A dig into the increasing scorn for Donald J. Trump

Reactions to his insulting rhetoric, boorish behavior, corruption and lies are just on the surface

As always, the economy is considered the primary barometer of the American public’s approval or disapproval of a president. But with regard to Trump, that analysis is too simple. There’s more to it — unlike anything we’ve seen since the Vietnam era.

In 1968, the U.S. economy was strong, but the opposition to the war in Southeast Asia was stronger. It grew and intensified after the Tet Offensive, prompting President Lyndon Johnson to not seek re-election.

As 2025 comes to an end, there are so many sources of the public’s disapproval of Trump that it’s hard to cite just one, though the economy remains the leading contender.

I look at it more broadly.

Consider a greater point: What the government does by order of the president it does in our name. If you despise Trump, it’s not just because of disagreement over policy, it’s because the policies of his administration go far beyond anything we’ve seen before, into the sick and sinister — and in our name.

The Forever-Never-Trumpers always recognized this. Growing numbers of Had-Enough-Trumpers are just starting to see it.

Trump’s favorability on immigration has suffered mightily because of widely-seen cellphone videos of masked ICE and Border Patrol agents kidnapping immigrants off the streets.

Growing numbers of Americans react to these horrible images in a visceral way. We’re deeply offended because the videos show our government doing something brutal — in our name — and it makes us ashamed and angry.

The president is supposed to act as the nation’s representative, directing federal agencies on behalf of the American people. But most Americans, even many who voted for Trump, did not sign up for fascism.

And what else to call this?

What else to call killing people in boats that may or may not be smuggling drugs through the Caribbean?

What else to call the sudden dismantling of the U.S. agency that sent food and medicine to some of the poorest countries in the world, an action that was certain to cause hundreds of thousands of deaths that our generosity had for decades prevented? The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development was done in our name.

And this week brings news that the Trump regime is actually planning to denaturalize some U.S. citizens. Contemplate that for a moment: People who came to the country as immigrants, who went through our official naturalization process, might have their citizenships revoked. That would amount to a sinister — and likely racist — betrayal.

Done in our name.

You might say, “Not in my name,” because you didn’t vote for Trump. Unfortunately, in our democratic republic, that doesn’t get you off the hook. The president’s orders are carried out in our name, under our flag.

It’s understandable that millions of Americans despise Trump on a personal level. His insulting rhetoric, his boorish behavior, his constant lies, his narcissism — all of that fuels scorn for the man, and scorn for Trump goes back years, to when he was just a celebrity joke in Manhattan.

In The New Yorker the other day, David Remnick asked, “Have you ever in your life encountered a character as wretched as Donald Trump?”

I could not think of anyone, and I’m sure that all but the remaining MAGA crowd would be equally hard-pressed to find a deplorable to top Trump.

But I’m trying to get at something deeper — the root of scorn for this president held by both the Forever-Never-Trumpers and the Had-Enough-Trumpers.

If you’re offended by, say, the boat bombings or the immigrant cruelty, then good; you should be. It means you recognize that what Trump does, he does in our name, whether we voted for him or not. And what he has done as our representative is far worse than anything any recent president did, taking national policy into the sick and sinister.

Recognizing this means you’re an engaged citizen. It means you want to keep our democracy. It means you’re ashamed and angry, and you can’t wait to vote in 2026 and 2028. Good. Stay that way.