On Monday, the Pope died. On Tuesday, the world.
Trump and the Republicans are destroying the American State
On April 21, 2025—Easter Monday—Pope Francis died.
He was the first Pope from the Americas, the first Jesuit, and the first to take the name of Saint Francis of Assisi.
That last aspect always struck me, since I first learned it upon Pope Francis’ ascension in 2013. There have been a lot of popes; it’s an ongoing seat which has been filled since nearly the beginning of the A.D. calendar. And the original Francis is pretty popular. He’s the eponym for San Francisco and the founder of an Order which today has hundreds of thousands of members. But even with all that, not one Pope had chosen Francis as his papal name until MMXIII.
Saint Francis lived around the turn of the 13th century, founding the Franciscan Order and embodying the humility of Christ. He lived as a Catholic friar, but he had a characteristic emphasis on poverty, spending his life as a preacher-beggar. Whereas Christ told the rich man to sell all of his possessions and follow, Francis essentially did so (multiple times, to his silk-merchant father’s chagrin).
Pope Francis was the first in the long line of Popes since the 1200s to take up this beggar’s name as his papal title. We’ve had John’s, Innocent’s, and Gregory’s galore, but only once have we had a Francis. Only once has an incoming Pope chosen the life of the Assisian as the model of his papacy.
Pope Francis often embodied the direction of the Saint with his clothing choices and actions in the Holy See, opting for simple, white clothing as opposed to the commonly chosen ornate, golden dress and taking time to do basic Church work like caring for the poor and hungry.
The second encyclical1 of Pope Francis is titled Laudato si’, meaning “Praise be to You,” quoting from a Canticle of Saint Francis. The subtitle of the piece is “On care for our common home,” and the text speaks about how we need to collectively care for our natural world (and how we are currently failing to do so).
The “letter” is almost 40,000 words and goes into plenty of technical detail. As someone who was raised in the Catholic Church, I had never realized, growing up, that the Pope will give out such long, detailed statements like this, written with a degree of casualness or personality. The fact that one of Frnacis’ encyclicals is largely centered around the natural world and our treatment of it is a testament to the theological importance he placed on the topic.
Take a look at this paragraph which comes early in the first chapter:
The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon [such a prudent caveat!]. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it. It is true that there are other factors (such as volcanic activity, variations in the earth’s orbit and axis, the solar cycle), yet a number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and others) released mainly as a result of human activity. As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they hamper the escape of heat produced by sunlight at the earth’s surface. The problem is aggravated by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels, which is at the heart of the worldwide energy system. Another determining factor has been an increase in changed uses of the soil, principally deforestation for agricultural purposes.
That is a comprehensive account of the problem of climate change and the scientific consensus that lets us know the problem is real. This could easily appear in a textbook and not look out of place. To me, science and religion have never been necessarily at odds disciplines, especially after I learned that the Big Bang Theory was first postulated by Catholic priest, Georges Lemaître. A wise religious school of thought lets the findings of science inform it. We see this to be the case with the climate and Pope Francis. And more than just inform, this issue gave the Pope impetus in his faith and spiritual guidance, even to re-emphasize some of what Saint Francis talked about in his Canticle.
I was happy that the leader of the billion+ Catholics in the world brought light to such a grave issue. I have faith that the new Pope Leo XIV will walk in line with the direction that Francis guided (though, we will see with how much fervor).
But I am weighed down by the loss of Francis. He was the Pope under which I became an adult and formed a real perspective on the world. To me, he was a rare example of someone who earnestly strode after the heart of Christ and Christian teachings, who reflected that the two greatest commandments straight from the lips of Jesus and in the Law are commandments to love.
Unfortunately, Pope Francis’s passing coincides with a free fall of morality and responsibility by the leader of his home hemisphere.
On April 21, 2025—Easter Monday—Pope Francis died.
These are some of the headlines in the US news from the following day:
E.P.A. Set to Cancel Grants Aimed at Protecting Children From Toxic Chemicals - New York Times
Hundreds of scholars say U.S. is swiftly heading toward authoritarianism - NPR
Environmental Protection Agency fires or reassigns hundreds of employees on Earth Day - CNN
Starting before April, and continuing to ramp up since then, Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and the Republicans in Congress have ushered in a destruction of American state capacity. They have tried with every fiber of their being to make true their own fears about the government, that it is inept and unable to enact positive change. This will now be the case insofar as Trump and the Republicans destroy governmental capability.
Despite shortcomings and real inefficiencies, the United States Government is wildly powerful force that offers a legion of benefits to its 340+ million inhabitants and to the people of the world. We lead the world in scientific pursuits like our space program and atmospheric understanding via NOAA, NASA, and hundreds of research universities. We develop medical breakthroughs and fight against disease across the globe through cutting-edge research, public-private partnerships, and unbelievably successful humanitarian programs. We usher in unprecedented economic growth domestically and abroad through our technological advancements and our tremendous flux of mutually beneficial free trade2.
Despite these realities, Trump and the Republicans view our government as something that must be demolished, which they are in the process of attempting. They are illegally gutting federal agencies like USAID, slashing the staff and capacity of others like NOAA, and desperately trying to strip away any and all environmental protections.
And no, they are not pushing for fiscal responsibility or trying to save our country from debt. When you hear statements like "I'm concerned about bankrupting the country" from Texas Rep. Jodey Arrington, you know you’re hearing lies. Because Rep. Arrington just voted in favor of passing Trump’s budget reconciliation bill, which costs $3.6 trillion. The debt is not “getting fixed,” it is getting worse, trillions of dollars worse.
Every claim of fiscal responsibility, or worry about the debt or deficit, or shriek about bankrupting future generations is hollow, vapid nothingness. It is as if the words were uttered by a puppet on marionette string, completely void of true meaning. Instead, Republicans are piling on trillions in debt, making the economy and GDP worse off, all just to offer tax cuts to the top quintile of the nation.
The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, has saved approximately 90 million lives in the last twenty years. The i l l e g a l dismantling the agency, at the hands of Trump and Musk, may lead to the deaths of up to 14 million people by 2030. Will doing this save Americans money?3 No, since the budget bill increases our deficit.
The budget bill destroys funding and tax credits for clean energy. From one analysis, this will cause $980 billion in losses in cumulative GDP through the budget reconciliation window, plus 760,000 jobs lost by 2030. The era of USA manufacturing may have passed its golden age, but a revival has been underway in manufacturing clean technology: solar panels, wind turbines, heat pumps, batteries, electric vehicles. Under the past administration we saw huge gains made in manufacturing of these items, with dozens of new plants being built across the country to build these items. Trump’s actions are an attempt to destroy this growth and manufacturing. We will lose out on these jobs and the economic boons they mete. What do we get in return? A worse-off deficit and GDP.
Cuts to environmental and scientific organizations like NOAA, NASA, and the EPA have been well underway before this budget bill took center stage. But most important to consider today are the cuts happening at NOAA, the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA engages in monitoring and research of our oceans and air. One of their most relevant programs to American daily life is through the National Weather Service, or NWS. This is how NOAA delivers weather “forecasts, warnings, and impact-based decision support services.”
Cuts had already started at NOAA and the NWS back in February, with hundreds of employees fired and coerced to retire. This was part of a broader purge which decimated the federal workforce, bluntly pruning anyone who was new or recently promoted (a great way to ensure quality talent is to fire the people you promote!).
The negative impacts of taking a hammer to NOAA/NWS specifically include worse understanding of climate as well as poorer weather forecasting. We can see the material value of weather forecasting by the most recent natural disaster to affect American soil.
On July 4th, 2025, around 100 people died due to flash flooding in Texas.
Over the past few days, the death toll from flash floods in Texas has risen to over 100 people, with Kerr County experiencing the greatest loss of life. Weather forecasting is a vital service to prepare people for approaching inclement and dangerous weather, whether that be tornadoes, hurricanes, or high levels rain.
In Texas, rain warnings were sent out ahead of time and flood warnings ostensibly came a few hours before flooding began (though, we now know some came after flooding began). Officials on the ground said the warnings were not accurate enough, and others have said that, despite the cuts, the warnings were about as good as one should expect, indicating that better communication of the warnings is potentially where more progress can be made.
While I am sure that those at the NWS offices covering the affected areas did their best to provide forecasts and alerts as accurately as they could, and that these forecasts may have been decent, the impact of the NWS cuts and firings is inarguable.
Nationally, almost half of all NWS offices have significant staffing shortages. And specifically in Texas, things aren’t much better:
Tom Fahy, the legislative director for the National Weather Service Employees Organization, said that the San Antonio/Austin weather forecasting office is operating with 11 staff meteorologists and is down six employees from its typical full staffing level of 26. He also noted that the nearby San Angelo office, which issued warnings for portions of central Texas, is short four staff members from its usual staffing level of 23. The meteorologist-in-charge position — the office’s top leadership position — is not permanently filled. The office is also without a senior hydrologist.
There are credible people who contend that these staffing issues weren’t a cause for concern in this case, like Chris Vagasky, a Wisconsin-based meteorologist who “said he did not think better staffing would have prevented the tragedy.” But even they admit that better research on earlier forecasting could help save lives in these cases. “The big concern is the latest budget request, if it goes through Congress the way the administration wants, it shuts down all the NOAA research labs, which are the labs doing the work to improve that forecasting.”
So, the best case is that despite having notable staffing shortages, especially in top-level positions, the local NWS forecasting stations were able to deliver about expected weather warnings, but due to the early morning timing of the most dangerous floods, many people were caught off guard. The worst case is that the cuts and firings led to an ill-equipped station not sending out accurate forecasts and not properly preventing loss of life. And in any case, the tools that would help avoid these deaths are at risk of being destroyed by cuts to the NOAA funding that is researching them.
I don’t trust the top-level statements from agencies inundated with Trump sycophants. As such, official NWS statements absolving themselves of wrong-doing mean little to me. Outside parties that have looked at the forecasts seem to be sympathetic to them, though, so until further reporting, I can’t say whether or not the specific NWS offices failed to give warnings of standard quality. What I am sure of, though, is the onslaught of cuts (and denial of weather-impacting climate change) can only hurt our ability to perform these forecasts. Because of that, I am certain that this tragedy was only made worse by the imbecilic and evil actions of our President.
The Pope and the President are two starkly different jobs. They require two different people. I do not seek a spiritual guide out of a President, nor a political maneuverer out of a Pope. But I do expect them both to be paragons of mankind.
Each role is an exceptional opportunity and burden, imbued with huge powers and influence. A rare few are allowed the privilege of taking up either seat. The candidate for each should, in kind, be exceptional.
Pope Francis, in his earnest pursuit of the head of the Church, the Christ, finds purchase in this expectation. He embodied what a religious leader should be, not a conduit of godly power, but a mirror of holy light, reflecting the teachings and path that those who follow the religion should strive to walk. To live humbly, to seek the divine while honoring its creation: the heavens and the earth. That means taking care of our brothers and sisters of the flesh, as well as our Sister of the Earth, to borrow Saint Francis’ articulation. The late Pope exemplified what someone in his seat should be.
President Trump, in his destruction of the very house he was elected to lead, fails this expectation. He cynically uses his office to make himself richer while draining the wealth and goodwill of the nation. He maintains no reverence for his position nor the tradition which has allowed it to exist as head of the longest-lived democracy in the world. He disrespects rule of law, he constantly attacks core tenets of political freedom, and he rejects almost everything essential to the idea of America.
I do care that the President is an ass, both morally and personally. But I care more that he is one politically. He is the inverse of what we should desire in a political leader. He is a threat to the very institution of American politics which was fought for by Washington and made more perfect (with a long way still to go) by Lincoln.
“Trump” is not a name which will share space with those two pillars of American leadership. With unbridled authoritarianism and a petulant ego, it will rather find camaraderie with the dictators of the past century. And, unfortunately like too many of those despots, it resides in a seat of power with great influence over the world. This means that the destruction it wreaks has an outsized influence on all the people of the world and the world itself.
The Leader of the Free World is currently abandoning its leadership role. Millions around the world that depended on us are dying. Our own people are poised to become poorer while life-saving services are decimated. And all the while, we are ramping up the destruction of our natural world to pay lip service to a dead past.
An encyclical is a letter from the Pope to other members of the Church leadership, like bishops. It’s generally a statement from the Pope “with the intention of guiding [the bishops] in their ministry.” Basically theological guidance from the Head of the Church.
That should be extended to countries like Cuba. We went to war with Vietnam and bombed it to hell not more than a generation ago, and we now have an almost 90% positive view in the eyes of the Vietnamese people. A consistent relationship of trade is the bedrock of this seeming paradox.
A callous calculus, even if it did benefit our pocketbooks (which it wouldn’t since defeating disease globally produces more global wealth which in turn produces more American wealth through trade)