President Donald Trump made mistakes in managing the coronavirus crisis in the US, making his country the world’s first victim of the epidemic. Yet his chances of winning the November election were not at all questionable, given the context of that election and the absence of a Democratic candidate with the popularity and political ability to end Trump’s presidency. Recent protests changed that, though.
The situation has turned quite a corner in the wake of the upheaval George Floyd, who’s African-American, was murdered by Minnesota police officers. Until then, President Trump never imagined that he might have to take refuge in an emergency hideout at the White House for fear of the crowd of protesters outside.
The president hinted that he had gone down to the bunker during the day “short little period of time[…] for inspection.” The New York Times reported that Trump was taken to a hiding place with his bodyguards. “Fake,” the president called the report, “they said it would be a good time to come down, to take a look, because maybe someday you’ll need it. ”
Still, to acknowledge that the possibility of using the bunker has been considered has many connotations. Nor did President Trump a few days ago imagine being abandoned in this difficult crisis by his Defense Secretary, Mark Esper, when he refused to endorse the idea of deploying US Military forces to counter the unrest.
“The option of using active duty forces in a law enforcement role should be used only as a last resort and only in the most urgent and serious situations,” he said. Esper even shied away from any decisions President Trump made to tackle the crisis, saying he had no prior knowledge of them. That raised doubts about his potential ouster.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany had to comment that Esper was still serving as secretary of defense. “Right now, Secretary Esper is still Secretary Esper, and if the president were to lose faith, we will all learn that in the future.” The gap between the President and his Secretary of Defense is at a particularly sensitive time.
In the face of this worrisome political landscape, President Trump has turned to the religion card. He took a picture holding a bible in front of St. John’s Church near the White House. But the conditions of the photo op caused him further trouble after police dispersed peaceful demonstrators in front of the church to clear the way for the president. “I didn’t say, ’Oh, move them.’ I didn’t know who was there,” Trump said.
The way some analysts put it, Trump has failed to deal with the crisis of tens of thousands of protesters across the US for more than a week against police killings of black Americans, calling for an end to racism and discrimination. The demonstrations were overwhelmingly peaceful. But some of them veered into violence and looting as a result of failed attempts to handle the crisis at its outset.
Some say that President Trump’s approach has worsened a great malaise in American society, that of a culture of hatred and incitement which, according to convincing scientific studies, is raging in some US States.
For some experts, President Trump’s rhetoric is fueling radicalism and spreading discrimination and hate crimes. A study by the Center for Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino, reported by the BBC, confirms that the rate of reported cases in many American multicultural areas has increased since 2016, when President Trump took office, with an increase in New York (24%), the highest in a decade, Chicago (20%), Philadelphia (50%) and Washington, DC (62%). School hate crimes surged by 106%.
All the more reason to question President Trump’s chances of winning a second term in the November elections. Doubts about his ability to win this battle, taking place in a tempestuous economic, political, security and cultural landscape, as well as the fears of the political elite about the future of the American nation, are growing as a result of President Trump’s failures to manage back-to-back crises, especially the deep division and polarization of the American people.
Statistically, a Reuters/IPSOS poll shows that most Americans sympathize with the George Floyd protests and reject President Donald Trump’s reaction to them. The poll found that 64% of adult Americans sympathize with these protesters while 27% show no sympathy at all. Nine percent said they were unsure. The numbers tell a story of how Donald Trump’s aggressive comments only exacerbated the crisis, as more than 55% of Americans said they disapproved of the way Donald Trump handled the protests, with 40% saying they rejected it outright.
Evidently, President Trump’s popularity is at its lowest level since coming to power. Domestically, the economic situation is deteriorating as a result of the coronavirus epidemic and the disastrous mistakes made by the President at the beginning of the crisis, which have left thousands of people unemployed or dead. The nation is culturally unsettled owing to heightened calls for incitement, hatred and racist crimes.
Externally, US Relations with allies and adversaries are experiencing serious setbacks. America’s reputation, prestige, leadership role and global influence have been eroded by Trumpian isolationism and the escalating complexity of relations with China.
In fairness, President Trump needs to pull off a qualitative feat to save his chances of winning the next presidential election, or else prolonging this atmosphere will greatly reduce his hopes of victory. As things stand now, the next election will not be a choice between the candidates, Republican or Democrat, but a vote to save the America people.
