The Trump Administration has managed to pillage and plunder the American ethos in less than a year. The goal? The President wants to redefine it in his own image.
And the damage created by Trump's assault may take years to repair. In some cases, it may be beyond saving. For example, can you remove the river of gold paint in the White House without damaging the underlying structures? While a paint issue obviously doesn't equal the other decisions that may directly affect someone's life, it makes a point. The White House is supposed to be our house…the people's house. But given how Trump has remade it to fit his perception, particularly the destruction of the East Wing to make way for a ballroom, we can't turn the page back to restore the building.
This is a podcast of an original post: https://erm76.substack.com/p/the-plundering-of-the-american-ethos
The Notes are listed on the same site and are listed below.
(1) BUCK v. BELL(1927). No. 292. Argued: April 22, 1927 Decided: May 02, 1927. https://caselaw.findlaw.com/court/us-supreme-court/274/200.html
(2) “10 key numbers that sum up Trump's first 100 days,” by Rachel Treisman, NPR. April 29, 2025. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/29/nx-s1-5379554/trump-100-days-numbers-laws-immigration
(3) “Are Trump's Actions Truly Unprecedented? We Asked 35 Historians,” by Francesca Paris, Alicia Parlapiano and Josh Katz, The New York Times. April 30, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/30/upshot/presidential-history-survey.ht