[Salon] How Much is Already Too Much - Guest Post by Robert Pearson

How Much is Already Too Much By Robert Pearson - June 24, 2026 Thinking about the collapse of moral and legal integrity under the Trump administration, I was reminded of Dante’s 14th century masterpiece, the Divine Comedy, in which Dante addressed humankind’s failures. In today’s secular world Dante’s work reminds us of the moral and legal framework for a good society and the dark places of loss and degradation. For Dante, the deepest layer of Hell was reserved for those who betray the people who trusted them - the worst of moral sins. Today, we are witnessing that betrayal and the unravelling of what Americans can be and could be. All of Donald Trump’s behavior - lies and deception, pretense of being right when totally wrong, and deep offense when caught out without fact or reason, demonstrate that betrayal. We - and the world - know who he is: a convicted felon, twice impeached. He told Americans disappointed in their lives that he would remake America to give them wealth and jobs. The jobs would come from imposing tariffs on Europe and China. Tariffs are illegal and have caused great damage. He seduced the less fortunate with promises of tax relief and then ripped the floor from under their health and medical care. He has betrayed a promise of 250 years that immigrants would build our country and join our prosperity. Instead we see hateful attacks on millions of people of color who are working hard, paying taxes and supporting our economy while trying to pursue the privilege to be American citizens. His racism is obvious and abhorrent. He called African states “sh.t hole” countries, has cut off immigration from many non-white countries and refused visa privileges for many others. He stands by as his defense secretary blocks promotions and fires from key positions African-Americans and women Black and white. He wants a white man’s country. His betrayal of the Constitution keeps eating away at the body of American democracy like an uncontrolled cancer. He wants a voting act that will prevent millions of women from voting and make new voters prove citizenship first. He has shut down American government institutions in open violation of Congressional power. He has ignored standing federal legislation repeatedly. He has violated the emoluments clause of the Constitution multiple times, benefitting himself, his family and his friends. He wants to deny birthright citizenship in an effort to exclude non-whites as much as possible. He has gone to war without notifying the Congress or the American people. The corruption under his regime has blossomed. On January 20, 2026, a report by Robert Garcia, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said Trump and family had generated $2.25 billion in risk-free profits from foreign payments, corrupt businessmen and others and as much as $9.72 billion when including unrealized paper wealth. Another report lists 25 different times that Trump, his family, high ranking members of the Executive Branch, and allies have used their power and offices to benefit personally. One more study by the American Economic Liberties Project lists a number of examples of USG favors to corporations here and overseas that benefit Trump or his donors. Trump’s own retail enterprises generated about $600 million last year, with products that feature his name and image. The American Bar Association Human Rights magazine of March 2026 addresses unauthorized actions dealing with Federal agencies, violations of statutory limits on Executive power, illegal termination of legislated federal grants, including funding grants for universities. He has used threats to cut off funds to extort university concessions to favor administration racial and cultural demands, and used presidential power to pursue retribution against political enemies. Multiple reputable groups and legal experts identify potential violations across spending laws, ethics rules, agency-structure statutes and constitutional constraints. Immunity has been granted to Trump and family from IRS audits of pass actions. The Anti-Interference Act (26 U.S.C. section 7217) makes it a crime for the president or executive office to request that the IRS terminate or halt an ongoing audit of any taxpayer. Forbes magazine reported on May 21 that “Trump’s Tax Immunity Could Save Him More Than $600 Million.” Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund is drawing clear GOP Congressional opposition. Former GOP Majority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell said this about the $1.8 billion slush fund, “So the nation’s top law enforcement officer is asking for a slush fund to pay people who assault cops? Utterly stupid, morally wrong.” Current Senate Majority Leader Thune said “he was “not a big fan” and did not see “a purpose” for the fund. The administration is converting July 4 into a celebration for Trump, not our country’s history. Trump formed an organization - Freedom 250 - to compete with the Congressionally funded America250 - in order to promote his own political preferences. Some taxpayer funds were transferred from the Congressional legislation to Trump’s own organization. His organization allows people to make tax-deductible donations to gain access to, and seek favor with him. His organization - Freedom 250 - is now free to use the July 4 date to concentrate only what Trump sees as his own accomplishments. The Supreme Court has expanded or confirmed Trump’s presidential power on a number of occasions. The Court has issued decisions often without explanation through the Shadow Docket and has a habit of ruling as though the issues were merely technical but which in fact will have substantial effect on America’s legal framework and society. The Trump vs United States decision of 2024 is a perfect example. Of course a president should have immunity for actions taken under his authority. However, the administration has taken the ruling’s reach far beyond this principle. To the Trump clique, the decision was a carte blanche for the unitary theory of executive action. The decisions on the Voting Rights Act in 2013 and 2026 are cast as simple truths but have eviscerated the voting power of Black Americans in the South. Trump’s economic decisions have weakened the US economy. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities reports that the 2025 economy was weaker than in 2024 and the past decade. The tariff and immigration policies were mainly responsible. Extra tariff costs through October were a 9-fold increase over 2024 with a result of an extra $1.2 trillion in costs to companies. Uncertain and incoherent implementation of tariffs keep companies guessing and hedging. Prices are rising. For May 2026 the inflation rate was 4/2% - the highest in three years. Defense funding will face a challenge. At roughly $1.5 trillion, the FY 2027 defense request would be the largest military budget in American history and the largest year-over-year increase in defense spending since the Korean War. Trump has spent probably $100 billion already on the Iran War and more will come. Trump’s immigration crackdown has cost the U.S. economy 668,000 jobs. New evidence suggests that those crackdowns are not only decreasing employment opportunities for both U.S. and foreign-born workers, but also preventing entrepreneurs from launching new businesses. A 2022 report states that fully 55 percent of billion-dollar startups were founded by immigrants. And when you include companies in which immigrants were co-founders alongside native-born Americans, the total climbs to nearly two-thirds. New data reveals mass deportations and strict visa crackdowns are shrinking the labor pool—hitting both foreign-born and American workers. Agriculture lost 155,000 jobs between March 25 and July 25, 2025. The comparable period in 2024 saw a gain of 49,000. American farmers have suffered badly from tariffs under Trump. China has turned more often to Brazil for soybeans. New soybean purchases by China this year are below the norm. Farm bankruptcies were up 46% in 2025, with major filings in the Midwest and Southeast regions. Growing dependence on off-farm income makes some farms ineligible for filing bankruptcies and may force them to close completely. Rural America is declining while Trump praises inflation and denies the affordability issue. Trump’s budget for 2027 calls for $73 billion deep cuts to health, housing, and other assistance for low and moderate Income families. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, shortly after signing massive tax cuts that largely benefit those at the top of the economic ladder, Trump is cutting basic assistance that millions of struggling families need to help pay the rent, put food on the table, and get health care. The cuts will affect a broad range of low- and moderate-income people, including parents, children, seniors, and people with disabilities. Taken together, the cuts are far deeper than any ever enacted and would deepen poverty and hardship and swell the ranks of the uninsured. Serious questions remain about the release of the Epstein files. The DOJ on January 30, 2026, issued what it called its last major release, making public 3.5 million pages of documents, 180,000 images, and 2,000 videos. DOJ claims an additional 3 million or so pages should not be released because of ongoing cases and to protect sources. Critics claim the explanation is a cover-up for material that should be made public. Internal White House leaks revealed that President Trump fought bitterly with top aides behind the scenes, resisting pressure to allow a full, un-redacted release of the files. Millions doubt that all the information has been disclosed, and the MAGA base has weakened. Ego projects: Trump is pushing for taxpayer dollars to pay for additions to his ballroom project, his arc of triumph, and other ego projects. At the moment, Trump is adding security-linked ideas like drone ports and a hospital to the ballroom project to try to justify public spending. The National Endowment for the Arts says it will offer $15 million towards the arc of triumph. The reflecting pool upgrade estimated cost was $1.5 million and is now at $16 million with more repairs required. Polls register declining support for Trump. A Pew Research poll on April 30 compared percentages in November 2024 to those in April 2026 and showed the following; (1) stands up for what he believes in - fall from 68 to 64, (2) mentally sharp - fall from 55 to 44, (3) keeps his promises - fall from 51 to 38, (4) honest - fall from 42 to 34, and (5) a good role model - fall from 34 to 26. A poll from the American Research Group, out Monday June 22, found that approval for Trump stands at 30%, the lowest figure recorded across both of his terms. Americans are in a tug of war between incomes and expenses, growing increasingly tired of the chaos of our society and world. Trump wants people to support him because he’s president. But he is not earning that support. He has ignored the rising costs of living, he has praised inflation, he talks about his favorite pet projects more than he does about people’s concerns. His behavior is at the least downright puzzling and at most quite bizarre from time to time. Often with his offhand remarks and vulgar descriptions he does harm to his own interests. Trump focuses on himself and his vanity projects in the face of a losing war, a highly expensive domestic market, and deep cuts in social support programs. His refusal to admit the truth mark him as bound to his own biases and of declining value to common American citizens trying to keep their lives in order and their finances secure. Trump has betrayed the American citizens who trusted him and made clear to those opposed to him the moral emptiness of his character and his failure to actually work for the benefit of all Americans. Next week, I will cover US foreign relations. Thank you for reading.