‘I’m a proud American but what’s happening is a farce’
AN AMERICAN musician, who has lived in Wexford for the past 16 years, has lamented the path his country has taken under Donald Trump’s presidency.
Kevin Weaver is originally from Baltimore, Maryland, and says that he would have been a politically aware regular voter but not a radical in either direction. While he was a registered Republican as a teenager, he says he never voted for them and, as he got older, and after a spell in the U.S. Military, his politican leanings changed.
‘I saw the light!’ Kevin joked, saying he became more liberal in his views.
‘I have ideals and opinions that I try to stick by. The reason we have a secret vote is because we vote based on our own beliefs. I wouldn’t be inclined to speak out usually but Trump has polarised things so much that even the quiet people are saying ‘what the hell is going on here’?’
Rewinding to 2016, Kevin believes that the election was one in which ‘nobody’s hands were clean’ but he felt the Democrats had run the wrong candidate in Hillary Clinton.
‘ They had a good candidate in Bernie Saunders but they went with who they felt was the shoo-in candidate with all the credentials and the political machine behind her. I believed a lot more of what Hillary was saying but there were underlying issues - I’m not sure they were on the same level as Trump’s though.’
Though he is rarely out of the news, Trump made headlines in recent weeks for all the wrong reasons.
Royal protocol wasn’t on the brief when he visited Queen Elizabeth II or discussed Brexit with media.
‘I wouldn’t be up on Royal protocol but she’s been queen since 1952 - it’s a simple case of having respect but he doesn’t have that. It’s all about him. It was the same with the Brexit discussion, he turned it into an opportunity to talk about winning the election.’
By far the more serious incident though was the president’s remarks in relation to Russian interference in the election where, while meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin, he stated that he believed Putin when he said they did not influence the election, going against the findings of numerous American intelligence agencies. He later claimed that he had ‘misspoke’ on the matter and retracted that statement, following considerable backlash from the Republican party.
‘I watched that video and I don’t, for a minute, believe it was a slip-up. Even hardline Republicans are turning against him on this. When you’ve got people like former Vietnam POW John McCain, a quintessential, old-school American politican, using the word ‘ treason’, that is something.’
But Kevin doesn’t see a path whereby the controversial president could be removed from office, pointing out that Nixon had resigned before possible impeachment and Bill Clinton, who he believes was a great president, was found 100% guilty of misconduct but still kept his seat.
Kevin also worries that Trump has a good chance of being re-elected, pointing out that Americans had a history of not changing their horse mid-race. ‘George W. Bush got re-elected despite his many gaffs. I didn’t like him but at least he was presidential.’
Despite that however, Kevin says he can understand how Trump was elected, pointing out that the U.S. was a place of fear, concerned about terrorism and economic downfall, and needed a charismatic person to steamroll, claiming to have the biggest stick.
‘People fell for it. I’m not saying they were stupid – most of them are hard-working people who only see what’s immediately around them. There are people in the U.S. who have waited for someone like him - it’s a bit like Charles Manson, he never killed anyone but he charmed others into doing it, and that’s dangerous. I was in the States last month, it is polarised at the moment, it’s kind of frightening.’
Kevin believes that Trump’s dismantling of policy passed by Obama show him up as a spiteful child: ‘He’s doing it so he can say he knocked the Democrats out of everything. It’s spoiled child stuff. Obama was the great hope - I voted for him twice - but his hands were tied because he had no Congress control. Like Carter in the 1970s, I think he was a transitional president who will probably do more outside the office.’
He added that it was heartbreaking to see a once proud nation, a watchdog and protector of others, the way it was now. ‘It’s one thing running a company; it’s another thing entirely to be running one of the most influential countries in the world.
‘It’s a strange time for the U.S. and no one is safe. I’m a proud American but what’s happening now is a farce.’