When there is an ending of an era, I try to go to the last event. I was at the last game at Shea Stadium on September 28, 2008, and on May 21, 2017, I went to what was supposed to be the last Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, held at Nassau Coliseum.
Additionally, I attended an Etz Chaim reunion at the Bayside Jewish Center, and our Maariv minyan ended up being the last prayer service at the synagogue. Thus, if I had been old enough to have gone to the last baseball game at the Polo Grounds in upper Manhattan on September 18, 1963, I would have gone. Only 1,752 fans showed up, which was a record low. There are two possible reasons. The year before, they said it was going to be the last game, but Shea Stadium was not yet ready. A total of 10,304 fans showed up for that game. Also, the Mets had been playing at the Polo Grounds only since 1962. The New York Giants had been at the Polo Grounds until they left for California for the 1958 season. That move, which took place at the same time the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn, had a greater effect on the fans. The last Giants game was on September 29, 1957. A video of that game shows some of those present dressed like they were at a funeral.
I was scrolling through YouTube, and one of the possible videos to view was a newsreel from the last game at the Polo Grounds. This was the first time that I had seen it. I decided to play it. A minute into the video, they showed a man wearing a suit and a hat, smoking a cigar. When I first saw it, I had to stop it. The man looked like my father, had the same mannerisms, and smoked a cigar like my father did at that time. I showed it to other family members, and many agreed with me. I never asked my father if he had gone to the game, and he never told me that he had gone. It is exciting to see a video of my father when he was in his thirties. Now I see where my desire to be at the last game or view the last time something happens comes from.
Now to my main story. It has been a while since I have discussed President Trump. During that period, the letters to the editor commenting on my columns dried up. There are two conclusions I can draw: Either most people like to read my columns about Trump, or a small group of Trumpians are so supportive of Trump that any time I attack him, they get agitated and must write a letter attacking me. I will go with the latter.
It is a few weeks before Election Day. Some states have already started early voting. Trump repeatedly states that he is on the ballot. He is 100% correct. That is usually what happens when there is a midterm election. The election is a referendum on the president.
Those who voted for Trump in 2024 knew what they were getting: a corrupt narcissist with a criminal record who promised to pardon the January 6 criminals and who antagonized allies and cozied up to autocrats such as Putin. Trump said what he was going to do. Trump won because people believed that he had done a better job with the economy than Biden had. Trump promised that he would be laser-focused on the economy and that inflation, including the price of gas, would go down.
Since Trump became president, there are some who have done well. If you are in the stock market, then you have made enough to cover inflation. Trump and his family have done very well. There are others in the administration who have used their connections to make money for themselves and their families.
However, the majority of people do not feel that way. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is at 46.3. In contrast, at the end of the first Trump administration during COVID, it was at 79. In February 2020, before COVID was understood by the public to be a major problem, it was at 101.00. Diesel prices have gone through the roof, while gas prices have also skyrocketed. Bond prices have increased due to inflation, raising mortgage rates. The Trump tariffs have also increased prices.
People were willing to accept the corruption through which Trump, his family, and others made money when the country was doing well. However, when you are suffering, it adds insult to injury to see those in power line their pockets or get kickbacks. That is why there has been such blowback to reports that Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding celebration party was paid for by a Russian oligarch and that Don Jr.’s former fiancée, Kimberly Guilfoyle, hit someone up for money to pay her American Express bill in exchange for access to members of the administration.
Also, when you are suffering, you want those in power to acknowledge your situation instead of minimizing it. Bill Clinton is famously remembered for the line “I feel your pain.” Biden quoted government statistics showing that the economy was doing well. People did not believe him. You cannot convince people that they are doing well when they know they are not. Trump has called the affordability crisis a hoax or argued that people are doing well, citing the stock market. Also, Trump has been fixated on things that are important to him in his desire to cement his name in history, such as the White House ballroom, the arch he is in the process of building, the golf course near D.C., renaming the Kennedy Center, and taking revenge. His recent attempts to blame others, such as Ukraine, for the high price of diesel have fallen flat. His attempt to lower diesel prices by withdrawing sanctions on Russian diesel and telling Ukraine to stop bombing Russian energy facilities while allowing Russia to continue to attack Ukrainian energy infrastructure has been panned. It shows weakness and favoritism toward Russia, which has been a problem with Trump. Also, it has had and will have little or no effect on prices.
It is not as if the country has fallen in love with the Democratic Party. It is just that the Republicans have been in power for the last two years, controlling Congress and the presidency. Since they have the power, they shoulder the blame. Polls have been wrong before, but right now it appears that the Republicans can say goodbye to their majority in the House of Representatives and may lose their majority in the Senate. Fortunately for Republicans, the Democratic Party has nominated candidates in races it should win, such as the Senate race in Michigan, who are so far left that they could lose. However, I doubt it will be enough to save the Republicans from losing control, at least in the House of Representatives.
Warren S. Hecht is a local attorney. He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
