Our nation has endured a lot of pain since my last column here: Our beloved and much-maligned 39th President Jimmy Carter checked out after a long journey into that good night. Then, a week into 2025, the LA firestorm swept over the southland like a nuclear blast.
Neither of these events was exactly unpredictable. Both are equally sobering reminders of our mortality, and of our need for sound leadership in troubled times.
Thank God that the inauguration gave us a new foundation of hope, unity, and confidence. In his inaugural address, our newly-anointed president promised a stirring renewal of our national purpose: He dedicated our government to the principles of our Constitution, to the rule of law, and to our declaration that all Americans—indeed, all of humanity—are endowed by our creator with the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Every word of his speech brought tears to my eyes as I stood personal witness among throngs of supporters on the National Mall.
Oh wait, … sorry—that must have been a dream. The Inaugural speech that moved me to tears? It was on an equally frigid morning 16 years ago, Jan. 20, 2009.
On that day, I was on the Mall, elbow to elbow with my daughter and an impossibly dense multitude of Americans. On that occasion, we listened to President Barack Obama—and the music of Yo-Yo Ma, the poetry of Maya Angelou, and the trenchant cheers of the crowd ushering in that era of “hope and change.”
On that day, we did sense a palpable rush of hope, of unity, and even of a semblance of trust in ourselves and in our future together.
Since that magic day in 2009, we’ve witnessed a complete unravelling of that hope, that unity, that collective pride—OK, call it hubris. Only six years later, Donald Trump rode down the escalator in Trump Tower to announce his first campaign for the presidency. By 2016, he had converted the GOP from a political party to a cult. And in January 2017, he rode that cultish devotion right into the White House.
Trump’s four years in office from 2017-21 earned him the dubious distinction as the first president to be impeached twice, saved from conviction only by a feckless Senate GOP minority. Trump’s approval rating averaged only 41 percent, a record low in the era of modern polling; by the time he left office in 2021, it had sunk to 34 percent as the nation writhed in the grip of COVID-19.
Now in 2025, as Trump embarks on his second term, we seem to be further descending into a maelstrom of fear, polarization, and distrust:
• Fear: Even early in his first term, Trump and his MAGA movement created an atmosphere of fear with its blatant cruelty toward immigrants, minorities, and LGBTQ-plus Americans.
• Polarization: The MAGA movement constantly stokes the stubborn fires of partisan hostility by demonizing, trolling, and even stalking its opposition in Congress.
• Distrust: The Trump cult is committed to the “Seven Mountains” movement popular among the most extreme Christian Nationalists, targeting the institutions of government, media, academia, religion, arts and entertainment, education, and even our own families.
Why should we expect his divisive rhetoric to improve in “Trump 2.0”? Within minutes of swearing his oath under the Capitol Dome, Trump abused the sacred occasion of his second inaugural address to heap derision on the exhausted firefighters who even now, after two weeks of struggle, are still fighting the catastrophic LA fires.
What can we do individually, and what can we do here in California, to build resilience, to strengthen our capacity to resist this rhetorical blitzkrieg from the Oval Office?
Let’s follow the example of Gov. Gavin Newsom who called a truce in response to Trump’s outrageous attacks on our heroic firefighters.
Trump must cease the nakedly partisan potshots at our state, but it’s doubtful that he will.
Donald Trump is the perfect example of Ambrose Bierce’s definition of a politician: “An eel in the fundamental mud upon which the superstructure of organized society is reared. When he wriggles he mistakes the agitation of his tail for the trembling of the edifice.”
The edifice of California is trembling from the fires, just as we are always trembling from earthquakes, from floods, from drought, but we remain standing as the proud castle of creativity that we are. We lead the nation in technology, in renewable energy, in water conservation and groundwater management, in higher education, in our commitment to diversity and to democracy. Our people here occupy the highest peaks in virtually every one of those “Seven Mountains” that the far-right wants to transform into some macabre image of their false deities.
We should do everything possible to rise above that slithery eel who wriggles away in our foundational mud, demanding far too much of our attention. Let’s ignore him whenever possible, but let us fight him wherever necessary, a fight that will require every legal, political, and moral tool that we have in our arsenal. Δ
John Ashbaugh is a recovering politician. Send your comments for publication by emailing letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Jan 23 – Feb 2, 2025.
I used to engage in a response to this type of commentary. Now, I just feel empathy and wish the author good luck on his journey of understanding more about how we got here. I don’t think you’ve got anywhere close yet. Nope, I didn’t vote for either of the choices at the top of my ballot.
If you want to read the full text of the post by Governor Newsom but (like me) no longer have the app on your phone, he’s is full tweet on the platform formerly known as “Twitter”;
Gavin Newsom
@GavinNewsom
As our nation observes the peaceful transfer of power, we are reminded of the enduring principles that underpin our democracy: finding common ground and striving toward shared goals.
In the face of one of the worst natural disasters in America’s history, this moment underscores the critical need for partnership, a shared commitment to facts, and mutual respect — values that enable civil discourse, effective governance, and meaningful action. I look forward to President Trump’s visit to Los Angeles and his mobilization of the full weight of the federal government to help our fellow Americans recover and rebuild.
Where our shared principles are aligned, my administration stands ready to work with the Trump-Vance administration to deliver solutions and serve the nearly 40 million Californians we jointly represent.