Let's begin with some throat clearing.
First, if I criticize Republicans, it does not mean I'm a fan of the Democrats. Likewise, when I criticize Democrats, it doesn't mean I support Republicans.
Second, I'm very happy that Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht. Kudos to Trump for pardoning him.
However, Ulbricht is just one man. The Trump administration's decisions will affect billions of people around the globe.
And I'm alarmed by those that appear to be willfully blind to Trump's many flaws, terrible policies, and long history of terrible behavior:
During a single term, the Trump administration increased the national debt by $8.4 trillion. Ignoring the pandemic relief measures enacted by both presidents, Trump's administration added $4.8 trillion in non-pandemic-aid fiscal debt, more than double the amount added by Biden ($2.2 trillion).
Trump not only appointed Fauci to be the architect of the Fed's Covid authoritarian policies, Trump gave him a medal for his efforts afterward. The Trump administration's Covid policies resulted in the closure of 1/3rd of small businesses in the US.
Trump tried to falsify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump flew on convicted child molester Jeffrey Epstein's "Lolita Express" at least six times. Jeffrey Epstein called
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Trump has a longstanding reputation for stiffing his vendors.
Trump cheated on his wife (the woman he supposedly loved) with a porn star, then tried to hide it.
Trump CIA director Pompeo plotted to kidnap and assassinate Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. (Thankfully, saner minds prevailed and that plot was not carried out. )
Trump has threatened many times to revoke the broadcast licenses of news organizations for reporting stories he deems "fake news".
Trump threatened to imprison the journalists who published the news that the Supreme Court intended to overturn Roe v. Wade, unless they turned over their sources.
Trump pardoned people like Rod Blagojevich, corrupt Democratic governor of Illinois who tried to sell Obama's senate seat.
The Trump administration imposed nearly $80 billion worth of new taxes on Americans by levying tariffs on thousands of products valued at approximately $380 billion in 2018 and 2019, amounting to one of the largest tax increases in decades.
Republicans, remember that you won't always be in power.
Every new power that you give the Trump administration will be used against you in the next Democratic administration.
Don't give the Trump administration new censorship powers (aka the TikTok ban).
Don't allow the Trump administration to raise taxes (aka tariffs).
Don't let Trump suspend constitutional protections in his pursuit of illegal aliens.
For example, it's wonderful that Trump pardoned Ross Ulbricht.
But Trump has also said that he plans to
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If the Trump administration subsequently executes hundreds of future Ulbrichts, is that a net win for justice?
You might argue: "Well, Trump says a lot of things. He's probably not going to execute a bunch of drug dealers."
First, the previous Trump administration executed more people (13) than all of the presidential administrations going back to Herbert Hoover combined.
Second, improbable events sometimes happen.
Trump's election to the presidency in the first place was highly improbable, for example.
Trump had never run for office before. So Trump accomplished the political equivalent of winning the Superbowl despite never previously playing a single game.
A priori, many believed Roe v. Wade's repeal was highly improbable.
But Roe v. Wade was repealed.
As Trump points out, many countries have the death penalty for drug dealers, including Singapore, Thailand, Philippines, and India.
The "December 2022 Harm Reduction International (HRI) reports 3700+ people are on death row for drug offences worldwide. '
People once scoffed at the idea that the USG would round up thousands of innocent people up into internment camps, spy upon the entire population without warrants, or whisk people into torture prisons.
Do you think such things can't happen again? That the US is immune to dictatorship?
Don't help Trump (or a future Democratic administration) advance the growth of totalitarianism in the US.