Trump era first time I’ve feared for our democracy
President-elect Donald Trump is setting the stage for a rocky presidency filled with conflict, bickering, turmoil, miscalculations and potential diplomatic and military confrontations. He is constantly involved with responding to criticism by recklessly tweeting antagonistic comments to the American public and the world. It seems he might not have adequate time to fulfill his presidential responsibilities if he has to spend all that time tweeting out nonsense.
His tweeting is demeaning the stature of the presidency, and it encourages people to resort to cyber bullying.
Trump is approaching the presidency just like he ran his business and his TV show. He is playing “The Apprentice” and conducting interviews and hiring or dismissing candidates for positions. In many cases, he is making people jump through his hoops just to satisfy his ego. He is directly involved with making deals with companies. But this is not the primary responsibility of our president. Developing and implementing domestic and foreign policy initiatives and overseeing the operation of the federal government should be his major focus.
So far, with his disdain for intelligence briefings and his lack of intellectual curiosity, I fear we could be in deep trouble in the world, and our adversaries, including Russia and China, could take advantage of Trump's ego and his lackadaisical attitude towards the intelligence briefings.
Two of Trump's picks for high-level positions in his regime are extremists with possible fringe views. Advisers Stephen Bannon and Michael Flynn have made bigoted statements and promoted conspiracy theories.
Stephen Bannon, Trump's choice for chief strategist and senior counsel, was CEO of Breitbart News. Breitbart News is an extreme fringe news organization that espouses white supremacist views. Breitbart News has allowed writers to make inflammatory statements against gays, Asian-Americans, blacks, Muslims, Jews and women. At a book party held by Bannon at his Capitol Hill townhouse on Nov. 12, 2013, a reporter, Ronald Radosh, stated that Bannon said “I'm a Leninist.” Bannon said “Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that's my goal, too. I want to bring everything crashing down, all of today's establishment.”
Are Bannon and Trump intent on destroying the Republican Party and its leadership?
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is Trump's choice for National Security Adviser. Flynn has made disparaging remarks about Muslims and Jews. He was fired from his post as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) in 2014 because of his poor management skills and his terrible leadership style. He had an unauthorized internet connection in his office at the Pentagon when he headed up the DIA. Flynn provided classified information to other countries while he was a military intelligence officer in Afghanistan. The Army investigation and review by the Defense Department concluded Flynn was not authorized to divulge the classified information. Flynn is a rogue, off-the-wall dangerous general.
Bannon and Flynn should not be in positions of power in any administration.
Trump's children, Ivanka, Donald Jr., and Eric, and his son-in-law Jared, are on the president-elect's transition executive committee. They are involved in the decision-making process that determines who will be in the Trump administration, and it appears they will continue to be involved in the affairs of state when Donald takes the helm at the White House. The American people did not elect a Trump family committee to run our country.
Another major concern is the conflict of interest that exists between Trump's vast business interests and the presidency. Trump is handing the reins of his businesses to his sons, but it appears they will be heavily involved in providing advice during his presidency.
As a side note, I am amazed and concerned that Trump accused California, Virginia, and my home state of New Hampshire of voter fraud. He maintains millions of illegal votes were cast against him, which is ridiculous. I am sure election officials in the various states would have caught widespread illegal voting.
In New Hampshire, we elected a Republican governor and a Republican House of Representatives and Republican Senate. Surely, all of those so-called illegal voters would not have voted for any Republicans.
It appears Trump is filling positions with people who were loyal supporters during the presidential campaign, but they are not necessarily qualified and fit to fill the positions. He is loading up his regime with former military personnel and others who are part of the wealthy business elite. I am sure he wants to give orders to them, have them respond “yes sir,” and not question his absolute authority.
This is setting the stage for an administration with the trappings of the military/industrial/financial complex, and it does not bode well for our country. The administration is laced with disgruntled and discontented people.
Will Trump and his administration stand up to Russian aggression and Russian cyber warfare? It doesn't look good right now.
All of these issues loom very large in a Trump presidency and could create chaos, constant controversy, and national and world insecurity in a potential authoritarian administration. Our democracy and freedom could be in peril.
For the record: My family and my wife's family have a long patriotic history in the United States. We have had a close family member serve in every war from the Civil War through the Gulf War. I have voted in every election since 1960. This is the first time I have been concerned for the safety and security of our country.
The writer is from Londonderry, New Hampshire.
This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 1:45 PM with the headline "Trump era first time I’ve feared for our democracy."