Well, it’s been nice knowing you.
On Monday, convicted felon and 45th President Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States, a moment that was both stark and terrifying in American history.
The amount of red and “patriotism” in the air was enough to make my eyes roll into the back of my head — which doesn’t include all the people in attendance who were caught actually rolling their eyes in disdain.
While the Republican party wanted the world to be blinded by “nationalism” and supposed loyalty (and the disco lights that flicked everywhere), they did their best to shadow any sense of impending doom.
Unfortunately, that mask has already been lifted.
It’s not like that required much effort anyway — all that needed to be done was have Trump open his mouth and spew whatever nonsense he could think of.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the absurdity he throws out as an act or the proclaimed meme for the day, it’s vital to remember that no matter how insane he sounds or silly he looks, his words carry meaning and intent.
He has already wasted no time scurrying into the Oval Office and signing almost any executive order put in front of him, striking a wide variety of topics and situations that will directly impact Americans.
For example, the recent paroxysm surrounding TikTok’s survival in the U.S. has been hilarious to watch as an outsider looking in, especially seeing that Trump only extended the ban by 75 days.
Since Americans got their biggest source of brain rot back, the hashtag #thankyoutrump has been trending on TikTok, seemingly thanking Trump for creating a temporary solution to a long-term issue.
It seems that Americans have forgotten that Trump led the effort to ban TikTok in his first term as president, signing an executive order in August 2020 claiming that the app was “capturing mass amounts of information about Americans and leaving it vulnerable to the Chinese government.” The order was later blocked by a federal judge and dropped entirely by Joe Biden’s administration.
Trump has seemingly flipped his view on the app, saying that, “… there are a lot of people on TikTok that love it.” But what prompted Trump’s change of heart, may you ask?
A simple (yet stupid) response: “Because I got to use it.” God help us all.
Let’s not forget how Trump has already signed a flurry of executive orders targeting the country’s immigration landscape, one of the most significant being the long-standing principle of birthright citizenship. The new order now asserts that children born to undocumented parents are not entitled to automatic American citizenship.
This directly attacks the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.”
Trump has previously stated that the 14th Amendment “has never been interpreted to extend citizenship universally to everyone born within the United States,” but let’s be honest, we all know what he is implying.
The hilarious elephant in the room is that Usha Vance, the wife of Vice President J.D Vance, is a direct contradiction of this order since her parents immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980s and she was born in San Diego, California.
While the ban applies to people born 30 days from the signing, it’s a thoughtless order to put in place when someone who embodies this situation in any capacity is actively involved in the White House.
Not to mention, one of the very first things Trump did was pardon all 1,500 Jan. 6 rioters, including people who violently attacked police. So I will let you take in what kind of messaging that sends.
Also, the U.S. government-run website called reproductiverights.org has now gone off the grid after Trump’s inauguration, with the last activity being as recent as Jan. 15, 2025.
The site was part of a public awareness campaign launched in 2022 containing information regarding access to abortions and reproductive health care, alongside information on individual’s reproductive rights, according to CBS News.
Trump has been vocal about his problematic opinions on women having autonomy over their bodies and reproductive rights, but his Department of Health and Human Services nominee Robert F. Kennedy Jr. cannot seem to make up his mind on this topic, (are we surprised?).
In August 2023, Kennedy claimed that he would support a national ban on abortion after the first three months of pregnancy, but just mere hours later a spokesperson for Kennedy said that he “does not support legislation banning abortion,” according to NBC News.
Frankly, I would personally prefer if Kennedy cut the sh*t and stopped pretending that he cares about women’s reproductive rights in the slightest. It’s not like he is convincing in any manner. It’s abundantly clear what his actual stance is, but he is too weak to genuinely own up to it.
Now, my personal favourite *said sarcastically* highlight is Trump’s comments on the apparent new definition of gender, belching that as of now, “it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female.”
First of all, I would prefer to not give a grown-ass man like Trump a lesson on the birds and the bees, so I will call upon the research by the Yale School of Medicine to do so.
According to their research, sex is defined “as a classification, generally male or female, according to the reproductive organs and functions that derive from the chromosomal complement” and gender should be referred to as “a person’s self-representation as male or female, or how that person is responded to by social institutions on the basis of the individual’s gender presentation.”
I feel like I don’t need to go into much detail as to how harmful and disgusting this comment is, but it’s the bare minimum to acknowledge that this is a person who doesn’t care about Americans and their identity, people who he claims he is aiming to help.
You might be wondering why I dragged you through a painstakingly long list of concerning changes (which I could keep listing for what feels like ages), and the answer is that we chose to ignore this man’s heeding.
Americans had the opportunity to kick this man to the curb numerous times, but have opted to welcome him back into the driver’s seat with open arms. It’s not like his new policies and agenda were a secret or surprise, and it’s time to understand that our actions have consequences.
And to Canadians who believe that the U.S.’s laws don’t affect us, need I remind you that Canada is a copycat country facing the potential of Pierre Poilievre gaining federal leadership? The truth of the matter is that whatever happens in the U.S. has a high likelihood of its effects transferring into Canada.
For example, Poilievre has already stated that he is keeping an eye on the U.S.’s ruling on TikTok, alongside ordering his Conservative MPs to stop using the app.
Poilievre has also been suspicious of his comments on abortion, pushing an idea that adoption will do “greater good,” but does anyone really believe him?
It’s not like the American Democratic options were any better or reassuring in many senses, but you would think that the definite non-option for this job is Trump.
But here we are, watching the majority constitutionalism and bureaucracy wither away from a man driven by vengeance and hatred.
Can American democracy withstand Trump for another four years? We will see what is left of it.