When Donald Trump was elected I proclaimed it was probably the most unpatriotic act some Americans had committed. They picked the most unworthy and unqualified person to lead the country just because they were tired of establishment politics and politicians. Some of my friends thought my statement was extreme. They said many of his supporters were decent hard working people who thought America was only working for the elites and they saw in Donald Trump a rejection of all that was wrong with Washington. His bellicose brash behavior seemed appealing to a large section of America, as they thought it was at least honest and held a promise of returning America to a time when it was more monochromatic.
And so they took an anarchic self serving approach with a hope that a shake up of the system will yield better results in their favor. Others just hoped that his presidency would lead to a kind of politics that would bring the country back to the "right", as the previous administration had flung it too far to the left. And so they launched a molotov-cocktail at Washington.
In the six months Donald Trump has been president it seems the molotov-cocktail is doing its job, causing unprecedented chaos and dysfunction. And the people hurting most are his supporters and they refuse to see it. Anyone who says they could not see this coming, was either living in a world not anchored in reality or had given up on all rational thought and behavior in a moment a drunken stupor fueled by a compromised media establishment.
To elaborate on the dysfunction and utter jaw dropping behavior that has ensued since Donald Trump entered the White House would be an exercise in futility. His relentless dismantling of everything and anything civil, that the American presidency ever stood for, is there for all to see in every moment of every waking hour. His addiction to Twitter has revealed a disturbing side of a man, exposing a complete lack of intellect and any penchant for analytical thought you might come to expect from a person wielding such power.
Donald Trump is not the first person to have risen to power with such an utter lack of experience or personality. But those sensible who have risen to power have acknowledged their weaknesses and surrounded themselves with smart people to help them lead the way. Donald Trump has failed even in this arena. He has surrounded himself with probably the most inept and ideologically driven personalities whose loyalty is the only thing he values. He has surrounded himself with some generals as well to come across as powerful and decisive. Or maybe to make up for the machismo that he lacks but would like to be known for. Or probably to instill in him a kind of discipline which he internally lacks, and thinks maybe the American public would feel safer knowing people of authority were in his corner.
The six months of turmoil that has dogged the white house has led to a situation which seems to be spiraling out of control, both domestically and internationally. On the domestic side the debacle known as the "repeal and replacement" of the Affordable Care Health Act or Obamacare has spawned extreme uncertainty in the healthcare system both on the consumer and provider side. With Donald Trump's hurt ego determined on jeopardizing the healthcare of millions of Americans things seem more dire than they should be. His total disregard for the environment and complete apathy towards issues of climate change, is probably the most disturbing trait of a sitting president of a developed nation in this day and age.
In the shadow of this relentless dysfunction, Russia, China and North Korea are flexing their muscle and challenging American power as they see a vacuum developing. America's allies do not know what to make of the American president and his shenanigans, and are taking less and less of their security for granted. Their faith in America's post war commitment to their security is fast eroding. On the long term probably leading to an arms race and nuclear proliferation. The instability of the American presidency is re-shaping the geopolitics of the planet in a seismic way.
But there is a silver lining to all of this. The president's brash behavior seems to be reaching its limit of tolerance, as the Senate and Congress recently showed, that in the American system of government, power rests equally between the Executive and Legislative branches. They need each other to make sensible legislation to take shape. By defeating the poorly drafted and rushed health care reform bill, imposing further economic sanctions on Russia, endorsing President Obama's Iran deal, and agreeing to bolster the current health care system while the president openly seeks to dismantle it, the legislators have finally shown some spine. Some have openly come out and made bold statements that they work for the American people and are not willing to do the bidding of the president if they think it is not constructive. Probably more out of fear of a public rejection in the upcoming midterm election than a love of country.
While Donald Trump continues his unhinged journey as the president of America, there is a lot more to come. Those who look for stability and a certain decorum in this leader, will only find things deteriorating. There is no reason for anyone to be surprised anymore about the next shocking thing Donald Trump will say on Twitter or the next sensible legislation he will threaten to repeal or destroy to feed his ego and meet some outrageous campaign promise. Paying attention to Donald Trump's every word and action is what feeds the media and comes across as a witch hunt to his supporters. Which he effectively exploits to keep his head held high within his base. His supporters still feel he is not being given a fair chance to succeed.
While it is important to not take one's "eye of the ball", it is also important to be measured and pointed in his criticism, or America could become a victim of another molotov-cocktail attack in 2020.
It is what it is.
And so they took an anarchic self serving approach with a hope that a shake up of the system will yield better results in their favor. Others just hoped that his presidency would lead to a kind of politics that would bring the country back to the "right", as the previous administration had flung it too far to the left. And so they launched a molotov-cocktail at Washington.
In the six months Donald Trump has been president it seems the molotov-cocktail is doing its job, causing unprecedented chaos and dysfunction. And the people hurting most are his supporters and they refuse to see it. Anyone who says they could not see this coming, was either living in a world not anchored in reality or had given up on all rational thought and behavior in a moment a drunken stupor fueled by a compromised media establishment.
To elaborate on the dysfunction and utter jaw dropping behavior that has ensued since Donald Trump entered the White House would be an exercise in futility. His relentless dismantling of everything and anything civil, that the American presidency ever stood for, is there for all to see in every moment of every waking hour. His addiction to Twitter has revealed a disturbing side of a man, exposing a complete lack of intellect and any penchant for analytical thought you might come to expect from a person wielding such power.
Donald Trump is not the first person to have risen to power with such an utter lack of experience or personality. But those sensible who have risen to power have acknowledged their weaknesses and surrounded themselves with smart people to help them lead the way. Donald Trump has failed even in this arena. He has surrounded himself with probably the most inept and ideologically driven personalities whose loyalty is the only thing he values. He has surrounded himself with some generals as well to come across as powerful and decisive. Or maybe to make up for the machismo that he lacks but would like to be known for. Or probably to instill in him a kind of discipline which he internally lacks, and thinks maybe the American public would feel safer knowing people of authority were in his corner.
The six months of turmoil that has dogged the white house has led to a situation which seems to be spiraling out of control, both domestically and internationally. On the domestic side the debacle known as the "repeal and replacement" of the Affordable Care Health Act or Obamacare has spawned extreme uncertainty in the healthcare system both on the consumer and provider side. With Donald Trump's hurt ego determined on jeopardizing the healthcare of millions of Americans things seem more dire than they should be. His total disregard for the environment and complete apathy towards issues of climate change, is probably the most disturbing trait of a sitting president of a developed nation in this day and age.
In the shadow of this relentless dysfunction, Russia, China and North Korea are flexing their muscle and challenging American power as they see a vacuum developing. America's allies do not know what to make of the American president and his shenanigans, and are taking less and less of their security for granted. Their faith in America's post war commitment to their security is fast eroding. On the long term probably leading to an arms race and nuclear proliferation. The instability of the American presidency is re-shaping the geopolitics of the planet in a seismic way.
But there is a silver lining to all of this. The president's brash behavior seems to be reaching its limit of tolerance, as the Senate and Congress recently showed, that in the American system of government, power rests equally between the Executive and Legislative branches. They need each other to make sensible legislation to take shape. By defeating the poorly drafted and rushed health care reform bill, imposing further economic sanctions on Russia, endorsing President Obama's Iran deal, and agreeing to bolster the current health care system while the president openly seeks to dismantle it, the legislators have finally shown some spine. Some have openly come out and made bold statements that they work for the American people and are not willing to do the bidding of the president if they think it is not constructive. Probably more out of fear of a public rejection in the upcoming midterm election than a love of country.
While Donald Trump continues his unhinged journey as the president of America, there is a lot more to come. Those who look for stability and a certain decorum in this leader, will only find things deteriorating. There is no reason for anyone to be surprised anymore about the next shocking thing Donald Trump will say on Twitter or the next sensible legislation he will threaten to repeal or destroy to feed his ego and meet some outrageous campaign promise. Paying attention to Donald Trump's every word and action is what feeds the media and comes across as a witch hunt to his supporters. Which he effectively exploits to keep his head held high within his base. His supporters still feel he is not being given a fair chance to succeed.
While it is important to not take one's "eye of the ball", it is also important to be measured and pointed in his criticism, or America could become a victim of another molotov-cocktail attack in 2020.
It is what it is.
