Donald Trump is now four months into his second presidency, and some of his critics are commenting that Joe Biden's presidency now seems like a lifetime ago.

Trump's cheerleaders in right-wing media are applauding his "record of achievement," claiming that he has accomplished a great deal in a short period of time. But the New York Times' Thomas B. Edsall has a very different view.

In his May 20 column, Edsall argues that some of the damage Trump has inflicted on the United States during the last four months will take years to repair.

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"One thing stands out amid all the chaos, corruption and disorder: the wanton destructiveness of the Trump presidency," Edsall laments. "The targets of Trump's assaults include the law, higher education, medical research, ethical standards, America’s foreign alliances, free speech, the civil service, religion, the media and much more…. Some of the damage Trump has inflicted can be repaired by future administrations, but repairing relations with American allies, the restoration of lost government expertise and a return to productive research may take years — even with a new and determined president and Congress."

Edsall adds, "Let’s look at just one target of the (Trump) Administration's vendetta: medical research. Trump's attacks include cancellation of thousands of grants, cuts in the share of grants going to universities and hospitals; and proposed cuts of 40 percent or more in the budgets of the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Science Foundation."

Several interviewees cited examples of long-lasting "damage" Trump is inflicting.

Retired Judge J. Michael Luttig, a Never Trump conservative, told Edsall, "I even believe he is destroying the American presidency, though I would not say that is intentional and deliberate."

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Princeton University history professor Sean Wilentz told Edsall, "The gutting of expertise and experience going on right now under the blatantly false pretext of eliminating fraud and waste is catastrophic and may never be completely repaired…. There is no precedent, not even close, unless you consider Jefferson Davis an American president. "

Andrew Rudalevige, a political scientist at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, told Edsall, "The damage caused to governmental expertise and simple competence could be long-lasting. Firing probationary workers en masse may reduce the government employment head count, slightly, but it also purged those most likely to bring the freshest view and most up-to-date skills to government service, while souring them on that service."

Mara Rudman of the University of Virginia's Miller Center told Edsall, "The most lasting impact of this term will be felt in the damage done to the reputation of the United States as a safe harbor where the rule of law is king, and where the Constitution is as sacred a national document as any country has developed. Through his utter disregard for the law, Trump has shown both how precious and how fragile are the rules that undergird our institutions, our economic and national security, and the foundation for our democracy."

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Thomas B. Edsall's full New York Times column is available at this link (subscription required).


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