Trump’s Second Term: Lies, Greed, and the Real Cost to America

By Jackalyn Rainosek, PhD

Podcast 133

Introduction

Trump’s action are focused on feeding his ego and allowing him to lie to himself how he is doing or not doing as President of the United States. Trump’s desperate need to find groups that will praise him or give him accolades hides his low self-esteem. He lies to himself, refuses to accept any consequences for his behavior so he never learns what he is doing to harm others and himself. In the podcast, you will see evidence of what I am saying about Trump’s behavior and actions. Each week I make an effort to take lots of articles to determine what I can talk about that week, and present a unique perspective about what Trump is doing so we can see the truth behind the lies and misinformation he puts out on his social media.

Another realization about Trump is we have a President of the U.S who is more focused on what he can gain for himself and to be in the presence of those that praise him. That is the reason that you will hear Musk tagging along to gain as much as he can for himself on each trip that he takes with Trump. Trip attendees usually include billionaires since he has to keep paying them off for their support. On each of these trips to Saudia Arabia Trump is participating in more conflict of interest actions that are unacceptable as a president. The benefits to his family and members of the Republican in Congress are obviously done through his announcing when he will lower the tariffs that will then improve the market—He is famous for saying before an action he takes that might improve the market—“It a good time to buy now.” This statement leads to insider trading. He encourages insider trading with his family, friends and Congressional members. That excludes anyone else who lives in the U.S. since we are not party to his schemes.

The last thing I want to say about Trump is he is a BULLY. When people act weak or can be manipulated, then we hear the disdain in his comment daily and then we learn how he uses these people to meet his own needs. I feel delighted to be able to tell the story how he got bested by China, and his high tariffs backfired on him. His tariffs are hurting the very people he promised in his campaign he would help. You will see from my descriptions in this podcast he is not saving us money with all his actions, in fact it is costing us more. I will provide you the resources to understand what is going on.

See How Trump’s Self-Serving Actions Undermine America’s Stability

Amber Phillips from The Washington Post has done a fantastic job in “The 5-Minute Fix” on Friday May 16, 2025, 2:51 PM.

“President Donald Trump spent four days in the Middle East this week, visiting three countries that his company has major business deals with, trailed by American billionaires, and promising vague investments in the United States –some of which analysts warn could turn the Middle East into a power broker at the expense of America’s competitiveness. Here’s what else happened this week under Trump.

Trump backs down from 145 percent Chinese tariffs.

But at 30 percent, tariffs on Chinese imports are still pretty high, and they threaten to keep trade between the world’s two largest economics sluggish, not to mention 10 percent tariffs on the rest of the world.

Many analysts thought China won this standoff with Trump – they gave nothing in return. And some American businesses said they needed even more relief. Trump has declined multiple times to rule out a recession from his tariffs, but he has also tended to peel off the sky-high ones when the economy threatens to implode. This time, Trump backed off the all-out trade war after his advisers warned it would hurt ‘Trump’s people,’ The Post reported.

That could still be the case. Some online shoppers are getting hit with new tariff fees, and Walmart warned this week it will start to raise prices because of tariffs. ‘Walmart says they’re struggling [on price],’ Arun Sundaram, senior equity analysts for CFRA Research, told The Post’s Hanna Ziegler, then you know everyone else is going to struggle a little bit more.’

As Republicans move forward with cuts to Medicaid could make the biggest cuts to Medicaid in the program’s history and could add more than $2.5 trillion to the national debt. Republicans content they’re cutting waste and fraud from Medicaid to pay for Thump’s unrelated tax cuts, but a government estimate finds that, in addition to being expensive, their plan could cost millions of low-income Americans and Americans with disabilities their health insurance.” (That is the reason we would add $2.5 trillion to the national debt.)

“Republicans are also trying to cut federal assistance for goods and climate projects that benefit many Republican districts,” and they have no understanding what the impacts will be to cut health care for Americans so billionaires can have tax cuts.

Democrats forced Republicans into a 26-hour, sleepless, marathon vote series this week. But Republicans hold a majority in the House, and they’re aiming to move the legislation quickly. Republicans hope to vote on it by Memorial day, which would move it along to the Senate and, ultimately, to Trump’s desk.”

The next topic in this article is about Trump choosing to resettle White South Africans in the U.S. Trump’s reasons for doing this are accusations that Trump is making about a “resettlement law in South Africa” that attempts to address racial inequalities from the country’s longtime apartheid rule. What is important to know is no land has been repatriated, and Trump’s accusations are baselessly accusing the South African government of killing farmers to defend his decision. “The Trump administration also said it won’t attend an unrelated global summit in South Africa, the Group of 20 summit, in protest.”

From the article you need to know that “The Episcopal Church said it wouldn’t help resettle them, with its head bishop pointing to vetted refugees waiting in camps around the world – some who ‘worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan,’ he said –‘who now aren’t allowed in.’”

In the article “White House bans U.S. agencies from all work on G-20 in South Africa” in The Washington Post by Jeff Stein and John Hudson on May 14, 2025, 11:04 Am EDT, gives us a MAJOR MISTAKE again that Trump is making :

“Inside the Trump administration, officials broadly oppose G-20’s frequent focus on issues related to climate change, aid for developing countries, LGBTQ rights and social cohesion. But officials disagree on whether a full boycott is the right approach, given the opening it gives to Beijing.

‘It completely cedes the floor to China,’ said a third U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Beijing is so organized at these multilateral engagement. This will guarantee they don’t have to face us, which basically leaves the Europeans to uphold Western values on their own.’”

The Last thing is the U.S. Credit has been downgraded by Moody and two other agencies due to Trump pushing costly tax cuts for his rich, billionaire friends. Even though Trump makes comments related to his losing the tariff war with China is due to his taking care of “his people,” his comments are all a rationalization to explain away his failure with the tariff war. China knows how to deal with Bullies. Canada and Mexico know how to deal with bullies. He has lost with these countries and the tariff war with China.

Specific data that will reveal the truth about these situation will be separated out into sections related to the specific topics.

What the U.S. Credit Downgrade Reveals About Trump’s Reckless Agenda

“U.S,. Credit Receives Downgrade From Moody’s as Trump Pushes Costly Tax Cut” in The New York Times article on May 16, 2025, 5:36 PM ET, by Tony Romm and Andrew Duehren. Let me clear with you when the U.S. credit rating goes down it is due to Trump’s government raising debt levels that will go much higher with the Republicans enacting a package of the billionaire tax cuts. This effects the repudiation of Washington, since Trump’s legislative package will add trillions of dollars to the nation’s fiscal imbalance. Be assured Republicans are not having an impact with all their cost cutting, and we will be in more debt if this legislation passes. Bottom line, call your congressional representatives and tell them to refuse to pass Trump’s agenda bill.

The danger is “the downgrade from Moody’s means that each of the three major credit rating agencies no longer give the United States its best rating. Fitch downgraded the United States in 2023, citing fiscal concerns, and Standard & Poor’s downgraded the country in 2011. The new rating decrease could send ripple effects through the economy if it prompts investors to demand higher payments on bonds, which in turn could raise consumers’ borrowing costs.

‘Successive U. S. administration and Congress have failed to agree on measures to reverse the trend of large annual fiscal deficits and growing interest costs,’ the report from Moody’s said. Moody’s specifically referred to the push to renew the expensive tax cuts adopted under Mr. Trump in 2017, a task that Republicans are now struggling with on Capitol Hill.” To obtain more detail I suggest you read this article.

How Trump Lost the Trade War with China—and Made Americans Pay the Price

In The Washington Post on May 19, 2025, by Jeff Stein, Natalie Allison and David J. Lynch in “White House eased China tariffs after warning of harm to “Trump’s people.” The subtitle is “the president has backtracked repeatedly on his tariff policies, creating a whiplash with downsides and few clear benefits so far.” Some of the key comments are:

“ China dug in more for a  prolonged trade war than some observers expected. White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, reading a statement from Trump, told reporters last month that ‘China needs to make a deal with us, we don’t have to make a deal with them.’ Yet Beijing didn’t back down before Washington did.

China’s $3.2 trillion in foreign currency reserves helped bolster its determination to resist what Chinese leader Xi Jinping had labeled ‘bullying’ on the part of the U.S. Through various official and nongovernmental channels, Beijing sent the White House a clear message that it wasn’t folding and wouldn’t negotiate until the most aggressive U.S. tariffs came down.

The fallout also highlighted just how many obstacles there will be to implementing Trump’s tariff vision. In addition to public criticism from the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, the president faced defections form other players typically viewed as allies – struggling manufacturers, trucker with plummeting orders, construction firms fearing rising cost.”

Please know there were push backs from CEO of major companies, senators and Trump’s polling numbers I have quoted to you before. The economy is underwater, and Trump created it.

Democrats Deliver a Masterclass in Resistance and Accountability

What happened in the “26 Hours and 33 failed amendments votes: This is Democrats’ masterclass in resistance” in The Washington Post on May 15, 2025, by Karen Tumulty shows us the power of speaking out and using faces of American citizens that will show the grave impact of Trump’s legislation. Here is the story:

“ Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee pounded the panel’s Republican majority with 33 amendments, most of which were aimed at stripping the GOP’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ containing politically toxic cuts to Medicaid. In the hallway outside, police arrest more than two dozen protesters, many of whom were in wheelchairs.

Everyone of the amendments failed, as Democrats knew they would. But their coordinated assault on the centerpiece of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda framed a powerful narrative that is shaping up to be the party’s most potent message heading into near year’s midterm elections.

The marathon session laid bare the Republicans’ vulnerability on Medicaid. They claim to be rooting out waste and fraud from the system. But, in its essence, the bill amounts to a declaration of who should be deemed worthy of health care in this country.

Energy and Commerce Committee Democrats came ready, and while they didn’t have the numbers to win any of the votes they forced, their tenacity warns of what lies ahead in the battle over Medicaid. Republicans will likely wish it was a fight they had never started.”

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher in her newsletter, < RepLizzieFletcherTX07@mail.house.gov> on Friday, May 16, 2025, 8:01 PM in her “Washington Week Wrap Up.” She states very clearly what Trump’s bill will do if passed: “While the bill is not final yet, the projected cost of the bill Ways and Means passed this week is $3.8 trillion–$7.7 trillion in tax cuts and $3.9 trillion in tax offsets—over 10 years. The bill also increases the statutory debt limit by $4 trillion.

Trump’s Saudi Trip: A Business Deal for Himself, Not a Mission for America

Here is the story that emerges from two resources, Forbes and The New Times, About Trump’s Saudi trip with Musk that was all about Trump, Musk and other billionaires to increase their business interests joined Trump. This is a side story in Forbes that you will want to hear.

In the Forbes newsletter dailydozen@email.forbes.com on Thursday, May 15, 2025, 6:46
AM entitled the “Middle East Deal Spree.”

“Elon Musk is among the billionaires who joined President Donald Trump in Saudi Arabia this week. And it’s not surprising, since the world’s richest man is himself embracing Middle East investors. Several Musk ventures have done deals with the Saudis in recent weeks, including Starlink and X. The sovereign wealth fund had built nearly a 5% stake in Tesla in 2018, before Musk falsely tweeted that he had funding secured form the Saudis to take the automaker private. The SEC sued the Tesla CEO, and the Saudis reportedly sold off most of their Tesla shares in 2020. But the improved partnership shows Musk has strengthened his role on the global stage in Trump’s second presidency, and is willing to use foreign capital to row his empire.”

Another interesting piece in Forbes is about the Qatar plane offered to Trump:

“While many have speculated that the Qataris offered President Donald Trump ifs Boeing 747 jumbo jets to curry favor there may be a simpler rationale: They just don’t want it anymore. The royal family of Qatar, owner of one of the largest private jet fleets in the world, has failed to sell the plane, and giving it away could save Qatar’s rulers a big chunk of change on maintenance and storage costs, aviation experts told Forbes.”

Factual data about the cost of changing the plane to meet security issues and make certain there are no bugs will cost the American people significant amounts of money. So, it is not ready to be a plane for the President of the United States.

One of the most revealing articles is in The New York Times’s article, As Trump Departs the Middle East, He Takes Aim at Critics Back Home” by Shawn McCreesh on May 16, 2025. The subtitle, “President Trump went on a social media posting spree after four days overseas, where he basked in the kind of lavish praise that so delights him.” His actions reveals when he gets recognition and how quickly he turns to vindicative, hateful and immature comments on his social media. Here are some points from this article:

“After spending much of the week touring the Middle East in the company of Gulf leaders not known for tolerating dissent, President Trump was reminded on Friday that in his own country, people are free to say whatever they would like about their president.

He did not seem terribly comforted by this reality.

Trump is definitely angry about Bruce Springsteen’s comments at his “Land of hope and Dreams” tour in England.

“’The America I love,’ he said, is currently in the hands of a corrupt, incompetent and treasonous administration.’

‘They’re rolling back historic civil rights legislation that has led to a more just and plural society,’ he said, ‘They’re abandoning our great allies and siding with dictators against those struggling for their freedom. They’re defunding American universities that won’t bow down to their ideological demands.’”

I think it is amazing that a President of the United States would say, “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” and Trump definitely hates Springsteen.

Trump’s Racist Immigration Policy: Favoring White Refugees to Please the Far Right

“Trump Welcomes Planeload of White South Africans, While Shutting Out Other Refugees,” by Brian Bennett and Nik Popli in the Time Magazine on May 12, 2025, 1:18 PM CT. I have already described earlier the position that the Episcopal Church has taken since they refused to help settle these white South Africans.

One of the most factual and revealing articles about this action by Trump is by a past professional, who was in Trump first administration. She writes from the name, Olivia of Troye, to protect herself, and has a newsletter welivedit@substack.com, where her article, White South Africans: Refugees of Convenience” is published. Here are some of her comments that are very revealing about the backstory of white South Africans arriving in America.

“What is happening right now with the expedited refugee admission of white South Africans is a betrayal of the entire international refugee system. It is a clear, racist signal to the far right, here and abroad, that this second Trump term will bend U.S. policy to fit their conspiracies and white grievance narratives.

Let’s talk about the agenda. Because it’s not subtle. Elon Musk has tweeted repeatedly about ‘white genocide’ in South Africa. Far-right influencers have amplified hoaxes about farmers being slaughtered for their skin color. And the Trump Administration, once again, is governing based on memes and fringe conspiracies instead of facts or law.

The Trump administration’s decision to grant refugee status to white South Africans aligns directly with narrative pushed by far-right actors and ethno-nationalist group. AfriForum, a South African Afrikaners rights group described by the Southern Poverty Law center as ‘white supremacists in suits and ties,’ has lobbied U.S. Officials since the first Trump term, portraying Afrikaners as victims of racial persecution. Elon Musk amplified these narrative through his massive platform.

Globally, the refugee system is grounded in international law. You must prove a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group; standards rooted in 1951 Refugee convention. What we’re seeing here is not refugee policy. It’s apartheid revisionism dressed up in humanitarian language.

This transcends immigration policy. It strikes at the heart of American values, revealing how quickly taught can erode, how easily humanitarian systems can be corrupted, and how insidiously fascism can disguise itself as ‘ protecting the persecuted.’ The world sees this charade for what it is, and so must we.”

Conclusion Paragraph:

Trump’s actions, as detailed in this podcast, are not random missteps; they are part of a consistent pattern of self-promotion, corruption, and cruelty. He weaponizes immigration, economic policy, and international diplomacy not for the benefit of the American people but to serve a fragile ego and an insatiable hunger for wealth and praise. He rewards billionaires while punishing everyday Americans. He embraces conspiracy over law, and adoration over accountability. If we do not speak out, resist, and demand better, we risk watching American democracy, fairness, and fiscal integrity disintegrate under the weight of one man’s delusions. This podcast is a call to awareness—and a call to action.

Resources for Podcast 133: