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What on earth is wrong with Donald Trump? Explained

His impeachment, or if he does get kicked out one way or the other, will not only save the US and the world from him but also Trump from himself.

By Prabhpreet
|
Google Oneindia News

It's only been a little over four months since Donald Trump, the wealthy businessman more famous for his unethical practices than doing good, took over as the President of the United States of America. And nothing has made the country more divided on a single issue, with the exception of wars, as has Trump. This is quite an achievement considering that he became the President even when he got fewer votes than his opponent.

So much so, that the usually guarded use of the word and the process that it represents, Impeachment, is already being thrown around openly. And that it is being done so early in his presidency just shows what he and his actions are viewed as.

What on earth is wrong with Donald Trump? Explained

It would be calming to his supporters and neutrals to think that the hope and call for his ouster are being made by a group of over-zealous critics, who just don't like him and just want to see him go, and that he most probably hasn't done anything to merit such talk.

But sadly, the fact is it's not true. A number of events since he took oath, and many, which took place before it but only became public after, sincerely merit the mention of Impeachment at least, even if not the beginning of the process till allegations against him are proved in a legal manner.

And though for his supporters it may mean that he is not going to go anywhere anytime soon, this may not be good news for anyone, including Americans, the rest of the world and Trump himself.

The Russia controversy

The biggest controversy since he took over has been over allegations of Russia's interference in the country's election process.

It's a matter of fact and not just political rumouring that hackers from Russia, most probably government sponsored, got access to the computer servers of the Democratic party, the opposition to the Trump's Republican party, including those related to his opponent Hilary Clinton and leaked information that would be damaging to her.

To make matters worse and seriously support allegations of Russian interference in support of Trump, it is being reported that these hackers had access to information which would be damaging to Trump and his party, they did not reveal it. In addition, a mass propaganda machine, which spread false information against his opponent has also been reported.

Surprisingly, this is not what concerns Trump and his coterie. Well, at least not on the face of it. The present and of most concern to the President is the current inquiry that is looking into the allegations of Trump and his close aides being in direct contact with Russians and also that many of his choices to fill important official posts chose not to disclose such contact during the Senate confirmation hearings, which are the norm after selecting top officials in the US, that such officials are required to do so.

Who's lost their jobs so far?

And it was one of the reasons that his first pick for National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, had to resign from office within a month of taking over. While Flynn was also blamed by the White House to have misled Vice- President Mike Pence that he did not have any contact with the Russians, Trump's attorney general, Jeff Sessions, had to recuse himself from the investigations being conducted by his department into links with Russia after he failed to disclose at his confirmation hearing that he had contact with the country during the election campaign.

Moving on, Trump also fired the Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, who was investigating the matter related to the Russian controversy. And the fact that Comey is far from having had his say in the matter, as now Comey will be appearing in front of Senate committee to make the information he has public, something that would have been difficult if was still in charge of the FBI, should really worry the administration. The President has reportedly even called him a 'nutjob' and has been found boasting about firing him to the Russian foreign minister.

His Communications director also resigned late last month, and though such a step so early in the presidency would cause major scandal in another leader's reign, it did not under Trump. Where almost no matter what happens, it doesn't seem too bizarre to be reality.

Meanwhile, a number of officials have not lost their jobs since most of the positions have not been filled by the Trump administration. And this is not including his controversial choices for important seats such as the selection of a man who does not believe in climate change, Scott Pruitt, as the chief of the country's Environmental Protection Agency.

Is the controversy, and firings surrounding it, over?

Not by a long shot. It's now being reported that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, who also acts as an advisor to the President is now under investigation and his possible meetings with the Russians are being looked into. The fact that he will surely be not the only one should be of little consolation to him.

It should not be surprising that he holds much power in his administration as his daughter and Kushner's wife, Ivanka, along with others who are close to Trump, but have no experience in government or of being in charge of areas which are anything similar to such responsibilities, are given powers that would be considered unimaginable. At least in a presidency of any other leader.

With others including members of this inner circle and others still under suspicion when it comes to the Russian links, the controversy is far from over, And particularly as former FBI director Robert Mueller, who is well known for being a straight arrow and extremely thorough in his job now put in charge of the investigation by the justice department of the country. The expectations of more breaking news regarding further conflicts of interest and foreign meddling, can't be too far off the mark.

What has the world gotten from the Trump presidency so far?

In line with all this, it wasn't a bit surprising to those critics who have been warning about Trump, when he took to the stage in the White House's Rose Garden and went on a tirade against countries such as India and China on the role they played in accepting and pushing for the Paris deal on climate change. His speech, in which he said that the country will be pulling out of the deal entered into by his predecessor, Barack Obama, lasted almost half-an-hour and nearly 3000 words.

The deal was seen as the first real attempt at an international level by all countries to tackle the very real dangers of global warming and distributed not only the responsibility for it but also the plan for countering it to all countries. He called such a deal unfair to the US even when the country has been the single biggest reason for the impact of industrialisation and harmful change it has caused to the climate over the last century.

Other than this, his attempts to impose a travel ban, rejected by the courts of his country, on Muslims coming to the US from the Middle-East and Africa, have gone further in isolating the community and the countries where they are in majority. Such steps have to be seen as a continuation of his rants that were a major part of his election campaign.

He has also spoilt the country's relations with its neighbour Mexico by trying to build a wall along their border to stop the inflow of who he calls illegal immigrants and trying to make the Mexicans pay for it.

Such steps have helped create a vacuum at the geopolitical level, where the US has always been considered to be the forefront. After all, the President of the US is often described as the leader of the free world. This description though might not remain accurate for much longer as Europe has started to publicly hint that the continent cannot depend on the US anymore to lead the way.

This could play right into the hands of countries like China, Germany and Russia, who as it is were aiming to challenge the US's power in the world in the coming decades. And now with the rising claims that Russia might have compromising information on Trump and his aides, which could be used to make them, alter decisions in a way which could benefit it just show the scale of the crisis.

And this will go on, till he leaves office one way or the other

Surprisingly this list of what he has done wrong, to put it mildly, and only since his taking office, does not even include the misogynist, racist slurs that he has made that have become public but were made before him becoming President.

On top of that, it doesn't include the times that private organisations have fact checked his statements, which have been factually incorrect or to be more blatant just been lies. Such as claims that Obama wasn't born in the US, among others. A recent American fact checking exercise has been reported to indicate that all past Presidents have made inaccurate statement, including his predecessor, which touched the quarter mark, more than half of Trump's statement fit this bill.

Another major problem that critics and political observers have pointed out is that if he eventually does have to leave office in the middle of his term, through either impeachment or if he resigns, is who will take over. For all the issues that they have with Trump, they point to the fact that in such a scenario, instead of fresh elections being held, his vice-president, Pence, will take over.

A hardcore Republican with views that would be more in-sync with the 16th century than modern times, he according to them instead of being better, would most probably be a bigger challenge to counter in the fight to save the country's philosophy and way of life.

Putting all this aside, while all his actions and words have been mocked and criticised, he has gotten away with most of it as being labelled by many of his supporters as 'It's Donald being Donald' and that 'He doesn't really mean it' excuses. In all honesty, his presidency so far, as much as it is a challenge and threat for the rest of the world, is an even bigger threat to the President himself.

As till now and since well before the elections he has been a considered a kind of reality that is more in line with a joke than to be taken seriously, if he continues on the path that he has taken in domestic and international politics, and many feel he will do so as he doesn't know any other way, he may be remembered as a guy who did not just divide the world but also did irrevocable harm to humanity.

Everything said and done, the chances of him demitting office on his own or mending his ways remain small. As this would be considered a defeat and going by the kind of man he has been so far, it seems unlikely that he would accept this. And it would be hard to blame him for this as well since it is who he is and such rash behaviour that has ultimately made someone who never held elected office become the leader of the most powerful country in the world. He won't do it, so if it is to happen, it has to be done by others who care not only about the US, the world, but Trump too.

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