“There’ll be spandex jackets, one for everyone. . . .”
By Stephen Macaulay
In announcing fellow former reality TV player Sean P. Duffy as his selection to be the Secretary of Transportation, Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social:
“Sean will use his experience and the relationships he has built over many years in Congress to maintain and rebuild our Nation’s Infrastructure, and full fill our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel, focusing on Safety, Efficiency, and Innovation. Importantly, he will greatly elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”
Which is an absolutely consistent statement with all of the other statements that Trump tends to make about things.
First, let’s give Trump a pass for his tendency to capitalize Nouns whenever He wants to make a Point about Something. Maybe He thinks that’s what the Kids are doing.
The nation’s Infrastructure is currently being maintained and rebuilt as a result of the Biden Administration’s $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law November 15, 2021.
Trump, during his presidency, rolled out with various “infrastructure weeks.” There were numerous infrastructure plans.
None of these came to fruition.
Remember, during his first two years in office the Republicans controlled the House and Senate (January 2017 to January 2019).
Similarly, during Biden’s first two years (January 2021 to January 2023) the Democrats controlled both, too.
But Biden got something done with regard to infrastructure.
The most curious aspect of Trump’s announcement about Duffy — who, it should be noted, was on MTV’s Road Rules: All Stars, which put him and his colleagues in a Winnebago traveling around America, presumably hands-on experience for running an organization in charge of the US transportation system — is the “our Mission of ushering in The Golden Age of Travel.”
Does anyone know when The Golden Age of Travel occurred?
Perhaps this was about the time when Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act, which created the interstate highway system. That was in 1956, when Trump was 10.
Big-finned Cadillacs. Cheap gas.
But then there’s this: In 1957 the traffic fatality rate was 5.9 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled — now it is down to 1.17 deaths.
So much for Golden. More like Bloody.
But then there’s claim “elevate the Travel Experience for all Americans!”
That is possibly more perplexing than “Golden Age.”
Now the Department of Transportation does have the Federal Aviation Administraation under its purview, which could be the “elevate” aspect.
But then there’s “all Americans.”
According to the Bureau of Transportation, in 2022 US airlines carried some 853 million Americans.
The same year, according to AAA, Americans made 227 billion trips by auto.
That means the air trips are 0.38% of the number of car trips.
So presumably Trump plans to do something to the ground-based travel experience for Americans. Whatever it is must be special. Flying cars for everyone, perhaps?
Let’s face it: that Truth Social post is like other pronouncements made by Donald Trump in that it sounds good (who doesn’t want a Golden Age of Transportation or an elevated Travel Experience?) but is quite meaningless.
What are the metrics for these things? How will it be known if he accomplished it?
And therein lies part of the rhetorical genius of Donald Trump: sound and fury signifying nothing.
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Monday’s center column, “Is Our Democracy Done?” asks whether Donald J. Trump’s incoming term already is proving to be as authoritarian, even fascist, as the failed Democratic presidential campaign had warned, as evidenced by his four most controversial staff and cabinet choices. Scroll down with the far-right trackbar to read our news aggregate and analysis.
The center column is accompanied by Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s commentary, “Matt Gaetz: A Very Clever Man,” on how the ex-US representative from Florida could return to the House sans the Ethics Committee report on him. Scroll down further to read Macaulay’s “Help Wanted. Experience Irrelevant.”
Scroll down yet further, but still on the home page, to read Macaulay’s reaction to the November 5 elections, “Those Who Need to Know Don’t.” Read contributor Hugh Hansen’s left-column response, “Silver Linings?”
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