MAGAReport 1/19/25 - Inauguration from Ukraine

What I see watching Trump's return from far away

Greetings from Ukraine, friends.

I have been trying to make my way here all year and today I succeeded. I have a Ukrainian SIM card for my phone, and when I crossed the border this morning, it showed me this message:

And it made me a little weepy. I don’t pretend that there are no internal issues here in Ukraine or that everyone is unified on everything. But the sense of solidarity despite those issues and disagreements is strong, and it is so different than the MAGA message that I’ve been immersed in all year.

I have mixed feelings about skipping inauguration in DC since following the MAGA movement has been my focus for the last year. But as I was telling a friend, I know exactly what they would say if I interviewed them. I also know how things are headed, how far it will take us from a future that will help rank-and-file Trump supporters, and how they will likely fall in line and find a way to say that, whatever happens, it’s what they wanted all along.

The message boards right now are not celebrations of Trump’s victory. They are celebrations of suffering - of liberals being upset about his return to the Presidency, of immigrants being rounded up (even immigrants who are citizens) and separated from their families and homes and deported, of people in California losing everything in the wild fires, and of individual mean acts like refusing to tip a barista who doesn’t look pretty in the way they want her to. Trump knows that to hold his base he needs to feed their hunger for cruelty, and he’s going to do it. The MAGA crowd will celebrate the destruction of every institution and violation of every norm, even if it hurts them, too.

And, relevant to my current position in the world, they will celebrate the withdrawal of US support for Ukraine, a stronger Putin, and the challenges that brings to worldwide democracy, because they like to see things destroyed. They do not understand nor consider that impact that will have on the US standing in the world nor our national security. And they do not care about democracy or respect for sovereignty (as evidenced by the Greenland/Panama distraction if nothing else).

So instead of enduring the MAGA takeover of DC this week, I’m finding some comfort in the beauty and solidarity that Ukraine has in the face of war and all the challenges that come with it. May we benefit from the lessons they offer us.

Slava Ukraini🇺🇦