Week 64 - Time Stood Still for a Country Struggling to Make Sense of What We Have Become

What happened to Greenland? What happened to the Epstein files? That’s the story within the story this week: how effective Trump has become in driving the media, and hence the narrative, until he is not.What it took this week was another tragedy: federal immigration agents in Minneapolis murdered another U.S. citizen as part of their so-called immigration sweep or fraud sweep — the rationale for the occupation seems ever-changing. The murder came as half the country was facing a severe winter storm, and hence at home watching television, and on a weekend when Trump was at the White House for the launch of the documentary “Melania,” and, according to the NYT, also watching the news coverage obsessively. Immigration, once Trump’s strongest issue, has now become an albatross, of which he has many. Polling shows not only record low approval on his handling of immigration, but also growing support for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement altogether, as Trump and his regime’s tactics have become increasingly lawless and cruel.Notable this week is a continuing trend of our allies moving on without us, and expressing grave concern about Trump and his state of mind. Republicans have started to speak out, but only at the edges and meekly. Trump has intimidated corporate America from publicly opposing him and his agenda, filing a lawsuit against JP Morgan Chase and its chief executive, shortly after Jamie Dimon made comments at Davos in support of NATO. But by the end of the week, even corporate titans were speaking out against immigration tactics, and called for de-escalation.The country feels as if it’s in non-stop chaos. Consumer confidence is plunging, and Americans are expressing broad disapproval of Trump and his handling of key issues. All the while, many of the broken norms this week illustrate changes to the fabric of our country, and decay at federal agencies meant to serve and protect us.