Conceived shortly after his unexpected 2016 election win, Mr. Donald J. Trump’s conception of Trump’s America has finally begun to materialize.  The record indicates via his sordid personal, business and political history that he has lived his entire life in the “Trump’s America” bubble.  And now as the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America he is trying to expand the “Trump’s America” bubble so that it covers, not just the echoes of his mind, but all of the real America.

Working out of the Oval Office with the strong support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and the rest of the Republicans in the Senate and House, he is moving full speed ahead to implement his full agenda.  Because Mr. Trump’s self-proclaimed “I am a nationalist” proclamation appears to be an intricate part of his “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) crusade, which he is hell bent on bringing to fruition no matter the cost, and his base – that appears to espouse these white nationalist ideals and is strongly focused on the second amendment of the Constitution is also an intricate part of his MAGA crusade, and all of these things smoothly dovetail with his constant hateful rhetoric, the latest mass shootings are worth mentioning.

There have recently been shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio that have involved the use of assault-type weapons that have killed at least 31 people and wounded at least 40 others.  So far the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America has had very little to say about it that serves to console the American people and bring us together; and congressional Republicans have continued to eschew their responsibility to speak truth to power by failing to confront him for his lack of leadership.

Even the lip service that they have provided has been sparse likely due to their fear of upsetting Mr. Trump.  Senator Ted Cruise spouted some strong words denouncing white supremacy and hatred that might have had a stronger impact on the American people had the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America said them even though the majority of Americans would have known that they were the words of a proven liar and hypocrite.  They would have known that they were the hollow words of “Teleprompter Trump” and not the sincere words of “Trump bubble” Trump.

Neither Senator Ted Cruise nor any of the other congressional Republicans should be given a free pass for not standing up to Mr. Trump because they are afraid that they will not be reelected if they do.  What good are they to America anyway if they are reelected if they refuse to do their sworn duty to protect America against all enemies foreign and domestic?!  Are Americans supposed to reelect these politicians just for the sake of reelecting them?!  I don’t think so!

As the Trump train continues to barrel forward like some bizarre version of the train in the movie “Unstoppable”, without our elected politicians in Washington stepping up and doing their job, Americans can only hope and pray that the Trump train will have an ending as uplifting as the one in the movie…  Or – beyond hopes and prayers, we can wait until the 2020 election when American voters will have the opportunity to send these politicians a “no uncertain terms” message that we will not tolerate their cowardice and that they will pay dearly during elections for any dereliction of duty.  Hopefully, we will have the courage to do this.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and many other Republicans have said that the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is not a racist.  And even after the horrific events that recently took place in Texas and Ohio, their silence says that they continue to believe this; or at least, that is the way that they are going to continue to spin his racist behavior.  The definition of racist in every dictionary that I know of says that Mr. Trump is a racist.  And how all of his Republican minions can continue to say to the public that he isn’t without being challenged is a mystery to me.

How they can continue to say that he is blameless in the terrible situation of hatred and divisiveness that we currently find ourselves in is also a mystery to me.  If Republicans say that Mr. Trump is not a racist then someone needs to ask them what their definition of racist is!  And if they say that it is ridiculous to lay any blame on him for what these latest two shooters have done then should we not attribute any blame to those of foreign countries who radicalize foreign terrorist and urge them to wreak havoc in our country?!

By spewing the language of hate and divisiveness the Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America is radicalizing those who are committing the heinous acts like those that occurred in Texas and Ohio.  It can reasonably be argued as to whether he is doing this by accident or on purpose but it is obvious that he is doing it so to deny that would be farcical.  The Mr. Donald J. Trump of the United States of America has said publicly that he is a nationalist and tried to spin his statement in such a way as to say he is a nationalist but not a white nationalist.

Most of the American people who heard him say that he is a nationalist but is not a white nationalist likely believe that this is a ludicrous statement.  After all, white nationalist certainly believe that he means that he is a white nationalist and they have made this known whether directly or indirectly.  But most importantly, this is not something that a president who knows and understands the importance of this office and what the impact of what he says has on America and the rest of the world should say.  They should know that words have consequences; especially the words of the most powerful person in the world!

If Americans intend to survive the situation that we find ourselves in while maintaining our democracy as we know it we must act now and in the 2020 election.  We must act now by holding Mr. Trump accountable for his lawlessness and the damage that he has done and is doing to America.  And we must hold him and those in congress who have enabled him and continue to do so to account in the 2020 election.  This article has spoken at length about the cowardice of congressional Republicans because they refuse to stand up to Mr. Trump and speak truth to power.  As American voters we too have a responsibility to do the right thing.  It is important that we do more than just provide lip service.  All eligible voters must fulfill our civic duty to vote; especially in light of America’s current situation.

Since Russia interfered in our 2016 election for the precise purpose of helping Mr. Trump to get elected, to pit Americans against one another and to create animosity and confusion, there is no doubt that they are thrilled with what is happening in America!  But we can fix things with our vote.  And once we have a president in office that is serious about upholding their sworn oath to protect America and to place her interest above their personal interest, we can demonstrate to Russia that they were wrong to interfere in our election and let them know that such interference will not be tolerated.

And once we fix things by way of our vote in 2020, it will serve to reinforce how important it is that you always remember that whether you are a Democrat Republican or Independent, your vote is the most important one of all…unless you don’t use it!

Eulus Dennis – author, Operation Rubik’s Cube and Living Between The Line