Opinion: Give it to him, Trump has dented US image on moral leadership

President Donald J Trump

I am no admirer of US President Donald J Trump. Neither am I an American fanaticist. I am not a naïve believer in American exceptionalism or that America is the home of virtue and the ultimate land of opportunity.

America is a deeply flawed country. But despite the hypocrisy in many of its policies, America has always maintained a latent desire to seek the overall good for the majority of its citizens, those that it considers strategically important and to a large measure, the world.

But the greatest beauty of America is that it is never irreversibly imprisoned by its demons. That is why a country that was defined by the most cruel savagery against it’s negro population fought a war primarily to dismantle the slave economy.

The country elected a black man for two terms as president. America has exported its brand of democracy, not always for altruistic reasons but in that way enabled many nations all over the world to expand democratic freedoms.

It has stood with many causes for human rights and good governance, even as it invested in autocrats where the national interest demanded it overlooks its better instincts. While this country has had its share of law breakers, its commitment to the rule of law has brought down presidents, industry and financial moguls and mega institutions.

These positive America traits have made many world citizens harbour certain expectations about the content of its policies and the character of those that would seek to lead the country.

At the minimum, there are expectations that America would live by the commitments it has made to the world. It is not expected to easily renege on its commitments. There are also expectations of a certain basic decency in those that seek American leadership.

I was one of those who had no doubt that Trump would win the presidency. Americans have the tendency to pendulum swing and the eight years of Obama was going to produce the extreme opposite.

The eight years of Democratic Party rule followed so soon by a fairly centrist Bush presidency had lost many of the traditional American who tended to be white, middle aged, non-college, rural or semi-rural and conservative. This voter was waiting for a Trump.

Trump who, after a lifetime in showbiz, understood the power of media melodrama and the intricacies of messaging, crafted a brand and message that resonated with the “forgotten voter”. He convincingly won the election. It’s been 16 months since. In that time, Trump’s America has walked away from several commitments that took eons to craft, the most visible being the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Iran nuclear deal.

To his credit, Trump had promised to get out of these deals. Many Americans and many world citizens, however, expected him to temper on his wilder promises once he recognised the magnitude of his office. Wishful thinking. What Trump does not realise, or does not care, is what this gut-feel reneging does to American future credibility.

What has been amazing is the unashamed contradictions that some of his actions have been. He who vilified Obama for entering into discussions with the Cubans because they were autocrats had no problem with coddling the ultimate dictator Kim Jong Un without any precondition.

But the greatest damage that Trump has done to America’s profile is moral leadership. Trump’s documented dalliances with women during his marriage, his unchecked misogyny, racism and his obvious disregard for truth has defined a new low for American leadership.

America can no longer pretend to be the proverbial city on the hill. The interesting reality is that Trump is unchallengeable to the Republican base especially because he has touted their message above all else.

Even where his policies have benefited the swamp that he came to drain more than his forgotten voter, the latter believes his message absolutely. Consequently, we will be with the Donald for a while. By the time he is done, America will hardly be recognisable. Maybe that’s not altogether a bad thing!