Trump's Theater of Cruelty

 

JEFFREY ST. CLAIR >>

+ It’s hard not to conclude that Trump’s weeklong shock-and-awe bombardment of executive orders and mass firings–many blatantly illegal, others unenforceable–is designed to cause chaos and confusion and then exploit the widespread panic he has instigated. Consider the OMB memo this week freezing all federal grants, aids, and loans, an executive action aimed directly at low-income families, including Medicaid, school breakfast and lunch programs; Section 8 rental assistance, Title I education grants; Temporary Assistance to Needy Families; state grants for child care; Head Start and SNAP.

+ Oregon’s Senator Sen. Ron Wyden: “My staff has confirmed reports that Medicaid portals are down in all 50 states following last night’s federal funding freeze. This is a blatant attempt to rip away health insurance from millions of Americans overnight and will get people killed.”

+ As the dread and trepidation spread, from universities and homeless veterans groups to school lunchrooms and health clinics, Trump’s OMB, run by only Stephen Miller’s scalp-polisher knows for sure at this point, sent out another 2.5-page memo of clarification, which only added to the growing discomfiture. Republicans, like Rep. Rich McCormick, the Republican from Georgia, volunteered to defend even the most heinous cuts. McCormick told CNN that the cuts were “an experiment” designed to prove that poor kids should get jobs at places like Burger King and McDonalds instead of receiving free school lunches. The school lunch program serves grades pre-K through high school, meaning it feeds children as young as four. Hey, if Trump can work the fryer at McDonalds, any four-year-old could, right?