Will Democracy Survive

Devine Intervention?

Anni sat in her favorite coffee shop, her mind swirling with the recent events surrounding Trump, when Father Dunkin walked in. "Father Dunkin, what a surprise!" Anni exclaimed.

"Hello, Anni," Father Dunkin replied warmly. "How are you holding up? What do you make of the Supreme Court granting Trump broad immunity, the failed assassination attempt, and the events unfolding at the Republican National Convention?"

Anni shook her head in disbelief. "Wait, didn't all that happen in the first half of this month?"

"Yes," Father Dunkin sighed. "It's hard to believe."

"I'm perplexed, Father Dunkin. Two weeks ago, the Supreme Court ruled to essentially place Trump above the law and if he gets re-elected, he could essentially run the country like a dictator. Two weeks later, he narrowly escapes an assassination attempt. If it had succeeded, the country could have been torn apart by civil unrest or even civil war."

"I completely agree," Father Dunkin nodded. "I think Trump's narrow escape has guaranteed his re-election bid."

"Many conservatives are saying it was divine intervention, proof that Trump has been appointed by God," Anni said.

Father Dunkin shook his head. "It's hard to say what God has planned for America, but one thing is for sure: this has elevated Trump to the status of a cult leader."

Anni decided to change the subject. "Father, have you heard all the conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination attempt?"

"It didn't take them long to fabricate them, did it?" Father Dunkin said wryly.

Anni began listing them. "Representative Mike Collins (R-GA) posted on his personal X account that 'Joe Biden sent the orders to take out Trump.' Collins pointed to a quote from Biden, where he supposedly said, 'It's time to put Trump in a bullseye.' The quote, taken from a private call with donors, urged them to focus on Trump rather than the debate. Others claim the event was staged with crisis actors orchestrated by Trump to benefit his re-election."

Anni mentioned that at first, Trump sounded humbled by his experience during his RNC speech. "He started off by talking about uniting the country, but soon made it clear he wanted the country to unite under him and his vision of how things should be done."

Anni continued by listing some of the false claims made during the Republican National Convention.

Senator Katie Britt, R-Ala., said, 'Under President Trump, we had the strongest economy in history.' The truth is, during Trump's presidency, the unemployment rate fell to levels untouched in five decades. But his successor, President Joe Biden, matched or exceeded those levels. Annual increases in gross domestic product were broadly similar under Trump to what they were during the final six years under his predecessor, Barack Obama. And GDP growth under Trump was well below that of previous presidents.

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., said, 'They claim that our economy is thriving, yet hundreds of thousands of American-born workers lost their jobs these past few years.' The truth is, people are constantly leaving jobs and taking new ones. But the average monthly number of layoffs was higher under Trump than it's been under Biden. Leaving out the coronavirus pandemic months of March 2020 to December 2021, the number of monthly layoffs under Trump averaged 1.81 million. Under Biden, that number has been 1.52 million.

House Speaker Mike Johnson claimed that Democrats' policies have brought 'dramatic increases' in 'violence, crime, and drugs.' The truth is, official data published by the FBI shows violent crime dropped significantly in the US in 2023 and in the first quarter of 2024. Though there were increases in some communities, violent crime is now lower than it was in 2020, President Donald Trump's last calendar year in office. 

Trump claimed in regards to gas prices that under a new Trump administration, the United States would 'drill, baby, drill... by doing that, we will lead to a large-scale decline in prices.' House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also claimed that the Biden administration has 'eroded the American energy dominance that President Trump delivered.' The truth is, under President Joe Biden, the US is producing more crude oil than any country ever has. The world record was set by the US in 2023, according to the federal Energy Information Administration, averaging about 12.9 million barrels per day—exceeding the Trump-era record of about 12.3 million barrels per day in 2019. US production of dry natural gas also hit a new high in 2023. So did US crude oil exports.

Trump once again claimed that he signed the largest tax cuts in history during his administration. The truth is, in a report released in June, the federal government's nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office looked at the size of past tax cuts enacted between 1981 and 2023. It found that two other tax cut bills have been bigger—former President Ronald Reagan's 1981 package and legislation signed by former President Barack Obama that extended earlier tax cuts enacted during former President George W. Bush's administration.

Trump claimed that the government hired 88,000 IRS agents. The truth is, the Inflation Reduction Act—passed in 2022 without any Republican votes—provided about $80 billion, 10-year investment to the IRS. The agency plans to hire tens of thousands of employees with that money, but only some will be IRS agents who conduct audits and investigations. Many people will be hired for non-agent roles, and a significant number of the hires are expected to fill the vacant posts left by retirements and other attrition, not take newly created positions.

Trump claimed the US has seen the worst inflation ever under Joe Biden. The truth is, the peak annual inflation rate under Biden was 8 percent in 2022. To find annual inflation that high requires going back to 1981, when Reagan, a Republican, presided over 10.3 percent inflation.

Kari Lake said that Democratic Arizona Representative Ruben Gallego, her likely opponent in the state's US Senate race this fall, voted last week to let undocumented immigrants 'illegally cast a ballot in this upcoming election.' The truth is, the House did not vote on whether to allow noncitizens to vote. The chamber passed a bill on July 10 that would require documentary proof of US citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. Gallego voted against the legislation, which is not expected to be taken up by the Democratic-controlled Senate."

Father Dunkin replied, "Yes, the false claims about voter fraud and America being safer and more robust under Trump than another president are outright untrue, but you have to remember that the politicians speaking at the RNC are trying to gain favor with Trump and his core base. They are telling the core what they want to hear. If they were to speak the truth, their careers would be ended."

Anni then pointed out that during Trump's speech he said, "'the ridiculous waste of taxpayer dollars' on 'the meaningless Green New scam' that has fueled inflation." The truth is, 'The Green New Deal,' a wide-ranging proposal to combat climate change, has never been enacted."  Anni explained that human-caused climate change could be one of the most serious threats to life on the planet, and Trump is pledging to lead the war against doing anything about it.

"Father, I've tried so hard to get people to listen but have failed over and over again," Anni said.

Father Dunkin could see the sadness welling up in Anni's eyes, so he turned the conversation back to the assassination attempt .  "I read that the shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was 20 years old and registered as a Republican but had made a $15 donation to the Progressive Turnout Project on Inauguration Day in 2021, according to the Federal Election Commission records.  No clear motive has been found yet but the FBI and Secret Service have been examining all his electronic devices and online accounts and are painstakingly going through them.  Apparently, he had pictures of both Biden, Trump, and many prominent political leaders on his phone. Maybe he wasn't politically motivated but just wanted to make a name for himself or wanted to see the world burn."

Father Dunkin continued, "Do you remember Scott, the FBI cybersecurity investigator friend of James? He's one of the agents working on the case."

"I hope that as his friend, James can get us the inside scoop," Anni said.