You’re not wrong; today was the worst day yet. On Wednesday, the president of the United States made historic moves to recast the country as an angry, insular nation, one that recoils from the world around it and casts suspicion on those within and without. This is the America that Donald Trump envisioned; this is the America he campaigned on; this is the country he’s delivering. Here’s what happened on the worst day in Trump’s America so far.



Voter Fraud Sham—Today, the president of the United States rolled out of bed and called for a “major investigation” into nonexistent voter fraud.

The Wall to Nowhere—Today, President Trump signed an order directing the Department of Homeland Security to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

Immigrants as Criminals—Today, we learned that part of America’s new anti-immigration strategy will be a weekly published report of “a comprehensive list of criminal actions committed by aliens and any jurisdiction that ignored or otherwise failed to honor any detainers with respect to such aliens.”

Criminalization of Immigrants—Today, we found out that there will be an “Office for Victims of Crimes Committed by Removable Aliens.”

Disposable People—Today, the president of the United States began referring to humans as “removable aliens.”



Global Peace and Security Is a Bad Investment—Today, we learned the president of the United States is preparing to reduce its investment in and influence on the world and is preparing a draft order titled “Auditing and Reducing U.S. Funding of International Organizations,” which calls for “at least a 40 percent overall decrease” in U.S. funding of international organizations. “If President Trump signs the order and its provisions are carried out, the cuts could severely curtail the work of United Nations agencies, which rely on billions of dollars in annual United States contributions for missions that include caring for refugees,” according to the New York Times.

Making a Multilateral World, Bilateral—Today, the president signaled a retreat from America’s international commitments in a draft executive order titled “Moratorium on New Multilateral Treaties.” “The [order] calls for a review of all current and pending treaties with more than one other nation. It asks for recommendations on which negotiations or treaties the United States should leave,” according to the New York Times. “The order says this review applies only to multilateral treaties that are not ‘directly related to national security, extradition or international trade,’ but it is unclear what falls outside these restrictions. For example, the Paris climate agreement or other environmental treaties deal with trade issues but could potentially fall under this order. An explanatory statement that accompanies the draft order mentions two United Nations treaties for review: the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

Refugees Rejected—Today, we learned that the U.S. government believes refugees are not welcome in the country at the moment and fewer will be welcome in the future.

Targeting Muslims—Today, we are one day closer to the president of the United States broadly declaring millions of Muslims unwelcome in America.

Defining Americans—Today, we learned that in the coming days the Trump administration is planning on letting the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which provided protections on undocumented immigrants who arrived as children, expire.

Torture Works—Today, we found out that President Trump believes torture “works,” that he is planning on issuing an executive order reauthorizing the use of torture by the CIA and reopening notorious “black site” prisons to carry out torture of terrorism suspects, like the prison in Guantánamo Bay, which will continued to be used.

It was a dark day.

