I had intended to write this after the end of the first year of the Trump administration, but so much has been happening, it got hard to find a good break point. I finally decided to just write this, since waiting for a good point didn't seem reasonable. At the onset, I want to say that this post isn't meant to convince people of one thing or another. I understand I'm not going to change peoples' opinions on the left or the right and I'm not going to convince people they need to step out of their respective bubbles. More importantly, I'm not sure I'm even going to convince people to keep an open mind and constructively consider opinions other than their own. But, I wanted to get these thoughts down and share with everyone, in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, I can change a couple of minds. Anyway, what follows are some random thoughts about the first year of the Trump presidency.
First, at some level, what we're seeing with this administration is what one might have expected. Trump and his family are political amateurs. Most of his appointees (and he still has a boatload of critical appointments to make) are political amateurs. People criticize them as if they were just like any set of previous politicians. However, these folks are mostly business people who've only dealt with business politics. Now, they're mixing with the "big boys" and it's a whole different ballgame. This is a whole different level of politics and their amateur status shows. The ineptitude of a variety of things they've done clearly demonstrate they are playing a big game of catch-up and time is flying by quickly. Yes, some of you argue Trump is a smart guy and maybe he is. But smart doesn't make up for experience. Trump may be smart and a good businessman, but he'll never be a great surgeon or lawyer or seamstress. Much in the same vein, he'll never be a great president, because he's not trained for it. In fact, it may be his "smarts" that have prevented even greater dysfunction and disasters....who knows? So, people need to give them a bit of slack. However, at the same time the administration better get their sh*t together soon.
Second, this is probably the first president in modern history (well, at least in my lifetime) who is more concerned about himself and his image than doing the job he's supposed to do. The level of narcissism and paranoia coupled with his brittle ego has given us a leader who is too self-absorbed to do anything truly productive for the country. In fact, he seems to have forgotten, along with a large proportion of Congress, that they swore to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States and that they serve The People....not their political party and a selected subset of the population. Example, the Russian interference in our elections. This is probably the gravest threat to our democracy since the Cold War. Sorry to you folks fearing North Korean nuclear strikes....not gonna happen. Yet, our President is more concerned about the allegations of collusion, the legitimacy of his election victory, false notions about illegal voters, and his bromance with Vladimir Putin, that he's done nothing to protect our election process. While I understand his concern about the legitimacy of his victory, at this point nobody is going to ask him to step down as president, because we're not sure if everyone who voted for him, would have voted for him if Russia hadn't interfered with the process. Frankly, the President needs to be forcefully working with Congress to figure out ways to protect our election process and our democratic institutions. His actions clearly show he is more concerned about his own image, than he is about protecting the country. Similarly, if the President isn't going to do anything, Congress should. However, they seem to be more concerned about vilifying or protecting (depending upon party affiliation) the President.
Third, despite his self-proclaimed skill at negotiating, he has not demonstrated that skill in any of the legislation that has come forward during this first year. In fact, his inability to stop tweeting has undermined many of his own initiatives and hampered many of his own negotiations. I also think that he believes he's a great negotiator because as a businessman, he could always walk away from a bad deal. In government, you don't always have the option to walk away. Probably something that had never occurred to him. Furthermore, my assessment been that Trump is a shallow thinker and doesn't consider how one decision might affect other things he's working on or purporting to be working on. That type of shallow thinking gets politicians in trouble.
Fourth, I have never seen a president who has politicized everything he touches or mentions to the degree Trump and his followers have. The degree to which the President and his followers have politicized things has started to degrade the legitimacy of key institutions that have, in the past, tried to remain non-partisan in order to provide balance in our government institutions. Again, reflecting his own insecurities, Trump has made allegiance to himself the primary standard for anyone serving in any government office. Thus, bureaucrats in agencies that have traditionally been non-partisan are now under attack if they show even the slightest hint they oppose any policy from the Trump administration or reveal their own political affiliations. Those serving in government are not apolitical....they all have their political views and party affiliations. However, as professionals, they have all chosen to take their jobs seriously and to serve to the best of their abilities the American people under whoever serves as president. Yet, there are those who feel Trump needs to be protected at all costs, whether that means lying, perpetuating lies, attacking the free press, attacking non-partisan institutions within government, and vilifying anyone who opposes them. Congressional representatives who defend the President even when he's lying or destabilizing our democratic institutions and, even more damning, those representative who remain silent, are all contributing to the demise of our democracy. They all need to go back to their civics lessons are remind themselves that Congress does not serve at the pleasure of the President. Congress is an equal partner in the governance of our country. Furthermore, from the President on down, these individuals have all forgotten they serve to uphold and protect the Constitution and serve the people of the United States.
Fifth, in parallel with the point above, these attempts to defend Trump at all costs has contributed to the general dumbing down of America. I have never seen people bend over as backwards as some have to defend Trump regardless of how egregious the act or even if it violates their own beliefs. By the same token, those on the other side are just as bad, attacking every act by Trump and his followers as if they were all impeachable or prosecutable offenses. Facts used to be facts and the truth used to mean something. Now, people believe only what they want to believe, whether true or not. This has grave consequences for the future of our country and our ability to uphold our own form of democracy and governance. The fact that our President and other officials are trying their best to demonize the news and more and more Americans get their information from social media, which can be manipulated by the Russians and others, is just crazy and frightening. I have always argued that real news died when networks figured out they could make money off of news. Today, news is seamlessly mixed with opinion with much of the latter slanted one way or another. News discussions are not discussions at all. In fact, most just degenerate into people yelling over each other and political commentators are chosen more for their looks and ability to generate revenue, rather than their ability to analyze and probe. God I miss Chris Matthews!
Sixth, despite what those on the left want to fantasize, Trump has yet to do anything that is impeachable, despite what you might think or wish. Just because he's doing stuff you don't agree with or he's doing things in a manner you disagree with, doesn't mean it's impeachable. This talk of impeachment is a distraction and really should stop. Talk about it, when there's something to impeach. Similarly, those pushing for the possible invocation of the 25th amendment can relax. Members of the Trump administration do not have the inclination nor the cojones to invoke the 25th amendment. Again, while you might not agree with Trump, he's not done anything to warrant the 25th amendment. Granted, he's nothing like any other previous president in projection, manner, or style. But, those are not things that are impeachable or warrant the invocation of the 25th amendment.
Seventh, as I noted above a couple of times now, members of Congress need to remember what they are there for. I realize the Republicans need to have Trump in place for him to sign off on any legislation they pass, but at the same time, should they be doing that at the expense of protecting the nation? This President has done and said things that break social norms, degrade our democratic principles, and put people at risk. Yet, very few in Congress on the right criticize those actions. The handful that do, are not seeking re-election, which tells you something about motivations among congressional representatives. Time to stop being selfish and to think of something more than yourselves. You all claimed to have run for office to serve the people and the country. Now is the time for all of you, on the left and the right, to be taking that oath seriously.
I could continue, but I think I'll stop here. Let me close by saying that while I'm concerned about the next three years of this presidency, I still have faith in our democracy. However, our elected officials have to dispense with political expediency and show more political leadership. Leadership is something sorely lacking in the US right now. I have to admit, this past election cycle I had a hard time deciding among the two candidates. They were both equally bad in different ways. But, I can continue to hope that our democracy is strong enough to weather the current storm and make it out to the other side.
#LetsMakeAmericaBuenoAgain
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