February 16, 2018
Trump Presidency: A historical assessment 2018
By Arthur Scott
Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of 1968 is very reminiscent of today. America then and now finds itself experiencing a cultural meltdown in race, gender, class, war, equity, generations and values. Past becomes present!
An overriding characteristic of `68 wasthe declining faith among Americans in the integrity of political institutions to problem-solve and to keep the Union whole. This confidence loss in government began with the assassination of JFK and the flawed Warren Reportwhich many Americans found suspect. They saw it as a cover-up of a possible coup d’état.
Uncertainty in governmental veracity was intensified by Vietnam, the “Pentagon Papers,” Nixon/Watergate, Reagan and the Contras, 9/11, Iraq’s“Weapons of Mass Destruction”, Climate Change, and a seemingly endless Middle East War.
Today's political integrity has been compounded by the presidency of Donald Trump, who firstburst into national fame as an entertainer and snake-charm salesman,and ran a terrible con on a forgotten segment of the American population that in its nativismhas been mesmerized by the slogan of "MakeAmerica greatagain".This white` Faustian bargain`between him and 35% of the nation has not only allowed Trump to undermine the office, but has led him to shred even the fundamental values of equality and freedom enshrined in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.
More importantly, he hastrampled theConstitution by attacking the press, and by appointing sycophantsto Cabinet positions,most of whom are unqualified to lead and inspire.They are outliers or nihilists directed to dismantle institutionsintended to enrich the culture by turning them into toys for the rich, without any regard for the general welfare of American and its future. Two obvious examples are the Environmental Protection Agency under Scott Pruitt and Betsy De Vos, Secretary of Education.
More dangerous is his stacking of the federal judicial system with ultra-conservatives, who are committed to sustaining an inequitable status quo, which falls hardest on minorities, women, the middle-class and the poor.This has become a sensitive point for women who have seen their reproductive rights,going back to Rowe-Wade,circumscribed and attacked. Ironically, this has occurred at the very time that sexual abuse has taken center stage leading to the “Me-Too”/“Time's Up” movements, as well as women marches across theland in protest.
Moreover, he has brought the office of the presidency to a new low with his tweeting and sexual machinations. The recent scandal involving Stormy Daniels, who allegedly received $130.000 in hush money, is the latest in a series of trysts, which have hovered over him for decades.The affair occurred simultaneously during Melania’s pregnancy with Barron.Many women have accused Trump of sexual misconduct over the years.There is a sexual lawsuit pending in New York State about unwanted advances by Trump. Such conduct compromises the moral authority of the Presidency.
Adding insult toinjury was the Republican tax reform bill which rewarded their donors (the ultra-conservativeKoch brothers) and corporate American with a 21 % deduction in taxes, whereas most American will barelyreceive hundreds of dollars/crumbsfrom the Republican largess, which amounts to millions/billions.To illustrate the income gap,three Americans (Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffet), combined net worth is equal to all the money of the lowest 40% of Americans. America has indeed become a plutocracy in which money, power, wealth and control, as exemplified by the Koch brothers,dominate the electoral process rather than the ideals of equality, liberty and opportunity.
Compounding the issues of income inequity is the grave concern that the Republicans, by increasing the national debt by trillions, willseek to pay for itbygoing after social security, Medicare, and Medicaid as they did Obamacare, by undermining the individual mandate. These programs are crucial to the old, handicapped, and middle/lower class Americans.
Then there is the issue of immigration and the future of the "dreamers". Mr. Trump revealed his prejudice or nativism by describing immigrants coming fromthese “shithole"countries: African nations, Haiti and El Salvador, as unacceptable, as compared to Norway. Today, 800,000 Latin American DACAs or Dreamers have waitedpatiently for a Congressional decision about their fate which has been caught in the maelstromof Republican/racial politics about the Wall and boarder security.This matter can have grave consequences for dreamers reminiscent of the"Yellow Peril" scare whichled to the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, and again by FDR’s decision to incarcerate Japanese-Americans in 1942.
Sustained Presidential attacks on the Department of Justice, and the FBI over the Robert Mueller Investigation into Russian meddling in 2016 presidential election have undermined these institutions. The far right is attempting to cast doubts on the Mueller investigation, a witch-hunt allegedly sponsored by a "secret cabal" within the FBI.It has heated-up with the indictments of National Security Adviser, MichaelFlynn, Trump campaign manager, Paul Manafort,as well as the testimony of George Papadopoulos about Russian interest in a Trump victory.
The pending subpoena of Steve Bannon about executive actions impeding the investigation could lead to an indictment of the President. Russian money laundering charges have been raised putting the president's son, Donald Jr, and his son-in-law,Jared Kushner, at risk. Apparently Mueller is pursuing 'obstruction of justice ' – the charge which brought President Nixon down. What is surprising about all of this is President Trump’s reluctance to declare the Russian cyber warfare campaign a national security treat.
Then there is the matter of the Republican party, which has sold its soul to Trump for a tax windfall for the very rich, and a stalled Omnibus Bill on immigration, and marginalizing Obama Care. It too has become increasingly critical of the Mueller investigation, although they had originally applauded Muller’s appointment for his integrity and being a Republican. 'Profiles in Courage' are in short supply among Republicans, who have succumbed to Trump’s idiosyncrasies, and have become lost in his lies and deceits.1984 has become the new normal for them. Their betrayal of Republican principles explains why as many as forty Republicans will not seek re-election in 2018/20.
So where are we as a nation?The positive is that Trump’s persona has unleashed powerful forces including women, minorities, the younger millennials/plurals, middle/poor classes, as well as a large swath of urban Americans who are concerned about climate, education, immigration, and the importance of preserving social security and Medicare. All indices indicate that there is a large' blue wave 'gathering force in the country that can lead to a rebirth of democratic values embodied in Martin Luther King's “I have a Dream Speech” in which he emphasized the importance of 'character' over color,and concluded with the old Negro spiritual:
Free at Last! Free at Last! Thank God Almighty, we’re free at last.
But to be free, we have to vote! To be engaged! And that is the challenge and the dare that we all must face every election -– shall we be entertained or distracted, or shall we take the reins so that the ship we call our nation may not founder on the rocks of greed and disenfranchisement.
As John Donne so eloquently put it: “… for whom the Bells toll; it tolls for thee.”
Arthur Kane Scott is Professor of Humanities and Cultural Studies at the Dominican University of California and Fellow of American Institute of International Studies.
The Journal of America Team:
Editor in chief:
Abdus Sattar Ghazali
Senior Editor:
Prof. Arthur Scott
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