The rest of the world thinks we’re a joke. President Donald Trump will be the commander-in-chief for the next four years, attempting to guide us to greatness as he promised in his campaign. Before he even had a chance, however, he already proved what sort of leader he would be.
To the rest of the world, Trump is infamous for his flashy speech and poor ideas. When asked about Trump, international students will often joke “we’re going to build a wall!” before getting serious and asking me why anyone would vote for a man who makes blatantly derogatory comments about women, immigrants and even other Republicans.
I can only answer them honestly: I have no idea.
On Jan. 27, The Irish News posted an article about a Twitter account that “exists only to retweet people who regret voting for Trump.” The Trump Regret page is full of tweets and comments made by Trump voters who, in the two months since his election, have come to regret their decision last November. Most recently, the page has been filled with responses to Trump’s obsession with his inauguration crowd. Many of his supporters see his fixation on photographic proof as petty, as do people from most of Europe.
These are the kind of articles the rest of the world is reading. Trump is shown to be childish and emotionally driven. While it’s important for our president to empathize with our struggles and the hardships of the world, in order to make informed decisions, it’s a different matter entirely for the person with their finger on the button to be swept away by ego and personal vendettas.
This does not end with Trump himself, but extends to the rest of his cabinet. Time and time again, he has nominated under-qualified people to important positions in our agencies of government and the world has watched them struggle to answer questions.
Ben Carson was offered the position of Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Many had doubts about a neurosurgeon’s place despite Carson’s reassurances that there was a “real nexus” between health and housing. Those doubts were only solidified when Carson wouldn’t give Sen. Elizabeth Warren a straight answer when asked if any of the funding the HUD received would benefit Trump’s business interests.
Betsy DeVos, Trump’s pick for Secretary of Education, refused to give a clear answer on the place of guns in schools or if she would fight against sexual assault on college campuses as the Obama administration did. Her inexperience in the field, like Carson’s, raised some red flags in her interview as well. When questioned by Sen. Tim Kaine, DeVos didn’t seem to understand a major civil rights rule or how, under her guidance, federally funded schools would be held accountable for performance standards in the future.
The predominant feature in Trump’s choices seems to be outside perspective. Given how many people voted for Trump because they wanted a change in the established system of government, this seems fitting. Other people view this inexperience as a deal breaker. On top of Trump being inexperienced in politics and seemingly uncontrollable on Twitter for the whole world to see, his administration is not held in high regard either.
The world thinks we’re making mistake after mistake and these slip-ups do not solely affect the U.S., but other countries as well. Their concern is warranted. Trump is driving the car and we’ve all seen his road rage. It’s our responsibility to change course before we crash.
