It’s been a year since Trump was elected, and saying that it’s gone badly would be a gross understatement.
In the year since Trump was elected, diplomatic relations with our closest allies have been strained as the incompetencies of a 71 year old who has never held public office have become glaringly clear. For example, republican senator Bob Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has called for hearings on the President’s nuclear weapons authority. This is unheard of for a senator to question and examine the president of one’s own political party in such a way. And yet, this is the new normal.
Corker’s decision is appropriate as this President has demonstrated time and time again that he does not posses the temperament required to handle criticism from the press, much less provocations from a hostile foreign power.
If you voted for Trump, what do you have to show for it? Angry “snowflakes”? Is the bar that low?
If “pissing off liberals” is the only requirement for a successful presidency, I’d recommend reevaluating one’s priorities.
Voting is about the members of society coming together to elect a leader to represent ALL members in that specific society. If your definition of successful elected official includes making 50% of society angry, you’re missing the point.
One year into his presidency and Trump voters don’t have a wall. Obamacare hasn’t been repealed. Tax reform hasn’t been enacted.
Trump being a disappointment isn’t a conservative or liberal position to take. All American’s should recognize the degradation of norms which have taken place in Trump’s first year. From lying about his inauguration size, to feuding publicly with gold star families, to mocking a female television host for her plastic surgery, Trump has failed to adhere to presidential decorum. Republican’s, however, aren’t the only one’s who should be criticized for abetting his behavior. Democrats as well must be careful not to treat every Trump blunder as the end of the world.
Trump has been dogged by Russia revelations throughout the past year, with no end in sight. Republicans who stick by his side essentially have to trust that this serial liar-in-chief is telling the truth, when evidence to the contrary has been slowly been coming out for the last year. Would you make that bet? I wouldn’t.
For all their flaws, you could disagree with former President’s Barack Obama and George W. Bush on policy issues without calling into question their fitness for public office or asking if they had the temperament to handle minor criticisms. They were and continue to be, respectable men worthy of admiration regardless of their policy positions.
Personally, I’d consider myself moderately right-leaning, however, I believe in honest self-reflection of one’s party, regardless of party affiliation.
The sooner American’s recognize how badly Trump has handled the presidency, the sooner we can learn from the mistakes. For some Republicans, that means admitting they made a mistake in voting for him, for some Democrats, that means not overreacting to everything Trump does. No one party has a monopoly on the truth or the right way forward, rather, each must come to terms with their own flaws if they have any hope of enacting meaningful change in the future.
