The president who called immigrants “animals” and described them as “infesting” America has backed down on his abhorrent policy that ripped children from the arms of their mothers and fathers. Never mind that he and his surrogates insisted that this “horrible” policy that doesn’t exist was created by Democrats and was just like “summer camp.”

Now Donald Trump, who previously said that only Congress could fix this, has allegedly fixed it (see update below). He was adamant that he couldn’t do anything about it, but now he holds a televised ceremony asserting that he is doing something about it. Either he was lying then or he just signed an illegitimate document.

However, we must not forget that Trump knew exactly what he was doing when he implemented the family separation policy. Team Trump repeatedly admitted that it was a deliberate effort to provide a deterrent to immigrants and others seeking asylum. He also tried to use the issue – and the children – as ransom for support for his idiotic border wall. And even as he prepared to sign this executive order, he articulated his view that any expression of compassion was a sign of weakness that he rejected:

“If you’re really, really pathetically weak, the country is going to be overrun with millions of people. And if you’re strong, then you don’t have any heart. That’s a tough dilemma. Perhaps I’d rather be strong.”

TRUMP: "If you're really, really pathetically weak, the country is going to be overrun with millions of people. And if you're strong, then you don't have any heart. That's a tough dilemma… perhaps I'd rather be strong." pic.twitter.com/lXXoStUbuP

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 20, 2018

It is not surprising that Trump is averse to human empathy. He has demonstrated that amply over the many years of his public life. But his open preference for being strong as a direct alternative to having heart is further evidence of his unfitness to lead a compassionate nation. What’s more, he continues to portray immigrants as invading hordes who aspire to overrun the nation and strip “patriotic” Americans (white Christianists in Trump’s view) of their rights and privileges. The “millions” of invaders, though, are an obvious scare tactic to trigger more hatred from his glassy-eyed disciples.

How Fox News Deceives and Controls Their Flock:
Fox Nation vs. Reality: The Fox News Cult of Ignorance.
Available now at Amazon.

It remains to be seen whether Trump’s temporary “solution” actually solves anything. He will still claim that Democrats are obstructing a more comprehensive reform. And of course, he will try to take all the credit for solving a problem that he created. But that must not be allowed. It’s important to make sure that he doesn’t exalt himself as the savior of the children now that he was forced to reverse his noxious policy. What he did was a moral atrocity. It will have been a moral atrocity after it’s stopped. Some of the damage to these kids will be permanent, and the perpetrators deserve permanent scorn for what they’ve done. We must never forget or forgive this sort of heinous government activity. #BlameTrump

UPDATE: The text of the executive order has been publishes and it’s predictably weak. It has loopholes relating to its implementation only when “appropriate and consistent with law and available resources.” So he could still ignore it by saying that it violated some law (as he has been doing) or he doesn’t have the money.