Trump betrayed us again

Just after lunchtime today, under the hollow leadership of Donald J. Trump, the United States EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin made a devastating announcement from inside the Roosevelt Room of the White House. With the president standing behind him, desperately trying to stay awake and alert as he fought to keep his eyes open and stand upright, we were informed of the details of one of the most consequential environmental rollbacks in modern history. But you wouldn’t have known it from Trump’s expression. It was blank, distant, and disinterested; he couldn’t even muster the energy to pretend he cared. Which was no surprise, given what he said right before the announcement.

As he stepped up to the podium to begin the latest theatrical performance of dismantling yet another piece of our government, he declared, “This is as big as it gets, they tell me.” Which, once again, makes you pause and ask the question, who is telling him what? Is any of this actually thought out by him, or is this all just Trump doing whatever the people around him tell him to do?

And as much as I wish the story of the day was just that Trump made a reckless decision, that can easily be reversed when his reign of terror ends, unfortunately, it isn’t. Because what happened in that room today will have lasting consequences. It will put our children and grandchildren, their health, future, and lifespans at terrible risk.

Barack Obama said it clearly in a social media post:

And he’s right. Because while Trump stood at the podium in the middle of the room, slumped in front of the American flag and between two propaganda banners, one that read “Largest Deregulation in U.S. History,” the other “Saving 1.3 Trillion for the American Taxpayer”, the administration made its most dangerous environmental rollback yet. They revoked the scientific finding that has been the foundation of U.S. climate action for the past 15 years. They gutted the EPA’s “endangerment finding,” which legally recognized that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases endanger public health and welfare. That 2009 ruling was the basis for America’s ability to regulate emissions from cars, power plants, and polluters. And now, it’s gone.

The changes today weren’t about helping families or lowering costs for consumers. And they definitely weren’t about making anything “work better.” The changes today were about one thing: letting polluters off the hook.

This is what the changes today really mean. Trump’s EPA repealed the rule that gave the federal government legal authority to regulate pollutants emitted from burning oil, gas, and coal. That means automakers can stop investing in cleaner engines, and power plants can spew more toxic emissions into the communities around them.

Trump claims it will be “cheaper” and “work better.” But cheaper for whom and better for what? He was talking about equipment manufacturers and automakers, who’ve spent years lobbying to weaken standards. These rollbacks make their production process cheaper. It saves them money in the short term. But it doesn’t make any of our lives more affordable, nor does it lower our gas bills or our grocery prices. It doesn’t help small businesses. It raises the long-term costs for everyone. The fossil fuel industry gets richer while the rest of us breathe dirtier air.

This wasn’t about policy. It was just another power grab and a way to please Trump’s donors and enablers. It also had the added benefit of erasing Obama’s legacy and handing his base exactly what they wanted to hear, the lie that “regulation” is the enemy, when the truth is that regulation is why our kids don’t have lead in their paint and smog in their lungs. This was a favor to oil executives, and yet another betrayal of the American people who rely on clean air and a livable future.

I grew up in Southern California in the 1980s and remember what the air used to be like. The thick brown layer of smog that sat over Los Angeles, where some days the air burned your eyes and lungs. Back then, it was just how it was. We only started to turn a corner when regulations got stronger and when laws were passed to hold polluters accountable. When the government started listening to scientists and putting people’s health above industry profits. And it worked. The air and the skies got cleaner. But now, they’re tearing that all apart.

And what happened today correlates to a much bigger picture, because at the coal event yesterday, where Trump slurred his speech so badly that people couldn’t even understand what he was saying, he was handed a shiny trophy by mining executives after being named the “Undisputed Champion of Beautiful Clean Coal.” That’s all it takes with him. They know exactly how to play him. Give him a made-up award he can put on display to flatter his ego, and he’ll give them everything they want. And he did. Later that same day, he signed an executive order directing the Pentagon to buy electricity from coal-fired power plants. The Department of Energy followed it up with $175 million in funding to keep six aging coal plants running. They called it “modernization,” but it’s just another bailout for an industry that can’t survive without constant government support, to stuff the pockets of his enablers with more money.

And we can’t forget why Trump is doing any of this in the first place. It’s not because he cares about the country. He doesn’t. He’s letting his cronies run wild, pushing through extreme policies, gutting federal protections, and handing out favors to donors because he simply doesn’t care what happens next. If it all collapses, so be it. If it completely decimates every agency, institution, and safeguard that holds this country together, he would be fine with that. He might even be pleased. Because at the root of it, this isn’t about leading. It’s about getting even. Trump is still obsessed with his 2020 loss. He believes America rejected, embarrassed, and humiliated him. And now that he’s clawed his way back into power, he’s not interested in fixing anything. He’s here to punish. Every decision is filtered through that mindset of whether it hurts the environment, the economy, or our national security; it doesn’t matter. If it feeds his ego, or wipes away the legacy of those he sees as enemies, or if it breaks something he can’t control, then it’s a win in his eyes.

What happened today at the EPA wasn’t part of some governing strategy. There was no economic vision, no climate plan, no public benefit. It was pure spite and a way to throw money to his inner circle. Because in his mind, America is just an asset to be gutted, something he can strip for parts, sell off to the highest bidder, and walk away richer while we are all left with the wreckage.

But as bleak as it all feels, it wasn’t all bad today. There were still moments, glimmers, of what this country used to be and what it still could be. The fight against authoritarian takeover isn’t over. And if you looked closely, you could see it in the cracks: not just in what they tried to push through, but in what they couldn’t. Trump’s loosening grip on power is accelerating.

And nowhere is that clearer than in the battle unfolding over federal immigration funding. As a government shutdown looms, Democrats are holding the line because without their votes, Trump doesn’t get the money to keep funding his deportation force. The temporary extension that kept DHS open is about to expire, and it’s becoming clear that no deal is close. This time, Democrats aren’t just giving in. They’re demanding real limits. And they’re right to. Because the last time Congress rushed through DHS funding, Trump used it to flood communities with thousands of federal agents, and people lost their lives. Families were torn apart, and communities are going to be traumatized for years. Trump and his enablers know this time it’s going to be a lot harder to push Democrats around because the country is finally starting to see what unchecked federal power really looks like, and they’re not willing to accept it anymore.

We saw it again in the courts. A federal judge temporarily blocked the Pentagon from punishing Senator Mark Kelly for a video in which he and five other veterans urged service members not to follow illegal orders. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had tried to censure Kelly and strip his retirement benefits, a clear political stunt meant to intimidate anyone who speaks out. But the judge ruled that Kelly’s First Amendment rights as a retiree were protected and warned that punishing him could set a dangerous precedent. And he’s right. Because what Hegseth is doing isn’t about discipline or protocol. It’s about fear, power, and control, and Pete Hegseth is learning the hard way that real patriots don’t take orders from wannabe strongmen.

In Minnesota, there was finally a sign of relief. Tom Homan announced the end of “Operation Metro Surge”, the massive ICE-led crackdown that flooded Minneapolis and surrounding communities with thousands of federal agents. It came after weeks of public outrage, the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, and nonstop protest. And while the administration is calling it a normal drawdown, we know the truth. It wasn’t working. The numbers weren’t on their side. Republican support was slipping. Independent support was falling even faster. They didn’t stop because it was wrong; they stopped because it was bad for the midterms. I’m relieved for Minnesota. But I’m not convinced this is over. My guess is they’ll move from mass raids to quiet kidnappings. Less visible, but just as cruel and dangerous.

And while Trump keeps bragging about the economy, the actual numbers tell a different story. The New York Federal Reserve reported this week that Americans paid nearly 90% of the cost of Trump’s tariffs in 2025. While he tells crowds that China is footing the bill, the truth is that U.S. consumers, all of us, absorbed the cost. Average tariffs jumped from 2.6% to 13% last year, and we paid nearly all of it. This isn’t and never has been economic leadership. It’s always been a con. Tariffs are a tax on the American people.

And it’s starting to show up in the polling. An AP-NORC poll released this week found that about 6 in 10 Americans believe Trump has gone too far with immigration enforcement. That includes six out of ten independents. With independent and Republican approval collapsing, Trump knows he’s in trouble. But numbers don’t change outcomes on their own. They only matter if we act on them.

We do this by continuing to remind each other what we’re fighting for, and who we’re fighting alongside. We need to keep building communities rooted in truth, care, and shared responsibility. We need to push through the chaos and cruelty coming from the White House every day without letting it break us. That means lifting each other up when it gets overwhelming, refusing to fall into despair, and helping more people find the courage to speak up. Because the only way we win this fight is by growing it. One voice, neighbor, and act of resistance at a time.

So what exactly do we do? We signal safety. We let everyone we encounter online and in our daily lives know what side of history we are on. We continue to focus on getting the truth out. Text a friend. Talk to a neighbor. Call a family member. We have to rebuild human trust again. Isolation and separation are part of their plan. We must break it.

We’re seeing Trump grow weaker by the day. His grip is slipping. The lies don’t land like they used to, and the fear isn’t working on everyone anymore. We just have to hold on and not give up. The better days this country was built to reach for, they’re still possible. But now more than ever, we have to protect that dream from the people trying to extinguish it.

I want to take a moment to once again thank everyone who’s helping keep this work alive. My goal is to make sure every word I write stays free and accessible to anyone who needs it, and never behind a paywall. That’s only possible because of those of you who have signed up for a paid subscription to support what I’m doing. You’re helping the truth reach more people and push back against the nonstop propaganda machine the far right is counting on to keep the public confused, divided, and afraid.

Because the American dream doesn’t survive on its own. It survives when we speak up. When we show up and when we refuse to back down. The Trump Regime is working non-stop to silence journalists, politicians, protesters, and anyone who dares to speak out. But every step of the way, they’re meeting resistance. In the courts. In the ok streets. In our communities. And even in our children, who keep walking out of classrooms to show they will not grow up quietly under authoritarian rule. And this non-stop resistance is why I still have hope for America. And 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.