Donald Trump’s deal with the devil
Changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico, banning pennies, withdrawing from the Paris Climate agreement, and ending “radical” indoctrination in K-12 schools are but a few of the many executive orders Donald Trump has signed since taking office. It all amounts to a bunch of nothing beneficial to his voters or anyone else in the country. So far, his executive orders regarding federal funding have fallen flat as judges across the country block them. Now, one of Trump’s most blatant moves has been blocked again.
According to CNN, Trump’s move to stop funding for the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) has been blocked nationwide. Trump can’t be bothered with such things as disease research. Virtually the entire medical and academic communities went to court for emergency help. Trump sounds like Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol: “If they’d rather die, then let the die and decrease the surplus population.” The problem here is that people don’t want to die, and this vital research helps to ensure we don’t. The folks behind the emergency relief move shared with the court via sworn statements that these cutbacks “would devastate their work and harm patients.” A chemistry professor from New York who studies Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s wrote that these cutbacks “will cost thousands of American lives.” Do we think Trump gives a damn? Of course, he doesn’t.
This is one of the cruelest things he has done to date. These scientists have spent years trying to find cures for deadly diseases. In walks Trump, and suddenly it’s not so important anymore. What about all the children who are born with diseases like cancer? Hospitals like St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital has been a Godsend to parents with sick children. The parents don’t pay for anything-food, treatment, travel, or housing. The only worry they have is helping their children survive or getting better. Sure, St. Jude gets donations, but they also benefit from programs like NIH, from which they received over $100 million last year. They are already looking at what these cuts will mean to them, including losing 70% of their indirect funding costs. In fact, The Commercial Appeal wrote that this could be devastating to St. Jude’s. Those poor children and their parents, who need places like St. Jude’s. This makes what Trump is doing even more despicable, and that includes his Republican colleagues, who are working on cutting Medicaid so that they can afford tax cuts to people who don’t even need the cuts.
Thinking about what Donald Trump and his Republic colleagues are doing is not only despicable, but also unfeeling, uncaring, and a total lack of care. Huff Post shared that while they do not yet know what all Republicans are cutting, they are looking to cut $4.5 trillion over 10 years. Analysts believe they are looking at deep reductions in Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, meaning they’re cutting money they need for housing and food. What a great bunch of guys. Mike Johnson tries to make it better by saying, “Work is good for you.” Too bad he never does it himself.
Shirley is a former entertainment writer and has worked in the legal field for over 25 years