Writing History … Tracking Trump’s Actions #4

Donald Trump and his administration continue to make history. My intent with these posts is to map recent actions of Trump 2.0 against Project 2025. To help with this I use the NY Times list of actions to date and E.T. Parker’s website What Does Project 2025 Say.

In three previous posts, I’ve looked at Dismantling the Government, the deportation of 11 million immigrants, and Declare the President above the law combined with Weaponize the Department of Justice.

I could fill an entire post just updating each of these with more recent actions – the illegal deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia and subsequent stand-off against the Supreme Court being just one of them – however, I thought I would tackle another topic or two instead, specifically (1) Restrict/destroy freedom of the press and (2) Undermining elections (which includes ending federal oversight of election security, stop prosecuting violations of campaign finance laws).

Freedom of the Press

Freedom of the press is at the heart of a successful democracy. This freedom is essential to truth, accountability, and informed voting. One might conclude that any administration that undermines such freedom either has something to hide or fears that their party would not be successful with a truly free press. In the US, freedom of the press is even more significant given the vast sums of money used to support both political parties.

Let’s have a look at some of the actions taken to date:

• Said that CBS should lose its broadcast license (Feb 6)
• Canceled news media subscriptions inside government agencies (Feb 6)
• Barred a reporter for The Associated Press from an event at the White House (Feb 11); efforts continue on subsequent days
• Falsely accused the federal government of paying millions to news organizations (Feb 12)
• Ordered an investigation into Comcast’s D.E.I. practices (Feb 12)
• Called MSNBC a “threat to democracy” (Feb 22)
• Announced that the White House would handpick media outlets allowed into its press pool (Feb 25)
• Canceled all contracts with news wire services for Voice of America (Mar 13)
• Put employees at Voice of America on administrative leave (Mar 15)
• Criticized The Atlantic magazine and two of its reporters after apparently receiving an interview request (Mar 17)
• Opened a leak investigation after a New York Times article questioned President Trump’s assertion (Mar 21)
• Downplayed the leak of war plans to a journalist who was inadvertently invited to a group chat via a messenger app (Mar 25)
• Restored funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (Mar 27)
• Extended the deadline by which TikTok must separate from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or face a ban in the United States (Apr 4)
• Canceled a scheduled press conference featuring President Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and moved the venue for reporters’ questions to a smaller room (Apr 7)
• Railed against ‘60 Minutes’ on social media and called for its license to be taken away (Apr 13)
• Said in a court filing that it had already accepted a judge’s order to stop barring The Associated Press from the White House press pool (Apr 17)

CBS, AP, Comcast, MSNBC, Voice of America, The Atlantic, New York Times, Radio Free Europe, 60 Minutes … all are well-established and highly regarded news outlets that investigate and inform Americans and people around the word. Ask yourself why?

Today’s other topic is undermining elections

Let’s start with the premise that a free press is essential to the democratic process which means that the actions above also undermine elections. It’s also worth noting that prior to the November 2024 election, Donald Trump has specifically said to his supporters that they ‘won’t have to vote again’.

According to the website What Does Project 2025 say, “‘Election integrity’ and the idea that US elections are vulnerable to mass, fraudulent voting, has become a centerpiece of conservative politics.”

Trump has taken other steps:

• Joked about running for a third term (Jan 26)
• Disbanded a task force intended to prevent foreign influence in U.S. elections (Feb 5)
• Fired the Chairwoman of the Federal Election Commission (Feb 6)
• Targeted government officials who had been fighting foreign interference in U.S. elections (Feb 20)
• Said it would review the conviction of a former clerk of Mesa County, Colo., who was found guilty of state charges last summer of tampering with voting machines (Mar 3)
• Executive order to ‘Preserve and Protect the Integrity of American Elections’ consolidates power over elections within the Executive Branch instead of the States and requires documentary proof of citizenship (Mar 25)
• Closed a State Department office that tracks and counters disinformation from foreign actors, including Russia, Iran and China (Apr 16)
• In addition to Trump’s executive actions are the recent actions of Congress to pass the SAVE act which will create barriers to voting especially for married women whose surname at birth does not match their married name.
  

According to Democracy Docket, a digital news platform dedicated to information, analysis and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts, Donald Trump undermines the election process by falsely asserting “that U.S. elections are ‘extremely dishonest’ and calling for restrictive voting reforms, like eliminating early voting.”

Democracy Docket continues: “During a meeting with governors, Trump called on state leaders to pass laws eliminating mail and electronic voting while falsely claiming they are sources of election fraud. Now, Trump and his allies are acting on his words. In recent weeks, the administration has pulled back on efforts to fight racial discrimination in voting, weakened protections against foreign interference in our voting systems, and potentially laid the groundwork to increase Trump’s personal control over independent agencies, among other steps.”

Undermining both the election process and freedom of the press will have devastating consequences for America.

Let me end with a series of questions Madeleine Albright posed in her book Fascism: A Warning for those considering who should run their country.

• Do they cater to our prejudices by suggesting that we treat people outside our ethnicity, race, creed, or party as unworthy of dignity and respect? 
• Do they want us to nurture our anger toward those who we believe have done us wrong, rub raw our grievances, and set our sights on revenge? 
• Do they encourage us to have contempt for our governing institutions and the electoral process? 
• Do they seek to destroy our faith in essential contributors to democracy such as an independent press and a professional judiciary? 
• Do they exploit the symbols of patriotism—the flag, the pledge—in a conscious effort to turn us against one another? 
• If defeated at the polls, will they accept the verdict or insist without evidence that they have won? 
• Do they go beyond asking for our votes to brag about their ability to solve all problems, put to rest all anxieties, and satisfy every desire? 
• Do they solicit our cheers by speaking casually and with pumped-up machismo about using violence to blow enemies away? …
• Or do they invite us to join with them in building and maintaining a healthy center for our societies, a place where rights and duties are apportioned fairly, the social contract is honored, and all have room to dream and grow?” 

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.