NY.- Earlier this election year, with Donald Trump leading the race to become the Republican presidential nominee, The New York Times said Americans should pause to consider what a second Trump term would mean for the country and the world. And should be considered seriously. The responsibility that this election places on your shoulders.
In an op-ed, the Times warned that at this point, most American voters should have no illusions about who Trump is. During his many years as a real estate developer and television personality, then as president and as a dominant figure in the Republican Party, Trump displayed a character and temperament that made him completely unfit for high office.
As president, he wielded power recklessly and often brutally, putting his ego and personal needs above the interests of his country, the Times said. Now, campaigning again, their worst impulses remain as strong as ever, encouraging violence and lawlessness, using fear and hatred for political ends, undermining the rule of law and the constitution, applauding dictators and returning to power. Increases their efforts. He plans to retaliate with the aim of circumventing the institutional, legal and bureaucratic restrictions that limited him in his first term.
The purpose of the NYT, therefore, is to sound a warning as we begin the New Year.
According to the outlet, Trump’s four years in the White House caused permanent damage to the presidency and the country. It deepened existing divisions among Americans, dangerously polarizing the country; has degraded public discourse to the point that many Americans have become desensitized to lies, insults, and personal attacks at the highest levels of leadership. His disregard for the rule of law raised concerns about the long-term stability of American democracy, and his lack of moral compass threatened to undermine the ideals of national service.
The country resisted Trump’s presidency for a variety of reasons: his lack of a ready-made agenda, the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the efforts of appointees who tried to moderate his most dangerous or unreasonable demands. Most importantly, he survived thanks to people and institutions in his administration and in the Republican Party who proved strong enough to resist his efforts to undermine the peaceful transfer of power.
Therefore, it is instructive to hear the verdicts of some of these officers who served.
John Kelly, Trump’s chief of staff, called him “the most flawed person I’ve ever met”, praising him for not understanding why Americans sacrifice their lives in combat.
Bill Barr, who served as attorney general, and Mark Esper, a former defense secretary, both said Trump often puts his own interests above the interests of the country.
Even the most loyal and conservative of them all, Vice President Mike Pence, who took a stand on January 6, 2021 that helped incite Trump and his followers to revolt, saw through that person.
“That day, even President Trump demanded that I choose between myself and the Constitution,” he said.
If Trump is re-elected, there will be no such people in the White House. The former president has no interest in banning and has surrounded himself with people who want to institutionalize the MAGA principle. According to New York Times reporters Maggie Haberman, Charlie Savage and Jonathan Swan, Trump and his ideological allies have been planning a second Trump term for months. Under the name Project 2025, a coalition of right-wing organizations has drawn up a comprehensive guide and recruited thousands of potential recruits in preparation for an all-out assault on the American government and democratic institutions that serve as checks on Trump’s power. .
The project is tied to plans by Trump and his supporters to reclassify thousands of federal employees so they can be fired if they don’t fully embrace Trump’s agenda. He also plans to strip the Justice Department of its independence and use it to retaliate against those he believes failed to win the 2020 election for him or otherwise did not support his unconstitutional demands. There are more, including Trump’s threats to find ways to use federal troops against those who might oppose his policies and practices. These ambitions show that his bad instincts are exacerbated by his years outside of office and the legal challenges he faces.
Trump was impeached twice as president and has been indicted in four criminal cases since leaving office, two related to his efforts to sway the 2020 election, one for hush money for a porn star and another for gathering classified documents and government operations after leaving office. for obstructing. Attempts to recover them. No other current or former president has been indicted on criminal charges. Not only has Trump shown no remorse for these actions, but he has also shown no signs of understanding that the allegations are anything more than a political crusade aimed at undermining him. He claims that the January 6 coup has been distorted.
“There was love and unity,” he said in an interview in August. And he has suggested that, if re-elected, he could use his presidential powers to pardon himself.
Trump’s actions in foreign affairs are dangerously misguided and inconsistent. During his presidency, he has shown consistent admiration for autocratic leaders, including Xi Jinping, Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, and disdain for democratic allies. While in the White House, he has repeatedly threatened to leave NATO, an alliance crucial to Europe’s stability that he sees as a mere drain on American resources; Now, his campaign website, without going into detail, says he plans to “finalize” the process of “fundamentally reevaluating NATO’s purpose and mission.”
It has announced its intention to leave Ukraine, leaving it and its neighbors vulnerable to further Russian aggression. Encouraged by the American president, heavy-handed leaders in Hungary, Israel, India and elsewhere will face little moral or democratic pressure.
Trump has made clear his conviction that only “losers” accept legal, institutional or even constitutional limitations. He has vowed to retaliate against his political opponents, whom he has called “parasites” and threatened with execution. This is particularly disturbing at a time of growing concern about political violence, with increasing threats against elected officials from both parties.
Re-electing Trump would pose serious risks to the country and the world, the NYT warns, adding that this is not a time to sit on the sidelines, but a time to reengage. He urges Americans to put aside their political differences, grievances, and partisan affiliations and reflect as families, as parishes, as councils and clubs, and as individuals on the true intensity of the election in November.
