{"id":1177,"date":"2026-06-07T10:37:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:37:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177"},"modified":"2026-06-07T10:37:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T10:37:27","slug":"trump-is-the-nightmare-america-needed-to-wake-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177","title":{"rendered":"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.<\/p>\n

Read more Americans shouldn\u2019t feel guilty about rooting against the US in the World Cup<\/a><\/p>\n

But it\u2019s possible that someday we\u2019ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to revive its ideals. <\/p>\n

Please hear me out.<\/p>\n

Even before Trump, we were barreling down the wrong road. Inequalities of income, wealth, and opportunity were worsening. Legalized bribery was soaring in the form of mounting campaign contributions from big corporations and the wealthy. Workers were getting shafted. On Wall Street and in C-suites, fealty to the rule of law was giving way to \u201cgreed is good\u201d selfishness. Giant corporations were monopolizing ever more of the economy. America was losing its moral authority in the world (think Abu Ghraib and the torture memo).<\/p>\n

We couldn\u2019t have remained on that road. Even if we didn\u2019t know it then, most of us understand that now. Trump has opened our eyes to the consequences of extreme greed, corruption, cruelty, and utter disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law. His brazenness and shamelessness have awakened us to much that we took for granted.<\/p>\n

He and his regime are still dangerous as hell, of course. But the American public is catching on. His polls are in the cellar; they continue to fall. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s as if the nation has been through basic training in democracy, a stress test in civics, a crash course in the importance of having a decent and good government.<\/p>\n

Before Trump, how many Americans understood the importance of \u201cchecks and balances\u201d among the three branches of government, as envisioned by the Founders? <\/p>\n

Now nearly everyone knows, because we\u2019ve seen what happens when the head of the executive branch usurps the power of Congress and defies the federal courts.<\/p>\n

How many of us really knew what \u201cdue process\u201d meant when it came to giving people accused by the government an opportunity to defend themselves?<\/p>\n

By now most of us have seen videos of people dragged out of their homes in the dead of night by masked agents of the U.S. government and thrown into detention camps without so much as a hearing. And we\u2019ve seen government agents murder American citizens in cold blood on the streets of our cities. <\/p>\n

Did we understand the meaning of corruption, bribes, self-dealing, and pay-to-play before Trump extorted corporations and billionaires to contribute millions to his campaign, his PAC, his inauguration, his ballroom, and his 250th birthday party? Now, we surely do.<\/p>\n

Did we really know the importance of professional civil servants before Trump fired tens of thousands of them and substituted brainless loyalists? Before he got rid of the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics because it published truthful jobs data he didn\u2019t like?<\/p>\n

Read more Americans are on the brink of losing it all \u2014 and good people know it<\/a><\/p>\n

Did we understand the importance of expertise before Trump turned his back on career diplomats at the State Department, doctors and epidemiologists at the Centers for Disease Control, and experienced lawyers at the Justice Department and replaced them with loyalist hacks?<\/p>\n

Or the meaning of \u201cequal justice under the law\u201d before Trump turned the Justice Department into his own private law firm to prosecute political enemies and pardon supporters?<\/p>\n

Did we comprehend the true meaning of freedom of speech and expression before Trump attacked our universities for allowing demonstrations he disliked? Before he got CBS to fire Stephen Colbert for satirizing him and muzzle \u201c60 Minutes\u201d for criticizing him? <\/p>\n

Did we know the dangers of oligarchy before Trump authorized Elon Musk to destroy entire federal agencies? Before Trump suck-up Jeff Bezos prohibited the editorial board of The Washington Post from endorsing Kamala Harris? Before Trump turned over to Larry and David Ellison much of how Americans learn what\u2019s going on \u2014 CBS\u2019s broadcast network, its news division, and over 28 local television stations, as well as CNN, TikTok, Comedy Central, Discovery, HBO and HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Studios?<\/p>\n

Did we understand the importance of the federal government keeping us safe and healthy before Trump eviscerated health and safety regulations? Before he decimated the Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease Control, and much of the Department of Health and Human Services? Before he authorized a crackpot with no medical background who opposes vaccines to run the world\u2019s largest and most powerful health agency?<\/p>\n

Did we understand why the Federal Reserve needs to be independent of politics? Did we know why the Federal Trade Commission needs to crack down against monopolies? Did we appreciate why the National Labor Relations Board must protect workers\u2019 rights to form unions?<\/p>\n

I venture to say, in answer to all of these questions: No, <\/em>we did not know. <\/p>\n

Now, most of us do.<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a terrible time. I share your sadness, anger, and fear. But prior to this daymare, too many of us had fallen asleep at the wheel. We had let America barrel down a road that was compromising too many of the ideals we hold in common.<\/p>\n

Maybe we needed this horrific wakeup call in order to get back on the road we should have been on. We needed to see how fragile the institutions of self-government are in order to know why we must strengthen them. We needed to be reminded of what America is all about \u2014 what it should be<\/em> about \u2014 in order to revive it \u2014 and reclaim it, for and by the people. <\/p>\n

We will use what we\u2019ve learned. We will fight for a stronger democracy. We\u2019ll demand equal justice and the rule of law. We\u2019ll commit ourselves to the common good. And <\/em>we will assign Trump and his regime to the dustbin of history. <\/p>\n

Robert Reich is a professor of public policy at Berkeley and former secretary of labor. His writings can be found at <\/em>https:\/\/robertreich.substack.com\/<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Appalling\u2019 video captures driver wrecking ancient National Park forest<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.But it\u2019s possible that someday we\u2019ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to r…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump is the nightmare America needed to wake up - Next Address America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up - Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.But it\u2019s possible that someday we\u2019ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to r...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Address America\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-07T10:37:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"headline\":\"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T10:37:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177\"},\"wordCount\":1035,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177\",\"name\":\"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up - Next Address America\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-07T10:37:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?p=1177#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next Address America\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextaddressamerica.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up - Next Address America","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up - Next Address America","og_description":"I detest him and everything he does or says. Ditto his despicable aides and Cabinet members, his unprincipled sycophants and suck-ups.But it\u2019s possible that someday we\u2019ll look back on this horrendous era and say we needed Trump. We needed to see how horrible it could get before America was able to r...","og_url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177","og_site_name":"Next Address America","article_published_time":"2026-06-07T10:37:27+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"headline":"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up","datePublished":"2026-06-07T10:37:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177"},"wordCount":1035,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177","name":"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up - Next Address America","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp","datePublished":"2026-06-07T10:37:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/36656d7c8d3aea117039d79302470b3b.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?p=1177#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Trump is the nightmare America needed to wake up"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/","name":"Next Address America","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a4840e0eb2094ec31aed2107d53108b3","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextaddressamerica.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}