Donald Trump - His Legacy

 

Donald Trump, like the rest of us, is not getting any younger. As a not-so-venerable old age approaches him, perhaps we can come to an assessment of the man and his future legacy. In other words, how will we remember him?

I think we will remember him, putting it simply, as The Master of Disaster. Looking back over what he has done in his two terms as US President, there is ample evidence to support his claim to that title. Not that the disasters he has caused have affected him personally, of course. He retains supreme confidence in his abilities, as do a depressingly large number of people in the USA, and here. This is in spite of the fact that he has besmirched the office of President with a long list of unpleasant incidents, allegations and, putting it delicately, legal difficulties. Cosmopolitan has listed most of them:

1970s: Discrimination against Black renters

1980s: Sexual misconduct allegations begin

September 2005: Trump is caught on tape advocating “grabbing women by the pussy”

April 2016: Trump is accused of raping a 13-year-old girl 

October 2016: A journalist accuses Trump of assaulting her in Mar-a-Lago

21 June 2019: E Jean Carroll accuses Trump of raping her in a department store 

And, of course, it does not stop there. Among others, there are the murky affairs of alleged Russian interference in he 2016 election campaign, the Hush money payment  to Stormy Daniels and the allegation that he incited the Capitol building riot of January 6, 2021, by his supporters. Now, Trump has pleaded not guilty in all these matters, and has, in some cases, been exonerated by the senate and/or the US Supreme Court, but this is hardly a record to be proud of. I would argue that this is a disaster of itself, and I can only wonder at how he has survived into his second presidential term.

But it does not end there. Into his second term, Trump has responded to populist demands in two ways. He has released all the rioters convicted after the Capitol riots, overturning the decision of the courts and showing contempt for the US Capitol police who faced that riot and the feelings of the relatives of the six policemen who lost their lives as a result of that riot - five by suicide. If no-one else, it was certainly a disaster for those relatives. It also calls into question Trump's respect for his country's democratic traditions by what can only be described as condoning anti-democratic political violence.

The second way Trump has pandered to the wishes of his admirers is by unleashing the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in a hunt for illegal aliens. As we know, ICE agents have conducted themselves like an occupying army in their own country, using violent tactics when carrying out arrests and being confronted by protesters. ICE have done their work so enthusiastically, that they have even arrested US citizens - and shot two dead. I am sure that many US citizens would concur with my view that Trump has been a human relations disaster for the United States. I can only offer my support to all such sane Americans - especially since Trump has admirers here who would like to emulate his "achievements".

But, caused disaster in the USA, Trump seems to have decided to impact internationally. He has made some surprisingly ineffective efforts to end the war in Ukraine. He has made statements that appeared to menace the independence of Greenland. There was his Boys' Own adventure into Venezuela, where, as we all know, US Special forces made an illegal entry into that country and arrested its president. He then imposed his terms upon Venezuela, justifying it by saying he was protecting the interests of the USA. 

This Venezuelan affair, I would argue, has led to Trump's biggest disaster yet. Because he, to his satisfaction, "succeeded" in dealing with an apparent Venezuela threat, he has jumped to the conclusion that he could carry out a similar short, sharp, operation against Iran. It's becoming clear that is not going to happen. Like a good PC war games player, Trump has listed all the "victories" of the US/Israeli action so far: the missile strikes, the Iranian missile sites destroyed, the liquidation of the Iranian leadership, etc.  

Alas for Trump the PC wargamer - the Iranian regime isn't playing by the same set of rules. Despite fearful punishment, the fighting arm of the Iranian government - the Revolutionary Guard - is still fighting. And, as we know, the Middle East is ablaze with missile strikes from both sides. Al Jazeera says:

"So far, Iran has launched strikes across nine countries in the region: Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. An Iranian drone also struck a runway at a UK military base in Cyprus".

And, in just 14 days, thousands of people have been killed and injured. The worst casualties, of course, have been in Iran. According to Al-Jazeera , 1,444 Iranians have been killed and 18,551 injured - so far, For an up-to-date casualty list in all countries involved, click on THIS LINK. 

Now, as regular readers of this blog know, I absolutely detest the dictatorship in Iran. I shall shed no tears for any casualties they suffer, but widespread killing of civilians is not the way to change a government. If anything, the regime will be strengthened by the common suffering inflicted upon the Iranian population. Trump has shown himself to be be utterly insensitive on this matter to the point of stupidity. He previously encouraged the Iranian people to rise against their government and promised to send help. He didn't. Then, after this war began, he said:

"...to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere".

Nobody seems to have told him that houses are not bomb proof and cannot withstand direct hits from either bombs or missiles. The school building certainly didn't protect 168 children who were killed at the Minab elementary school. Mass casualties are not the best way to make friends and influence people. The new Ayatollah Khameni is hardly likely to want to negotiate with the people who killed his father. The economic war against America's allies will continue, perhaps leading to a worldwide recession.

But back to the Donald himself. If the war goes to his satisfaction, he will become even more confident that he has a role to play on the world stage. Greenland, Mexico and Ukraine could well become targets for his imperial ambitions. World War Three could become a lot more likely to happen.

However, if, as is more likely, the war does not go his way, he will immediately start to find scapegoats. He will blame allies, especially the UK, for not supporting him properly. He might turn on the Iranians, blaming them for not seizing their chance to rid themselves of the Mullahs. He will blame everyone but himself, apologising for nothing and explaining nothing. The human(and humane) disaster he has inflicted upon the world will mean nothing to him. But he won't stop there...

If Trump's war fails, I have no doubt that he will seek every kind of retribution against opponents and critics of the war in the United States itself. He will regard them as traitors and saboteurs, absolving himself of any blame, and be out for what he sees as justified revenge. And this will be nothing new. In September last year, Anthony Zurcher of the BBC In Depth wrote:

 

"Donald Trump swept back into the White House this year promising, among other things, retribution against his perceived enemies. Nine months later, the unprecedented scope of that pledge – or threat – is fully taking shape.
He has vocally encouraged his attorney general to target political opponents. He has suggested the government should revoke TV licences to bring a biased mainstream media to heel. He has targeted law firms he sees as adversaries, pulling government security clearances and contracts".

Reuters looked at this in detail, saying that Trump had 470 people who had upset him in his first stint as President, and afterwards, marked down for retribution. They commented:

"The Trump vengeance campaign fuses personal vendettas with a drive for cultural and political dominance, Reuters found. His administration has wielded executive power to punish perceived foes – firing prosecutors who investigated his bid to overturn the 2020 election, ordering punishments of media organizations seen as hostile, penalizing law firms tied to opponents, and sidelining civil servants who question his policies. Many of those actions face legal challenges".

All this was bad enough, but, should Trump fail over Iran, his campaign against those he perceives as enemies will be much worse. He will bring his disaster home, and blame others for it.

To conclude, I know that some people will say that I have only scratched the surface of this topic. Perhaps, but I intended to show why I believe Trump to be eligible for the title of "The Master of Disaster", and I hope that I have succeeded.

Mind you, there could well be someone who is happy at Trump's adventure in the Middle East. Guess who...