Only decline in U.S. has been in last month

Letter to the Editor,

Donald Trump said in his inauguration speech that America (i.e. the United States of America) has been in severe decline for the past four years.

He can’t be talking about the stock market because that was on a steady climb to much greater highs than during his first term, although it stalled as soon as he took office and started stupid trade wars with our allies, attacked essential immigrant labor, imposed taxes on U.S. citizens and businesses in the form of tariffs.

It can’t be manufacturing jobs. There were around 700,000 more over the last four years; maybe he was talking about unemployment in general or inflation. Those were certainly down before he took office.

It couldn’t be crime rates or border crossings. Those were both lower in 2024 than in 2020. Can’t be domestic oil production. That was already greater than it was when he last left office, and private investment in renewable energy was way up as well.

I’ve done a lot of traveling since 2021, and we live in a beautiful country full of diverse and interesting and friendly and helpful people. I think Trump watches way too much TV, probably fictional crime shows that feature terrorists and drug cartels, and he thinks he’s watching the news.

The only decline I see has been in the last month, with an administration that breaks the law and violates the Constitution on a daily basis to support billionaires at the expense of the rest of us.

Casey Hoy
Wooster