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If Donald Trump is good at one thing, it is controlling the narrative. The man has been impeached twice, precipitated an insurrection, been linked to multiple sex scandals, and abused his power in ways unimaginable in previous generations. Yet, in 2024, he was able to run for President and win, thanks in large part to empty promises about the economy and playing on the fears of hard-working Americans that their jobs would be stolen from them by immigrants. If nothing else, Trump is the king of spin.
My grandfather used to say, “Don’t distract me with the facts,” and that is a perfect example of a play right out of the Trump playbook.
Storytelling is an essential part of politics, and the first year of the second Trump administration has proven that yet again. Every time Trump gets linked to Jeffrey Epstein or further alienates a global ally, all he has to do is trot out Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to make nonsensical claims about autism, and suddenly, the national attention wanders off in a new direction. A clear example of this was during the government shutdown last year. While Democrats were offering facts and data on the rising costs of healthcare premiums in aggregate, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) threatened to cancel 10% of all domestic flights over the course of one weekend, effectively reminding everyone that further government inaction would ruin Thanksgiving. My grandfather used to say, “Don’t distract me with the facts,” and that is a perfect example of a play right out of the Trump playbook.
But this week, the narrative has started to get away from this administration. After two Americans were senselessly murdered in Minneapolis by ICE agents, the White House attempted to blame the victims, claiming they were terrorists and political operatives. Fortunately, cell phone video proves these claims to be disgustingly false, only further digging the hole of the heinous immorality that our country has become subject to. Even Trump himself has started to behave as if the situation may have gotten out of hand. If we have learned nothing from the past, it is that Trump will always figure out how to spin himself to be the hero, even when video evidence should make that impossible.
We must be the ones to stand up and shout: THIS IS NOT RIGHT.
As Jews, we have a religious obligation to look out for the stranger, the orphan, and the widow. More than that, though, we are a people who have survived through storytelling, through transmitting ideas and values through narrative and questioning. At a time in our political reality when facts are undermined with reckless abandon, we have a sacred duty to make thoughtful decisions that uphold our values and further our cause for the greater good.
Sadly, nobody understands the power of vicious spin quite like the Jews; we have faced millennia of propaganda, blood libels, anti-semitic rants, and circular allusions to “Jewish elites.” We know what it is like to see the “facts” distorted to turn us into the enemy. Which means we must be the ones to stand up and shout: THIS IS NOT RIGHT.
Once again, the Democrats are threatening to shut down the government, this time to prevent further money from being distributed to an under-trained, under-regulated ICE. I have no doubt that, if such a shutdown were to occur, we would quickly see furloughed employees used as a political weapon to try to force a quick agreement. But until there is a legitimate, identifiable change in how this country is run, we cannot be afraid to face the consequences of extreme measures.
At a time in our political reality when facts are undermined with reckless abandon, we have a sacred duty to make thoughtful decisions that uphold our values and further our cause for the greater good.
The Jewish community knows how to mobilize to take care of one another, both Jews and others. If we have our way, nobody who is out of work because of the shutdown will suffer or struggle without support and compassion. In that way, we can live out our Jewish values in a powerful way, removing a possible barrier to the change we so desperately need. At a time when so many of us feel hopeless, helping those impacted by a government shutdown would be a welcome opportunity to put our values into action.
As a rabbi, I am a student of our people’s history. Every week, I facilitate conversations about where we are as a civilization and how we got here. And one of the most troubling questions with which we engage is: what would I have done if I were in that situation? How would I have lived out my Jewish values if I had to confront the same evil, the same cruelty, the same struggles as that generation did?
Well, this is the moment. We are facing questions about national identity that future generations will assess through a highly critical lens. Where are we going to stand on the issues of abuse of power, civil unrest, and cruelty to immigrants? So often, we have to grapple with impossible conflicts. How do we distribute money, how do we prioritize services, how do we enable growth.
Until there is a legitimate, identifiable change in how this country is run, we cannot be afraid to face the consequences of extreme measures.
For better and for worse, this situation is far more straightforward. Do we want to be the people who sat back and wondered how this could have happened? Or are we going to be the Jews who insist that this is not going to be allowed on our watch?
Let’s shut it down. Both literally and figuratively.
Austin Zoot is the Rabbi Educator at Valley Temple in Wyoming, Ohio.
