When American composer George Gershwin died at age 38, novelist John O’Hara wrote, “George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to.” A few days ago, I woke up with those words on my mind. To shamelessly borrow from O’Hara, Donald J. Trump was inaugurated on January 20, 2025, but I don’t have to believe it if I don’t want to.

Actually, unlike Trump in 2020, I acknowledge the results of the 2024 election, so his unlikely win (not a “mandate,” by the way) is shocking. And I’m shocked that those who voted for him appear to have forgotten the events around the January 6, 2021, insurrection. They are rewriting the history, but we watched it live. It seemed like something we could never forget. Obviously, many did.

There are so many despicable, egregious, and absurd things Trump has done in just a few days. He does and says things that would have been unthinkable and inexcusable not that long ago. In the world he is trying to create, the words “diversity, equity, and inclusion” have become objectionable to far too many people. His mental acuity and stability are clearly in a diminished state. And he never seemed that bright to begin with.

I try to remember Garrison Keillor’s suggestion that whenever Trump speaks we should imagine him in a sparkly red gown with dangly earrings. Try it; it helps – especially when he talks about renaming the Gulf of Mexico.

It’s hard to laugh, however, when he pardons almost 1500 of his fellow January 6 insurrectionists. Felons have to look out for each other, I reckon. It’s hard to laugh when the President of the United States uses Israeli hostages and their families as a backdrop prop at one of his Inauguration Day mob scenes as he calls the insurrectionists “hostages.” The January 6 cartoon character known as the “QAnon Shaman” announced that with this pardon he was “gonna buy some motha f—ing guns.” An Alabama insurrectionist, in a locally televised interview, expressed gratitude that his 2^nd Amendment rights were being restored. The desire to buy weapons seems to be the priority of newly-pardoned insurrectionists.

Let’s think about that for a moment.

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It seems to me that the opposition to Trump and his MAGA movement decided to tone it down after he won the election, to give him the benefit of the doubt. We were too easy on him, too civil. He needs to be called out for what he is. American citizens need to be reminded, whether they want to hear it or not.

A lesser-known part of my biography is that I have an undergraduate degree in political science, with a concentration in political theory. I say that only to give credence to my belief that Trump has fascist tendencies. I won’t call him a fascist outright since he is not bright or well-read enough to have any specific political ideology. He goes where his whims and the promise of money blow him. But we must keep pointing out the crimes he committed and is being accused of, the crimes he fomented by his words and actions, and the disgrace he continues to bring on our country and its reputation. He is an international laughing stock.

I was very proud of what Rev. Budde said to Trump in support of her Christian faith at the prayer service at the National Cathedral this week. Trump doesn’t sit in a church pew very often, so I think it is incumbent on our spiritual leaders to preach humanity and humility to him when they get the rare chance. It won’t stick, but it’s worth the effort.

Whew. I needed to get that off my chest. I’ll keep trying to find the humor in the situation whenever I can.