Tone Deaf

Shifting Sands
Jupiter Island, Tequesta, FL
November 11, 2025

 Although we are now 10 months into Trump's second term, I realized that one of his problems is that he is tone deaf. He routinely does things that make many people think, "Really?"

Take for instance that in the middle of the longest government shutdown in American history he went galavanting across the globe in search of personal fame which might lead to a Nobel Prize instead of staying home and negotiating an end. 

Consider also the Great Gatsby Party he hosted on Halloween while SNAP benefits for over 40 million Americans were expiring. What an optic!

And of course I cannot forget to mention the destruction of the East Wing of the White House, done without coordinating and in fact outright lying to the American people that the structure would not be touched. The White House is not his house, it is, or used to be, the People's House. He is a tenant.

Which brings me to the shutdown itself. His lack of leadership is deafening. As President, it became clear he actually enjoyed the shutdown as it increased his ability to inflict pain on working Americans and attempt to blame it on the Democrats. It is clear that the only reason the shutdown ended was because Democrats saw the pain being inflicted on Americans and determined that the point had been made and that the tone deaf Republicans were not going to get the message over health care. 

There are other examples: 

Failing to fulfill a campaign promise and release the Epstein files. 

Pardons for criminals and cronies. I know every president issues pardons, but then going on 60 Minutes and confessing that he didn't know the guy to whom he issued the pardon? Tone deaf.

Continuing to support the war against immigrants who have not committed any serious crimes. A campaign promise was to get rid of the worst of the worst, not moms and dads trying to make their way. He won the Southern Border but has continued to push beyond the pain point for most Americans. 

Deploying troops into American cities when he could do better by giving the dollars to the local governments for increased police support. 

Denying that affordability is a problem in America. 

Saying that prices are down, when they aren't. Coffee at Costco is still at $7/pound which is up from about $4/pound just a year ago. 

All of these are symptoms of being tone deaf, or just not caring.

Maybe with the Epstein Files release the sands are beginning to shift. 

-- Bob Doan, Tequesta, FL