A PRESIDENT EXPOSED AND THE EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES
Yesterday, the ‘New York Times’ (NYT) in a bombshell report, exposed the US President as a charlatan and an ‘also ran’. According to the NYT, Donald Trump the 45th president of the United States, whose nett worth according to ‘Forbes’ is $ 2.5 billion, paid a measly $750 as income tax for the period 2016-2017! Yes, the master of the ‘Art of a Deal’, paid less taxes than an ordinary worker in the US and claimed all of his businesses were loss-making ventures.
Believe it or not!
The man who blames oppressed non-white Americans for not respecting their country for taking the knee when the US national anthem is played, has and continues to defraud his country even to this day, though he is in fact the sitting US President.
Unbelievable, we non-us citizens could not be blamed for feeling that the US President – an amateur in politics –, is simply following in the footsteps of some of our (Sri Lankan) own seasoned politicians.
For instance, during the hearings at the Commission of Inquiry into the Easter Sunday bombings, a number of witness openly accused our past President of being responsible for security lapses which led to over two hundred innocent people being killed, in churches and at tourist hotels on that fateful day.
Our then President went public in criticising his detractors even though sittings were ongoing.
President Trump too, dismissed the revelations of the New York Times as fake news. Yet, the fact remains the sitting US president has not paid income tax for the past ten years!
These strange goings on puts us in mind of childhood stories, like that of the ‘Emperor’s new clothes’. Trump and his past Sri Lankan counterpart both of whom strut around mouthing meaningless nothings, stand naked before the public today.
Both probably hope their base supporters will continue to believe them ignoring facts. But in Trump’s case, the situation is much worse.
According the New York Times’ report, Trump has guaranteed millions of dollars worth of loans which are coming due in four years. According to the report, Trump appears to be responsible for loans totalling $421 million, most of which are coming due within four years.
And if by chance Trump were to be re-elected President, his lenders will be in a Catch-22 position... to foreclose on a sitting US President or not.
Another problem comes to mind, Trump’s opponents charge he may be indebted to foreign entities ....
Trump’s problems seem to be mounting. The latest news of his non-payment or evasion of payment of taxes comes on the eve of his first public TV debate with his Presidential rival/ challenger Biden.
Trump’s mishandling of the Covid-19 crisis has left 7,361,611 Americans infected with the disease, and 209,808 dead. According to the ‘Guardian’, almost 30 million in the US are claiming unemployment insurance while hunger too is growing, with two-thirds of US households hit by coronavirus, facing financial hardship.
The 45th US President an open admirer of monarchs and dictators, appears to be treating the US as his personal fiefdom. Today, the President like his emperor counterpart in the Hans Anderson’s fairy tale, stands naked and exposed before the US public.
And there is a lesson in it for all of us, from the Executive President downward. Let us not have grandiose ideas of our positions.
It is to be hoped that media reports of a Presidential statement warning public servants that stern action would be taken against them in the event of failure to follow his (President’s) verbal instruction, is ‘fake news’. In fact it smacks of imperial disdain for one’s ‘subjects’.