At 1:39 this afternoon, after a nearly 40-minute delay and an unexplained commotion right outside the doors, the President of the United States finally made his way into the East Room of the White House. As he walked toward the podium, invited guests held their phones up high to record the moment. Even after the long wait, there were still screams of “Thank you, Mr. President” and loud cheering.
For the next 58 minutes, Donald Trump seemed to forget what the event was even supposed to be about, and at one point, he even forgot that he was the president when he started an explanation with, “If I ran any country.” He made a racist joke that only Hispanics can survive long falls and then said he shouldn’t talk about how beautiful women are, but then said exactly that about two sisters. This was supposed to be an event celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, but it was really an hour in the life of a very self-absorbed man.
For the first 22 minutes of the event, the Hispanic business owners, religious leaders, and community members who had been invited to this event listened while the President of the United States talked mostly about himself. One of the first things he said was to invite the room of people to see his ballroom project and to be “the first people of consequence to ever step on the new ballroom floor”. He told them that President Xi Jinping had praised him in Chinese, about how much good he had done for our country, not realizing that it’s not quite the flex he thinks it is. He couldn’t see, or didn’t want to see, that this was an authoritarian using a chapter out of the playbook on how to flatter a fellow strongman to manipulate him.
He compared himself to George Washington multiple times as he struggled to make himself look like a true leader and not just someone obsessed with vanity projects. He talked about his construction projects with more energy than he gave to anything else he said this afternoon. Even sharing that this work, building monuments to himself, is what calms him down, saying it is “really like relaxation” for him because he has “been doing this all my life.”
Still not fully invested in what he was there to talk about, he wandered off in other odd directions. At one point, still standing at the podium, he spoke directly to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s wife, Rachel Campos-Duffy, and her sister, Leah Campos, the U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic (yes, Trump likes to keep it all in the family). He said to them, “I’m looking at Sean and Rachel, and your sister is here too, Rachel. I don’t know who is more beautiful; I can’t tell. You’re not allowed to talk about the beauty of a woman because it’s the immediate end of your political career. But you’re both very beautiful, so.”
He said it with a smirk, because he wholeheartedly believes that he is above all rules and social norms. This was about performative defiance just as much as it was about a man who constantly objectifies women. He wanted the room to know that he does not believe that standard should apply to him and that he can openly comment on women’s bodies without consequence.
We are the ones living through the consequences of having someone as powerful as the President of the United States treat women this way and face no repercussions. Our children and grandchildren are living increasingly unsafe lives because of the example he sets. Because what he says and does filters far past the walls of the rooms he stands in. This week we saw yet another example of this at Cornell University, after a former student filed a 101-page lawsuit detailing how seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity allegedly drugged her with ketamine and assaulted her for hours. The example Donald Trump is setting for our youth is teaching them something about power and consequences.
He also told a room filled mostly with Hispanic people that “only a Hispanic could survive that fall” from the edge of his ballroom construction site. The President of the United States made a racist joke at the expense of the very people he was there to honor.
When he really started to focus on the whole reason for the event, Hispanic Heritage, he said of Hispanic Americans, “You’re not supposed to generalize, but I do. You’re hardworking people, you’re smart as hell, you’re energetic, sometimes too energetic, I might add.” Before switching gears and admitting that immigration is “frankly, it’s the hardest job that I’ve had, the hardest job, because they’ll say ‘You’re too tough’ or ‘You’re too soft.’ Get tougher, get softer. No matter what you do. It’s always tough.”
Earlier this month, a fellow Republican, Congresswoman Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida, released a campaign ad that was filmed outside the White House telling him that “the same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.” Even though there were cheers inside that room from his carefully selected attendees, there are signs that his support among Hispanics has fallen. He promised his immigration raids would be used against the worst of the worst criminals. But instead, people without criminal records have been swept up in them too.
This was just one of the events that Trump held today. The other was filled with the same rambling and self-absorption. I sat there, watching and taking notes, growing more frustrated by the minute. I found some peace imagining a future when I’m doing the same thing, but instead of Donald Trump, we have a true leader speaking to the media about what they are doing to actually make our country better. Today really made me realize just how much I miss who I was before Trump, and who we all were before he took over our country.
It also brought me back to a moment a long time ago when I was in junior high, listening to George H.W. Bush speak about the First Gulf War. I was on the school newspaper, writing columns and covering school “events.” This was in the early 90s, right after the war had started. I remember sitting in on a talk for an article I was writing where the presenter explained that the men who take us to war are rarely the men who experience the cost of war. Their lives aren’t at risk in the same ways as those fighting on the ground. The same goes for their children and grandchildren. Even though I was there to write about it for the newspaper, not as someone who was there like the others, it greatly impacted me, and it all made sense. Wars kill people, and they destroy lives.
At the end of the talk, a staged walkout to protest the war was announced. I was, and still am, a rule follower, so I was very nervous about attending, even if I was there to write about it. One of the teachers sensed my dilemma, came over to me, and asked me what I was feeling. We talked about my concerns, but also about how sometimes when you feel strongly about something, or have a responsibility to others, that is exactly when you have to push through the fear and follow your conscience.
He gave me one more parting lesson. He told me that someday I would find myself in another difficult time where I would feel an ethical pull to do something that would scare me. He told me that as we get older, we often lose some of what I was feeling that day, that aging and life experiences change you. He told me to remember that feeling. He said to write about it and to think about it every so often and to never let go of it.
I didn’t know then just how true that would be. I wonder if he saw that moment, all those years ago, and knew we would somehow be facing what our country is today? Maybe he saw the signs that would allow someone like Donald Trump to rise to power.
Whether you are reading this from inside the States or from a country near or far, and are struggling and fighting to stay positive, if it feels like we are too far gone, if you are overwhelmed and you want to throw your hands up and walk away, think back to when you were younger. When you were unburdened by the weight of the world and still felt like you could change the world. We are still those people. We truly can accomplish anything we set our minds to. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.
When I watch these events, I’m not just watching Donald Trump. I’m also watching everyone standing with him. One thing that is more noticeable than in the past is that when he lies, says something racist, or crosses another line, more often than not there are other people in the shot looking increasingly uncomfortable. They are struggling with something we are not because our consciences are clear.
We must never forget that we are on the right side of history every time we speak out and share what is happening. We don’t just see his authoritarian takeover. We are taking a loud stand against it. We see a cruel person surrounded by enablers who are enriching themselves at the expense of everyone else. We see all of it, clearly, and it has never been more visible than it is today.
As we get closer to the midterms, and the possibility of a new, Democratic-controlled Congress, we need to remember that the remainder of Donald Trump’s presidency could look very different depending on what happens in that election. Congressman Robert Garcia, the Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee, is already working on investigations and oversight. Representative Garcia posted today that the senior leadership of the Committee spent the last two days “planning out the future of our investigations and hearings.” The accountability he is describing is being mapped out right now by people who have not given up and are never going to. They love this country and will not hand it over to Donald Trump without a fight.
I wake up every morning thinking about what else I can do to help more people see just how much is at stake in this election. I see children playing carefree on the beach on my daily walks. I see crystal blue oceans and a country filled with people who almost all migrated here or had distant relatives who did. People of all colors and backgrounds and beliefs who have come together to form “a more perfect union.” This country still holds such promise. It can still be what it was always meant to be for everyone. That is what we are fighting for.
The day the Congressman Garcia is planning for, the one where accountability starts, can and will come. We just have to hold on for a little bit longer. We have to vote, and then we have to keep participating. It won’t be quick or easy, but the most important things never are. Americans are not quitters, and we are not going to start now. That is why I still have hope for America. You should, too.
I’ll see you tomorrow,
Heather
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This commentary represents my personal opinions and analysis of matters of public concern, informed by publicly available information. Any references to individuals constitute opinion and commentary protected under the First Amendment.
Picture of the day: My youngest sent me this picture from her ride today. Such a sweet horse that acts more like a puppy. I keep finding myself breathing a bit harder these days. The reality of how close we are to the midterms flashes in front of me throughout the day at random times. Seeing these little pieces of happiness and joy helps. Hope you are all holding up as well as can be expected, too.
Links to sources used in writing this article:
President Trump Hosts a Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration: YouTube Video
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6121398-trump-immigration-hispanic-heritage-month
The older I get, and I'm officially old, the faster time flies. Less that 5 weeks, it seems like forever. I can only imagine what it feels like on the ground there. I hope, as fervently as if I lived there, for a peaceful election.
Thank you for this insightful piece. Yes, even when we are afraid, or angry, or depressed, we must still do what we know to be morally right.
A few nights ago, I attended an author "in conversation" event at an independent bookstore in London where I am staying for a few weeks. The book being discussed, The Bookshop of Forbidden Books, which deals with banning books. Soon the author, Marc Levy, and the British audience were talking about the banning of books in various US states and school districts. The British ladies shook their heads, expressed sadness and horror at "such stupidity," and asked the author how this made any sense. I sat in a front row feeling uncomfortable and distressed that the accusations about my country were true. I wanted to stand up and interject that it wasn't happening in every state, that in my state, California, book banning was not prevalent. But I kept silent. I felt their disbelief and rage was justified and the Us deserved to be called to task by book lovers around the world. Thankfully, toward the end of the hour, Mr. Levy, a US citizen, clarified that the massive book banning isn't happening everywhere. "Only in the Republican states," he said.
There are so many things happening in the US these days that need addressing with fervent opposition to our current government. Book banning is one of the many that is on my mind today.