President Trump's Inauguration and the Day After!
23 January 2017By Saeed Qureshi
Within 24 hours of the oath-taking by the newly elected president Donlad Trump
of Republican Party at the Capitol Hill, the first executive order that he
signed on Friday January 21 was to direct the government agencies ''''to scale
back as many aspects as possible of the Affordable Care Act or the so-called
Obama Healthcare Plan.
The backlash to the first presidential executive order about the Obama
Healthcare Plan has been stunning and colossal. Not only within the United
States but hundreds of such protests have been observed and planned in the
coming days. President Trump should have taken some time before striking down
a healthcare plan that benefitted millions under-privileged and poor sections
and individuals of the society.
Incidentally, the ''Women March'' a representative organization striving for
women and children's rights all over the world held a huge gathering in the
vicinity of the White House and Washington Monument to raise voice for women
and children rights that would be curtailed by replacing or abolishing
Obamacare. It was participated by about over half a million people. That crowd
looked much larger than the one that assembled on the previous day to greet
president Trump.
It may be worth mentioning that such Women's Marches occurred all around the
world, with 408 marches reported alone in the US, and 168 in other countries.
''The march drew hundreds of thousands to Washington D.C. alone and anywhere
from 2.9 to 4.2 million in cities throughout the U.S., thus becoming the
largest single-day protest in American history''.
During his visit to the CIA headquarters on January 21, he spent a good part
of his speech in lambasting the media dubbing them as ''among the most
dishonest human beings on earth,'' accusing them for minimizing the size of
the welcome crowd on his inauguration day.
Simultaneously at his first news conference, Sean Spicer the new White House
press secretary, severely admonished the journalists for what he described as
wrongly and maliciously diminishing the number of the welcoming and pro-Trump
crowds on the inauguration day. He threatened to take the action against such
newspapers and even journalists. The television showed that the welcome crowd
at Obamas' inauguration in 2009 was much larger than that of Donlad Trump in
2017.
This can be construed as curbing the freedom of expression by intimidation and
by threats of using the state machinery against those news channels,
newspapers and individuals who write or report such matter that is distasteful
to the president and his cohorts. Would, for that matter the Republican Party
join hands with him in snubbing the media?
What difference then can be drawn between the controlled and oppressed media
of the authoritarian regimes and that of the United States. USA is a true
democracy with shining hallmarks of freedom of expression, liberty, religion
and pursuit of happiness.
If the new administration intends to curb the freedom of speech and
fundamental rights ingrained in the American constitution and which have been
in place and respected for almost two hundred years, then it would be the most
ignoble disservice to this great country which leads the entire world in
matters relating to the respect of its citizens and galore of liberties and a
firmly entrenched democratic culture.
It appears that the very start of the term of the 45th president of the United
states has been on the thorny grounds and with a mindset of belligerency and
bitter relations against whosever criticizes and opposes his government and
himself. It is to be seen that in coming days and weeks would the media corps
be tamed by strong arms tactics and threats of fixing the detractors.
Interestingly Mr. Trump sent a Tweet rejoinder over the huge Women's protest
gathering on January 21 in Washington and on other rallies in United States
and abroad. The message said ''Celebs hurt cause badly''.
In another tweet, he boasted that 31 million people watched his inauguration
on television that was 11 million more than the ratings from 4 years ago, on
Obama's inauguration. As a matter of fact, president's Obama's inauguration
was viewed by 38 million people.
President Trump and his team is going to start their governance in the
backdrop of a massive show of anger and hatred against the former president
and even the media. As such there are grounds to believe that the newly
installed administration with president Trump may not last long and may not be
able to complete its constitutional term.
It also evident that the president of the mightiest country in the world has
engaged himself in a frivolous tit-for-tat tweeting and name calling over such
non-issues as to whose crowd was larger and whose was not and whether press
reported in his favor or against him. It is unbecoming of a president who
should not stoop so low as to engage in a blame game like the children in the
streets.
President Trump nurtures a temperament that is shorn of tolerance and
compassion. He is in the habit of using filthy expletives and unparliamentary
language to discredit or demean his detractors and political adversaries.
Among his target of repugnance and diatribe are also the media and individual
journalists whom he unabashedly declares as ''dishonest media''.
Already the elections under which Donlad Trump won the presidency are shadowed
by question marks and controversy. The hacking of 2016 elections has not been
entirely ruled out and it is still a big question mark. Until and unless a
high-powered inquiry authority finds a conclusive outcome either in
affirmative or in negative this issue would remain burning and open to be
settled for the satisfaction of the other contender Hillary Clinton and her
Democratic Party. The hacking apprehension and issue cannot be swept under the
rug.
It would also be pertinent as to how president Trump would deal with South
America specifically Mexico and Cuba. If the past bitterness is revived, then
it would be a big setback to the policy of reconciliation enunciated by
president Obama. At the same time president Trump displays his intense hatred
towards the Islamic countries most of whom are the friends of the United
States all along. If under the guise of destroying Islamic radicals, the
societies in the respective countries are destabilized, then such a strategy
or outlook would turn the billions of Muslims against the United States. Why
president Donald perceives Islamic countries as enemies?
The best he can do is to help the Islamic countries under threat from internal
religious zealots and radical outfits by giving aid, both financial and
military, to help them and deal themselves with the indigenous threat of
militants. That would be a wiser strategy. If he wants to pursue an unwise
course of military intervention, then it would destroy the harmony that exists
between most of the Islamic states and the United States thus far.
Instead the hostility between the Islamic states and the United States would
pop up. The radicals would rebound and retaliate with a new vigor by pleading
that islam was in danger at the hands pf the heathen and Christian societies.
This looks like the clash of civilizations or a confrontation between islam
and Christianity
The United States is mostly out of the political and military adventures and
blocs for a few decades now, notwithstanding the military aid to Syria and
Iraq. But such a kind of international crusade is pregnant with extremely
frightening consequences and would revive the era of military conflicts; this
time against the Islamic world.
Simultaneously president Trump should not frighten the world at large with
scary tactics and threats. It is not going to work. He cannot force the
American entrepreneurs and industrialists to close their industries and
business networks overseas and in countries like China. It is a Herculean task
that might take decades to become fruitful and productive. In a period of four
years it would be impossible for the entrepreneurs to wind up the huge
business conglomerations on the call and in conformity with the wish of the
newly elected president.
As such president, Trump's agenda to expel the undocumented immigrants out of
America, browbeat China, destroy the Islamic societies, abolish Obamacare just
in opposition to a democratic black president, are non-issues and can blow
back in the most negative manner against the incumbent Trump administration.
The proposed Wall between Mexico and United States cannot be built in four
years' mandate of the incumbent administration.
In the meantime, one has to ponder why president Trump has a soft corner for
the Russian president Vladimir Putin and as to why he abhors Europe, China and
most of the Islamic States whose majority is having cordial bilateral
relationship with the USA in diverse fields and domains.
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EsinIslam.Com
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