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The news story is a NYT piece about the general chaos in the administration over the past week of pieces discussing the situation inside the white house as a chaotic mess where staffers intentionally try and prevent some of Trump's destructive actions. Notable pieces that tell this story are an anonymous NYT editorial written by an anonymous high level official in the Trump administration, and a book by Bob Woodward, who was one of the journalists critical in uncovering the truth of Watergate, which eventually lead to Nixon's impeachment. This is critical for international relations because the President is meant to represent the US, and if his authority is being bypassed by members of his cabinet, that is incredibly unusual. This will also have some unknown impact on the midterm elections later this year, as people may be more willing to vote Republican even if they dislike Trump because they think other Republicans still have their best interests in mind.
Some questions to discuss: 1) Is presidential cabinet members deliberately and secretly acting against the President's wishes absolutely unacceptable regardless of circumstance, or is there some situation which may make such an act allowable, if so what? 2) What effect will these revelations have on the midterm elections.
I believe the revelations will have a twofold effect on the midterm elections. For moderate Republicans, the revelations may help them distance themselves from the Trump administration; as recent state elections have shown, Republicans are now struggling in traditionally "red" states because of President Trump's bitter and unchanging "us vs. them" rhetoric. For President Trump, the revelations may reinforce his view of himself as a strong president who doesn't change his policies and rhetoric because of public criticism. However, I doubt that the op-ed will have a significant effect on the public because much of what was revealed about President Trump - that he lacks the dignity required of a president - has been public knowledge for a while.
ReplyDeleteWhile I feel that it is unfair for a cabinet member to go behind the President's back, it seems like a sign that the White House is far from a well-oiled machine. Cabinet members are supposed to be advisors to the president and help him through decision making. Our country would be far more efficient and we would probably be able to more effectively satisfy the needs of the people if everyone were able to work together rather against each other. On the other hand, these are highly educated individuals working with Trump who likely know a thing or two about politics. If they feel that Trump is too volatile to work with, then they need to either try to find a way to work with him or to confront him person-to-person and let him know what he's doing wrong. Writing anonymously seems like a good way to inform the general public that things aren't going great, but it's not the best way to solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteGenerally, I would agree with Andrew. However, I feel as though, and this is my personal opinion, that Trump lets his pride take over and instead of acting rationally and maybe accepting that he made a mistake, he will lie to cover up his accidents. I think many of these people have tried to work with Trump and tell him what could be the best course of action, but he has surrounded himself with people who has the exact same values as him. I don't think Trump will listen to the people who have written this op-ed piece, especially now. His pride is too important to listen and reason. For the mid-term election, I am kind of hoping that this piece will make moderates think about the divide in the republican party and vote for change
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