It is no secret that Donald Trump has been surrounded by controversy and ethical dilemmas for quite some time now. From the beginning of his campaign, he was plagued by multiple sexual assault allegations, botched business deals, and a pile of lawsuits and disillusioned folk, which seemed to be near everything he touched. Many of this was hand-waved away with the same justification that got him elected. "Well, he's a business man!" For some reason when Donald Trump sends his business to China it's "smart business" but when Ford does it it's "stealing American jobs." Nonetheless, Donald Trump has been a hotspot for ethical questions since his emergence.
Donald Trump Jr.
As if it wasn't enough that the Chief of Government Ethics resigned last week, a series of emails have just been leaked, showing a conversation between Donald Trump Jr. and a Kremlin official. Within these emails, Donald Trump Jr. boldly declares his love and excitement for an alleged meeting to receive "dirt" on Hillary Clinton. This is not the first person near Trump and his campaign who has admitted to blatant and illegal collusion with Russia prior to the election. Yet, as many had feared prior to the election, it seems the populous has come to terms with these antics. Many of his supporters will simply argue that this is good strategy. The lines between Trump supporters and non-supporters have become so sharply defined that Trump supporters will quite literally endorse anything he does. When Donald Trump said prior to the election that he could "stand on 5th avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters" the saddest part is that he was probably correct.
Pictured above is one page of the alleged e-mail chain between Donald Trump Jr. and the Kremlin.
Prior to, and immediately after the election, there were many voices warning the public to not allow these unusual events to become normalized. This is precisely what has happened. It is easy to forget that Donald Trump called on Russia to hack Hillary Clinton prior to the election. Hell, it has even become easy to forget that just a few weeks ago, Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in order to "'ease the pressure' from the 'whole Russia thing.'
When did any of this become normal? You don't need a lawyer to tell you that Trump's offenses constitute obstruction of justice. The Trump family literally just admits to it now. Indeed, the American public is withstanding one of the greatest hoaxes pulled on them in history. The Trumps have managed to normalize collusion with what has long been considered one of the United States greatest enemies.
A fair objection to this viewpoint might be that it is time for the United State to work with Russia. This is quite odd. Most of the right wing conservatives, who holds this viewpoint, are the same folk who criticized Obama for not being tough enough on Russia. I suppose if Donald Trump says it, it is of course different. The Reagan worshippers seem to have a short memory when convenient. Nonetheless, the viewpoint exists. The problem, though, is that this is not the kind of cooperation the country ought to be searching for. It is absolutely in the world's interest to cooperate in Syria and on other international crises but that's not what's happening. Instead, the Kremlin has been able to essentially do whatever they want, and Donald Trump has been their number one apologist. The evidence is clear as day that Russia at least tried to interfere in U.S. elections and still Donald Trump does not even want to admit that it might be true (and in the only instance he has, he just blames somebody else). One ought not confuse cooperation with collusion.
Let's be clear. This is unprecedented. Never before in the history of American presidents has there been so many instances of blatant collusion with a foreign government. Even Richard Nixon likely would not have thought to consult a foreign government to interfere in the election. Richard Nixon's entire reputation was ruined over a single instance of conspiring against another candidate and yet Trump & Co. have not even made an attempt to hide multiple offenses. You don't have to like Hillary Clinton to recognize her as a legitimate candidate of a major political party in the United States. If you really think putting 'America First' is important, it's probably in your best interest to keep foreign governments out of U.S. elections.
Trump's obsession with the utilization of unethical behaviors to get ahead isn't just illegal, it's an endorsement of fascism. Trump strongly admires Putin in spite of his administration killing journalists and putting political enemies in psychiatric wards. He has praised Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte for his drug war, although Duterte admits to killing suspected criminals himself without due process of the law and has enacted Marshall law within his country. On the day of a questionable referendum in Turkey, Donald Trump called president Erdogan to congratulate him on the consolidation of executive power. Donald Trump has gone out of his way to recognize every single one of these men and yet would not even so much as mention the LGBTQ population during all of pride month. It is clear where Donald's priorities lie.
If you believe that this country is truly about democratic ideals, freedom and standing up for what's right, then fair and free elections is the touchstone of that. The American public cannot give these behaviors a pass, just as they should not give a pass to the clearly authoritarian tendencies of the current administration. Collusion with foreign governments against American political candidates cannot be normalized. Indeed, the tipping point of American democracy is near. Americans must now choose which direction they wish to take it.
