In the first year of President Barack Obama’s presidency, he was dogged by criticisms that he talked down the United States at international fora. It was at a time when he was brimming with optimism that by reaching out to the world, he could reverse the escalating global strife and engender solidarity.
Accordingly, in speeches intended for the international audience, Obama conceded America’s historical wrongs and current shortfalls. To his conservative critics, this was close to treason. As president, he was expected to be jingoistic and to trumpet American exceptionalism. Failing to do that, he was called unpatriotic and an apologist.
Then came a successor like no other. Since becoming president, Donald Trump has said and done much to undercut the American narrative. He has disparaged all the institutions of American democracy, from the judiciary to the legislature, from the press to his own cabinet. Meanwhile, in a clear indication of the kind of government he would like to run, he has repeatedly and unabashedly expressed admiration for President Vladimir Putin, the Russian strong man.
Amidst mounting evidence that the Russians electronically interfered with the 2016 presidential election, Trump announced a one-on-one meeting with Putin. And in what couldn’t have been a coincidence, investigators announced the indictment of 12 Russians for conducting the cyber attack. The apparent goal was to put pressure on Trump to confront Putin. It didn’t happen.
During a press conference after the meeting, a reporter asked Trump what he thought about Putin’s continued denial that the Russians hacked the American electoral system. In a frontal assault on America’s premier law enforcement agency, Trump said he didn’t “see why they would.” Following an outcry, including from his own constituency, he reversed course and claimed that he meant to say wouldn’t. It was a correction that raised even more eyebrows.
Now, it is Trump whose loyalty to his country is under question. His comments have been called treasonous, shameful and disgraceful, among other things. “I never thought I would see the day when our American President would stand on the stage with the Russian President and place blame on the United States for Russian aggression,” Republican Senator Jeff Flake has been quoted as saying. “This is shameful.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s former long-term personal lawyer Michael D. Cohen has released a secretly taped conversation in which he and Trump discussed payoff to tabloid newspaper to squelch their planned publication of another amorous affair.
Trump targeting critics?
Trump, who has always gone after detractors with the harshest of tweets and crude remarks, may now be deploying executive privileges of the U.S. presidency to target them as well. And that is apparently being supplemented by the zealous activism of supporters outside that immense reach.
Within the past two months or so, people who have criticized or otherwise placed the president in a bad light have been arrested in dubious circumstances, come under formal investigation for corruption, or had their security clearances revoked.
Stormy Daniels, the buxom stripper and adult film actress, who said she was paid to hush up on an affair with Trump, was arrested at her workplace — a stripper nightclub. According to the charges, she violated Ohio law by touching guests at a Columbus nightclub where she was performing her striptease.
Among those she touched were two plain-clothes detectives, who just happened to be at the club and moved close to the stage as Daniels performed. They promptly arrested her and led her away.
Predictably, Daniels’ lawyer cried foul, saying that it was all a witch-hunt. He didn’t have to press too hard to convince a lot of people. Before there was much outcry, Columbus city officials announced that the case against Daniels had been dropped. Reason? She was visiting from out-of-town and wasn’t familiar with Ohio’s law.
Really? But as a matter of jurisprudence, ignorance of the law is not an excuse for violating it. Moreover, the nightclub’s managers have to be dutiful enough to brief visiting strippers on pertinent state law.
It’s more likely that the mayor just pulled his weight to avert a public relations black eye for the all-American city. The mayor must have been well aware of assertions by the strip club’s personnel that Daniels’ act had never resulted in an arrest at the nightclub before. She must have been in the crosshair of ardent Trump supporters who help him to fight his battles.
Daniels’ attorney, Michael Avenatti—the most visible person in pressing the allegation against Trump — has himself come under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department. The charges? He supposedly made misrepresentations in a bankruptcy case involving his former law firm.
That’s an accusation that must resonate with Nigerian Senate President Bukola Saraki. He was recently exonerated by the Supreme Court following a nearly three-year ordeal over charges of false declaration of assets. It just happens that the charges were filed after he was elected Senate President against the wishes of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mayor under fire
Now back to Trump, another visceral critic of his has come under investigation for fraud. After Hurricane Maria devastated the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, the mayor of San Juan, the capital city repeatedly blasted the Trump administration for slow and inadequate response. Now Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz is being investigated for fraud and misuse of funds.
Cruz has charged that the investigation is a reprisal for her outspokenness. And the swiftness of the investigation right after her vocal criticism lends credibility to her charge. Of course, it is not unheard of for there to be fraud with relief aid. And given that Trump has not exactly endeared himself to the FBI, there’s the question of why they would go after his critics. But then Trump has supporters in the FBI, nonetheless. So, a witch-hunt cannot be ruled out.
One just hopes that, Cruz, a passionate advocate for her people did not succumb to fraud, and if she didn’t, the FBI would readily ascertain that and not put her through the Saraki ordeal.
Obama tops in poll
A recent poll of Americans found that Obama tops the list of greatest U.S. presidents “in our lifetime.” He must have been the beneficiary of the raucous presidency that succeeded his. Obama and Trump couldn’t be more unalike in their leadership styles. Where Obama remained serene in the midst of turmoil, Trump creates turmoil out of tranquility.
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