Despite what the American people have heard at the Republican National Convention last week, there was one thing that was missing from just about all of the speakers: any reference to the pall that hangs over the country, especially in the time of Donald Trump, and that’s the everlasting structural racism that is tearing the country apart.

Indeed, the chief racist is President Trump, himself. He has made it crystal clear that he doesn’t like or want people of color in his country, whether it be black Americans, Muslims, people from the southern part of this hemisphere, brown people from anywhere and, even, Native Americans (figure that one). He is paving the way, no pun intended, for exploration and drilling for oil and gas in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, land so teeming with wildlife that it’s called the American Serengeti. And people have lived there sustainably for untold centuries, but Trump doesn’t favor indigenous peoples.

His disdain for those who have ever criticized or opposed him knows no bounds. He would sell Puerto Rico, a part of the United States that is full of American citizens, because he sees it as “dirty” and “poor,” and he’d like to trade it for a place like Greenland, a part of Denmark. When Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, publicly pronounced Trump’s idea as ridiculous, he had disparaging words for her. Trump doesn’t like to be crossed and he insists that he is the “least racist person” that you’d find in the country, but it’s all in his mind. His actions and words give it the lie.

When Rep. John Lewis, the “conscience of Congress,” died a few weeks ago, President Trump found it difficult to find a couple of kind words of praise for a civil rights stalwart and warrior for freedom and justice throughout his entire life, but was effusive in his praise of Herman Cain who died at about the same time.

Cain, a very rich former head of a national corporation and co-chairman of Blacks for Trump, brought the president nearly to tears (if that ever has been possible), effusive in his praise of a fellow rich man. The president hailed Cain as an “American patriot” and one who was “adored by everyone that ever met him, especially me.” Cain is thought to have been infected with COVID-19, after he attended Trump’s campaign rally in Tulsa and was seen not wearing a mask. The few, about 6,500 in a stadium that could hold 19,000, were massed together in front of Trump’s podium at the rally, ignoring social distancing. Vice President Pence chimed in to say that Cain was not only a successful businessman (he was the former CEO of Godfather’s Pizza), but that he was an “indispensable voice for the conservative movement.”

Within days, Trump also was moved to offer an effusive tribute to another rich man, a fellow television star, Regis Philbin, whom he said was “a fantastic person and my friend.” He noted that Philbin had always urged him to run for president, but that part of his tribute to Philbin was likely just between two television personalities. What Philbin did say about Trump as president he said on a 2016 CTV interview in Toronto? Asked whether his friend, Trump, would make a good president, he replied, “I think that he’ll be on fire if he becomes president. It might be the best thing that ever happened...for him and maybe for the country. We’ll all find out together.”

The country certainly has found out how “on fire” Trump has been as president. He has sought from day one to reduce every institution of society, governmental and private, to ashes, perhaps in an attempt to reform it in his own image: self-centered, narcissistic, avaricious, bullying, hostile, rapacious, selfish, willing to seize what does not belong to him. That’s for starters. And, this does not speak for the American people, who have shown their generosity toward one another during the coronavirus pandemic. It’s the exact opposite of Trump and his base instincts. That the U.S. can be viewed by all of those negatives and more by most of the rest of the world should illustrate clearly that the instincts of the nation’s government are not those of the people (with some exceptions, of course).

The least that can be said of the current occupant of the White House is that he epitomizes the inevitable outcome of a capitalist economic system and the political system that it has wrought. The few rule and the masses of people must live with it. While it may be true that the U.S. is principally ruled by a very small minority, perhaps 1 percent, there are a few million others who are just behind these oligarchs, waiting in line for their turn. They could consist of the next 8 or 9 percent, who are rich, but not obscenely rich, yet. They are patient, because they are comfortable and they don’t have to worry about going hungry like millions of families who have lost their livelihoods, their homes, and their access to health care.

The president also sang the praises of evangelist Billy Graham, when he died at 99, in 2018, saying that Graham had changed the world, having preached the Gospel (St. James version) in numberless countries. When Graham lay in state in the national Capitol, Trump visited and afterward went to the funeral in North Carolina.

The “nation’s preacher,” who counseled presidents starting with Harry Truman, was noted for his “crusades,” in which he preached in amphitheaters and arenas, to audiences of tens of thousands. Although he was reported by Beliefnet.com to have had wealth of some $25 million, he was only among the top 10 evangelists in wealth. But his charities had funds in the hundreds of millions. So, it’s easy to see that Trump could find in him a kindred spirit, although Graham was a stickler for marital fidelity and likely would have looked with disfavor on Trump’s infamous dalliances.

When it came to the death of John Lewis, Trump had a tough time finding the right words to characterize the civil rights champion. He managed to send out a tweet that said, “Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he (sic) and his family.” And it took him half a day to accomplish that. It was no surprise that he was hesitant to do it, being a vindictive sort, and probably he was urged by staff or advisors to even go that far.

The point here is that Trump’s heroes, if he is capable of having any, runs to those who are, like him, well off, if not rich and, to catch the president’s attention, his would-be heroes need to be chasing money and wealth. On this, Billy Graham could be cut a little slack for his mission was not only to live a comfortable life, but to save souls around the world (you could argue that, if you wish). Otherwise, Trump could never be caught dead fighting for what John Lewis fought for his entire life: equality, equity, opportunity for all, and above all, justice for all. What Lewis stood for is beyond Trump’s ken, as he would not be caught dead fighting for anything for anyone else, including the American people. Lewis did not enter public life at a young age thinking he was going to live a comfortable life. Rather, he entered public life to fight for intangible things, like the principles enumerated in the founding documents of the nation. Trump doesn’t do “intangible;” rather, he likes things he can grasp, like money and tall buildings.

One of the things that Lewis mentioned on a regular basis was that, when, as a young man, he went to the library to get a library card, he was refused. They wouldn’t give him a library card, which he viewed as a ticket to knowledge and understanding. Whether it was a leftover from slave days, when it was a crime to teach slaves to read, or not, long after the Civil War (over abolishment of slavery), he was refused the right to share in his community’s collection of books. He was rightly enraged at the injustice, but he never gave up and his string of honorary doctorate degrees is longer than the most storied academics. It was an indelible part of his character not to give up. If anyone is on Trump’s list of “patriots,” John Lewis should be right at the top, but Lewis’ candor about the legitimacy of Trump-as-president and his refusal to attend the inaugural was a thorn in the president’s side that had to be returned in kind.

Lewis, the patriot, showed up the president, who many believe is not a patriot, nor are those who enable Trump or support Trump, in Congress or in the streets or at the ballot box. A patriot is defined as one who loves his (or her) country and that should include everyone who is here in the U.S.A. Trump has shown by his racist and xenophobic actions that he does not qualify as a patriot, if the people are to be included in “love of country.” Long live John Lewis and those who were and are cut from the same cloth, true lovers of their country and all its people!