Trump Stands Against the Principles We Celebrate Today

Note: This was originally published in the Erie Daily Times on July 1, 2024. It has been updated with a post-inauguration perspective

Donald Trump leads a faction whose beliefs are rooted in a colonial American belief that universal equal rights are absurd.

We cannot let them win.

Recently, at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), President Trump referenced a comment made by Bill O’Reilly stating that Trump was “the greatest president ever in the history of our country,” ridiculously suggesting that he is even better than George Washington. Unlike Trump, Washington’s legacy in American history far overshadows Donald Trump’s. Washington Historically impacted the establishment of our democracy, from leading the Continental Army’s victory during the Revolutionary War to presiding over the Constitutional Convention. Yet, it’s his Presidency that is perhaps most remarkable. After serving two terms, he stepped aside, demonstrating his belief that the office of President was not a monarchy. He established the precedent that forty-three successive presidents followed — the peaceful transfer of power. It wasn’t until the 2020 election that a defeated President Trump ignored Washington’s example.

The events on January 6, 2021, demonstrated that Donald Trump is the antithesis of George Washington. His refusal to ensure a peaceful transfer to the next elected President validated his contempt for the Constitution and amplified concerns for most of the country. However, we should find his disdain for the Declaration of Independence’s tenets more alarming. Supported by a political progeny of many Americans who historically challenged the Declaration’s vision and solemn promise, Donald Trump is already showing signs that his second term will marginalize, if not eradicate, the founding fathers’ vision.

In his book “Rebellion,” Robert Kagan discusses how the founders adopted John Locke’s liberal political philosophy to draft the Declaration of Independence. More importantly, he details those who opposed its key concepts, specifically natural rights and equality. Identifying the initial dissenters as the slaveholders in the southern colonies, Kagan quotes their contempt, “They regarded the very idea of universal equal rights as a sham, an absurdity that was contradicted, they insisted, by all of human history.” After the Constitution’s ratification, many still disagreed with our founding document. Kagan recalls comments made by political leaders in the early 19th century, citing former Vice President John C. Calhoun’s belief that equality was a “false doctrine” and social theorist George Fitzhugh, who argued that inequality was a natural and beneficial aspect of society. Even after the Civil War, Kagan noted the many efforts to sustain similar anti-democracy views into the twenty-first century, creating political tensions on immigration, women’s suffrage, civil rights, and same-sex marriage. These issues became flashpoints between those who aspired to fulfill America’s vision and those opposed to our foundational ideals. In 2016, that latter fringe finally had the political clout needed to pursue their assault on democracy with the election of Donald Trump. With his 2024 reelection, the certainty of such an assault has increased significantly. 

Unlike other Republican Presidents, Donald Trump’s past words and actions are anathema to our core beliefs. While Abraham Lincoln reaffirmed the nation’s commitment to the proposition that all men are created equal, Trump employs racially charged comments when discussing immigrants from Mexico and African countries. Similarly, Dwight D. Eisenhower protected civil rights in defense of desegregation, and Ronald Reagan believed the Declaration’s ideals were central to American identity. Yet, Donald Trump frequently echoes white supremacist rhetoric often associated with the segregationists of the 1950s and 1960s and campaigns to remove workplace equality protections for women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community. Guided by the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 and with the support of loyalists, Trump’s second presidency is starting the slow erosion of our foundational norms. His disregard for the rule of law, separation of powers, and civil liberties will continue to move the country further away from its core liberal democracy founding. Sadly, the party of Lincoln, who embraced the notion of equality and natural rights, has become the party of Donald Trump, who champions white nationalists and authoritarians.

Ironically, Donald Trump supporters claim to value the Declaration of Independence while applauding his anti-democracy diatribe. They argue that he will return the United States to traditional American values. They need to recognize the Declaration contains the most fundamental and defining of all traditional American values. Ones that Donald Trump simply does not support:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Unlike his predecessors, Donald Trump represents the most significant challenge to our democracy since the Civil War. His Presidency will likely nullify the Declaration’s significance and render Independence Day irrelevant. Sadly, the United States Semiquincentennial will occur during his term. At best, instead of celebrating the founding of our country, July 4th will simply become another day on the calendar, or at worst, we will be expected to pay homage to a new monarchy.