Trump’s first 100 days in office has real impact on Missourians, Kansans | Opinion

President Donald Trump and his Republican supporters proudly marked his first 100 days in office. But anyone who believes in the good of this country and our bistate area should have found it difficult to share some of those same sentiments.

We call on our elected Republican officials in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives to challenge the Trump administration’s heavy-handed approach to immigration, diversity, equity and inclusion, the humanities and other human rights issues.

And if they won’t do what clearly needs to be done, their respective constituents should consider voting for someone who isn’t afraid to stand up for what’s right.

Kansas Citians not immune

Local nonprofit groups, such as the Black Archives of Mid-Missouri in Kansas City, and individuals alike have all felt the breadth of questionable executive orders mandated in the first three months of Trump’s second term in office.

Take Joseph Ressler Hartman of Gladstone, for example. An associate professor of art history at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Hartman was awarded a $60,000 fellowship by the National Endowment for the Humanities for a research project set to begin in July.

Hartman is a self-described middle-class working husband and father of three. The NEH describes the award was needed to help complete a book on “Caribbean artistic and architectural responses to hurricanes during the 1920s and 1930s.”

“This isn’t a lottery ticket,” Hartman said of the grant. He spoke in his individual capacity and said his views shouldn’t be tied to UMKC. Hartman said he plans to finish the project, but without the fellowship, the process would take much longer than he anticipated.

“This isn’t just about my lost fellowship,” Hartman said. “That loss is real and personal. But it’s also part of something much bigger: a deliberate campaign to erase voices, rewrite history, and hollow out democracy itself. That’s why it matters.”

Historical and cultural museums were some of the hardest hit in the so-called efficiency cuts. We believe the arts, history and humanities are fundamental to a well-meaning and high-functioning society, and must be preserved at all cost.

Hartman said the arts ask us to confront injustice, and the humanities give us tools to name it. Dismantling the NEH isn’t just unfortunate — it’s a red flag, he said.

Cuts hurts farmers

Here in Missouri and Kansas, a trade war with China and other countries will undoubtedly affect farmers.

Don’t believe us? Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran told Politico last month: “Tariffs in Kansas often are very harmful to agricultural producers, farmers and ranchers. And we’re often the retaliatory target by those we impose tariffs against.”

“Our farmers are stretched,” he added. “This is one of the worst, certainly maybe the worst time I’ve seen, in agriculture. … We need every market.”

What about Missouri Rep. Mark Alford, a former morning television news anchor here and hard-right Republican? He told CNN last month that tariffs will force growers to pass on the cost of doing business to local consumers.

“If I have to pay a little bit more for something, I’m all for it to get America right again,” Alford told the network, in an attempt to rationalize Trump’s needlessly destructive policy.

University programs at risk

The University of Kansas was included in an investigation by the U.S. Department of Education for alleged “race-exclusionary practices” in its graduate programs. KU was one of 45 universities named in the March news release from the Education Department’s Office For Civil Rights, which announced inquiries into schools partnering with The PhD Project, an organization that seeks to increase the number of doctoral degrees in business from students of diverse backgrounds.

The investigation began a month after the civil rights office warned schools that federal funding could be at risk if they continue using racial preferences and stereotypes in education programs. This warning aligns with the Supreme Court’s 2023 decision to end affirmative action in college admissions.

Inhumane policies

Almost daily since Trump took office in January, we’ve seen one relentless attack after another on societal norms that should shock our collective consciousness. It’s change for change’s sake — and this president’s directives have been reportedly challenged in court more than 200 times.

Political affiliation aside, we all should agree that authoritarianism, totalitarianism, theocracy or any other form of oppressive governing has no place in our great republic.

Some of these inhumane policies being implemented by the current administration allowed government officials to deport immigrants with U.S.-born children to Honduras without due process. Even an American toddler recovering from pediatric cancer was shipped to Mexico with her undocumented mother.

These egregious acts and many, many more are being committed under Trump’s hard-line stance to “make America great again.”

What really makes this nation great are diversity of thought, equality, expression of ideas and the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness — without the government imposing its will on its people.

This story was originally published April 30, 2025 at 10:45 AM.