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.