Contributed Post
Surely the former presenter of the ludicrously successful show, The Apprentice can’t be all that dangerous, can he? Perhaps not if he remained a businessman, property mogul, and TV star, but this guy is now in the most powerful position in the world. He knows very little about the world, has no political experience and has been sacking more political advisors, aides and cabinet secretaries than you can shake a stick at. He is under investigation regarding his links to Russia and his dodgy dealings during the presidential election, and he has taken on a hugely isolationist tone throughout his first year as president. Just how dangerous is Donald J Trump?
America First is an admirable slogan when taken at first glance. Yet it is divisive. Many political asylum cases are at risk of being thrown out and racial tensions have increased. This is a man who wants to put manufacturing and mining and steel back on the map of American industries. The grassroots Republicans love him for his pro-life stance, his reliance on conservative Christian values (so long as you turn a blind eye to the alleged sexual misconduct allegations) and his straight talking.
The rise of Donald Trump has been a response to the politicians of old who espouse to know what’s best for the nation, yet appear aloof and elitist. Even Barack Obama, for all his postmodern qualities, didn’t achieve a great deal in his two terms as President. Obamacare was not as successful as it should have been, the wealth divide continued to widen, and the Israel Palestine problem was never even addressed, let alone solved. In a second term, a President knows he has limited time left to craft a legacy so usually goes for it all guns blazing. Obama failed to do this, and Bush’s legacy was a failed war. Americans were hungry for something different, and Donald Trump provided this.
President Trump, for all his faults, appealed to many Americans. After all, he won an election. He isn’t a great orator by any stretch of the imagination yet he connects with millions of middle American families because of the ‘Make America Great’ again slogan. When has it not been great?
Donald Trump is a social media fanatic. Never before has a world leader conducted diplomacy over a Twitter feed. This is dangerous due to the childish insults being thrown at nations like North Korea and Iran. Fire and fury are emotive words and not in the pleasant sense. Kim Jong-Un is not known for his rational decision making, and the Middle East is the most volatile region in the world. Picking a fight with these nations is foolish at best and dangerous at worst.
Even with a Xi Jinping, a man he congratulated on making his leadership more undemocratic, he has been playing with fire. A new trade war has emerged with tariffs being hiked almost monthly, and the USA in real danger of suffering economically if China calls Trump’s bluff.
With close ties to Russia, dodgy dealings emerging and Donald Trump’s belief that he is untouchable for impeachment, he has free reign to conduct America on the world stage as he sees fit. Bill Clinton was impeached for less. The fact that the checks and balances that the United States relies on to maintain its integrity don’t seem to be working is the most dangerous thing of all.
