During the first term of the Trump administration, I heard many Republicans say something to the effect that they didn’t like his personality, but they liked his policies.

Perhaps you said or convinced yourself of the same thing.

When I heard that I asked what they liked the best, was it the deficit spending? Did they like the way he was alienating our allies? The way he attacked the foundations of our government like the courts, the elections, and the media? How he handled Covid? What specifically did they like the best? When pressed for specifics more often than not they tried to change the subject or mention a few things like getting NATO to pay more of their fair share.

Oh, how I long for those simpler times.

This time around, the Trump administration is turning America into a country I no longer recognize. I realize that historically America has treated minorities and immigrants poorly. Whether it was the Native Americans, the African slaves, the Chinese railroad workers, or even the Irish immigrants, the history books are filled with injustices perpetrated by our government.

But I thought we had gotten over that. I thought we were better than our forefathers. Now I’m not so sure. Was I being naïve?

The Trump administration has admitted they mistakenly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia and sent him to a prison in El Salvador claiming without evidence that he was a member of MS-13. The United States Supreme Court has unanimously told President Trump he needs to facilitate his return to America. The administration has tried to convince Americans that their hands are tied since he’s in a foreign country. El Salvador’s president was sitting in the Oval Office next to Trump when he said that he would not return Garcia. Are you telling me America has become so weak that we can’t get El Salvador to return a person who belongs in our country?

If a president can kidnap a person who is in our country legally and take them away from their family and send them to a foreign prison, what’s to stop them from doing it to you or me?

Preposterous you say?

Not so fast.

A hot mic caught President Trump telling the El Salvadoran president to build more prisons. But it’s not for dangerous illegal immigrants. It’s for Americans he disagrees with. The exact quote was "Homegrowns are next. The homegrowns. You gotta build about five more places. It's not big enough."

If we need more prisons, shouldn’t they be built in America where those accused have rights and due process? Why send them to a foreign country?

Do those Republicans like that policy? Do they think it’s OK for a president to defy the Supreme Court? To defy the rule of law? How about it, Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts do you agree with this? Did you feel good when Trump pardoned the January 6th criminals? Are these some of the policies you like?

Or how about the way he threatens and denies access to the media if they publish or broadcast stories about him he doesn’t care for? If he put those home-grown journalists in an El Salvadorian prison, would you support him? Other countries jail journalists that upset their leaders. Could America be the next nation to join that club?

And don’t get me started on the irrational chaotic way this administration is approaching our trade policies. Or the haphazard firing of government employees. Or how he’s turned Canada from a friend to a foe. Or how he’s supporting Russia in their war against Ukraine. Or his attack on DEI policies, universities, or science. How much longer can you overlook his personality to support these actions?

The preamble to the Constitution says that our Republic was to build a “more perfect union.” In the first hundred days of this administration, it seems that we’ve given up on trying to make the union more perfect.

I have never agreed with all the policies of any president. But I have agreed with the foundations of America. I have believed that America has always been great, but we can always be better. I believed that our courts and Houses of Congress would keep a president in check. I still believe that for the most part American citizens and legal immigrants are good and decent people. And I used to believe that our government was basically good and decent too.

Now I’m not so sure. Has America changed? Or was it always this way and I was just being naïve?

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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