Trump weakened America’s foundation
Several world despots will miss President Donald Trump but none more than Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump provided Putin with an unimaginable gift, an American president who would attack the foundations of our democracy and ignore the crimes of the Russian government.
As president, Trump often cast doubt on the integrity of our media, our intelligence agencies, our public health experts, our military and our election process. Had such attacks come directly from the Kremlin, Americans would have summarily dismissed them as propaganda. However, they came from a sitting U.S. president.
Trump was eager to criticize our allies and abandon international agreements. Yet, he didn’t question the policies and actions of Putin, who, among other alleged crimes, is believed to have engineered the assassination of political adversaries. Moreover, Trump consistently refused to blame Russia for cyberattacks on our country although the evidence was overwhelming.
Trump’s greatest offering to Putin was inciting his supporters Jan. 6 to storm the Capitol. Russian leaders said it was evidence of America’s decline and showed that deep divisions have left our democracy “limping on both feet.”
Rather than making America great again, Trump has weakened our institutions and provided propaganda to a totalitarian regime. Let us hope that the Biden administration can repair the damage done by the Trump presidency.