As Nov. 5 approaches, I, for one, am dreading the election and at the same time yearning for it to be over. The result is that I am suspended in a purgatory of sorts, where time moves simultaneously ever so slowly and at light speed.
I was at my medical oncologist’s office for a routine visit and the TV in the waiting room was tuned to home and garden fare as always. I was seated next to the TV, so I could hear it but not see it. And every commercial break there was an ad that began “life was better under Trump” and a woman going on to explain that she’d never voted for Trump before but was voting for him now because he’ll keep us safe, or some shit.
And I couldn’t help but look around at the waiting room and think that if it were up to Trump, many of these people wouldn’t be here because they’d either be denied insurance with cancer as a preexisting condition or they might be insured with one of those “junk policies” the Affordable Care Act sought to do away with. You know, the policies that barely cover anything. The ones Republicans think are perfect for the young and the healthy who have not a health care in the world. As if catastrophe doesn’t strike indiscriminately. You can’t plan for cancer, let alone for a debilitating car accident or being struck by a bullet in the next mass shooting.
I was only 36 when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Up until then, I’d never had any serious health concerns. Every time I go to the doctor I am grateful that I have good insurance.
Then there’s how Trump handled — or, rather, did not bother to handle — the COVID-19 epidemic. People were dying in droves, especially Black patients, while Trump was secretly sending his BFF Russian President Vladimir Putin testing machines we really could have used here in the U.S. Then Trump made states fight against each other “Hunger Games”-style for the very limited safety equipment and medical supplies that were to be had, which astronomically raised the cost of these goods.
As far as keeping the U.S. safe, surely I am not the only one who watched in horror as Trump nonchalantly tweeted about nuclear war with North Korea or when he wanted Black Lives Matter protestors shot.
So, yeah, life was not better under Trump. Unless you were super rich. Then things were probably pretty good.
What’s wild is that a second Trump term would be worse. There won’t be any experienced professionals around who can temper his worst impulses. Project 2025 lays out very clearly that all experienced government employees be replaced with people loyal to Trump.
Oh, and that’s another thing about that damn ad I heard so many times. Republicans keep trying to say that Trump has nothing to do with Project 2025, but many of the people who put it together worked in Trump’s administration or work for right-wing think tanks that Trump looked to when it came to choosing Supreme Court justices. You know, the ones who overturned Roe v. Wade the very first chance they got.
The ad also said that Trump has clearly stated that he will not pass a national abortion ban. Which is bullshit. He will have zero political consequences for banning abortion and no incentive to push back against bans. He proudly brags that he overturned Roe v. Wade. And now there are horror stories everywhere about people bleeding out in hospital parking lots or being forced to carry babies that will not survive outside of the womb and will die a painful death.
And the way that Trump talks about transgender people is abhorrent. He’s really leaning into anti-trans hate as his campaign winds down. And if any queer person thinks that there’s some kind of magical line between them and trans people that oppression and hate can’t cross, think again. A perfect example is the Log Cabin Republicans, a group of gay Republicans who claim that they are building a more inclusive Republican Party. LCR has enthusiastically endorsed Trump (again) and has explicitly tossed trans people to the political wolves, echoing the anti-trans talking points that are used to justify legislating trans people out of existence.I wish I had some clever way to wrap up this column, telling you to “make a plan to vote” and “vote Republicans out.” And you should absolutely do those things. Still, I am not going to pretend like beating back the fascism taking hold of so much of the U.S. is in any way easy. But it is essential.