Being involved in a relationship with a person who demands loyalty, and does not allow disagreement, can lead to a rude awakening when it becomes obvious that the loyalty only runs one way.
One major example of this awakening became evident in last month’s elections, where voters who had previously endorsed Donald Trump and the Republican party basically fled what had clearly become an abusive relationship. In particular, Hispanic voters let it be known that they weren’t going to be fooled twice by promises of support that had turned into wholesale abandonment by the GOP.
Once you start to notice them, examples of Trump and his administration’s betrayal of the promises made to voters become impossible to ignore. Legitimate concerns about how to stem illegal border crossings led many to believe that Trump would address those concerns if elected. I doubt anyone, except perhaps white nationalist Stephen Miller, could imagine what the American landscape would look like ten months later, littered with broken hearts, broken families and broken promises.
“Just the violent criminals” turned out to be a very small percentage of the deportees, replaced by hard-working, tax-paying immigrants, many of whom were arrested as they followed the law and showed up at pre-arranged hearings to move forward in their journey to citizenship. A nineteen-yearold college student, flying home to Austin to surprise her parents for Thanksgiving, was detained and handcuffed in the airport, and immediately deported to Honduras, which she had left at age seven. Needless to say, the due process of allowing her a hearing and consultation with an attorney did not take place; you can find her under the bus.
Remember Trump’s press conferences where he displayed numerous food items and waxed poetic about the lovely word “groceries”? Many American consumers were hopeful that he really was a populist like his words suggested, and that, despite the confusing fact that he was a billionaire who likely had never set foot in a grocery store, he understood their struggle and would act quickly to bring prices down. They’re under the bus as well, reassessing their choice in the 2024 election.
Now that over a year has passed since Trump took office, more folks than just the voters are finding themselves thrown under the bus. As the ineptitude and lack of experience of Trump’s cabinet appointees has had time to haunt the news reports each day, these hapless stooges have had a chance to see what kind of return they get for their heartfelt loyalty and devotion to their master. The recent televised cabinet meeting was painful to watch, as the various secretaries outdid themselves throwing bouquets of exaggerated compliments to Trump, who slumbered cluelessly in his fever dream of being the Messiah.
So far, we have not seen a cabinet member hung out to dry, but we have some early indications that the day may be fast approaching. Kristi Noem, Dark Barbie of the Department of Homeland Security, and Attorney General Pam Bondi may be headed under the bus, with FBI Director Kash Patel not far behind.
My pick for most likely to be set up and then let down by Trump: Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. That he was approved by the Senate for this tremendously important post suggests that the Senate was drunk on Koolaid at the time, and subsequent actions he has taken confirm that fact.
As his blunders and his flawed judgment become more evident every day, we are left to witness him passing the buck down to the military below him in the search for accountability. Hearing him offer “full support” to the admiral who supposedly made the decision to attack shipwrecked survivors of a previous drone strike (itself unauthorized by Congress), is a nauseating example of poor leadership of the worst kind. Make way for the Admiral under the bus.
Hegseth is like a video gamer who believes he is the character he plays. Watching him lecture a room full of the highest levels of military leaders about how the US armed forces need more “lethality” and need to be freed from the restrictions of international rules of engagement left me with renewed respect for the true leaders and renewed disgust for both Hegseth and Trump.
Let’s specifically ask for the removal of Pete Hegseth for starters. Trump will put up a little fuss, but when he gets a whiff of the dissatisfaction we voters are communicating, he’ll toss Pete under the bus faster than you can say Signalgate. (By the way, Hegseth refuses to take any responsibility for that blunder as well, even though the Office of the Inspector General at the Pentagon concluded in its recent report that he put US troops in harm’s way.)
What we have learned from the saga of Jimmy Kimmel, a Trump nemesis from late-night television, is that if we fight back, and let Trump know that we aren’t going to put up with it anymore, he will back down. We should all be letting our representatives know that we are not going to vote for them if they keep participating in the charade that passes for government under Trump.
The American people don’t belong under the bus. America’s non-criminal immigrants don’t belong under the bus. People down the chain of command during illegal or harmful decision-making may need to be there, but only if the entire chain, right up to the top, is under there as well. US Senate Republicans, showing a faint heartbeat but still in a coma, will be sent under the bus by We, the People the next chance we get.
This prolonged nightmare will provide us the opportunity to sort out our notions of accountability, decency, and true American values, once we get on board and start driving the bus ourselves, as our Constitution demands.
Susan Hull is a retired clinical psychologist, a horse trainer, and an Independent voter. She hurts especially for the immigrants since they are us.
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