The Needs of the One

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.

Mr. Spock/The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Twice within the past 24 hours, Donald Trump again proved the most appropriate nickname for this president is “The Anti-Spock.” We already knew this moniker applied when it comes to economic status. While millions upon millions of Americans struggle to make choices between paying for rent, food, energy or health care, President Moneybags and his family have pocketed not thousands, not millions, but billions of dollars in personal wealth, much of it the result of federal government policies and expenditures which he initiated.

At the same time he claims the “affordability” issue is a Democratic hoax, he makes no such assertion about the connection between his new found largesse, his 2024 election, and the Supreme Court’s broad grant of immunity for “official acts.” I can hear Todd Blanche now, defending his client before the Court. “Plaintiff wants you to believe that the president’s actions as chief executive and commander-in-chief of the military are not official acts, and therefore, as you ruled in Trump v. United States, he does not have presumptive immunity.” The six conservative justices look at each and smile.

The only mystery is why 33 percent of Americans still believe Trump ever cared about their economic well-being. The good news is that the 16.5 percent outside the MAGA addicts that gave him a 49.5 percent plurality victory in 2024 realize they were not beneficiaries of the One Big Beautiful Bill, but victims of the One Big Con.” Unless Democrats find a way to once again “pull defeat from the jaws of victory,” this bodes well for the 2026 mid-term election.

Which brings me back to the past 24 hours. Anyone with an ego the size of Trump’s is never satisfied with putting himself first in just one situation. It is in his DNA as demonstrated by two unrelated events. Trump’s executive order on childhood vaccinations and the New York Times report on Trump’s “shuttle diplomacy” between planes to evade an Iranian threat on his life. Let’s start with the executive order.

I will not waste your time fact-checking all of Trump’s remarks accompanying his signing the order recommending that the number of children’s vaccinations be scaled back. However, his most onerous justification, that the combined measles, mumps, and rubella shot (MMR) “could be lethal,” was based on, in his words, “what I’ve heard.” Do we really want healthcare policy to be determined using the Louella Parsons scientific method?

What then could possibly be the purpose of the executive order? In the Trump era, the answer to all your questions is Trump’s ego. In light of the 38 reported measles outbreak responsible for 94 percent of the confirmed cases in 2026, emergence of the Cyclospora parasite, and reduction in federal health care and research capacity, Trump’s choice of Robert Kennedy, Jr. as HHS Secretary appears to be the colossal mistake most medical experts predicted. To admit as much, Trump would have to own his mistake, and remember, Trump never makes mistakes. With RFK, Jr. standing behind him, Trump codified the long-time anti-vaccination champion’s conspiracy theories as presidential edict. He chose to reaffirm his faith in Kennedy rather than rely on the multiple studies and years of experience which led to the near-complete eradication of these childhood diseases.

In other words, the need of the one, Trump, or maybe the two, if you include RFK, Jr., were satisfied. At what cost to the many? According to the Infectious Diseases Society of America, a global community of 13,000 clinicians, scientists, and public health experts:

Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that frequently causes a severe flu-like illness accompanied by a rash. Complications occur in 3 in 10 who get measles, and young children are especially vulnerable.

Ear infections and diarrhea are the most common, but as many as 1 in 20 will get pneumonia; about 1 in 1,000 will have brain swelling that can cause deafness and intellectual disability; and nearly 3 in 1,000 will die. Before the vaccine was available in 1963, nearly every child got measles by age 15. The disease sickened 3 million to 4 million people and led to about 500 deaths and 48,000 hospitalizations every year in the U.S.

There is a difference between Trump’s lack of regard for others when it comes to the extraordinary effort to ensure his safe return from the NATO summit in Turkey. The potential for harm associated with the vaccination executive order falls on individuals–children and their families–Trump will likely never meet. The people impacted by the airplane switcheroo include the press pool (though I doubt he would lose sleep if they had perished) and his own staff.

I am not suggesting the Secret Service or the military should not have relied on deception to protect Trump. And I can understand why no one else on AF One, including the White House staff, was informed of the maneuver. Although Trump demands absolute loyalty, the number of leaks coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, suggest that there are myriad members of his entourage who think it is important for the American people to know what is going on inside the president’s gold-gilded office and residence.

My problem with the whole affair is there were two options best explained by alternative dialogues Trump might have had with his chief of security. I’ll start with the most unlikely alternative.

The more likely dialogue.

There is one other difference between the fictional Mr. Spock and Trump. Following Spock’s death at the end of The Wrath of Khan, Captain Kirk eulogizes his friend. “I can only say this, that of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most — (falters) –human.” Imagine William Shatner delivering the final denunciation of Trump. It would probably go like this. “Of all the narcissists I have encountered in my travels, he was the most — (pauses) — inhumane.”

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP