Linton P. Gordon
President Donald Trump of the United States of America has the world on edge. His style of governing is beyond unique. It is rough, crude, uncouth and coarse. It is indeed more than what was known in the 40s and 50s as the “Ugly American.”
While we ridicule and laugh at the United States because of the conduct of Mr. Trump, we should never ever forget the bigger picture and it is that the world cannot be a safe and stable place without a safe and stable USA in the hands of a stable, rational and responsible President. The same can be said of the Soviet Union, the other major nuclear power.
The bigger issue to look at is whether or not Mr. Trump’s policies, be they his intention or not, are creating a division amongst the countries of the West, especially members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), to the benefit of Russia.
The United States of America has been credited with playing a significant role in the collapse of the Soviet Union which in turn led to the collapse of the Warsaw Pact, that collection of Eastern Countries which were under the umbrella of the Soviet Union and was the counterforce to NATO.
Mr. Trump is now going full blast at Turkey, a very important member of NATO. During the Cold War, several pieces of high tech spying equipment were installed in Turkey to monitor movements of troops belonging to the Warsaw Pact, especially as they travelled through the Black Sea on their way to the Mediterranean Sea. It was from Turkey too that other Eastern countries such Georgia, Bulgaria, Romania and what was then Yugoslavia were monitored by members of NATO, especially the USA.
COMFORTABLE WITH PUTIN
Mr. Trump has ignored the important role Turkey has played in the history of NATO and is now treating the country and its President as an outcast, unworthy of his company. He has now imposed tariffs on products from Turkey. But not only has he imposed tariffs, he has done so in a high-handed way calculated to humiliate Turkey. He has also been speaking down to other members of NATO including France and Germany. Perhaps the most significant decisions Mr. Trump has taken where NATO is concerned, is his refusal to condemn Russia for annexing Crimea.
Mr. Trump appears to be most comfortable when in the presence and company of rulers of the ilk of President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Kim Jong-un of North Korea.
Given the way Mr. Trump is behaving in his own country, one cannot help but form the impression that he has a longing to have at his disposal unilateral, authoritative and dictatorial powers, similar to those now enjoyed by the leaders in whose company he appears comfortable.
Mr. Trump has resurrected racism and classicism in the United States in the worst way possible. He has refused to condemn extreme racist groups. Worse yet, he has taken the lead to encourage and spread racism and divisions by calling black athletes “Sons of Bitches” and calling a former black female employee of the Whitehouse a “dog”.
This is the lowest level to which any leader of any country in the world can descend. Mr. Trump is scarring the social landscape of the United States in a way that will take years to be healed. His conduct encourages persons who had their prejudice under wraps to come out in the open and publicly demonstrate their racism.
The racist elements in the United States have taken their cue from Mr. Trump and this can be seen in all areas of American life.
Even extreme religious leaders in the U.S.A. have now been embolded by Mr. Trump and have come forward openly declaring that the colour of one’s skin will determine how he or she will be treated by God and on arrival at the Pearly Gate. If there is one thing that Mr. Trump has done for the United States of America it is to bring the county to a level where it is being ridiculed and laughed at all over the word. It is quite another thing for us to know that Mr. Trump has, at his fingertip, the most powerful nuclear arsenal on earth. This is an arsenal that can destroy the entire human race. It is therefore difficult not to be concerned about the United States whether we are laughing or we are saddened by the level Mr Trump has brought it to.
Geographically, Jamaica is not far from the United States and we have a significant number of our citizens residing there. We cannot therefore escape the effect of the Trump presidency.
Mr. Trump is not only a danger to the United States of America. He constitutes a grave danger to the world and this requires us to constantly and closely monitor his policies so that we can appreciate what might or might not be in the making for us and for the rest of the world.
America is no longer the leader of the Western World. It is no longer the leader of the Democratic World. America is now being led by a President who has no respect for his fellow citizens and this cannot be good for the democratic world.
