{"id":139217,"date":"2025-12-17T17:08:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T01:08:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/17\/we-could-not-have-a-less-christmassy-president-if-ebenezer-scrooge-sat-in-the-oval-office\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T17:08:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T01:08:16","slug":"we-could-not-have-a-less-christmassy-president-if-ebenezer-scrooge-sat-in-the-oval-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/12\/17\/we-could-not-have-a-less-christmassy-president-if-ebenezer-scrooge-sat-in-the-oval-office\/","title":{"rendered":"We Could Not Have A Less Christmassy President If Ebenezer Scrooge Sat In The Oval Office"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/scrooge.jpg?resize=1080%2C720&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-113219\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I wish I could write something positive given the time of year. I really do. Normally I\u2019m downright cheerful around the holiday season. This is often apparent in my writing; <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2021\/12\/have-a-creamy-christmas-thoughtful-last-minute-gift-ideas-sans-accumulation-of-material-crap\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I can prove<\/a> it.<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, though. For 2025, I just can\u2019t. We have a president who is a worse Christmas villain than Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, and those thieving German terrorists from the original \u201cDie Hard\u201d all rolled into one. So I suppose I am going to have to point out exactly how un-Christmassy Donald Trump really is.<\/p>\n<p>Well, we have to start somewhere, so if you\u2019re the type who thinks we need to keep the \u201cChrist\u201d in \u201cChristmas,\u201d first, reevaluate your entire existence. Second, look at literally anything Jesus Christ said in the Bible and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Separation-Church-Hate-Fundamentalists-Flock-Fleecing-ebook\/dp\/B0DJ8225XT\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EICZ5NDBFM70&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5Op6sA27P7M1EBsMnglTuW8bwantfeVHeV5DzVq8U-PAIBEzxgUaNKehOuPqfOBjRrRORPSLOgpFoJdGIXIp8qdIsZUWjiHEBLgLGVbyMI1C0klIX9aMq10dS72zig6_PK2_bce7Y5ui4S_4yxs2Qg.mkOV_nb5nPkxgmWnokFNsyek1q9PvM_sgGoleMy_3EE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=the+separation+of+church+and+hate&amp;qid=1765844702&amp;s=digital-text&amp;sprefix=The+Separation+,digital-text,616&amp;sr=1-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tie yourself into knots trying to align that<\/a> with anything whatsoever that Trump has said or done as president. Or, ya know, read the nativity story about how Jesus was a migrant himself. He didn\u2019t wind up spending his first night in that manger for funsies.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t even have to go into the New Testament though to find out that God is not down with being dicks to people from other places. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openbible.info\/topics\/welcoming_strangers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">One of many<\/a> examples, from Leviticus 19:34: \u201cYou shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.\u201d Boy, that\u2019s very unambiguous!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s official: Trump\u2019s horrible, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/21\/less-than-human-report-details-trump-immigration-detention-centre-abuses\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">dehumanizing<\/a>, untargeted immigration crackdown is not very Christmassy.<\/p>\n<p>Well, we all know that generosity is a big part of the Christmas spirit. After all, that\u2019s how Scrooge finally turned it around after a lifetime of being a cheap, miserly bastard.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, shit, the DOGE cuts to USAID <a href=\"https:\/\/hsph.harvard.edu\/news\/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">have already killed<\/a> 600,000 people as a result of preventable infectious diseases and malnutrition, two-thirds of them children, with <a href=\"https:\/\/ph.ucla.edu\/news-events\/news\/research-finds-more-14-million-preventable-deaths-2030-if-usaid-defunding\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">millions more deaths<\/a> on the horizon unless funding is restored.<\/p>\n<p>Trumpers might say (even though it\u2019s not very Christmassy) there was no choice but to cut USAID. Yet this funding was only costing an average U.S. taxpayer around 17 cents per day. And cutting it has done absolutely nothing to reign in government spending. Actually, the national debt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/graphics\/2025\/10\/30\/national-debt-38-trillion-what-it-means\/86947762007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">continues to hit record highs<\/a> and has increased faster under Trump than at almost any other time in American history.<\/p>\n<p>OK, gilding his own surroundings at taxpayer expense, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cwy5lp4v594o\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">taking bribes from<\/a> foreign Islamic fundamentalist regimes, overseeing the investiture of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/companies\/elon-musk-becomes-first-person-ever-worth-600b-widens-lead-over-larry-page-as-trillionaire-milestone-nears\/ar-AA1Spgy5?ocid=msedgntp&amp;pc=U531&amp;cvid=69409adbca0e481f93c01e98692964c1&amp;ei=53\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk as the richest person<\/a> ever, shamelessly hawking Bibles with his signature in them as though he was the author, selling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/trump-pardons-clemency-george-santos-ed-martin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pardons<\/a>, his stupid-looking hats, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigations\/inside-trump-familys-global-crypto-cash-machine-2025-10-28\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">worst of all influence through cryptocurrency<\/a> for personal gain \u2026 is it Opposite Christmas this year or what?<\/p>\n<p>Symbolism is the least important thing about Trump\u2019s approach to Christmas when people are dying and suffering and the integrity of the United States is being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Still, symbolism matters. His supporters applaud because he sometimes says he supports Christians and throws a few Christmas trees up at the White House after <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/court-filing-offers-details-trumps-white-house-ballroom\/story?id=128432797\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">illegally demolishing<\/a> the entire wing where most of the Christmas decorations used to go.<\/p>\n<p>But Trump\u2019s reaction to the murders of beloved filmmaker Rob Reiner (who directed \u201cThe Princess Bride\u201d) and his wife, Michele Singer\u00a0Reiner, the week before Christmas pretty much says it all. Trump blasted the departed Rob Reiner, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/trump-sustains-political-attack-rob-165855020.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">blamed him for causing his own brutal murder<\/a>, which Trump basically said he brought on himself through his criticism of this administration.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to this, an Ebenezer Scrooge administration would be a Christmas miracle. With Trump, we are so far past the Scrooge level of humbug, I don\u2019t think the ghost of Herman Cain dragging the chain of Godfather\u2019s Pizza boxes that he forged in life could turn this around with the help of three time-traveling Christmas spirits.<\/p>\n<p>I guess try to find some Christmas cheer where you can. Have a candy cane. Drink a hot toddy. Find some comfort in the ones you love, if they haven\u2019t been unjustly deported yet.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<p><strong><em>Jonathan Wolf is a civil litigator and author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/38fQXp4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong><em>Your Debt-Free JD<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>\u00a0(affiliate link). He has taught legal writing, written for a wide variety of publications, and made it both his business and his pleasure to be financially and scientifically literate. Any views he expresses are probably pure gold, but are nonetheless solely his own and should not be attributed to any organization with which he is affiliated. He wouldn\u2019t want to share the credit anyway. He can be reached at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:jon_wolf@hotmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>jon_wolf@hotmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/12\/we-could-not-have-a-less-christmassy-president-if-ebenezer-scrooge-sat-in-the-oval-office\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">We Could Not Have A Less Christmassy President If Ebenezer Scrooge Sat In The Oval Office<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignright is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"1080\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2015\/12\/scrooge.jpg?resize=1080%2C720&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-113219\" title=\"\"><figcaption><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I wish I could write something positive given the time of year. I really do. Normally I\u2019m downright cheerful around the holiday season. This is often apparent in my writing; <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2021\/12\/have-a-creamy-christmas-thoughtful-last-minute-gift-ideas-sans-accumulation-of-material-crap\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">I can prove<\/a> it.<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, though. For 2025, I just can\u2019t. We have a president who is a worse Christmas villain than Ebenezer Scrooge, the Grinch, and those thieving German terrorists from the original \u201cDie Hard\u201d all rolled into one. So I suppose I am going to have to point out exactly how un-Christmassy Donald Trump really is.<\/p>\n<p>Well, we have to start somewhere, so if you\u2019re the type who thinks we need to keep the \u201cChrist\u201d in \u201cChristmas,\u201d first, reevaluate your entire existence. Second, look at literally anything Jesus Christ said in the Bible and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Separation-Church-Hate-Fundamentalists-Flock-Fleecing-ebook\/dp\/B0DJ8225XT\/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EICZ5NDBFM70&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.5Op6sA27P7M1EBsMnglTuW8bwantfeVHeV5DzVq8U-PAIBEzxgUaNKehOuPqfOBjRrRORPSLOgpFoJdGIXIp8qdIsZUWjiHEBLgLGVbyMI1C0klIX9aMq10dS72zig6_PK2_bce7Y5ui4S_4yxs2Qg.mkOV_nb5nPkxgmWnokFNsyek1q9PvM_sgGoleMy_3EE&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=the+separation+of+church+and+hate&amp;qid=1765844702&amp;s=digital-text&amp;sprefix=The+Separation+,digital-text,616&amp;sr=1-1\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">tie yourself into knots trying to align that<\/a> with anything whatsoever that Trump has said or done as president. Or, ya know, read the nativity story about how Jesus was a migrant himself. He didn\u2019t wind up spending his first night in that manger for funsies.<\/p>\n<p>You don\u2019t even have to go into the New Testament though to find out that God is not down with being dicks to people from other places. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.openbible.info\/topics\/welcoming_strangers\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">One of many<\/a> examples, from Leviticus 19:34: \u201cYou shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.\u201d Boy, that\u2019s very unambiguous!<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s official: Trump\u2019s horrible, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/7\/21\/less-than-human-report-details-trump-immigration-detention-centre-abuses\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">dehumanizing<\/a>, untargeted immigration crackdown is not very Christmassy.<\/p>\n<p>Well, we all know that generosity is a big part of the Christmas spirit. After all, that\u2019s how Scrooge finally turned it around after a lifetime of being a cheap, miserly bastard.<\/p>\n<p>Oh, shit, the DOGE cuts to USAID <a href=\"https:\/\/hsph.harvard.edu\/news\/usaid-shutdown-has-led-to-hundreds-of-thousands-of-deaths\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">have already killed<\/a> 600,000 people as a result of preventable infectious diseases and malnutrition, two-thirds of them children, with <a href=\"https:\/\/ph.ucla.edu\/news-events\/news\/research-finds-more-14-million-preventable-deaths-2030-if-usaid-defunding\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">millions more deaths<\/a> on the horizon unless funding is restored.<\/p>\n<p>Trumpers might say (even though it\u2019s not very Christmassy) there was no choice but to cut USAID. Yet this funding was only costing an average U.S. taxpayer around 17 cents per day. And cutting it has done absolutely nothing to reign in government spending. Actually, the national debt <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/graphics\/2025\/10\/30\/national-debt-38-trillion-what-it-means\/86947762007\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">continues to hit record highs<\/a> and has increased faster under Trump than at almost any other time in American history.<\/p>\n<p>OK, gilding his own surroundings at taxpayer expense, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/cwy5lp4v594o\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">taking bribes from<\/a> foreign Islamic fundamentalist regimes, overseeing the investiture of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/money\/companies\/elon-musk-becomes-first-person-ever-worth-600b-widens-lead-over-larry-page-as-trillionaire-milestone-nears\/ar-AA1Spgy5?ocid=msedgntp&amp;pc=U531&amp;cvid=69409adbca0e481f93c01e98692964c1&amp;ei=53\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Elon Musk as the richest person<\/a> ever, shamelessly hawking Bibles with his signature in them as though he was the author, selling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/trump-pardons-clemency-george-santos-ed-martin\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">pardons<\/a>, his stupid-looking hats, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/investigations\/inside-trump-familys-global-crypto-cash-machine-2025-10-28\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">worst of all influence through cryptocurrency<\/a> for personal gain \u2026 is it Opposite Christmas this year or what?<\/p>\n<p>Symbolism is the least important thing about Trump\u2019s approach to Christmas when people are dying and suffering and the integrity of the United States is being auctioned off to the highest bidder. Still, symbolism matters. His supporters applaud because he sometimes says he supports Christians and throws a few Christmas trees up at the White House after <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/court-filing-offers-details-trumps-white-house-ballroom\/story?id=128432797\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">illegally demolishing<\/a> the entire wing where most of the Christmas decorations used to go.<\/p>\n<p>But Trump\u2019s reaction to the murders of beloved filmmaker Rob Reiner (who directed \u201cThe Princess Bride\u201d) and his wife, Michele Singer\u00a0Reiner, the week before Christmas pretty much says it all. Trump blasted the departed Rob Reiner, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/articles\/trump-sustains-political-attack-rob-165855020.html\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">blamed him for causing his own brutal murder<\/a>, which Trump basically said he brought on himself through his criticism of this administration.<\/p>\n<p>Compared to this, an Ebenezer Scrooge administration would be a Christmas miracle. With Trump, we are so far past the Scrooge level of humbug, I don\u2019t think the ghost of Herman Cain dragging the chain of Godfather\u2019s Pizza boxes that he forged in life could turn this around with the help of three time-traveling Christmas spirits.<\/p>\n<p>I guess try to find some Christmas cheer where you can. Have a candy cane. Drink a hot toddy. Find some comfort in the ones you love, if they haven\u2019t been unjustly deported yet.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n<p><strong><em>Jonathan Wolf is a civil litigator and author of\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/38fQXp4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\"><strong><em>Your Debt-Free JD<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>\u00a0(affiliate link). He has taught legal writing, written for a wide variety of publications, and made it both his business and his pleasure to be financially and scientifically literate. Any views he expresses are probably pure gold, but are nonetheless solely his own and should not be attributed to any organization with which he is affiliated. He wouldn\u2019t want to share the credit anyway. He can be reached at\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:jon_wolf@hotmail.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><em>jon_wolf@hotmail.com<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/2025\/12\/we-could-not-have-a-less-christmassy-president-if-ebenezer-scrooge-sat-in-the-oval-office\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">We Could Not Have A Less Christmassy President If Ebenezer Scrooge Sat In The Oval Office<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I wish I could write something positive given the time of year. I really do. Normally I\u2019m downright cheerful around the holiday season. This is often apparent in my writing; I can prove it. Sorry, though. For 2025, I just can\u2019t. We have a president who is a worse Christmas villain than Ebenezer Scrooge, the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":139218,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/scrooge-BvaoHd-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139217","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=139217"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/139217\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/139218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=139217"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=139217"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=139217"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}