Tag: Trump inability to lead

‘You’ve absolutely failed’: Former Trump DHS official delivers damning takedown of president’s leadership skills

AlterNet logo

A new video from Republican Voters Against Trump was released on Wednesday. Like former chief of staff for the Department of Homeland Security Miles Taylor’s video, this one features Elizabeth Neumann, Trump’s former assistant Secretary for Threat Prevention at the DHS. Neumann was one of the DHS officials who spoke on the threat of domestic terrorism with the House back in June 2019. It was a hearing that highlighted the rise of the white supremacist and white nationalist movements in our country and abroad, and the dangers they posed to our democracy.

Neumann begins the video talking about her Christian faith and her 2016 vote for Donald Trump, which she says was based on his campaign’s “pro-life” stance. Neumann describes seeing the rise of the domestic terrorist/white supremacy agenda between 2017-2018. She says that she was asked repeatedly by many whether or not President Trump’s “rhetoric” made her job of quelling these domestic threats more difficult. “The answer is yes. The president’s actions and his language are in fact racist.” She explains that she believes Trump’s “divisive language is indirectly tied to some of the attacks that we have seen in the last two years.”

The two-minute video is somber and straight forward. Neumann is a Republican, forced-birther type. She was a part of Trump’s fascistic DHS program, but she was also there to do a job, she explains, and Trump was more than simply incompetent—he was an active impediment to protecting the American people. Continue reading.

A president ignored: Trump’s outlandish claims increasingly met with a collective shrug

Washington Post logoShortly after a deadly explosion in Beirut this week, President Trump offered a theory — backed by no apparent evidence — that the devastating incident was “a terrible attack,” claiming “some of our great generals” thought it was likely the result of “a bomb of some kind.”

Such a bold proclamation from a U.S. president would usually set off worldwide alarms. Yet aside from some initial concern among Lebanese officials, Trump’s assertions were largely met with a collective global shrug.

More than 3½ years into his presidency, Trump increasingly finds himself minimized and ignored — as many of his more outlandish or false statements are briefly considered and then, just as quickly, dismissed. The slide into partial irrelevance could make it even more difficult for Trump as he seeks reelection as the nation’s leader amid a pandemic and economic collapse. Continue reading.

‘Spinning his wheels’ and ‘bewildered’: New report exposes Trump’s complete lack of leadership ability

AlterNet logoA new report from NBC News on Friday night about internal White House debates shone a revealing light on the abject leadership failures of President Donald Trump.

The piece documents his dueling camps of advisers, both in the campaign and the administration, who are split over how Trump should react to the ongoing protests over the killing of George Floyd, police abuses, and racism more broadly.

Trump, the report found, is largely dismissive of the protesters themselves, saying: “These aren’t my voters.” This reflects a trait of the president’s that has repeatedly shown its ugly head throughout his term in office: dismissiveness toward constituents who didn’t vote for him. He clearly thinks he owes more to Trump voters than he does to the American people more generally. Continue reading.

Trump’s Allies Know He Has Failed

Defenders of the president seem to have settled on the excuse that the White House botched its pandemic preparations because it was too distracted by the drama on Capitol Hill.

“The White House was focused on addressing the threat to its survival,” argued the columnist Henry Olsen in The Washington Post, “not on preparing for a threat from China that might not even materialize.”

“Democrats pushed impeachment while coronavirus spread,” blared a Breitbart News headline, which was soon picked up by Sean Hannity on Fox.

Senator Tom Cotton has also adopted the theory, telling Politico, “It’s unfortunate that during the early days of a global pandemic, the Senate was paralyzed by a partisan impeachment trial.” Continue reading.

Trump’s parade of chaos and failure could trigger a historic shift for the post-corona world

AlterNet logoHistorically, in hyper-crises, local and global systems can change fundamentally. Before the coronavirus pandemic hit first China and then the rest of the globe, the question of whether the American imperial era might be faltering was already on the table, amid that country’s endless wars and with the world’s most capricious leader. When humanity emerges from this devastating crisis of disease, dislocation, and impoverishment, not to mention the fracturing of a global economic system created by Washington but increasingly powered by Beijing on a climate-stressed planet, the question will be: Has the Chinese dragon pushed the American eagle down to a secondary position?

To assess that question objectively in this unsettled moment, it’s necessary to examine on a day-to-day basis how the two contemporary superpowers handled the Covid-19 crisis, and ask the question: Who has proved better at combating the deadliest disease of modern times, President Donald Trump or President Xi Jinping? It’s chastening to note that whereas China under Xi has suppressed the latest coronavirus at the human cost of three lives per million population, the U.S. under Trump is still struggling to overpower it, having already sacrificed 145 of every million Americans.

To assess that question objectively in this unsettled moment, it’s necessary to examine on a day-to-day basis how the two contemporary superpowers handled the Covid-19 crisis, and ask the question: Who has proved better at combating the deadliest disease of modern times, President Donald Trump or President Xi Jinping? It’s chastening to note that whereas China under Xi has suppressed the latest coronavirus at the human cost of three lives per million population, the U.S. under Trump is still struggling to overpower it, having already sacrificed 145 of every million Americans. Continue reading.

The White House asked manufacturers for help — and then didn’t give them any clear instructions

AlterNet logoAs hospitals across the country face drastic shortages of masks, respirators and other vital equipment, the White House has sent out a plea for donations that’s left many recipients confused and full of questions.

In at least one instance this week, Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, blindsided private industry by requesting that construction companies donate face masks to hospitals. The White House then failed to provide guidance when directly asked.

Pence asked builders on Tuesday to donate the N95 masks used at many construction sites to local hospitals and refrain from ordering more. Within minutes, Stephen Sandherr, chief executive officer of the trade group Associated General Contractors of America, contacted the White House for more details, said Brian Turmail, a group spokesman. Continue reading.