Prior to last year, America had a reputation. That reputation, and largely the actions that supported it, bought us a great deal of value – economically, militarily, and on the world stage. That reputation was burnished on being principled – on democracy, fairness, liberty, independence. Not only did we give big speeches on the world stage on these topics but we frequently acted on these principles. Americans and people throughout the world knew what we stood for, even as our government changed from one party to another. We entered into agreements and people knew that we could be trusted. We didn’t always live up to these principles, but everyone knew that we had reliable intentions.

In the words of our closest neighbor, Canada, ‘those days are over’. Our President has stated it over and over again – he uses the phrase “retribution” frequently. But a more apropos theme would be “spite” or “pettiness”, for like nearly all of his decisions, American policy is about him. The President, and his administration, make a point in stating that any questioning of them will be met with vitriol in return. This week, it was Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s responses to a House Judiciary oversight hearing that exemplified this spite, complete with scripted barbs for each congressperson daring to question her and tracking sheets for each congressperson’s search of the Epstein files. The President chose this week to disinvite two Democratic governors that he dislikes (Maryland’s Wes Moore and Colorado’s Jared Polis) from attending an annual bipartisan meeting at the White House of the National Governor’s Association – prompting the Republican chair of the association (Oklahoma’s Kevin Stitt) to cancel the meeting.

But it isn’t only politicians who face the pettiness of this President. When the DHS leader comes out after murders of American citizens by her immigration enforcement officers to call them ‘domestic terrorists’ she is following the President’s lead (while the head of ICE attends a Congressional hearing to say that he cannot comment on the shootings due to ongoing investigations – didn’t stop his boss from defaming them). When ICE equates the ‘worst of the worst’ with a permanent resident and grandma who didn’t balance her checkbook properly and bounced a couple of small checks, the government is showing the world how petty they can be (I can’t imagine what they might think of a businessman who habitually stiffed his contractors – whoops, that’s the President!).

The pettiness and spite of the President knows few bounds. In a recent interview, President Trump indicated that he didn’t like the way in which the Swiss President spoke to him, so he raised their tariff levels. (Only after he was given golden trinkets did he lower the tariffs – earning him a call in the Senate for an investigation.) The President’s ongoing tantrum with Canada reached a new pique with his threat to not allow the new Gordie Howe International Bridge (a bridge paid for by Canada and approved by Trump in his first term) to open unless the US is ‘compensated’ and ‘respected’ – two terms that President Trump has done little to do with our northern neighbors. This after the President threatened 100% tariffs on Canada if they entered into a trade deal with China – that’s higher prices for Canadian lumber that builds American homes, steel and aluminum for manufactured goods, and energy products (among other things). All because the President hasn’t gotten his way.

The most Orwellian element of the President’s spite campaign has been the weaponization of the Justice Department to go after perceived enemies. When Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve Chair (appointed by Trump) failed to kowtow to the President’s demands to drastically lower interest rates (as if we were in a recession), he encouraged the Justice Department to investigate him (ostensibly for lying to Congress about the expenditure of funds for the Federal Reserve building renovations (not paid for by tax dollars, by the way)). When six Democratic Senators produced a video which restated US law which tells military service members that they do not have to obey illegal orders, the President cried “sedition” and sicced the Attorney General and Department of Defense on them, both in court and in administrative proceedings. When the administration’s deportation attempts were being stymied by a US District Court judge’s temporary stays to preserve defendant rights to use of habeas corpus, the Justice Department chose to sue the entire District Court of Maryland to enjoin the actions – which failed epically. Much in the same way that the attempts to indict the Senators failed and the attempt to demote a retired astronaut and Senator failed.

But all of this pettiness and spite has made the message to Americans and the world clear. The United States has no principles beyond the ego of the President. The United States can no longer be relied upon to be a beacon of justice and righteousness. Agreements with the US only have the half-life of a Presidential good mood and compliment.

And the national disgrace continues…