The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

by Dr Paul Mills

“I felt then, and believe even more so now, that my life was saved for a reason. I was saved by God to make America great again” – President Donald Trump, 20th January 2025.  

It has been a whirlwind first week of activity since President Trump’s inauguration, with the efficacy in putting swiftly into place his agenda honed by the lessons learned from the relative ineffectiveness of his first term. In what will inevitably be a somewhat subjective categorisation, what are the aspects of Trump’s policies that can be applauded from a biblically-based approach to public policy and which raise causes for concern?   

‘The Good’  

There are many executive orders and personnel decisions that can be warmly commended. These would include the clear statement that there are only two sexes that are ‘assigned’ at conception (with the concomitant dropping of trans ideology, the gender reassignment of children the and protection of women’s sports and spaces); the ending of discriminatory hiring practices within government agencies and federally-funded universities with the closure of DEI personnel departments; the elimination of attempts at government censorship in collusion with social media, and the commitment to transparency over past assassinations; the pardoning of peaceful pro-life (and some Jan.6th) protesters unjustly incarcerated; the hope to reduce costs of production and prices by increasing US energy supply; the complete opposition to the introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs); the ambition to reduce cost and waste within the federal government administration; and the cessation of lawfare and investigation of religious groups and parents protesting against trans and LGBTQ+ ideology in schools. Trump’s attribution of his surviving assassination to God’s intervention (above) was also commendable. His upbeat tone and optimism were welcome.  

Given my personal sceptical views on lockdown/mRNA vaccine effectiveness and the need for decarbonisation I would also applaud withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement and the World Health Organisation, the abolition of the Green New Deal, the reinstatement of military personnel fired over vaccine mandates and the halting of all ‘Gain-of-Function’ viral research.  

‘The Bad’  

In contrast, some of the Trump administration’s announcements and priorities run counter to these aforementioned positions. It has a clear commitment to fund AI and mRNA vaccine research, including an extension to cancer treatment, without acknowledging past failures; also, plans to rollout digital ID were accelerated while the ban on TikTok was postponed for transactional reasons despite legitimate concerns over its subversion of mental health and use as a propaganda tool; the pardoning of violent Jan.6th protesters and the founder of the ‘Silk Road’ dark web drug operation undermine the rule of law; while the aggressive application of US foreign policy ‘exceptionalism’ (e.g. in regard to Greenland) risks attacking the sovereignty of other nations. Other than cutting discretionary government spending (which can only yield relatively small savings), there is no plan to address the US government’s vast debt, deficit and unfunded liabilities. There has been no commitment to transparency over Jeffrey Epstein’s client list. Symbolically, Trump chose to take the oath of office without his hand on the Bible and did not call on God’s help to deliver his aims in the inauguration address. The tone was ‘saviour-like’ and hubristic. He is not a pro-life politician by conviction.  

‘The Ugly’  

Perhaps the most troubling presidential action of the past week was the launch of the $Trump and $Melania memecoins in order to monetise the accession to political power. On paper at least, the rise in value of these inherently worthless tokens was worth several tens of billions of dollars. When their value falls in future years, gullible holders will have lost out and the legitimate case for (some) cryptocurrencies will thereby be damaged.   

But this cynical ploy to capitalise financially on political celebrity was topped by the outgoing President Biden who, having given a blanket, pre-emptive pardon to his son, extended the ‘honour’ to his closest family members (who have been allegedly benefitting from influence-peddling payments) and to members of Congress and of the outgoing administration who may be subject to (legitimate) federal or Congressional investigation. If this gross extension of the Presidential pardon power survives Supreme Court scrutiny, it will entrench a precedent that officials can engage in criminal acts with immunity at the behest of a President on the understanding that they will be presumptively pardoned on his/her last day in office. This truly would be the end of any semblance of ‘the rule of law’ needing to be observed by any future US administrations. 

The day and subsequent week of the inauguration signal a dramatic four years ahead likely to be simultaneously glorious and disheartening, but never dull. To deploy my favourite quote from the film The Matrix, as Neo is about to leave the Matrix and encounter reality he is told: "..buckle your seatbelt Dorothy, 'coz Kansas is about to go bye-bye!"

The views and opinions expressed above are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the Jubilee Centre or its trustees.