HAS TRUMP FAILED AMERICA?

The history of the United States chronicles a list of great Presidential achievements. They led and guided the country from a birth in revolution to a battle for unity during the Civil War, a Great Depression, global World Wars to preserve freedom and a Cold War crisis which threatened to ignite a nuclear holocaust. During these trials, American Presidents exhibited leadership qualities based on character, wisdom and honesty that united the country. Today, the United States faces a historic moment as a global pandemic threatens the lives of Americans and people throughout the world. Will American leadership rise to the occasion of this historic challenge?  In November 2016, Americans elected Donald Trump as President of the United States despite overwhelming evidence of incompetence, dishonesty and corruption in his personal and business life. Trump was a Washington outsider who promised ignored voters to “drain the swamp” of political corruption while making America great again. His vision of government was division based on extreme and exclusionary policies on immigration and racism plus a hatred for anything Obama. As long as he followed the Republican playbook of tax cuts for the wealthy, business deregulation, the elimination of the Affordable Care Act plus a conservative judiciary, life would be fine. The senior Republican leadership plus the adults in his cabinet would protect the country against his worse instincts. What could go wrong?

      Even though Trump and the Republicans failed to eliminate the Affordable Care Act due to the courage of a few Republican senators including the late Senator John McCain, they did succeeded in passing a Tax Cut Bill. This became the high point for the Trump administration as it benefited the wealthy and business classes while having a marginal impact on the middle class. It gave Wall Street a sugar high for a few days but ignored the negative impact on the nation’s deficit which now exceeds one trillion dollars. However, some of the professionals started to raise uncomfortable questions on how the country was going to gap future revenue shortfalls. The answer was to reduce entitlement programs while attacking the bureaucracy by eliminating or hollowing out programs or departments. In any case, the stock market was at all time highs. What could go wrong?   In 2015, President Obama’s National Security Advisor, Susan Rice, established the Global Health Security and Biodefense unit as part of the National Security Council. It’s mandate was to lead a federal coordination and preparation for disease outbreaks. It consisted of health and science experts with special knowledge and expertise in global pandemics. However, in 2018, National Security Advisor John Bolton gutted the department especially its offices in China. In response, Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio warned, “There needs to be one person at the NSC, with the backing of a capable team, who can coordinate across agencies to ensure that we have the resources necessary to guard against and respond to any outbreak that threatens the United States”. As the cases of coronavirus escalated, President Trump turned to his son-in-law, Jarad Kushner, who has absolutely no experience in this field, to fulfill the role of this deleted department. What could go wrong?

President Trump never recognized the magnitude of this pandemic even though there were ample warnings from different parts of the globe. He ignored the experts and his own government officials by turning to Fox News Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham plus Rush Limbaugh for advice. The talking heads arrogant and ignorant remarks not only put their listeners at risk but bordered on the absurd when some suggested it was a second Democratic attempt at impeachment. Because Trump views everything through the lense of re-election, he plotted on. The country fell behind the curve and lost valuable time. What could go wrong?

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YOU CAN FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE SOME OF THE TIME, AND SOME OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME BUT YOU CANNOT FOOL ALL OF THE PEOPLE ALL OF THE TIME. Abraham Lincoln  

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 Everything started to go wrong when the virus exploded in New York. The urgency of the situation overwhelmed the hospitals as people started to die in record numbers. The President was forced to bring in experts, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, who confirmed the virus was in the country and was spreading at an alarming rate. Something had to be done. While Trump stalled and procrastinated, state governors stepped forward into leadership roles. People started to listen to their governors as opposed to the president. It was obvious the country was unprepared in numerous ways highlighted by the lack of testing.

  It became obvious Trump was overwhelmed and lacked the leadership abilities to lead the country through this crisis. He personalized criticism and threatened to limit aid to governors of certain states who he felt insulted him by their pleads for help. At one point in referring to the disastrous testing programs, he said: “1 don’t take responsibility at all”. His daily press conferences were mixed and recently morphed into campaign infomercials. The stock market dropped to levels unseen since the financial crisis. The country was reeling as Republican governors ignored social distancing guidelines while getting mixed messages from the White House.

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 99 PERCENT OF FAILURES COME FROM PEOPLE  WHO MAKE EXCUSES. George Washington

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  While the virus has continued its deadly path, the president looks for scapegoats for the country’s unpreparedness. China, the World Health Organization, fake news, his advisers, previous administrations, etc. are just a few but as times goes on, he will add more. He has labeled himself a “Wartime President” while blaming others and passing “the buck”. The one critical trait missing from Trump’s leadership narrative which all leaders require during a crisis is honesty. Without honesty, citizens panic and their level of confidence erodes. This is Donald Trump's leadership moment but every day he and his Republican supporters seem more like The Emperor in Hans Christian Anderson’s story of “The Emperor’s New Clothes”.

  In 1962, the United States faced a nuclear crisis when missiles were found in Cuba. As tensions mounted, President Kennedy dispatched former Secretary of State, Dean Acheson, to meet with President Charles de Gaulle of France. While discussing the crisis, the Secretary told the President he had CIA photos of the missiles in his bag. As he reached for his bag, President de Gaulle said: “No, no, no, no, the word of the President of the United States is good enough for me.” It’s hard to imagine a serious world leader saying this about our current president especially in this time of crisis. American leadership is rapidly diminishing in the eyes of the world.    The future is unknown. There are crisis situations looming on the horizon such as global warming with the potential to cause devastating loss of life on a massive scale. Will we be prepared or will we rely on a President and a Republican Party that ignores science and facts? Will ignorance and greed place our children and grandchildren in grave danger?    As the Irish statesman and philosopher, Edmund Burke poetically stated: "A Great Empire and little minds go ill together”.

#crisis #leadership #pandemic #coronavirus #Trump