a country
âĸ told Bob Woodward in private that the coronavirus was a big deal but then downplayed it in public
âĸ called his exceedingly faithful vice president a âp---yâ for following the Constitution
âĸ nearly got us into a war with Iran after threatening them by tweet
âĸ nominated a corrupt head of the EPA
âĸ nominated a corrupt head of HHS
âĸ nominated a corrupt head of the Interior Department
âĸ nominated a corrupt head of the USDA
âĸ praised dictators and authoritarians around the world while criticizing allies
âĸ refused to allow the presidential transition to begin
âĸ insulted war hero John McCain â even after his death
âĸ spent an obscene amount of time playing golf after criticizing Barack Obama for playing (far less) golf while president
âĸ falsely claimed that he won the 2016 popular vote
âĸ called the Muslim mayor of London a âstone cold loserâ
âĸ falsely claimed that he turned down being Timeâs Man of the Year
âĸ considered firing special counsel Robert Mueller on several occasions
âĸ mocked wearing face masks to guard against transmitting COVID
âĸ locked Congress out of its constitutional duty to confirm Cabinet officials by hiring acting ones
âĸ used a racist dog whistle by calling COVID the âChina virusâ
âĸ hired and associated with numerous shady figures that were eventually convicted of federal offenses including his campaign manager and national security adviser
âĸ pardoned several of his shady associates
âĸ gave the Presidential Medal of Freedom to two congressman who amplified his batshit crazy conspiracy theories
âĸ got into telephone fight with the leader of Australia(!)
âĸ had a Secretary of State who called him a moron
âĸ forced his press secretary to claim without merit that his was the largest inauguration crowd in history
âĸ botched the COVID vaccine rollout
âĸ tweeted so much dangerous propaganda that Twitter eventually banned him
âĸ charged the Secret Service jacked-up rates at his properties
âĸ constantly interrupted Joe Biden in their first presidential debate
âĸ claimed that COVID would âmagicallyâ disappear
âĸ called a U.S. Senator âPocahontasâ
âĸ used his Twitter account to blast Nordstrom when it stopped selling Ivankaâs merchandise
âĸ opened up millions of pristine federal lands to development and drilling
âĸ got into a losing tariff war with China that forced US taxpayers to bail out farmers
âĸ claimed that his losing tariff war was a win for the US
âĸ ignored or didnât even take part in daily intelligence briefings
âĸ blew off honoring American war dead in France because it was raining
âĸ redesigned Air Force One to look like the Trump Shuttle
âĸ got played by Kim Jung Un and his âlove lettersâ
âĸ threatened to go after social media companies in clear violation of the Constitution
âĸ botched the response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico
âĸ threw paper towels at Puerto Ricans when he finally visited them
âĸ pressured the governor and secretary of state of Georgia to âfindâ him votes
âĸ thought that the Virgin islands had a President
âĸ drew on a map with a Sharpie to justify his inaccurate tweet that Alabama was threatened by a hurricane
âĸ allowed White House staff to use personal email accounts for official businesses after blasting Hillary Clinton for doing the same thing
âĸ rolled back regulations that protected the public from mercury and asbestos
âĸ pushed regulators to waste time studying snake-oil remedies for COVID
âĸ rolled back regulations that stopped coal companies from dumping waste into rivers
âĸ held blatant campaign rallies at the White House
âĸ tried to take away millions of Americansâ health insurance because the law was named for a Black man
âĸ refused to attend his successorsâ inauguration
âĸ nominated the worst Education Secretary in history
âĸ threatened judges who didnât do what he wanted
âĸ attacked Dr. Anthony Fauci
âĸ promised that Mexico would pay for the wall (it didnât)
âĸ allowed political hacks to overrule government scientists on major reports on climate change and other issues
âĸ struggled navigating a ramp after claiming his opponent was feeble
âĸ called an African-American Congresswoman âlow IQâ
âĸ threatened to withhold federal aid from states and cities with Democratic leaders
âĸ went ahead with rallies filled with maskless supporters in the middle of a pandemic
âĸ claimed that legitimate investigations of his wrongdoing were âwitch hunts,â
âĸ seemed to demonstrate a belief that there were airports during the American Revolution
âĸ demanded âtotal loyaltyâ from the FBI director
âĸ praised a conspiracy theory that Democrats are Satanic pedophiles
âĸ completely gutted the Voice of America
âĸ placed a political hack in charge of the Postal Service
âĸ claimed without evidence that the Obama administration bugged Trump Tower
âĸ suggested that the US should allow more people from places like Norway into the country
âĸ suggested that COVID wasnât that bad because he recovered with the help of top government doctors and treatments not available to the public
âĸ overturned energy conservation standards that even industry supported
âĸ reduced the number of refugees the US accepts
âĸ insulted various members of Congress and the media with infantile nicknames
âĸ gave Rush Limbaugh a Presidential medal of Freedom at the State of the Union address
âĸ named as head of federal personnel a 29-year old whoâd previously been fired from the White House for allegations of financial improprieties
âĸ eliminated the White House office of pandemic response
âĸ used soldiers as campaign props
âĸ fired any advisor who made the mistake of disagreeing with him
âĸ demanded the Pentagon throw him a Soviet-style military parade
âĸ hired a shit ton of white nationalists
âĸ politicized the civil service
âĸ did absolutely nothing after Russia hacked the U.S. government
âĸ falsely said the Boy Scouts called him to say his bizarre Jamboree speech was the best speech ever given to the Scouts
âĸ claimed that Black people would overrun the suburbs if Biden won
âĸ insulted reporters of color
âĸ insulted women reporters
âĸ insulted women reporters of color
âĸ suggested he was fine with Chinaâs oppression of the Uighurs
âĸ attacked the Supreme Court when it ruled against him
âĸ summoned Pennsylvania state legislative leaders to the White House to pressure them to overturn the election
âĸ spent countless hours every day watching Fox News
âĸ refused to allow his administration to comply with Congressional subpoenas
âĸ hired Rudy Giuliani as his lawyer
âĸ tried to punish Amazon because the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post wrote negative stories about him
âĸ acted as if the Attorney General of the United States was his personal attorney
âĸ attempted to get the federal government to defend him in a libel lawsuit from a women who accused him of sexual assault
âĸ held private meetings with Vladimir Putin without staff present
âĸ didnât disclose his private meetings with Vladimir Putin so that the US had to find out via Russian media
âĸ stopped holding press briefings for months at a time
âĸ âorderedâ US companies to leave China even though he has no such power
âĸ led a political party that couldnât even be bothered to draft a policy platform
âĸ claimed preposterously that Article II of the Constitution gave him absolute powers
âĸ tried to pressure the U.K. to hold the British Open at his golf course
âĸ suggested that the government nuke hurricanes
âĸ suggested that wind turbines cause cancer
âĸ said that he had a special aptitude for science
âĸ fired the head of election cyber security after he said that the 2020 election was secure
âĸ blurted out classified information to Russian officials
âĸ tried to force the G7 to hold their meeting at his failing golf resort in Florida
âĸ fired the acting attorney general when she refused to go along with his unconstitutional Muslim travel ban
âĸ openly discussed national security issues in the dining room at Mar-a-Lago where everyone could hear them
âĸ interfered with plans to relocate the FBI because a new development there might compete with his hotel
âĸ abandoned Iraqi refugees whoâd helped the U.S. during the war
âĸ tried to get Russia back into the G7
âĸ held a COVID super spreader event in the Rose Garden
âĸ seemed to believe that Frederick Douglass is still alive
âĸ lost 60 election fraud cases in court including before judges he had nominated
âĸ falsely claimed that factories were reopening when they werenât
âĸ shamelessly exploited terror attacks in Europe to justify his anti-immigrant policies
âĸ still hasnât come up with a healthcare plan
âĸ still hasnât come up with an infrastructure plan despite repeated âInfrastructure Weeks"
âĸ forced Secret Service agents to drive him around Walter Reed while contagious with COVID
âĸ told the Proud Boys to âstand back and stand byâ
âĸ withdrew the U.S. from the World Health Organization in the middle of a pandemic
âĸ did so few of his duties that his press staff were forced to state on his daily schedule âPresident Trump will work from early in the morning until late in the evening. He will make many calls and have many meetings,â allowed his staff to repeatedly violate the Hatch Act
âĸ seemed not to know that Abraham Lincoln was a Republican
âĸ stood before sacred CIA wall of heroes and bragged about his election win
âĸ constantly claimed he was treated worse than any president which presumably includes four that were assassinated and his predecessor whose legitimacy and birthplace were challenged by a racist reality TV show star named Donald Trump
âĸ claimed Andrew Jackson couldâve stopped the Civil War even though he died 16 years before it happened
âĸ said that any opinion poll showing him behind was fake
âĸ claimed that other countries laughed at us before he became president when several world leaders were literally laughing at him
âĸ claimed that the military was out of ammunition before he became President
âĸ created a commission to whitewash American history
âĸ retweeted anti-Islam videos from one of the most racist people in Britain
âĸ claimed ludicrously that the Pulse nightclub shooting wouldnât have happened if someone there had a gun even though there was an armed security guard there
âĸ hired a senior staffer who cited the non-existent Bowling Green Massacre as a reason to ban Muslims
âĸ had a press secretary who claimed that Nazi Germany never used chemical weapons even though every sane human being knows they used gas to kill millions of Jews and others
âĸ bilked the Secret Service for higher than market rates when they had to stay at Trump properties
âĸ apparently sold pardons on his way out of the White House
âĸ stripped protective status from 59,000 Haitians
âĸ falsely claimed Biden wanted to defund the police
âĸ said that the head of the CDC didnât know what he was talking about
âĸ tried to rescind protection from DREAMers
âĸ gave himself an A+ for his handling of the pandemic
âĸ tried to start a boycott of Goodyear tires due to an Internet hoax
âĸ said U.S. rates of COVID would be lower if you didnât count blue states
âĸ deported U.S. veterans who served their country but were undocumented
âĸ claimed he did more for African Americans than any president since Lincoln
âĸ touted a âsuper-duperâ secret âhydrosonicâ missile which may or may not be a new âhypersonicâ missile or may not exist at all
âĸ retweeted a gif calling Biden a pedophile
âĸ forced through security clearances for his family
âĸ suggested that police officers should rough up suspects
âĸ suggested that Biden was on performance-enhancing drugs
âĸ tried to stop transgender students from being able to use school bathrooms in line with their gender
âĸ suggested the US not accept COVID patients from a cruise ship because it would make US numbers look higher
âĸ nominated a climate change skeptic to chair the committee advising the White House on environmental policy
âĸ retweeted a video doctored to look like Biden had played a song called âFuck tha Policeâ at a campaign event
âĸ hugged a disturbingly large number of U.S. flags
âĸ accused Democrats of âtreasonâ for not applauding his State of the Union address
âĸ claimed that the FBI failed to capture the Parkland school shooter because they were âspending too much timeâ on Russia
âĸ mocked the testimony of Dr Christine Blasey Ford when she accused Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault
âĸ obsessed over low-flow toilets
âĸ ordered the re-release of more COVID vaccines when there werenât any to release
âĸ called for the construction of a bizarre garden of heroes with statutes of famous dead Americans as well as at least one Canadian (Alex Trebek)
âĸ hijacked Washingtonâs July 4th celebrations to give a partisan speech
âĸ took advice from the MyPillow guy
âĸ claimed that migrants seeking a better life in the US were dangerous caravans of drug dealers and rapists
âĸ said nothing when Vladimir Putin poisoned a leading opposition figure
âĸ never seemed to heed the advice of his wifeâs âBe Bestâ campaign
âĸ falsely claimed that mail-in voting is fraudulent
âĸ announced a precipitous withdrawal of troops from Syria which not only handed Russia and ISIS a win but also prompted his defense secretary to resign in protest
âĸ insulted the leader of Canada
âĸ insulted the leader of France
âĸ insulted the leader of Britain
âĸ insulted the leader of Germany
âĸ insulted the leader of Sweden (Sweden!!)
âĸ falsely claimed credit for getting NATO members to increase their share of dues
âĸ blew off two Asia summits even though they were held virtually
âĸ continued lying about spending lots of time at Ground Zero with 9/11 responders,
âĸ said that the Japanese would sit back and watch their âSony televisionsâ if the US were ever attacked
âĸ left a NATO summit early in a huff
âĸ stared directly into an eclipse even though everyone over the age of five knows not to do that
âĸ called himself a very stable genius despite significant evidence to the contrary
âĸ refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and kept his promise
And a whole bunch of other things I canât remember .