Trump will not exit without creating problems

The time is drawing near for US President Donald Trump to pack his bags and leave the White House. He has virtually little to do, with just days left for Joe Biden’s inauguration. But, and here is the worrying part, he does not seem to leave without a fight. As if the Capitol Hill raid by his rabid fans were not enough, armed protests are likely before the inaugural, according to intelligence agencies.

The way he reportedly gave those incendiary speeches that led an unruly mob to attack the hallowed offices of the US Congress itself shows that the man appears to be nothing but a rabble-rouser who is full of himself. Thankfully, his days are numbered.

In the last three weeks, a bomb went off in a major city and the president said nothing about it. The coronavirus surged to horrifying new levels of illness and death in the US without Trump acknowledging the awful milestones. A violent mob incited by the president’s own words chanted for Mike Pence’s lynching at the US Capitol and Trump made no effort to reach out to his vice president.

Trump only belatedly ordered flags flown at half-staff to honour an officer who gave his life defending the Capitol, and couldn’t be bothered to describe the officer’s actions.

The transgressions, big and small – of norms, of leadership, of human decency – cast a pall over his final days in office, and, in the view of even close advisers speaking privately, have indelibly stained his legacy.

The notable part is that members of his own party have started slamming his acts, but he seems to be the least bothered.

“Even after losing the election, President Trump had the opportunity to leave the White House with his head held high, celebrating achievements like the COVID-19 vaccine, progress in the Middle East, and the vibrant pre-pandemic economy fuelled by tax reform,” said GOP operative Michael Steel, a onetime aide to former House Speaker John Boehner.

“Instead, he chose to wallow in delusion and grievance, and – as a result – the defining images of his presidency will be a bloody, murderous mob looting the cathedral of our democracy, the United States Capitol,” Steel said.

As the violence raged at the Capitol last Wednesday, Trump only reluctantly put out a pair of tweets appealing for calm at the insistence of aides. He followed it up with a presidential video on Thursday decrying the violence, apparently hoping to ward off potential legal exposure and efforts to remove him from office.

What is extremely worrisome is that armed protests are on the way. There could not be anything worse than this.

With just days to go for Biden’s inauguration, Trump has said nothing in recent days to quash passions or ensure his supporters do not again resort to violence.

He keeps tom-tomming about election fraud, about his political opponent and about members of his own party. After the Nov. 3 vote, he retreated into a fortress of his own making, unable or unwilling to concede defeat, and dragged millions with him.

As the coronavirus has killed more than 375,000 Americans in the last year, he has done little publicly or privately to try to manage the raging pandemic.

His spin doctors are praising his efforts, whether it is over the coronavirus or the decision to bring American troops home.

All said and done, there is a blot on his name which for all practical purposes, can never be erased. He will be remembered as a president who presided over some of the darkest moments in politics and events, be it his stand on immigrants or policies in the Middle East.