Jason Hertz
Associate Opinion Editor
Okay, let’s talk turkey.
Donald Trump’s Presidency has been a national embarrassment. In the last year, he has insulted world leaders and threatened nuclear attacks with ‘fire and fury’ against nations. Granted, North Korea has made gestures, but that is nothing new to Trump’s time and we saw how past presidents were able to react diplomatically instead of throwing tantrums on the national stage. He has attempted to repeal Obama-era healthcare reforms, without replacing them with a new social safety-nets, which would have left millions of lower-class citizens to pay the full cost of healthcare out of pocket. I never thought I would thank the Republican party for saving us from that last attempt!
He has forced America to be the only country to not accept the Paris Climate Change Accord; further ruining diplomacy and trade with our neighbors. He admitted to firing former FBI Director James Comey, who was leading an active probe into criminal activity related to Trump’s own Presidential Campaign. Robert Mueller, Comey’s replacement, has already begun indictments against campaign managers and advisors since taking the position, lending believability to Comey’s original probe. Trump also admitted that the probe was the reason for dismissing Comey himself, contradicting an earlier statement of the fact. And let us not forget Trump’s first act as President, the executive order to ban travel from seven Muslim countries. An openly racist and religiously-motivated hate-action. So well done Donald.
Can we find a single positive action Trump has taken? There are a few we have yet to see the consequences of. His appointment of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court could have an impact for decades. I remain neutral on this point so far as we only have Gorsuch’s career as a guide. Trump took credit for successes in the campaign against ISIS, somehow forgetting that Obama was responsible for beginning the campaign and the operations that retook many of the key strongholds in Iraq and Syria. Trump even handed off most of the President’s responsibilities related to the ISIS fight to the Pentagon; so, he doesn’t get to check that box. He withdrew the U.S. from UNESCO over what he called an anti-Israel bias; which is like announcing to the world that no culture other than our own, and those who bring us billions of dollars by destroying their own environments, are worth protecting. He also took credit—noticing a theme here—for recent positive stock market and employment numbers. Funnily enough, most economists are citing Obama-era changes for the recent economic rise. The thing is, Presidential decisions tend to only be noticeable during the next President’s term. I have a genuine fear for our economy when changes made under Trump’s term come to bear.
Donald Trump has ostracized us from the rest of the world, made changes which will potentially harm our country for decades and could possibly start a new Korean War, and lied to our faces repeatedly to soothe his own ego. And I can’t find a single positive action that he has actually contributed to by his own merit, even if considered from a Republican perspective, which will help anyone except Donald Trump and his friends. This is year one of four.
