Analyzing President Trump’s actions since he became president, one has to wonder where his allegiance lies. Pundits speak about his ego and how his conduct is a reflection of his need for dominance and control, to feed his narcissistic personality. Supposedly, he is doing things that enhance his standing and his own interests. I don’t buy that. When one carefully examines his behavior, many of his moves are self-destructive, and even as a narcissist he must recognize this. So much of what he does also damages the United States, both internationally and domestically. Why is he doing these things? Does he want history to judge him as a fool and the worst president in the pantheon of American leaders? I don’t think so. I believe there is someone else influencing his actions, someone who manipulates him and makes him proceed with his extraordinary conduct. Who else could that be but Vladimir Putin? Who else benefits from Trump’s behavior that damages America?
The government shutdown is one illustration. It accomplishes little and hurts the American economy. The insistence on building a wall at the Mexican border. It makes the nation look stupid and wastes money that could be used more productively- building up the military, enhancing education, research and development, and so forth. And troops to the border means less training for the military and wasting money for nothing. Who gains from that? And the whole focus on immigration.
Putin and Trump know that immigration helps the American economy. New workers are needed for low-level jobs as well as skilled workers in the high tech fields. American population growth is not keeping up with the demand for new employees as is shown by the unemployment levels. Now, it’s possible that ten years hence, artificial intelligence will make these employees superfluous but currently they are necessary. Trump however, wants to keep them out even if they are needed for the economy. The Russian population is falling even faster than that of the United States, but Putin can’t attract immigrants to enhance population growth and his economy. Of course, the nationalistic Russians would not accept them anyway. So make Americans anti-immigration so their economy won’t further surpass Russia’s.
And who does the hurried withdrawal of our troops from Syria and Afghanistan benefit. Not American foreign policy in the Middle East. Merely the Russians, the Iranians and ISIS, all of whom are our adversaries. Why would Trump want to do this?
The trade war with China and the E.U. Who benefits from these? Not China, the E.U. or the U.S. It will injure U.S. manufacturing and the economy on a short-term and long-term basis. Economists agree that tariffs are bad for the economy. But if the American and European economies suffer, it’s good for Russia. Pressure on NATO and the threat for the U.S. to leave NATO. Who would be the biggest beneficiary from that move? Why Russia of course.
And Trump’s trillion dollar plus tax cut. That may have helped the affluent and corporate America but it increased the nation’s deficits and debt which means more money spent servicing the debt that can’t be used productively. When interest rates go up, it will really hurt the country. And it was totally unnecessary in a time of economic expansion. But Russia didn’t care. So what if Trump is screwing America?
Thus it appears that Russia gains the most from all of the Trump actions. But Trump must know that though it does not get him to stop what he is doing. It appears that he is performing for an audience of one. Vladimir Putin. What does Putin have on Trump to make him act against his own and America’s interests? Is it financial? Criminal? Pornographic? Whatever it is has turned Trump into a Putin puppet. How can other Republicans fail to see what is going on and do something about it?
Resurrecting Democracy
Political junkie, Vietnam vet, neurologist- three books on aging and dementia. Book on health care reform in 2009- Shock Therapy for the American Health Care System. Book on the need for a centrist third party- Resurrecting Democracy- A Citizen’s Call for a Centrist Third Party published in 2011. Aging Wisely, published in August 2014 by Rowman and Littlefield. Latest book- The Uninformed Voter published May 2020