During a recent White House interview with ABC’s Terry Moran, when President Trump pointed out a copy of the 1776 Declaration of Independence, Moran asked, “What does it mean to you?”
The president replied, “Well it means exactly what it says, it’s a declaration, it’s a declaration of unity and love and respect and it means a lot and it’s something very special to our country.”
Far more damaging to the nation than his inability to articulate anything meaningful about our country’s founding document, Trump’s actions in his five months in office violate the most fundamental principles articulated on July 4, 1776 by members of the Second Continental Congress. Here are some examples:
Tyranny: Trump’s approach more fitting for a monarch
Trump’s approach to governing is certainly more akin to Britain’s George III than to George Washington.
No concept more defines the Declaration than objection to King George’s “Absolute Tyranny” displayed by his refusal to allow colonists a say in the laws that governed them and that made “Judges dependent on his Will alone.”
Trump clearly lusts for King George’s power. He and the modern GOP eschew separation of powers in favor of a “unitary executive,” a doctrine that jettisons the founders’ principle of three equal branches of government with checks and balances in favor of a president with unchecked power.
He respects the judiciary only when it agrees with him and describes judges whose decisions hold him accountable to the law as “crooked,” “corrupt,” “radical left lunatics.” He refuses to criticize his followers who post on his Truth Social account that judges should be assassinated. His administration has even refused to follow judges’ orders not to deport immigrants without due process.
Much like King George, Trump has elevated the “Military independent of and superior to the Civil power,” by unleashing a secret army of unidentified masked agents who kidnap people from our streets, homes and businesses without warrants.
Trade: Tariffs are like taxes that led to Boston Tea Party
One of the actions committed by King George that the Declaration lists as justifying independence from Britain was “cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world.”
King George imposed stringent regulations severely limiting what colonies could buy from other countries by mandating that necessities like glass and lead only be purchased from England. This meant higher prices for colonists. Then, he imposed taxes on those very same imported English goods, like tea, sparking the Boston Tea Party.
Trump revives this “mercantile” approach by raising tariffs to heights not seen in 100 years, under the illusion that if the U.S. simply exports more than it imports, our economy will improve.
He, like King George, incorrectly views trade as a zero-sum game. This approach is rejected by most economists as wrong because trade is a win-win interaction, with each trading partner focusing on making something they can produce efficiently and then trading that for what they lack.
Though technically different, Trump’s tariffs and George III’s “duties” have the exact same impact on people: higher prices.
Trump promised 90 trade deals in 90 days and has produced only one “outline” of one deal with the deadline less than a week away.
The only thing his tariffs and blustering have accomplished is uncertainty resulting in interruption of trade. Consider the plight of U.S. farmers. The top 10 markets for U.S. soybeans have been hit with tariffs in the Trump-initiated global trade war. According to the American Soybean Association, our farmers could lose around $6 billion annually because Trump’s tariffs force consuming countries to find cheaper sources of soybeans.
And it’s not only farmers. Other industries facing uncertainty caused by the rising costs of imported goods due to Trump’s tariffs include auto, consumer electronics, retail, apparel and semiconductor companies.
Finally, American consumers face increased prices as companies pass on their increased tariff costs. Economists at the American Action Forum estimate that Trump’s trade war will cost a middle-class family $1700 – $2350 per year.
Safety: Under assault from Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The declaration calls for government and laws for people that “shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Yet public safety and health is under assault thanks to Trump appointing Robert Kennedy Secretary of Health and Human Services. Kennedy and DOGE conspired to fire the very contamination experts who were helping Milwaukee Public Schools address its lead problems.
Kennedy recently fired 17 members of a scientific committee that advises the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on how to use vaccines. He replaced these experts with people who rose to prominence by denouncing the extremely effective COVID-19 vaccine.
Kennedy has spread conspiracy theories and anti-vaccination disinformation, sowing confusion and distrust on health issues, damaging the safety of communities, fueling a growing measles outbreak and contributing to dramatic drops in vaccination rates for children.
Trump’s administration is attacking universities and savaging federal research grants, thus undermining the ability of these institutions to improve our lives through discoveries and innovation in medicine, technology and defense. Radar, MRI machines, robotics, GPS, cancer and diabetes treatments, are just some of the beneficial discoveries that have evolved out of government-funded research.
Ben Franklin would be aghast at Trump taking a sledgehammer to our nation’s scientific and medical research, greatly endangering Americans’ safety.
Immigration: Colonists battled labor shortages
One of the founders’ grievances against King George was that he obstructed immigration to the colonies. Colonists opposed these restrictions because the colonial economy suffered from labor shortages. Today, Trump is deporting immigrants who make up almost 20% of the nation’s labor force, often working in the hardest, least desirable occupations.
His war on immigrants is creating labor shortages in agriculture, construction, hospitality and tourism. Just as colonists sought increased immigration to grow their economies, immigrants today help drive economic growth. Trump’s war on them is not only cruel but economically destructive.
Equality: Trump budget cements economic inequality
In declaring the thirteen American colonies independent from the British monarchy, Americans challenged the accepted structures of inequality that had previously governed the affairs of mankind. For centuries humans had lived in hierarchical societies where most people were slaves, indentured servants, soldiers and peasants, destined to serve their superiors: the monarch, landed gentry and priest.
In stating, “…all men are created equal”, the founders laid the basis for an expansive and inclusive democracy even if its principal author was the slave owner Thomas Jefferson. While grappling over the extent of inclusion and the equality of opportunities has defined American democracy for 249 years, the aggregate direction until recently has been toward greater equality.
Trump’s alleged “big beautiful bill” is dredged in inequality. Huge cuts to federal loans, Pell Grants, and work study will mean far fewer working men and women getting the training from colleges like MATC that move them from poverty to the middle class. It will reduce by 11 million the number of Americans with health care, cut Medicaid and food assistance by $1.1 trillion while showering the richest 1% with annual tax breaks of $63,000 per person.
This blatant economic inequality championed by Trump promotes gross political inequality, sabotaging the promise of the declaration.
Americans celebrating July 4 deserve a president who can both articulate what the Declaration of Independence means and govern according to its principles.
Michael Rosen (Economics) and Charlie Dee (American Studies) are retired faculty from Milwaukee Area Technical College and former leaders of American Federation of Teachers Local 212.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: On Independence Day, we deserve a president who governs by founding principles | Opinion
Reporting by Michael Rosen and Charlie Dee / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
