 "From cess to ceasefire, Trump faces crisis of credibility with unverified claims: 5 big patterns")
Donald Trump has plunged the credibility of the American presidency with few parallels in history.
Since assuming the office in January, Trump has waged tariff wars on partners, defied courts, threatened judges, engaged in blatant retribution, politicised the military and intelligence services, launched into false claims too numerous to track, and mainstreamed extremist figures that were once fringe.
Trump has made personal loyalty the basis of governance as he has pushed inexperienced friends to top positions and fired those with decades of experience.
At the same time, Trump has dismantled key relationships, such as the India-US relationship, for petty issues.
Here are five ways that highlight Trump’s damage to the American presidency.
Loss of credibility in international affairs
Trump bas besmirched the American president’s status as the Leader of the Free World.
In May, Trump falsely took credit for bringing the India-Pakistan conflict to an end with a ceasefire. He said that he threatened to stop trade deals with both the countries and arm-twisted the two countries into stopping the conflict.
At the same time, Trump has failed to stop wars that he pledged to stop. In Ukraine, he has had no success despite promising to stop it in 24 hours of taking office. In the Gaza Strip, he has failed on all counts: stopping the war with a peace deal, ensuring the release of hostages, preventing the deaths of civilians.
With Iran, even though Trump has claimed success, the extent of success in the June’s conflict is debated. Independent analysis —also reported by Firstpost— has found substantial damage but not obliteration as he claimed. Moreover, no deal has been made about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsOn the other hand, Trump has turned the United States into an imperialist power with stated agenda of annexing Canada, Greenland island, Gaza, and Panama Canal.
Politicisation and attacks on institutions
Trump has moved to sack senior officials at the Federal Reserve and Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) after data releases and decisions unfavourable to his agenda, undermining the independence of these critical institutions and eroding public trust in official US economic data.
Trump’s efforts to remove central bank officials on unsubstantiated allegations are unprecedented and viewed globally as a threat to the bedrock of the US financial system.
Separately, Trump has also weaponised federal grants to universities. While he has cited antisemitism and political bias to stop or cut funds, he has been accused of using government money to curb criticism and eroding academic independence.
In recent days, Trump has threatened to deploy military to Democrat-run cities to purportedly handle crime. Critics say that this is nothing but intimidation.
Vengeance and retaliatory actions
Trump has frequently gone after his critics and John Bolton, his former National Security Advisor, is the latest example.
Lat week, the FBI raided Bolton in a matter dating to Trump’s first term. The raid has largely been seen as politically motivated retaliation against a longstanding critic rather than a clear-cut legal proceeding.
Separately, targeted judges and filed judicial misconduct complaints against judges ruling against his policies with threats of impeachment.
While the FBI has raided Bolton and he has threatened to pursue investigations against several Democrats in the name of rule of law, Trump has himself pardoned a host of criminals ranging from January 6 rioters to jailed gangsters.
Trump has now sent Federal Emergency Management (Fema) employees on forced leave after they wrote a letter criticising his administration.
The Trump administration has barred law firms involved in litigation against him or representing his opponents from doing business with the federal government, pressuring some into free legal work to avoid penalties
Moreover, Trump’s Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired several military leaders perceived as insufficiently loyal, and the administration has revoked dozens of national security officials’ clearances, hitting Trump critics particularly hard.
Questionable claims, public fact-checks
Trump has frequently resorted to falsehoods to promote his agenda, such as falsely claiming that he ended the India-Pakistan conflict or that Ukraine started the war by attacking Russia.
Trump has also claimed economic data as fake whenever it has not suited him. He fired the boss of BLS after a recent report showed jobs growth as falling. He installed a loyalist in the post.
Links with controversial figures and recurring scandals
Trump has been linked with tainted figures like sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Even those Trump’s supporters and the far-right attacked the Democrats for years over ‘Epstein files’, the issue has now cornered Trump as his administration has refused to disclose documents to the people’s satisfaction.
It has also emerged that Trump had a closer relationship with Epstein than previously thought.
Moreover, far-right figures like Laura Loomer have acquired outsized influence in the administration and have been the driving force behind several decisions.
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