President Trump is termed weak in service
If
you think it's only Americans who are watching the news of a criminal
indictment and a guilty plea of Trump campaign officials in the Russia
probe, think again. Not only is the entire world following the dramatic
developments, but world leaders, in particular, are keeping a close eye
on a case that weakens President Donald Trump domestically -- and has
the potential to bring an early end to his presidency.
There's never a good time for a president to see former aides indicted, but Monday's events
-- the indictment and arrest of two campaign officials, including the
former Trump presidential campaign chairman Paul Manafort, and a guilty
plea by foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos, who admitted to
communicating with people he believed to be linked to the Kremlin to get
"dirt" on Hillary Clinton and arrange a meeting between Putin and Trump
-- came just a few days before Trump is scheduled to leave on a major
trip to Asia. The timing could hardly be worse.
The stunning events made front page news from Chile to the Czech Republic.
And there is no question that China's President Xi Jinping, now more
powerful than ever, is being closely briefed on the case. So is North
Korea's leader Kim Jong Un, as well as Iran's supreme leader and others.
How
will this investigation, which experts agree is only in its early
stages, affect Trump's ability to conduct business on behalf of the
United States and the American people? It erodes his standing and his
perceived power -- and hence America's, and it makes him less able to
persuade others to align with Washington. In addition, it has the
potential to cast doubts on his motives as he tackles international
crises.
When global
figures see an embattled President, they will see a wounded President.
Trump has deliberately tried to make himself unpredictable, even
frightening, to America's adversaries. That fear element will now be
magnified. Global (and domestic) audiences will wonder how his
decision-making may be affected by his political troubles.
Trump's
international standing is further eroded by his plunging poll numbers.
His approval rating at home, according to the latest Gallup poll,
has just reached a new low and his disapproval has broken to a new
high. Those numbers don't receive as much attention abroad, but when
they start scraping new depths, world leaders take notice that they are
facing a weakened President, who may have trouble mustering domestic
support for international agreements.
Around
the world people are wondering aloud what the future holds for Trump,
which highlights his weakness. The Jakarta Post wrote, "Never since the
Watergate scandal has a sitting US president been in a more perilous
position," noting that Trump's low approval ratings and lack of
achievements only make matters worse. "The worst is yet to come for
Trump," said the editorial, "and the world is anxiously watching."
In Britain's The Guardian, an editorial painted
a picture of a feeble and tumultuous White House. "Mr Trump's
presidency staggers on, unique and chaotic, defying many rules of
politics. But not the rule of law."
So, Trump leaves on Friday with his presidency under pressure. His claim
that the Russia investigation is nothing but a "hoax" concocted by
Democrats upset about their electoral victory has now lost whatever
credibility it ever had.
It
would be impossible for Trump not to be distracted by the crisis as he
meets with world leaders in one of the world's most tense regions.
The
trip will take the President to Japan, South Korea, China, Vietnam and
the Philippines. It will be a long, exhausting itinerary. The White
House has already cut the trip short, canceling plans for him to attend
the East Asia Summit, which US presidents normally attend, even though
he will be a few miles away from the venue.
Officials were reportedly concerned
that at the end of such a long trip, Trump would "get cranky, leading
to unpredictable or undiplomatic behavior," according to the Washington
Post. And that was before Manafort was put under arrest. It was before
we found out Papadopoulos is cooperating with independent counsel Robert
Mueller's investigation, possibly wearing a wire in the process.
In China, Trump will meet a Chinese President who has just declared it's time for China to flex its muscle and become a "mighty force" on the global scene, foreshadowing a dramatic challenge to American power.
The region is fraught with anxiety over North Korea's fast-advancing nuclear weapons program, and over Trump's threats to unleash
"fire and fury" to combat it. It escapes no one's attention that we are
speaking about the possibility of nuclear war more seriously than at
any time since the end of the Cold War, during a time when the President
of the United States is under extreme psychological and political
pressure.
If some people
at home and abroad were concerned about how Trump might handle North
Korea before this week's events, the worries have only grown.
If
Trump decides the situation warrants war, he is sure to face questions
about whether it is a "wag the dog" scenario, a war calculated for
political reasons to stoke patriotic support for the government. The
questions were asked
about Clinton when he launched military strikes in the midst of his own
political crisis, and you can be sure the same would happen again. That
might explain why US and UN North Korea monitors went on "60 Minutes"
last weekend to show just how real the threat is, with the American
commander in charge of watching Pyongyang's missile launches declaring
that North Korean missiles are now capable of reaching "California and beyond." Perhaps they wanted to remind everyone that the threat is real, no matter how they feel about Trump.
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