New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


Makin Waves Roundtable Discussion: LGBTQ and POC Concerns about Returning Trump Administration


By Bob Makin

originally published: 01/19/2025

Local musicians gather with Makin Waves columnist Bob Makin at Georgie’s Bar in Asbury Park to discuss concerns of the Trump administration within the LGBTQ community and among people of color. Pictured from left to right are singer-songwriters Carolyn Marosy and Blaise and musicians/Asbury Park scenesters Sean Navat Balanon and Matt Daniels. PHOTOS BY ALLIENE LEE

Eight days before Donald Trump's inauguration, East Rutherford-raised singer-songwriter-guitarist Carolyn Marosy, Asbury Park-based singer-songwriter Blaise and Asbury Park musicians and scenesters Sean Navat Balanon and Matt Daniels, who's also an activist, gathered at Georgie's Bar in Asbury Park. They participated in a roundtable discussion regarding concerns they have about Trump's return to the White House and the impact that may have on the LGBTQ community, as well as people of color.

The roundtable was inspired by a Nov. 30 Facebook post by Carolyn regarding her concerns about some of friends within the LGBTQ community who have chosen to leave the United States rather than live in it with Trump as president. The aim of the discussion is to inspire conversations and, hopefully, unity, which need to be had in order to ensure that the rights of all Americans are protected.

We hope you enjoy the discussion and are inspired by it to help protect those rights. God bless!

What is your greatest concern about the return of the Trump administration and why?




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Carolyn: Project 25 is something that’s going to take this country in a different direction I don’t think we should be taking that is beneficial for everyone.

Blaise: I just think that with him coming back into office, intolerance and hate has come centerstage. A lot of the time throughout America’s history, people’s negative views against people who are different was not spoken of so freely. With him coming back, it’s giving them ammunition to be bold, to be louder and more radicalized with intolerance and hate.

 

It’s amazing how we had a respite for four years of Biden.

Sean: My concern is the continued emboldenment of Trump supporters. His rhetoric really hits upon people’s insecurities and pushes them to share their hateful views. I’m concerned about increased violence in the coming four years.

Matt: We’re all concerned about the same thing. The empowerment of Christian right nationalists is something that can be a scary thing as we saw with the first Trump presidential term. We saw Charlottesville happen and things like that happening. It’s kind of the vision of folks that is antithetical of the unity of the country that we need to have in order to address this disparity that a lot of us have to deal with.

Carolyn: As a woman, I am extremely frightened about women’s rights. We’ve already lost the right to choose. Women are dying, so what’s next. It seems that we’re going to that religious right-wing extremism, which is a patriarchal society. Women who are single, for example, with and without children are not being viewed as productive members of society or much value by people like Trump and others in his administration, like J.D. Vance. So, what’s next? They took away a woman’s right to choose. Are they looking to take away a woman’s right to vote? I don’t put that past them so that’s a huge concern. And the rise in white nationalists and white supremacy is definitely a concern.




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Matt: It’s a cause and effect where they’re being put into office. They think this is the right thing to do, and that this is what the American people want. We don’t really get into the deeper conversations about these issues. We get more fear and less actuality.

Blaise: The world is changing. The environment is changing. Looking at his cabinet, it’s like nobody is driving this boat. The people he is choosing are not correct choices. They’re not intelligent enough, they’re not open enough in their views and their plans to deal with the way that the world is changing. No one’s driving this ship right now, and the person who is supposed to is more focused on banning TikTok and drones than why California is in such a vulnerable state where a fire can get rid of entire cities. No one in this political system right now is in a spot where they can make it so we don’t go down like the Titanic.

Carolyn: What is government’s role? Government’s role is to help this country thrive, help the people thrive. For example, with the California wildfires, Trump wasn’t addressing the issue in the sense of providing solutions. He’s looking at it and talking about the governor did wrong and lots of blame but not a lot of support. He’s not providing people with a lot of encouragement that we’ll get better from this. That is what the American people need. We need that for the economy. We need that in our own personal lives. He just seems to want to provide theater and not solutions.

Blaise: Another big issue is that Americans are so self-obsessed with the concept of being singular, this idea of being the greatest country without realizing that we have to remember that our decisions, our choices affect the entire world. What we are doing is going to have effects on every country in the world. We are so focused on being the best and the greatest but not realizing that the people we are putting in charge and the decisions that are being made in growth and technologies, they’re affecting the entire world. It’s just crazy. There’s just so much self-obsession to the point that it’s affecting everyone, not just us.

Matt: There’s just a lot of lobbyist’s money in politics. It affects not only the candidates that run but how they act after they get in office to the effect that we could very well think that this candidate is going to have all of our best interests in mind. I know a bunch of people who are pushing an individualistic agenda, like you want the American Dream and to get a million dollars and capitalism is this and that, and at the same time, I know a bunch of us care about our neighbors. We go to the ballot and show it with our vote a lot of the time, and then after we show it with our vote, the things that we want to get done aren’t done.

As putrid and diabolical and awful as Donald Trump is, the American people voted for him because they thought that he would do it again. And they got duped. He was like, ‘I’m going to drain the swamp. I’m going to get this out of politics. I’m going to make sure politics are different.’ The American people saw that, and they’re like, ‘We can try for that.’

But once again, he’s just a cretin and diabolical and someone I wouldn’t trust as far as I could push him. Hopefully, he will be gone in four years, but there will be other options, as Project 2025 states. Figuring out how to defeat that is very important. One of those ways is getting the lobbyist’s money out of politics.

 

There needs to be a constitutional amendment to that effect.

Carolyn: Big business, multinational corporations -- we’re talking about billions of dollars -- they are pursuing legislation to suit their own interests. The incoming president and his cabinet aren’t in the interest of the American people. He has said that he would get rid of certain regulations in order to help big business. That does not help the American people. That does not help the environment. That is not going to help our food supply, our water supply.




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Matt: It’s breaks for the 1 percent and raised taxes for the average person. Once again, people were duped. People voted against their own interests. This person is telling me they’re for me, and they’re saying all the right things, but if you start doing a little bit of the digging into the legislation and the lobbyist money that funds it, it’s completely the opposite. That’s a big reason why we need to collectivize.

It’s so easy to say, ‘Well, you did this. I don’t want to know you. You’re wrong!” But we’re at a point where there is a little bit of people with a bunch of power and a bunch of money and us down here fighting for scraps. We gotta find a way to not be divided no matter who it is. We have to find a way to come together. We need sustainability, basic common decency, healthcare, all of that good stuff that we should have as the No. 1 nation in the world.

Carolyn: A lot of the voters are believing the lies, and that is part of the problem. There’s a lot of misinformation out there. The whole eating-cats-and-dogs thing was made up, and J.D. Vance admitted it was made up. And he said that he will tell lies if it catches the attention of the American media. So, this is what they’re feeding to the voters. The voters are believing it … and they are taking action against other people because of it. This fuels the cycle of violence against other people and the division. When you see someone driving down the highway with an American flag on the back of their truck what does that mean to them?

Matt: It means patriotism, but behind that, there are bunch of other loaded ideals. The whole Haitians eating-cats-and-dogs farce is an October surprise. Getting people to trust more the people around them is a way to get the political figures that we need into office.

​​​​​​​

What impact did Trump’s first term have on you and why?

Carolyn: I felt breakdown in humanity. The COVID situation really changed the face of our country because we had a president that knew this virus was coming in did not tell the American public about it, and when he did say something about it, he said, ‘We have it under control,’ which they did not. Within that timeframe is when the presidency changed over, but by then, it was too late. COVID was out there. People were dying. We lost over a million Americans alone during the COVID pandemic. I had friends my age, friends who lost family members. And you’re talking about people who were not able to say goodbye to their loved ones. Imagine that kind of trauma. And then the shutdown of the country, people losing their jobs, their livelihoods, their homes. I think that was the biggest impact because it really scared me to see some people doing what was necessary to protect other people and then other people believing the misinformation and doing anything about keeping the virus down.

Blaise: It became a no-holds-barred fight. The rise of feeling that it’s OK in such a large way to put your negativity and your hatred on your front lawn. It’s not things behind closed doors. It’s not off-color remarks to your friends. You’re now putting on public platforms things that you don’t like, people you don’t like, things that have no actual foundation or fact-checking. People just stopped caring about knowing that something is wrong or true before speaking. It’s the end of speaking before you speak.

 

It’s just going to get worse with Facebook no longer fact checking.

Carolyn: It’s true. I lost a few friends in the rise of xenophobia. People putting up memes against various marginalized groups. When I’d confront them, they would say, ‘You know I don’t mean that’ or ‘You know what I’m really like.’ No, I don’t! Because if you’re putting up something public that’s discriminatory, that’s who you are. So, I had to severe some friendships. While I don’t want to say it was easy, it was an easier decision to make based on the racism that I saw.

Sean: I was very disappointed. It showed me that people can be so easily swayed by fake news. On a personal level, as a queer transgender person, I had to admittedly think how I could protect myself. What did I need to do to stay alive? And how can help other people?

Matt: For me, it was the rise of hate groups: QAnon, Proud Boys. The cataclysmic change of Supreme Court justices as well, how that’s affected us, overturning Roe v. Wade.

Just the lying that we could become accustomed to from our president. I started counting how many lies a day I was getting from the Trump campaign.

But the most important and detrimental is the rise in those hate groups and the overturning Roe v. Wade, and what’s going to happen in the future. We need to counteract that. There’s a chance for more to be added, which is well within their power.

Do you have friends who plan to leave the country because of Trump and his administration?

Carolyn: My music producer is non-binary. They and their wife are going to leave the country today for Costa Rica. They put all their affairs in order at home. They had to find new homes for their pets. They need to see how the incoming administration is going to unfold over the next few months before they decide whether it is safe for them to return because we’re watching every day in the news the rise of anti-trans legislation and loss of protections for trans students.

When Trump says in an interview that part of the division in this country is the cause of trans people, he is putting target on their head. He is creating a backlash against trans people, putting them in a dangerous situation.

Blaise: Leaving the country is a luxury that many of us cannot afford. I’m trying to eat. I can hardly go on vacation, let alone move to another country. The other thing is that I’m not fucking leaving! We’re making this work.

I understand that every single person is going through their own experience. People live in different places, and there can be positions where they are unsafe. It is the right choice to make moves like that, and I support you, but I hate that is where it’s come down to – that to feel safe, you have to leave – but I’m not going anywhere.

Sean: None of my friends have plans to leave the country, but I do have friends in red states, like in Oklahoma. I have a transforming friend who is concerned about possibly not receiving healthcare, no access to hormone replacement therapy. She’s thinking of moving up north to any state that has better protections for trans people. I have another childhood friend who recently moved back to New Jersey from Florida with her wife because she actually faced anti-gay violence.




Reach New Jersey's largest arts & entertainment audience, click here for info on how to advertise at NJ Stage



Matt: I’m not fucking going! I understand that people need to, but there’s a fight here. There’s the imperialist boomerang where what happens here influences what happens in territories and makes their way right back here. So, moving somewhere doesn’t even help me escape the problem because a lot of the time, the influence of America is in those places that people move to.

People should get out of the South, for sure, the states that have anti-trans bills because it’s tough to combat gerrymandering and redlining. It’s almost impossible. We need to be prepared to protect those people. What that looks like is a multitude of things. We have to have their back, be strong and defend them.

Blaise: One thing that I think is so interesting about this is that radicalization I have felt in that protection mode. A lot of people who have no experience with the queer community think we’re just going to lay down. The first Pride was a riot. That makes me feel a little weird because I try to lead my life with love. I’m a lover, not a fighter, but I’ll crack your fucking teeth. I’m not going to just lay down and let you do these things to my family, my people, my community. That uptick and that rise is very interesting because I think people are starting to see that we’re not weak.

Matt: The opposition’s main goal is to make you feel bad about defending yourself, make you feel like you shouldn’t do that. But if people are coming after you, are you going to lay down and die? I’m not pro-gun, but at the same time, I feel that it is important for some of our LGBTQ and people of color to have registered firearms. I know there is a disparity in which poor and middle-class don’t have access to them, but rich people do. So lower-class and middle-class people are going to bullied out of protection.

Carolyn: I definitely do not plan on leaving the country … but some people in my family are going away – not to move out of the country during the change of administration – but they are leaving the country simply because don’t want to be here when it happens. One of those people is a sexual assault survivor and simply does not want to see his face take office because of that. It is still traumatizing for a lot of people who are survivors of sexual assault to see this man as president who is a convicted felon of sexual assault. That is a point that a lot of people don’t talk about, that he is a convicted felon who is affecting sexual assault survivors.

I’ve been out since I’m 16 years old. I started my activism when I was in my early 20s, and that all started with a Pride march. I’ve been a part of that every single year. As I got older, I understood what that was about, what Stonewall was about. I had the honor of knowing Storme’ DeLarverie, the person who did throw the first punch at Stonewall, and hear the stories about being a person of black and white descent in the Deep South through ’40s, ’50s and ’60s.

A lot of the changes we have gained for the LGBTQ community have happened in a nonviolent way, so I do believe in nonviolence. I do believe we have to protect ourselves. There is self-defense, but what I’ve seen in my lifetime so far … I never thought I would see same-sex marriage legalized federally. That did happen under President Obama. I am currently very concerned about the overturning of same-sex marriage. What a lot of people don’t realize is that if we turn it over to the states, when a married couple travels from state to state, they will not have the protections of visiting a spouse in a hospital should an accident happen. If a spouse dies, they won’t be able to inherit the property that they worked hard for and bought together. They will have to pay inheritance taxes. I’m afraid of these rights and protections being taken away. It all comes back to the religious right-wing extremists who believe that this country should move forward legislatively on their religious beliefs. That is not something that this country was founded on.

Matt: Self-defense is not violence. If you package self-defense as violence, then tell people to be nonviolent, then they can’t defend themselves. I feel that’s where the general public disconnect is. Self-defense is not violence, but there is systemic violence, there is political violence, there is business violence, all of that violence that happens to us everyday that we are not able to or willing to perceive that we need to defend ourselves against.

Blaise: You’re pushing, you’re pushing, you’re pushing, and what is making me feel like a change is that I feel like my limit is being lessened to where I’m going to push back. That’s where it is. I completely agree. I don’t like or support violence, but if you push a bear so much, you’re going to get your head eaten off.

Carolyn: I’m also very concerned about this administration limiting our right to peacefully protest. They do want to limit that.

Blaise: They should be thanking their lucky stars that it’s a peaceful protest.

Matt: Especially compared to something like Jan. 6, which was a very violent protest. Where’s the pushback from the right on that? You won’t see it because, it’s not a part of their playbook.

It’s mind-boggling that in the wake of the Jan. 6th insurrection and Trump’s recent convictions that we even have to have this conversation. Given that, have you written any songs in reaction to the re-emergence of this administration?

Carolyn: I have. In the last administration, I wrote a song called ‘Sick About It.’ It’s angry. I wrote in 2019, and I just needed to get my feelings out. It was included in a documentary called ‘Resistance Street.’

This time around, I have a different approach. While the anger is still there, I am feeling more strength and resilience, and I’m approaching this in an entirely different way. I wrote a song called ‘Resistance & Persistence.’ The lyrics say: ‘Living your life is resistance. There is love in your persistence. Never let ’em tell you who to be.’ That simplicity is something that I think we need to get back to. I’ve always believed that living my life as an out gay person has helped the people around me whether they were gay or not. That helped people who weren’t gay understand how normal it is for us to have relationships, arguments with significant others, love, nurturing, families. In my estimation, just being who I am is something positive to bring to the world, so that’s the way I feel about expressing myself through music. We need unity, we need community, we need more love, we need understanding. Today is hopefully about bringing more understanding to people who are willing to listen. That’s the bottom line. If people aren’t willing to listen, no one is going to change. We need to listen to each other.

OK, some people want to support Trump. Why? Ask people. Very rarely have I gotten specific answers as to how he made their lives better. I’ve heard things like, ‘Trump is for the people.’ Well, how? They could not express how. Whereas I can express specifics. I do not feel he is a fit leader. I cannot get answers from other people as to why they think he is a fit leader.

I’ve written another poem called ‘Peaceful Revolution.’ I want to take this in a positive spin this time around. We need to be empowered. We don’t need to live in fear.

Blaise: I sing my love songs and my sex songs and my party songs and my glam songs louder and more vibrant and more me than ever. I’m going to do me louder than ever!

Sean: I have not and don’t plan to.

Matt: Last time Trump was in office, I was lucky enough to be a part of a project called ‘Demos for a Difference’ – shout out to Brian Erickson. He collected 190 songs. Blaise is on that. I love that track. The proceeds went to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. I would like to see something like that again.

Blaise: I would love that, to bring our art together to create something that would benefit financially those who are impacted.

Republicans, aren’t you upset about what he’s doing with your party? It used to be not an issue if you were a Republican or a Democrat. It used to be, OK, it’s just different. Now in this political environment, and as it’s grown, the issues that have come forward have become so altering for one group on a different side, it’s crazy. Republican is not supposed to be a bad word. The leadership to push their own agenda and to push laws and to take things away has now created a slur. There are a lot of people who don’t identify as Democrat who now do because they don’t want to be associated with that. And it’s really unfair.

Because of the leadership using hate to make such life-altering choices, it’s become where it is an issue. It sucks. My father is Republican. That man loves me, and I know that he will not vote for someone who is trying to hurt me. But him being a Republican, that shouldn’t immediately mean that he’s a bad person, but the whole party is being labeled that. It’s so shitty. It used to never be like that.

Carolyn: And that is because their party has put aside integrity and character and real human values in order to move the ball ahead.

Matt: It went from being fiscally conservative to a culture war. The big blame for that is Fox News. Fox did a number on a bunch of Republican minds when they were telling them that immigrants were the problem, Islam was the problem, and trans people were the problem. When in reality, the people who were making legislation, taking money away from them, and putting money in the pockets of those who already had money, that is the problem. The people are not to blame. The system is to blame.

Are there any actions you’re taking other than writing songs?

Carolyn: I decided to start in my community a lovely music series called Peaceful Revolution. It’s inspired by the ’60s coffeehouses where folk singers got together. They wrote songs that were anti-war, they talked about the culture of the day, and they provided a safe space for like-minded people to get together and gather. Peaceful Revolution is monthly at Rock the Casbah up in Saugerties, NY, where I live. Each month, I will do set, then I will have a guest do a set.

I do add politics to my music. I know a lot of people say keep politics out of music, but I view music as a conversation. I want to tell people what’s on my mind. You don’t have to listen.

I feel my music should be reflective of my thoughts and ideals, just like the people who admired: Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, John Lennon. These people changed my view of life. They are part of my life, as well as a part of my music.

I just started a Substack account. I want to put my writing out there. Facebook has become right-wing leaning. Certain posts do not make it into the feeds. They do manipulate what goes into the feed. I’ve seen it in various groups that I’m in. Whereas a music video post will get 300 feeds and then something about politics will hit 20 accounts. We’ve been monitoring this. I’m switching to Substack, so if people want to hear what I have to say, that’s where they’ll come.

In addition, I’ll do protests, marches. That’s how I plan on fighting with nonviolent solutions through unity.

Blaise: Being your truest self is an act of rebellion. That is what I’m doing. Every single day I walk out of my house in a wig and makeup, I’m rebelling. Also, I’m supporting people who are being affected. I want to build my community and be there for my community. Being myself and helping those who are like me – our squad if you will – I want to make sure that me and mine are living incredibly creative, fulfilled lives no matter what is being thrown at us.

Sean: I’m actually a show organizer here at Georgie’s. My main goal is to get more queer voices and people of color up on that stage, sharing their art, which I think counts for a lot.

Matt: I have the distinct honor being a part of Sean’s showcase. I’m in a community luckily that does push the envelope when it comes to activism and highlighting people. Sean’s thing is highlighting queer voices and people of color, which is awesome. So, I exist within that community and will continue.

A new goal for me is to accentuate the need for solidarity, for us all to be together as one, and to realize some of these things can get in the way of what I feel is the most important, which is to survive. I love everybody and want them to have food and housing. Sometimes that can get lost, so I want to bring that back to forefront and making sure that we’re all good because we’re all we got.

Blaise: I wish everyone would just chill. Let everyone just do their thing. I’m not worried about what’s going in your bedroom so stop trying to put your laws on mine. I really believe in just doing things that will better the world, and sometimes that’s just not wanting to tell someone else what they can do with their body, with their partner, with their life.

There are other things that are so much more important. What are we leaving for the next generation? What about education? It’s just crazy to think that so much is just getting twisted and manipulated. We’re constantly hurting each other and dividing. We just need to chill out. Let’s make sure the world doesn’t burn down!

Carolyn: People are focusing on the wrong thing. ‘Oh, someone’s wearing a wig, someone has blue hair, oh, your hair’s too short.’ But what we’re not looking at the true worth of a person. What is the strength of their character? What is the strength of their integrity? Everybody has the capability of making this world a better place. Why are we looking at the color of someone’s hair or whose hand they’re holding? We should be looking at what they’re bringing to the world because we’re all here to bring something to the world.

We all want similar things. We want love, we want a roof over our head, we want food, we want the ability to earn a living, we want to be able to create, we want to be able to inspire. How do we do that? I believe it starts, as Blaise was saying, with authenticity. When a person is allowed to be there authentic self, they are at their strongest. I know this because when I was growing up, and I went to Catholic school, a lot of what I was being told I was, was wrong. I was held back from presenting myself as who I really am, and that was a detriment to my own growth for many decades. As I learned what they were filling my head with wasn’t as important as who I am, I grew into who I truly am. Now I’m able to bring my best to the world. Without a doubt, this is why people are responding positively to it. It’s giving people a sense of inspiration, a sense of empowerment. It all goes back to these simple factors, like living your life authentically.

Matt: It’s division and repression. Someone can’t be authentic, then they can’t be their true self. It’s very hurtful in which people can’t be themselves, can’t express themselves, and all for the repression of people so they don’t collectivize and so they don’t gain power.

Carolyn: We have taken the ‘he who dies with the most toys wins’ to an absolute extreme. We need to pull back from that and realize that pursuit is pointless.

It’s like Jimi Hendrix said, ‘When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.’ On that note, why do you think Trump was able to beat Kamala Harris?

Matt: Kamala nor Joe Biden ran the strongest campaign. They had opportunities to engage with the American people, hear what they wanted, needed. They did more attacking to Donald Trump. There were a number of swing states that Kamala failed to visit that Donald Trump did visit. Now you’re not only attacking Donald Trump but that entire voter block. In Pennsylvania alone, there were a number of counties that Biden won the first time around that for some reason, Kamala wasn’t able to secure. It didn’t need to be like that. It could have been an easy race for Joe or Kamala to win had they not waffled so much.

You cannot out right the right. If you get Dick Cheney to endorse you, people on the left are going to be like, ‘What are we doing here?’

Sean: I don’t think the Democratic Party strategized well. When Joe Biden dropped out, it didn’t help them. Harris could have taken a stronger stance on some of the issues. A lot of people thought she was being ambiguous, especially with the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. She lost a lot of votes on that because she still supported Israel protecting themselves. Although she did say the devastation was bad.

We always come back to this idea of having to vote blue to keep the Republicans out. I don’t think that idea resonated with a lot of the voter population this time.

Blaise: Last time, people were like, ‘Vote him out!’ For some reason, it was not like that. It’s because our political awareness of this ridiculous two-party system is heightened right now. We’re realizing that the Democratic Party is fucked up too. Everyone needs to start talking about trying to get a way to get more candidates and stop always trying to pick between two people.

I hate that collectively everybody dropped the ball. She had zero time. He’s telling people whatever they want, and she’s defending against him. It’s like, ‘Tell us what you want to do!’ There was no plan. And plus, so many people hate women and blacks. 

Carolyn: I love Joe. He did a lot of good during his time. He led us out of COVID. He strengthened the economy again. He put protections in place for trans students. However, I don’t think he was the strongest candidate. I didn’t think so the first time he ran. That said, I appreciate him for who he is.

The idea of stepping down should have happened much earlier because they did not give Kamala enough time to run and to present what she was going to do and what her plan was. She did spend a lot of time fighting Trump’s antics and playing in that dog-and-pony show.

Misogyny is definitely a factor. Any voters who voted for Trump were voting for him anyway. I don’t think she swayed many people. Of course, her being a person of color played a part in it as well.

The Democratic Party themselves has too much in-fighting. They nitpick issues to death. They don’t want to agree. There are times when they don’t anything because it, and they don’t have the cohesion that the Republican Party has. People in the Republican Party who don’t have integrity endorse Trump. They overlook Trump’s misogyny, his sexism, his lies. The Republican Party will all line up and say yes because they want to move the ball across the line. And the Democrats do not do that. They would rather say, ‘I disagree with you, and we’re not going to move this forward.’ The Democratic Party needs to find a way to get the job done. The Republicans have unity. Even if they disagree personally, they will put their party over country.

 

Are you as or more concerned by Elon Musk?

Carolyn: I would say as concerned, yes. That kind of money can make changes that we can’t even imagine. There’s so much about government that we don’t even know about, but the idea of narcissism, ego, money, power and now a world leader coming. Trump and Musk are a very dangerous combination because Musk is delusional in a lot of ways. He wants to tell other nations how they should be run. Trump is leading us toward fascism.

Blaise: No one thinks this man actually is working toward anything but his own self-interest. There’s no way anyone thinks that strange pairing of them is going to do anything for anyone else but them and what they want. It’s baffling. Elon Musk is now buddy buddy with the person who’s supposed to lead America?

Carolyn: There’s too much conflict of interest.

Sean: It’s just not good having these two billionaires together.

Matt: The only silver lining that you can get is that normally when you put two narcissists in a room, only one escapes.

Bob Makin has produced Makin Waves since 1988. Follow Makin Waves on Facebook and contact Bob at makinwaves64@yahoo.com.



New Jersey Stage is proud to be the home of Bob Makin's Makin Waves column since 2017. His Song of the Week column comes out every Friday. He also writes an Album of the Month and Interview of the Month as well.

FEATURED EVENTS

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Theresa

Theresa Caputo Live: The Experience

Thursday, February 20, 2025 @ 7:30pm
State Theatre New Jersey
15 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
category: community


 

Miss

Miss Grand New Jersey

Sunday, February 23, 2025 @ 5:00pm
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
360 Hamilton Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: community


 

Artrageous

Artrageous 2025 - Sensory-Friendly Theater

Sunday, February 23, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC) - Main Stage
1601 Irving Street, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: community


 

Stories

Stories of a Lifetime Workshop for Union County Seniors – UCPAC Legacy Arts Club

Monday, February 24, 2025 @ 5:00pm
Hamilton Stage at Union County Performing Arts Center (UCPAC)
360 Hamilton Avenue, Rahway, NJ 07065
category: community


 

Illusionist

Illusionist Rick Thomas - Mansion of Dreams

Friday, February 28, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: community


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Rahway

Rahway Hosts Inspiring Aviation Event Featuring Acclaimed African American Pilots

(RAHWAY, NJ) -- The City of Rahway is soaring to new heights with an aviation-focused event celebrating Black History Month. Hosted by the Social Justice Committee, along with Mayor Raymond A. Giacobbe and the Rahway City Council, Career Day with the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals offers a unique opportunity for residents to explore careers in aviation and aerospace. The event takes place on Saturday, February 22, 2025, from 12:00pm to 2:00pm at The Gallery Space (1670 Irving Street) in Rahway.



Follow

Follow Alice Paul's Path to Equality at the Ocean County Library Lacey Branch

(LACEY TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- Garden State native Alice Paul stands tall among the pioneers of women’s rights in America. In honor of Women's History Month, the Ocean County Library is pleased to present "Alice Paul: New Jersey's Crusader for Equality" at the OCL Lacey Branch on Thursday, March 13, 2025. The event begins at 3:30pm.



State

State Theatre New Jersey presents A Night in Lights Benefit Gala

(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- State Theatre New Jersey will host A Night in Lights: State Theatre New Jersey Benefit Gala on Saturday, June 7, 2025. Proceeds from the gala directly support its mission to provide transformative arts education programs, affordable ticketing initiatives, and community outreach efforts that bring the joy of live entertainment to everyone, regardless of their circumstances. Held at the historic State Theatre, the evening includes dinner, dancing, a silent auction, and an intimate performance by Tony® Award-winning Broadway star Kelli O'Hara.



Gloria

Gloria Gaynor to be Honored at bergenPAC's Annual Women's Spring Luncheon

(ENGLEWOOD, NJ) -- Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC) has announced that two-time Grammy Award-winning artist Gloria Gaynor will be honored and serve as a guest speaker at its annual Spring Luncheon on Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 11:30am.



NJ

NJ Creative Communities Conference to Assemble Leaders, Doers and Thinkers Throughout the State at Hudson County Community College

(HACKENSACK, NJ) -- The Northern New Jersey Community Foundation (NNJCF) and Hudson County Community College (HCCC) present the New Jersey Creative Communities Conference 2025: The Art of Community Well-Being (NJCCC 2025) on Thursday, March 20. The conference takes place from 9:00am to 5:00pm at the Hudson County Community College Culinary Center (161 Newkirk Street) in Jersey City.