This new administration is making big moves to show supporters that they’re committed to the issues Donald Trump was elected on, but administration officials are chasing soundbites — not sustainable changes — and leaving real harm in their wake.
Despite us all being inundated with reports of the planning going on behind the scenes to hit the ground running on day one of this administration, many of these decisions don’t seem nearly as thought out as they could be. Further, there doesn’t seem to be concern about this within the White House, as long as they can get the social media caption that claims Trump’s campaign promises are being fulfilled.
Consider the executive orders he signed in his first week. In total, almost 40, and a few have already encountered legal action. However, even those that have been deemed unenforceable have been proclaimed successes on Trump’s social media accounts, receiving massive amounts of praise from his followers.
There is little chance that the experienced staffers surrounding the president didn’t know there would be legal challenges to at least some of these orders, but it is the signing of them by which the success of this administration is being measured, not necessarily the implementation.
Look at the president’s insistence on signing the orders with a black marker instead of the customary pen — it is the signing itself that is the success, and his very visible signature is the mark of victory. As long as the stated intention fits what the administration wants to tell its supporters, administration officials care little for further implications.
A pause to federal grants and loans would make it incredibly difficult for vital public service organizations to continue their work, so people who rely on these programs may suffer, but the White House had a memo to show off that calls out the federal government for “advancing Marxist equity, transgenderism, and (the) green new deal.” (And isn’t that worth it?)
There was a low chance of this seemingly impromptu directive holding amid the legal challenges, but I’d argue that the administration didn’t expect it to — it’s the statement that matters to them. The side effects of these actions will hurt many people in this nation, but no thought is given to their suffering — they’re collateral damage in pursuit of the victorious Truth Social post for the new soundbite-obsessed administration.
— Colleen Sullivan, Aurora
What yields success
Does this petulant child of a president actually believe that America will be made great by beating down its closest friends? He reminds me of nothing more than a child in the playground who refuses to share his toys and then wonders why no one will play with him.
Pictures from space should remind him of how small this planet is. Success for America means success for all, gained through collaboration and cooperation, not by big-footing our closest neighbors.
— Harvey Dershin, Evanston
Scrutiny of firefighters
I just read the article about the city of Evanston investigating firefighters wearing Donald Trump masks on their downtime (“Evanston investigating photo of firefighters wearing Trump masks,” Jan. 26).
If they had all been wearing Joe Biden masks, would that have been all right?
— Loren Monsess, Waterman, Illinois
Trump’s true mission
During Trump’s first week back in Washington, he did more to reclaim the mantle of American sovereignty than any leader of the last century. On the southern border, Trump has halted the incessant flow of immigrants. Around the world, Trump has applied maximum pressure upon Iranian proxies and terrorist groups. In our major cities, Trump has initiated mass arrests to ensure constitutional accountability and restore safety to our streets. On our shores, Trump has opened oil drilling to declare American independence. With the stroke of a pen, Trump has built upon his successful legacy of tariffs to balance the scales of international trade and ensure American hegemony.
Though the United States of America has begun to expand our material wealth and protect our vital national interests, we must guard against the digital Trojan horse upon our doorstep. Despite the immense pressure on Trump to capitulate and permit the continuation of TikTok’s relentless data mining and mental control of American adults and innocent children, I implore Trump to remain true to his authentic self: a man of unparalleled individuality and Herculean resolve.
Trump’s mission must return to the original promise of true American greatness through the unapologetic rejection of digital espionage on the American people. It is not TikTok that declared victory in the 2024 election, but it is Trump’s relentless campaigning, record of achievement during his first term and the emotional connection forged with the American people.
On every issue, Trump stands on the right side of history. I encourage the full sale of TikTok to an American-owned entity, or at the very least majority ownership, to purge the pernicious and plutocratic rot of the Chinese Communist Party from our land once and for all.
— Henry J.H. Wilson, Washington
A call for mercy
We at St. Charles Episcopal Church (SCEC) applaud and support the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde’s statements at the national prayer service requesting that President Donald Trump have mercy on our most vulnerable neighbors: immigrants, LGBTQ+ residents and other marginalized people. The bishop’s remarks reflect what we at SCEC believe to be the most important message of Jesus Christ: “Love your neighbor.”
As Episcopalians, several times a year, we renew our baptismal vows, praying out loud to “seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself” and “strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being.”
Budde delivered her plea to the president respectfully and with not a hint of accusation or acrimony. We, as a church, stand behind her plea for a more just and merciful country.
— The Rev. Fran Holliday, interim rector, St. Charles
Bishops’ difference
This is a tale of two bishops. The first, New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan, schmoozed then-candidate Donald Trump at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner. The second, the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, humbly implored the inaugurated president to show mercy toward oppressed immigrant and LBGTQ communities at the national prayer service.
Which bishop best represented the biblical calls for serving the marginalized in our society, the fawning cardinal or the prophetic bishop? I’ll go with the latter every time.
Makes one wonder about the arguments for an all-male clergy/episcopate and the physiology of testicular fortitude.
— Bob Pietrusiak, Aurora
Painful coincidence
On the day the world celebrated the liberation of Auschwitz, Chicagoans were in their attics hiding from government officials. Can we just stop and think about that?
— Skip Myslenski, Evanston
Classes of immigrants
If our politicians really care about reducing the anxiety of the immigrants living in the United States, they should stop lumping them all together because there are large differences among them.
Those who entered our country legally should be told they have nothing to worry about. No one is going to arrest them simply for not being born here. As long as they continue to obey our laws, they can go about their lives in peace just as everyone else can.
Only those who entered our country illegally should be concerned about recent events, but they, too, will probably be left alone, at least for the time being, because right now, federal law enforcement seems to be going after only immigrants lacking permanent legal status who have committed criminal offenses after crossing our borders.
Even those immigrants who committed a crime after arriving here probably won’t be immediately hunted down because right now, our priority seems to be to seek out and arrest those who have lengthy criminal records or committed serious felonies such as murder or rape.
Implying that all immigrants, legal and illegal and with or without a criminal record, should be in fear of arrest is inaccurate and cruel.
If someone thinks that immigrants lacking permanent legal status should be treated with kindness and compassion, fine. Just don’t compare them with those who took the time and effort needed to respect our immigration laws by applying for admission and waiting their turn to be allowed to enter.
— Wayne Meyer, Chicago
Mayor’s criticism
In his Jan. 25 letter “Evanston mayor’s wokeness,” Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso criticizes Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss’ efforts to protect Evanston residents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as contrary to their “sworn obligation to protect our residents.” He claims that the Evanston Welcoming City Ordinance, which prohibits cooperation between Evanston police officers and federal immigration agents, undermines “law enforcement and safety.”
I’m curious if Grasso feels the same way about the current president’s executive order that pardoned and released from prison hundreds of violent domestic terrorists onto the streets of America. My guess is “no.”
Federal efforts are not really about law enforcement and safety, but rather about keeping Black and brown immigrants, the vast majority of whom are hardworking and law-abiding people, out of America.
— Sandra Lovestrand, Lincolnwood
Welcome immigrants
We don’t seem to realize what a wonderful compliment it is to the USA that we have so many immigrants lacking permanent legal status.
We sure don’t see any flood — or even a trickle — of people trying to push into China or Russia or Iran or North Korea. We sorely need more citizens with the drive and courage to endure great hardships trekking thousands of miles for a better life. Let’s not turn them away.
Open the gates much wider to legal immigrants and also register those already here illegally. They will almost all make good hardworking citizens.
The illegal entrants should be penalized by making them wait an extra five or 10 years before being granted citizenship.
And, of course, speedily deport those who misbehave.
— George W. Price, Chicago
Our benighted states
The only renaming of place that is called for in this age of Donald Trump is the United States of America. We are more appropriately the “Benighted States of America.”
For those not familiar with the word, it is defined as “existing in a state of intellectual, moral or social darkness.”
— Peter Gorr, Deer Park
States lead the way
We don’t need to make America great again. It already is and always has been great. We never stopped being great. We just have forgotten how to act on our greatness.
Long before Donald Trump got into politics to redefine Americans in his terms, our states established mottos that define us. A motto is defined as a “phrase or sentence that states a unifying belief, goal or intention.” It is almost like a rallying cry. The qualities that make America great are publicly displayed in our state mottos, many of which are printed on automobile license plates.
Let us follow Maryland’s motto of “strong deeds, gentle words” instead of engaging in mean, nasty words and name-calling. Arkansas emphasizes that “the people rule” — not an oligarchy of rich businesspeople. Iowa reminds us that “our liberties we prize and our rights we will maintain” — people’s right to be recognized as LGBTQ+. South Carolina’s motto, “While I breathe, I hope,” is now echoed by the pope, who has declared 2025 as the year of hope.
When studying the mottos of all 50 states, it is clear that not a single one encourages division, derision and denigration of our fellow Americans.
America is already great! We just need to act on what we believe.
— Mary Ann McGinley, Wilmette
Eisenhower’s insights
Born in Chicago in 1955, I lived in the Kankakee area until 1970, moving to the West Coast.
We find the conditions in America being what they are, for two reasons.
First: In 1961, upon leaving office, outgoing President Dwight Eisenhower made a farewell address to this nation. He had to help manage most of Europe during World War II, and he returned home and served eight years with a front-row seat to the inner workings of America. In his speech, Eisenhower told this nation what would be necessary to preserve the social, economic or political way of life we have — democracy, federalism, a republic, you choose.
Second: When was the last time America, as a collective, got angry about anything? I’m 69 years old, and I remember two events in my lifetime when that happened: the Vietnam War and Watergate. Americans got sick of that war; their displeasure transcended racial, social, political and economic lines. They got tired of sitting in front of the television wondering if they were going to get a glimpse on the evening news of their loved one.
Once upon a time, there was a chief executive named Richard Nixon. With Watergate, he could have skated through — only one problem. American citizens got angry. Boiling rage is more like it. Boiling to a point where Congress had to act. They got angry because they expected more from this country’s leadership.
Look at the leadership we presently have in our country. It seems that today, we lay down for so much. Is the American citizen alert? Is the American citizen knowledgeable?
Eisenhower was right.
— Derrick Hampton, Hawthorne, California
Afraid of the winner
In the many years I have voted in presidential elections, I have often been disappointed when my choice didn’t win. But I have never been afraid of the winner until now.
— Liz Allan, Wilmette
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