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The other day a friend volunteered that nobody is benefiting from the Trump presidency, and I said to myself that even with this president, that couldn’t be right. And after a bit of contemplation, I realized that whole segments of the population are doing quite well. The following constitutes an annotated list of those who are thriving under the rule of Donald Trump.
First and foremost is Donald John Trump. The goal of his foray into politics was never the Presidency. It was to promote the Trump brand. And while the Donald’s Presidency has had more up’s than down’s, the Trump brand is thriving. If nothing else, being President certainly does bring the benefit of trillions of dollars of free advertising.
A close second is Vladimir Putin. He has been given free rein to do as he pleases in Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and, for that matter, the US. You want to meddle in the US election, Vladimir, that’s not my problem. In fact, as long as you want to meddle for the right side, we can work together, quietly. And yes, let’s plan on starting construction of Trump Moscow right after my second term ends (unless I decide to declare myself ruler for life in 2024).
Right behind Putin comes a whole slew of folks, all of the same stripe: white nationalists, conspiracy theorists, and flag waving, gun-toting people of all shapes and sizes. They agree with the President that if we only armed every American school teacher, bad guys would be intimidated and shot by educators who kept M-15’s in their desk drawers right next to the chalk and erasers. And let’s not forget the NRA and gun manufacturers—or the multitude of legislators whose pockets and campaign funds are lined by those who value the second amendment more than they do human life. They are thriving.
Liberal-leaning late night talk show hosts and news stations are also doing quite well. People such as Steven Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are, unfortunately, never at a loss for Trump kerfuffles, from outrageous insults of individuals and groups (e.g., “There were good folks on both sides;” “Send her back,” and “sh-thole countries”) to outrageous self-statements (“I’m the least racist person on the planet”) to merely banal typos (will we ever learn what “covfefe” was meant to be?). For those leaning left, CNN and MSNBC now have millions of devoted followers who previously never showed any great interest in Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, or Rachel Maddow. And let’s not forget Fox News, even if it does seem oxymoronic to place the word “news” next to Fox.
Although they’re easy to take for granted, because they always seem to be doing well even if the rest of us aren’t, let’s not forget Wall street types, pharmaceutical companies, oil conglomerates, and everyone earning in the top 1%. Farmers may be struggling with increased tariffs, steel and coal and auto workers who all were supposed to find new life under Trump may still be looking for a decent wage—or any wage at all—but those who own these businesses are thriving, even if their workers are not.
Finally, to round things out, who is not thriving under Donald Trump? Keeping it really short, we can begin with immigrants, people of color, the Planet Earth, the NATO alliance, and anyone who truly respects the concept of democracy. While these are among the most obvious victims of this presidency, perhaps the saddest group are those who voted for Trump in the hope that he would change their lives for the better, and those that continue to support him while getting nothing but empty rhetoric in return. The blue collar workers of Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania get platitudes from this man, he who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, he who has no idea what it means to do an honest day’s work, and he who is against raising the minimum wage.
Even in this solid economy, the one that started blossoming well before Trump was elected and somehow continues to thrive in spite of his trade policies, few people benefit and many suffer. It remains to be seen whether they can vote in the interest of a safe environment and sane leadership, which is to say, in their best interests. Most important, can they unite behind a single candidate and vote in the interest of getting out from under the thumb of the current occupant of the White House. If that were to happen, ALL of us would benefit.
