Democratic Party Collusion, Race Baiting, and Death by Austerity

Margaret Kimberley, BAR Executive Editor and Senior Columnist

05 Feb 2025

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is seen during a press conference outside the United States Agency for International Development on Feb. 3, 2025 at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. Photo: Greg Nash

Donald Trump began his presidency with unconstitutional and possibly illegal orders that put the minority Democratic Party on the sidelines. Democrats have not utilized their own bully pulpit to fight back because they usually go along to get along when republicans are in control. Trump is exposing their subservience to deal making, the permanent government, and consequently, betrayal of their voters.

“You’re watching the Super Bowl next week. Wait till Trump’s tariffs raise your pizza prices.” - Senator Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic Party opposition

President Donald Trump is certainly a man of his authoritarian word. As he promised on the campaign trail he is very serious about changing the nature of the U.S. government, the U.S. role in the world, and promoting white nationalist sentiment. While he carries out unconstitutional and possibly illegal acts, Democratic Party leaders have been AWOL, stunned into silence as Trump has thus far chosen not to utilize the back room deal making they are accustomed to and moves ahead unilaterally with budget cuts, personnel cuts, and the elimination of entire agencies, circumventing congressional prerogatives as he goes.

Even an accident involving a commercial passenger jet and an army helicopter was fodder for overt Trumpian racism. This disaster was blamed on one of his obsessions, the performative and useless Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs. He even declared this meritless conjecture to be true in a presidential assessment that is no substitute for a proper investigation. The proximate cause of the accident may be decades of austerity which is supported by both wings of the duopoly.

Ronald Reagan’s destruction of the air traffic control union and mass firings in 1981 had a lasting impact. Decades later there is still a shortage of air traffic controllers. This shortage is in part due to inadequate funding for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). A preliminary report indicated that two controllers should have been on duty, one to watch planes and the other to watch helicopters. But on that night, there was only one.

A majority of the FAA budget is paid for by the Airport and Airways Trust Fund (AATF) with airline fees, that is to say, by passengers themselves. This policy has been in place since 1970 and is an example of the unchanging political commitment to austerity. In this case, the flying public pays for most of the FAA budget instead of congress appropriating the necessary funding every year. In addition, congress has control over the Reagan National Airport and members advocated for more flights connecting to their districts, despite near accidents over the years. Trump can be blamed for making real and imagined people of color the villains in every story, but republicans and democrats are true wrongdoers who commit themselves to diminishing government programs and to making decisions that made them look good in the short term.

Trump’s response to the crash was not the least of his actions in less than two weeks in office. He has given Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, and owner of the X social media platform, carte blanche with his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is a white house office but not actually a federal agency. DOGE staffers have been given access to federal databases, including those authorized to spend trillions of dollars and firing anyone who tries to stop them. Musk was not elected to any office, nor was he confirmed by the Senate as high ranking officials are required to be. Instead he was made a special government employee, a vague title allowing him to work up to 130 days per year, but he doesn’t really need to be an employee. He uses X to incite Trump’s followers and adjusts algorithms to diminish anyone else’s ability to reach the public through social media.

As expected, federal judges blocked Trump’s effort to restrict birthright citizenship and to freeze federal spending. What of congressional democrats? When Trump closed the offices of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), they held a press conference outside the agency and gave speeches condemning Trump. One senator attempted to show some degree of opposition. “We’re working with lawyers to try and get an injunction.” Washington has plenty of lawyers but has little fighting spirit among what passes for an opposition, who give the appearance of whining when they should take the gloves off and fight back.

The congressional protesters mentioned that Trump had usurped their authority in closing the agency but they also attacked him from the right in defending USAID. Congressman Don Beyer said of the USAID shut down, “Its elimination only helps our adversaries Russia and China, who want to see our global influence reduced at any cost. It’s no coincidence then that Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man with billions of dollars invested in China, is doing China’s bidding.”

There you have it in a nutshell. Congressional democrats are less upset about a president abrogating their rights, than they are about the U.S. being unable to flex its muscles against “adversary” states. It is true that USAID provides needed aid to people in crisis, but it is also a tool of soft power for the state. The USAID has done just that in eastern European color revolutions and in the ultimately successful effort for regime change in Syria. Money to Nongovernmental Organizations, the media, and individuals are used to undermine governments all over the world.

Trump isn’t going to do away with U.S. meddling in the affairs of other countries. It appears that the work of USAID will now be subsumed into the State Department, where he will have direct control of its activities. When he uses USAID to undermine China and Russia the democrats will likely have little to say. Imperialist intervention continues regardless of who is in office.

The leader of democrats in the Senate, Charles Schumer, may think that the price of pizza toppings is a motivator for political action, but he didn’t really need to say anything. The news that tariffs would be imposed on Canada and Mexico caused a stock market downturn and Trump backpedaled a bit with the announcement of a 30-day pause with both countries, but the trade war with China preceded him.

It was Joe Biden who imposed 100% tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and made them unaffordable to any U.S. resident who might want to buy them, or even medical equipment, solar panels, steel, or aluminum. Trump is continuing what was settled U.S. policy before he was elected.

It is extremely dangerous for unknown Elon Musk employees to be rooting around in federal databases carrying out unknown mischief. But how long does it take to file injunctions? Shouldn’t democrats have aggressive lawyers on standby and, most importantly, use the bully pulpit of public office to make their case?

But true opposition is unlikely to happen. The coziness between the two parties has been going on for a very long time. Voters are rightly concerned that a DOGE operative may have their social security information, but they cannot expect democrats to step up on their behalf. They are, in all likelihood, hoping that Trump will come to the negotiating table and free them from the need to be a pretend opposition.

Margaret Kimberley is the author of Prejudential: Black America and the Presidents. You can support her work on Patreon and also find it on the Twitter, Bluesky, and Telegram platforms. She can be reached via email at [email protected].

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