by Peter Weinberger

I knew at some point I would end up writing this column about Donald Trump. The good news is I’m writing this now, instead of four years from now. As a 45-year member of the news media, I can honestly say that no other politician has impacted my job more than this president. 

When he was first elected, I was hopeful he would grow into the role as president, thus minimizing his inexperience directing our country. At the very least, I thought this experiment might work if he could just avoid huge mistakes that would make life more difficult for hard working Americans. Or worse yet, a nuclear war. It wasn’t a war, but I was still wrong on all fronts.

It started his first year in office when his administration found cronies to file a complaint about newsprint pricing from Canada, putting American companies at a disadvantage. Tariffs on Canadian newsprint soon kicked in. It took six months for the International Trade Commission to end the tariffs, saying there was no foul play. But the damage was done, newsprint pricing to this day remains excessive, costing the Courier thousands more every year. 

I’ve talked a lot about how Mr. Trump creates fake news, then turns hostile when the news media fact checks, or simply calls out his lies. What the 2020 election has demonstrated is how far he will go to lie. When one of his strongest supporters, evangelist Pat Robertson, says Trump lives in an “alternate reality,” maybe the election really is over. Never mind that his lawyers’ appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court was a joke. Why listen to proofless arguments? 

Now after months of working to agree on a $900 billion relief bill, at the last minute Mr. Trump says it’s too little and refuses to support it. Nice that he wants more money for everyone four weeks before leaving office. Why not just say whatever? It’s not only a political stunt, it ensures no help is coming anytime soon.

This president, however, did do something for me. I became so upset by his actions I began writing about them in the Claremont COURIER. I got to know many folks from the Trump family. I received an enormous amount of support, yet also heard the worst from people. It was stressful, but in some small way I feel like my columns contributed to his demise. At least that’s what my grandkids will hear.

The COURIER has regular poll questions about politics on our website homepage. Some poll questions have received over 1,000 responses. We have one out there now. But when I include the word “Trump” in any question, certain people attempt to stuff the box (so to speak) to foil the true results. It only happens when using “Trump.” Imagine that!

I’m confident Mr. Trump will still be a GOP player in 2024. He has too many cronies in Congress who will blindly support him. He’s horribly in debt, but supporters will continue to contribute millions to pay for his legal fees. The difference for me is I don’t have to listen to him anymore. He’s simply going to be yet another political shock jock—with an alternate reality.