Gustavo Coronel
Just
a few days after his inauguration U.S. President Donald J. Trump has
already confirmed a doubly dangerous personal
characteristic: (1) acting on impulse in an attempt at being important
and pleasing his followers and (2), showing as incapable of retracting
himself, once his original action is shown to be wrong. The President of
the United States cannot afford to fly by
the seat of his pants but, especially, should be able to reassess when
this proves to be the sensible thing to do. The Executive Order issued
by President Trump to “protect the country from terrorists” is now being
challenged not only by the democratic opposition,
which could be dismissed as a purely political initiative, but by
federal judges named by previous Republican administrations, such as is
the case of Seattle judge James Robart and by key portions of the
Executive Power, the Department of State and the Department
of Homeland Security. The national uproar against this Executive Order
has been an unprecedented act of civic rebellion against a president who
has only been in the White House for a few days.
How is President Trump reacting to this? In his twitter he has just said: “The
opinion of this so-called judge essentially takes law-enforcement away
from our country, is ridiculous and will be overturned!” In the mouth
of Donald J. Trump the businessman and TV personality this language
would have been inappropriate but in the mouth
of the president of the United States it is unacceptable. President
Trump cannot afford to exercise personal disqualifications and disdain
for opposing views. He is no longer in charge of the Miss Universe
pageant.
In
a blitzkrieg of early actions President Trump has already managed to
quarrel with Mexico, Australia, Iran, China and is in his way to do so
with Israel. Watching him at work he does not look at ease in his job
and, therefore, tries to compensate for this
uneasiness by acting as a rapid and strong decision maker. In doing so
he is getting the applause of his inner circle but should do well to
listen to what the country at large is saying.
President
Trump feels he has to make good on his promises about the Mexican wall,
about immigrants, about Muslims, about the need to dismantle Obama’s
policies, just because they are Obama’s. But he has to remember that
Hitler also tried to make good on his promise
to exterminate the Jews and that Chavez, the Venezuelan satrap, also
promised to fry the heads of the opposition leaders in hot oil. In spite
of all the suffering they generated these men were not able to make
good on their promises. Also fortunately, the
United States has stronger checks and balances than Nazi Germany or
“Chavista” Venezuela ever did. They will act to impede President Trump
from fulfilling some of his promises. They are not all bad but some,
such as his rejection of global warming and his
elimination of rules for transparency in the behavior of U.S. business
abroad, are extremely negative for the planet and for the country since
they place the interests of minorities over the common good.
As
a conservative immigrant into this great country I am appalled at
President Trump’s dangerous bedside manners. I remember Casey Stengel
managing the original New York Mets, a great manager being given a
nightmarish team. Now I feel the opposite, as if a great
country had been given a nightmarish president.
Casey
gave up voluntarily but Trump might have to be impeached.
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