What’s All This About Trump’s Administration Being Organized, Ruthless, and Proving Extremely Effective at Implementing Their Agenda?

So say a number of national newspapers, but it’s less than half the story.

They’re outlaws, crooks, and make even Ronnie Reagan look like the good ol’ boy he pretended to be. Reagan’s was by far the most ‘tried, found guilty, and jailed administration’ ever to cast shade on the presidency.

Until now. And we’re only in the first year of the Orange Man’s second term.

Organized, ruthless, and extremely effective are not achieved by illegal executive orders. The number of “national emergencies” declared under Trump is at least six (and counting) in his current term. Other than Trump being a national emergency himself, I never felt America to be under threat.

Immigration, a favorite and MAGA follower target, is imbedded in the history of our nation. Other than our native population, which peacefully occupied the land for 12,000 years, we are all immigrants (or descendants of immigrants). The Orange Man himself is a descendant, and favors marrying immigrants, even those with shady qualifications.

But, to get back to outlaws and crooks…

The dictionary defines an outlaw as “a criminal; someone who has committed a crime or has been legally convicted of a crime.” Our current president faced 34 criminal charges of falsifying business records in the first degree, related to payments made to Stormy Daniels before the 2016 presidential election. He was found guilty of a felony (which is a criminal, not a civil offense) on all 34 counts.

And a ‘crook’ is defined by slightly softer terms, as “corrupt; tending to act dishonestly in exchange for money or other personal gain.” Numerous investigations and ethics watchdogs documented instances of Trump using his presidency for personal financial gain, by either directing taxpayer money to his businesses or receiving payments from foreign governments. A 2024 analysis by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington reported that during his presidency, Trump had accumulated over 3,400 documented conflicts of interest.

Other than a $400 million aircraft donated by Qatar (which will find its way to the Trump library after several million spent in upgrades), a number of other conflicts come to mind:

· Federal agencies, foreign governments (including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, China, and Malaysia), and Republican groups frequently booked rooms and events at Trump’s D.C. hotel, spending lavishly and publicly to garner presidential favor.

· The Chinese government granted valuable trademarks to Trump-owned companies while key trade negotiations were underway.

· Using Mar-a-Lago as the “Winter White House,” using his private Florida resort for official business, hosting heads of state (Japan, China, Brazil) and conducting national policy meetings there. Membership fees at Mar-a-Lago doubled after his election, generating millions as individuals sought access to the president. All members are required to stand when he enters a room.

· Over $20 million in campaign and RNC money was spent at Trump properties during his presidency, turning political fundraising into a personal revenue stream.

· Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s Business Dealings, as his family members retained multimillion-dollar business interests while serving as senior advisers in the White House. Kushner sought foreign investment from Qatar and China for his family’s real estate ventures while managing Middle East policy.

Illegal?

Probably, but he appeals and findings by courts, and does as he pleases. But, crooked as hell by any normal standards of decency. According to the above-mentioned Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Donald Trump earned over $1.6 billion in business income thus far during his presidency, despite pledging to separate himself from his private empire. With three years to go, and Trump branded sneakers, bibles and watches still for sale.

$100,000 for a watch? Why not? For hundreds more in opportunities, there’s now a Trump Store.

Finally, let’s take a look at ruthless.

Examples might include:

· The Orange Man and Ruth took a ride on a motorcycle. The bike hit a bump and Ruth fell off, but Orange Man rode on ruthlessly. Okay, enough of that.

· In the first 100 days of his term, Trump initiated more than 140 rollbacks of environmental rules — more in that short span than in his entire first full term — removing safeguards for land, air, water, endangered species, and climate regulation. Media commentary described it as a “ruthless agenda” against the environment.

· Early executive orders sought to override existing asylum and immigration law and deny entry to many migrants at the southern border. Families were broken up, parents removed from their children.

· Policies dismantled programs that offered protection or pathways for refugees and asylum seekers.

· The administration is (quite properly) accused of targeting immigrant communities for punitive ICE enforcement, deportations, and detention. In some cases, U.S. citizens have reportedly been wrongfully arrested or detained as part of aggressive enforcement operations.

· The administration revoked or limited recognition of transgender identity in multiple domains (government jobs, passports, education, etc.).

· A recent memorandum targeting Trump’s political opponents was condemned by the ACLU as part of a pattern of abusing power, employing law enforcement, national security, or financial tools to punish dissenters.

· After taking office, Trump reversed some of Biden’s prison commutations. He mandated that many inmates be placed in ADX Florence, the harshest federal prison in the U.S., overruling Bureau of Prisons recommendations. Critics see this as retributive and politically motivated.

· The use of military operations or strikes abroad—targeting drug trafficking vessels or cartels—has raised questions about legality, oversight, civilian risk, and whether the executive is acting with appropriate restraint.

· Trump’s approach includes dismantling or weakening regulatory agencies, eliminating “guardrails” (such as in AI policy) and consolidating power in the executive.

· Centralization and reallocation of federal funding and programs in ways that prioritize certain agendas (e.g. deportation enforcement) while cutting health, education, or environmental programs.

Ruth was lucky. All it cost her to get away from that dude, was skinned knees.

The rest of us will have to take our chances.

Has that ever been said about an American president?