Opinion: Trump has humbled a nation he vowed to make great
By: Opinion by Frida Ghitis - CNN
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Opinion: Trump has humbled a nation he vowed to make great
President Donald Trump vowed to make America respected around the world. For years, starting long before he ran for president with the slogan "Make America Great Again," he complained , "the world is laughing at us." Now, in the ugly, waning days of his presidency, nobody's laughing. Trump took a country that was, according to Pew Research, mostly admired, and turned it into an object of pity and alarm .
© Drew Angerer/Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump leads a meeting with the White House Coronavirus Task Force and pharmaceutical executives in Cabinet Room of the White House on March 2, 2020 in Washington, DC.
The US faces grave, simultaneous crises; one an exploding pandemic, the other an attack on the country's democracy by a sitting president. It's hardly a scene that inspires awe.
The effort of incoming President-elect Joe Biden and his administration -- and of the American people -- to undo the damage Trump caused and push back against his most recent outrages will go a long way in determining whether the US can regain the global stature Trump squandered. The world is watching with astonishment -- as are countries who would normally look to the United States for leadership and protection.
Step one requires showing decisively that the voters have chosen Biden. That despite Trump's lies, he won the election. That's a job for all Americans who must continue to demand an end to Trump's machinations and reassert their faith in democracy. It was the work of American citizens that ended Trump presidency. Their continued engagement would help the healing. Then, Biden must start showing that America still supports strengthening democracies around the world and intends to speak out on human rights. At the same time, the new administration must return competence and truth to governance, beginning with the pandemic.
The United States, home to many of the world's top public health experts, institutions and resources, is in the midst of a what CNN's Sanjay Gupta and others have called humanitarian disaster, with the Covid-19 pandemic spiraling out of control. The medical aid organization Doctors Without Borders , better known for its work in remote war zones and natural disasters, has deployed to help Americans survive this calamity.
The pandemic itself is not Trump's fault, but his refusal to acknowledge the magnitude and urgency of the problem and respond accordingly, and his incessant lies and obfuscations that undercut the public health effort, are arguably the primary reason why this country, which was in a position to tackle the pandemic at least as effectively as any other, never managed to end the first wave before the second one started slamming like a merciless tsunami. Today, the rate of new infections is soaring , now approaching a barely-believable million new cases per week; more than one every second, with worse to come, according to experts.
As if the pandemic weren't enough of a national emergency, and America's abject failure to deal with it enough of a national embarrassment, Trump has gone to war against America's democracy before the eyes of an astonished world.
Trump has taken the globe's iconic democracy, the one whose declaration of independence was brandished and studied by democracy activists the world over, and sullied its political system by groundlessly attacking legitimate election results. A world that used to laugh at Trump -- and laugh it did -- is now deeply alarmed by what he is doing to American democracy, struggling to understand quite what happened to the country.
The organization known as The Elders, a group of senior independent global political figures founded by Nelson Mandela, is now urging American leaders to stand up for the country's democracy, as it has done in developing nations with shallow democratic roots and deeply unstable political systems.
The Elders expressed concern about Trump's refusal to adhere to normal democratic standards, "putting at risk the functioning of American democracy." The group's chairwoman, former Irish President Mary Robinson, said "It is shocking to have to raise concerns about US democracy processes as The Elders have previously commented in volatile and undemocratic situations such as Kenya, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe."
On a personal note, I share not only the alarm but the profound sadness at seeing the United States in this position. Like other journalists, I have covered the struggles of democracy activists and everyday people in many countries seeking to create or safeguard democracy where they live. I never thought I'd see that happen in the United States. In fact, the US was often not just the democratic symbol that those yearning for democracy looked to for inspiration and guidance. It was more than that. The US frequently worked, often behind the scenes, to support efforts to strengthen democratic institutions.
America's democracy will survive Trump's assault. He will leave office one way or another. But the damage he has done to America's standing in the world will linger, and the consequences will be felt by people far beyond US shores. Tragically, the impact will also hurt all those people around the world who have grown to count on help from the US.
Twenty years ago, when George W. Bush was running for president against Al Gore, he argued that the United States needed to become a more humble natio n . The claim reflected what he saw as a flaw in the national character. Bush argued that humility would pair well with America's strength and success. As it turned out, partly because of the 9/11 terror attacks and his disastrous war against Iraq, Bush failed miserably at turning the country into a humble nation. Ironically, it is Trump, perhaps the least humble man ever to strut the world, who has inadvertently achieved it. Except that what Trump achieved is not so much humility as humiliation. America remains strong, stronger than any other nation. But it will have to walk more humbly now.
The erosion of democratic institutions caused by Trump and by every one of his Republican and right-wing media accomplices is weakening the United States. It has already sapped its moral authority. Restoring it, first by defeating his assault on US democracy, will be a key job for the next administration.
To be fair, not everyone admired the United States, always a flawed country that perennially failed at living up to its ideals, especially when it comes to equality and justice. But it's hard to remember a time when the US was the object of pity, as it is now, the center of the global pandemic, its most fundamental institution, democracy, under attack from none other than the president.
In the end, the pandemic will be conquered, and Americans' struggles to save their democracy from a man who has no respect for it, will succeed. After this battle is won, Americans' determination to defend their democracy could end up again becoming an inspiration to others around the world. Recovering from this unhappy chapter will be the beginning of regaining respect around the world.
© Provided by CNN Frida Ghitis
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And what is Trump doing about it now? Nothing. He is hiding in his bunker.
What should he be doing about?
Thanks to his administration's efforts, the vaccines and other meds have been developed, and will soon be distributed
What SHOULD he be doing? How about telling people to wear masks, keep social distance and follow the guidelinss such as washing hands, using proper disenfectant, etc.?
The Pfizer vaccine that Trump and Pence are saying Trump had something to do with was funded entirely by Germany. In fact, Pfizer & its partner began human trials last April, before Operation War Speed was revealed.
This doesn't identify Germany, but it does state that Pfizer took no development $$ from Trump Inc.
This does:
But, my actual point is that while Trump is busy burning bridges with our allies, it looks like the Germans are likely to deliver us from this hell.
They have already come out publically that they were not a part of OWS. I bet they wanted to also say "Back off Trump and Pence. You had nothing to do with this and get NO credit what so ever.
What has been totally debunked? Can you provide a link that isn't an instagram cartoon? Paula made two statements - the first factual and the second conjecture.
Total crock Greg. Capitalism is driving the vaccine devopment, except for Pfizer which got a lot of development money from Germany. In spite of Trump's lie repeated by Pence & Kushner repeatedly, Pfizer received no development $$ from the USA.
They have a contract to deliver a successful vaccine if approved by the FDA et al.
Both Pfizer & Moderna vaccine will need a sub zero degree chain of custody before it can be distributed,
best guess April.
What you should not be doing is carrying Trump's water and believing every thing he says is factual.
Predicting the future is not one of your assets.
Who cares, anyway?
Thankfully 175 million Americans have a different opinion as to where Trump's leadership got them to where they are today.
Put your quotations into quotation marks or use the quote marks on the banner or else it appears you are plagiarizing notwithanding your providing a link.
And I still don't care. Pfizer isn't the only game in town, and others soon to be available may not need ultra-extraordinary storage requirements.
Wishful thinking...
It still requires a sub zero chain of custody for which there exists little infrastructural so far
and is only rumored to be headed to the FDA after Thanksgiving.
Actual experts suggest both Pfizer and Moderna vaccines wont be ready for the public until June.
Was Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Development Funded by Trump Administration?
Agreeing to a buy a vaccine once approved is not the same as funding its research and development.
More ass kissing drivel for dear leader posted on government sites.
I can predict that all of the government sites will be 100% more factual after 01/20/21
It is beyond naive to think that anyone is even remotely capable of changing our economic system from capitalism.
I'd say it's just outright stupid and delusional. There is no other possibility.
More unadulterated drivel. Where do you get this socialist nonsense, from Bannon, the outcast?
One would have to be inept economically to think that it is possible to dismantle capitalism in the USA. If we ever change to another economic system it will be the result of evolution measured at a generational pace. (Barring the USA being conquered.) And that evolution will be based on myriad complex factors most of which we cannot possibly know now and may never know.
They are useless propaganda today.
Did you listen to the latest speech praising trump creating the vaccine and saving millions of lives already?
Kim Jung Il blushed when he heard it.
Even China has become capitalistic - obvious to me even in my wife's immediate family, and look at how many billionaires there are in China now, let alone millionaires, among non-political individuals who are NOT Communists.
China has been capitalistic for a long time. They were initially a system of state capitalism (the state owns and operates industry) and eventually become a mixed system of state and private capitalism (our form of capitalism). Prior to capitalism emerging in the 16th century, China had a feudalistic system (as did ancient Europe).
Inept, or insane. I'm not sure which.
Bunker Boy is a very sad example of what an American President should be.
I want to point out that I chose the name and image of Confucius for my group as as being symbolic of ancient wisdom, and postings that are contrary to that are not welcome here.
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There is an effort to weaken the US. It has been going on for the last 5 years. Democrats; the lame stream US media; leftist Brown Shirts (Antifa [& BLM); China; Iran; &] our so called NATO allies are the root of the problem.
[As a member in good standing on this site, Buzz is free to comment on whatever subject he chooses, so long as he adheres to the CoC and ToS.]
Trump recently admitted that Biden had won, but said it was only because he had rigged the election. My opinion about that was that if Biden was smart enough, influential enough and powerful enough to rig the election to give him such a decisive victory he DESERVES to be POTUS. These days he is simply doing everything still in his power to throw roadblocks in the way for Biden to take over. I cannot believe that he has just provided or made it possible to lease mining/drilling rights on pristine Alaska lands.