Guest essay by Alvaro Huerta, Ph.D.
On
September 15, 2016, in an essay titled “The Hustler: Trump and the Mean Streets of East Los Angeles,”
I argued that then-presidential candidate Donald J. Trump was hustling the
American public. Now, thanks to the support of the FBI’s James Comey, Russia’s
Vladimir Putin and WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange, Trump—as President of the United
States—has continued to hustle the American public. Given his mastery, his next
book should be titled “The Art of the American Hustle.”
In
a nutshell, a hustler represents an individual who will say and do
anything—without remorse or guilt—to serve his or her self-interest. While
critics have labeled Trump many applicable terms, such as liar, erratic,
narcissistic and thin-skinned, etc., I find that “hustler” best describes his
twisted rhetoric and immoral actions.
When
they speak or act, hustlers can’t be believed or trusted. I should know, since
I grew up on the mean streets of East Los Angeles, where I encountered many of
them. Also, as a long time political activist and analyst, I’ve observed and
studied hustlers at the local, state and national level. This includes
politicians (Republicans and Democrats alike), government officials, private
developers, cops and other powerful individuals who hustle the American public
to serve themselves.
Apart
from Trump, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is an excellent example of a
hustler. While Ryan portrays himself as a “sensible” policy wonk who “cares”
about the American people, his sinister obsession to repeal and replace the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) or Obamacare represents an atrocious and inhumane
political agenda. For example, as House Speaker, Ryan led the GOP’s successful
efforts to rush a so-called health plan that will wreak havoc on millions of
Americans.
While
Ryan’s previously failed “health plan” would have left 24 million Americans
without healthcare, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the
negative impacts of his recently passed “health plan,” named the American
Health Care Act (AHCA), appears to have similar catastrophic results for
millions of Americans.
If
this is such a “great plan,” as Trump claims, why not allow for the CBO to conduct
a thorough analysis and provide a score?
Speaking
of the orange elephant in the room, as “The Hustler 2.0,” Trump has argued that
pre-existing conditions will be covered in the GOP’s efforts to repeal and
replace Obamacare. However, according to many analysts and reporters, like
Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times (05/04/17), AHCA “allows states
to opt out of ACA rules prohibiting insurers from charging sick people higher
premiums.” This is like the GOP passing a law that allows states to opt out of
federal minimum wage standards, child labor protections and anti-racist
measures in public and private spheres (e.g., no white-only lunch counters in
the South). That is, according to the GOP, the federal government shouldn’t
interfere if states want to deprive their residents from basic services and
protections that all people deserve as rights, not privileges.
Also,
let’s not forget about the border wall. First, Trump told us that Mexico was
going to pay for it. Now, as the leader of the most powerful country in the
world, he wants American taxpayers to pay for it, where Mexico will magically
reimburse us in the future.
In
terms of NAFTA (or the North American North American Free Trade Agreement),
originally, Trump called it “the worst trade deal in the history of this
country” (speech in Pennsylvania, 06/28/17) and vowed to reverse it. Now, after
phone calls with the leaders of Mexico and Canada, Trump will negotiate NAFTA
with his trading partners. If that’s not a huuuge hustle, I don’t know what is?
I
can go on and on about China, Russia, NATO and North Korea, but what’s the
point?
Trying
to keep up with “The Hustler 2.0” will only make “your head spin,” as Trump
says when he’s boasting about something that he’s clearly clueless about!
Actually,
apart from “The Hustler 2.0,” there’s a term that Mexicans—on both sides of the
border—use for shameless individuals (or those who lack shame) that applies to
Trump: sinvergüenza.
Sinvergüenza
also applies to Ryan and the Republicans who publicly rejoiced about taking
away healthcare from millions of Americans, if successful in the Senate.
Dr. Huerta is an assistant professor of urban & regional
planning and ethnic & women’s studies at California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona. He is the
author of Reframing the Latino Immigration Debate: Towards a Humanistic Paradigm (San Diego State University Press, 2013) and other publications.
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