After President Obama, and probably most of the others before, we were expecting a President to act with poise and grace and be (somewhat) kind. This, however, is not the reality under the Trump Administration. Donald Trump is hotheaded, dangerously stubborn, and full-out delusional, and yet he is running the country. And he (or should I say Steve Bannon?) is not doing a very good job of it. We’ve seen so many heinous acts in the past month that I wonder what’s to come. What’s happening now is that Trump is firing all officials who are disagreeing with him and replacing them with people who do. If this isn’t scary and not similar to something a dictator would do, I don’t know what is.
The first in this string of firings was Sally Yates. Sally Yates was the Attorney General from the Obama Administration and was still in place until the confirmation of Jeff Sessions into her seat. It was during her tenure that Trump released his executive order on immigration. Organizations quickly began sending cases to court and the Attorney General is the one to act on them. Yates obviously read the constitution and refused to uphold the executive order. She was then fired and replaced by someone Trump knew would uphold the order until the confirmation of Sessions.
Next, Trump dismissed Michael Flynn, his national security advisor, after it was revealed that Flynn was in contact with Russia the same day it was discovered that Russia had interfered with American elections. Trump must not have fired Flynn because of this contact, because it was also revealed that many people involved in Trump’s campaign were also in contact with Russia at one point or another. So it seems that Flynn was fired because he was caught and media picked up the story. Not only is this extremely concerning in terms of national security and the validity of election results, but also because I wonder whether this will result in a thorough investigation of Russia’s involvement with the Trump administration. It doesn’t seem that way with the way things are currently going.
Most recently, Craig Deare, a top Trump administration official, has been fired for reportedly giving a private speech criticizing Trump policies and his inner circle of administrators. Deare was appointed by Trump to head the Western Hemisphere division of the National Security Council. The speech came at a time when Deare was frustrated at not being included regarding policy decisions regarding Mexico among other things. CBS News says he was escorted out of his office building.
As Vox recently reported, there are 549 positions Trump has to fill as part of his administration that require senate confirmation. Donald Trump has only filled 14 and many key roles are still missing. He has 20 waiting for confirmation from the senate. Michael Flynn, Trump’s former National Security Advisor, has currently resigned over a scandal with, you guessed it, Russia. He had apparently lied to US officials about his contact with Russia and was vulnerable to blackmail. Andrew Puzder has withdrew his nomination for labor secretary who was not the majority of Republicans’ favorite and was going through a divorce where his wife says he assaulted her. This still leaves many key members of his cabinet like Rex Tillerson and Jeff Sessions, but with the way they’re dropping like flies amid scandals, it leads you to question just who is next.
Not only have the firings been telling of the type of person, much less president, Trump is, they also lead me to question just how much farther the administration can fall. It feels much longer, but it’s only been a bit over a month of a Trump presidency and so much has happened and more is still to come. Trump is firing everyone who doesn’t please him and that isn’t fair nor is it democracy. It’s just plain terrifying. Having an entire administration of puppets is not what a good country wants or needs, but Trump seems to have no qualms doing this. The task falls into hands of the media and everyday citizens to fight back in whatever way they can and to ensure that our voices are heard. Trump consistently tries to put our distrust in the media so that it will have less credibility, therefore leaving us to rely on only Trump’s words for fact. This is dangerous and must not be allowed to come to pass. The media, as biased as they may be, are the ones we must rely on for what’s happening in the White House. To trust them to provide accurate, honest information that continues to inspire us to resist.
There have been numerous protests already but there is still more that can be done. If you can, donate money to organizations who directly defy Trump and his administration. Continue to call and put pressure on your Congress members to speak up about the injustice that continues in this administration. Sign petitions that are going around online. Keep using your social media by sharing relative information with your circles. No matter what you do, don’t get tired yet. There’s still much work to do.
