Re: Trump’s action here, a reader remarks:

Same as his first term following Obama. Just reverse everything good or bad to eliminate any legacy of their time as President. It is also important that the opposing political party’s successes be forgotten so they can’t score favorably in future elections.

There is clearly a lot of truth here.

I would only add that there is also a motivation to excite the far-right-wing, especially the anti-intellectual MAGA crowd.  Promote white nationalism.  Pardon violent pro-Trump criminals.  Punish the immigrants.  Destroy the environment and bake the planet.  Kill public education.  Jettison medical science.

In any case, this is a tragedy for 99+% of Americans, and less directly, for all the world’s people and its other life forms.   The United States is led by a man whose only concern is his own wealth and power, who is completely happy to inflict suffering on his country’s people if doing serves his own ends.

Trump’s Motivations for his Current Actions