“With the new Trump Administration, every day feels like Christmas!” Thus sayeth Kari Lake, the bubbly television personality who endeared herself to Trump by boldly repeating the Big Lie that Trump won the 2020 election. Although Lake lost in her bid for an Arizona Senate seat, Trump awarded her steadfast loyalty by picking her to head Voice of America.

After being picked to head VOA, Lake proclaimed, “We are fighting an information war, and there’s no better weapon than the truth, and I believe the VOA can be that weapon.” (Translation: “We want to stamp out all negative coverage of our Dear Leader.”)

While every day may feel like Christmas to Kari Lake, it feels like April Fool’s Day to concerned Americans (“The Trump/Musk tag team just did what?”) or, better, like Halloween when you must check to see if razor blades have been stuck in your kid’s apple.

Where do I begin? How about Trump’s pardons of the 1,500 imprisoned insurrectionists. Hey, Trump voters, what became of the law-and-order GOP? You voted for a man who wanted to overturn our democratic process. Did the Jan. 6 videos showing thugs beating up police officers cheer your patriotic heart? Moreover, once in office, your man is wreaking revenge on anyone who worked on any legal case against him. Does that smack of justice served to you? Just wondering.

Oh, and then there’s Project 2025, a scheme Trump denied knowing anything about before the election. It is now being carried out step-by-step, day-by-day. Gee, did it ever occur to you that Trump might have been lying before? Say it ain’t so. And please don’t give me the “All politicians lie” response. The stakes are too high to play the what-aboutism game.

Let’s move on to Trump’s abandonment of Ukraine in favor of appeasing his buddy Putin. During a recent United Nations General Assembly, the United States split with European allies refusing to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Now the land of the free and the home of the brave is wallowing in the mud alongside such dictatorial strongholds as Russia, North Korea, Sudan, Belarus and Hungary.

What do you think of this turn of events? As important, what would your parents and grandparents think? How will you respond to your kids or grandkids when they ask, “Are we now on Russia’s side?” Incidentally, the Wall Street Journal strongly condemned America’s stance. Has the Wall Street Journal gone all weak and woke? Please help me understand your continued allegiance to a man who has no allegiance to our democratic traditions.

And then there was the totally embarrassing meeting in which Trump and Vance bullied Volodymyr Zelensky while trying to get him to accept Russia’s terms for a peace deal. They continue to blame Zelensky for being attacked by Russia. That’s a preposterous stance, and the meeting was perhaps the worst example of American diplomacy in history. If you felt good about that meeting, Trump voters, you better take a time out and go sit in the corner. Incidentally, one wag suggested that Trump speaks loudly and carries a small stick. Another noted, “Today we saw the bravest man in the world being bullied by a guy who go a podiatrist’s note to avoid the draft.” Bingo.

And how about the antics of Vice President JD Vance, the opportunistic turncoat who once referred to Trump as “America’s Hitler” before he abandoned his principles to board the Trump train. He slammed European leaders for “hiding behind ugly Soviet-era words like “misinformation” and “disinformation” in a tone-deaf speech that will strain U.S.-Europe relations. A scathing editorial in an Ohio paper noted, “Vance, the shameless election denier in service to an authoritarian regime lawlessly dismantling a democratic republic, had the towering audacity and historical blindness to lecture his European audience on democracy.”

The morally challenged JD even managed to get admonished by the Pope for his intemperate stance against immigrants. Hey JD, you’re not helping your prospects for a future presidency if you continue stumbling along this rocky path. You still like Trump’s VP pick, Trump voters?

How did you like Trump’s nominations for top cabinet positions? Were they well qualified to take on those jobs or were they merely picked to help abolish the entire Washington bureaucracy?

Are you fine, Trump voters, with his efforts to silence any and all critics in the media? Did it occur to you that silencing the media is a major factor in any fascist playbook?

And let’s not forget the Chainsaw massacre masterminded by Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and Trump’s biggest campaign supporter. Musk never got elected by any American, but Trump has given him carte blanche to burrow around in the nation’s federal offices in an alleged quest to “streamline” the government. (Translation No. 1: Let’s cut as much as we can so we can give more taxes cuts to the wealthy and corporations. Oh, and let’s let Elon use his power to enrich himself even further.). Hey Trump voters, why is Elon is acting like he is president, even though he couldn’t be elected to the office because he was born in South Africa?

But, you might respond, I like Trump but I didn’t know that Musk would run the show. Sorry, that dog won’t hunt. Trump is responsible for Elon’s position and you, perforce, are responsible for Trump and ultimately responsible for America’s current chaos.

Does it trouble you that millions of Americans are realizing that these ham-handed slashes to government spending will hurt ordinary Americans? Poor people seeking medical help, especially in rural red state areas. Every American now more likely to be affected by epidemics, given RFK, Jr’s. stance on vaccinations? Visitors denied entry to National Parks because they’re understaffed. Real domestic and international criminals not sought because the focus is on getting back at Trump’s enemies. Advances on curing various diseases curtailed because of cutbacks on medical research. Efforts to deal with climate change derailed because of Trump’s drill, baby drill approach to the issue. And on and on.

Are you pleased with the racist/sexist approach of the Trump/Musk brotherhood to “streamlining” the government. Take a look at the faces of those selected for “early retirement.” Consider the wacky decision to change the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg after a different Bragg, not the Confederate general.

Granted, millions of Americans believe that federal workers are lazy or unproductive or not worth it. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene epitomizes that Neanderthal view. At a recent House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, she complained, “Federal workers don’t deserve their paychecks. Those are not real jobs producing federal revenue, by the way. They’re consuming taxpayer dollars. Those jobs are paid for by the American people who work real jobs, earn real income, pay federal taxes and then pay these federal employees.”

First of all, Marjorie Taylor Greene’s salary is paid for by the American taxpayers. And here’s a sad fact: Marjorie Taylor Greene’s “philosophy,” to use the term loosely, is more closely aligned with the current Republican Party than is the Wall Street Journal’s philosophy. Are you happy, Trump voters, to be on Marjorie Taylor Greene’s team rather than the Wall Street Journal’s team?

Some Trump voters reading this column will respond that I’m an alarmist who suffers from a bad case of Trump Derangement Syndrome. That’s your prerogative. Let’s see how the rest of Trump’s reign (I use the word “reign” advisedly) plays out. Let’s see how the tariff approach works for combating inflation. Let’s see how all this chaos and uncertainty affect the stock market. Others may be thinking, “Gee, I was wrong. I wouldn’t have voted for Trump if I had know what would happen.” Fair enough. If that’s the case, please join us in trying to save America for future generations.

David Treadwell, a Brunswick writer, welcomes commentary and suggestions for future “Just a Little Old” columns at dtreadw575@aol.com.