We’re just one week into the administration of the 45th President of the United States and already we’ve seen signs the end might be near. These are truly unprecedented times in the history of this country.
Never before has a president taken the oath of office with such high disapproval numbers. Before this year, the highest disapproval rating for an incoming president was George W. Bush’s mark of 25 percent. President Trump’s DR the moment he put his hand on the Bible was nearly double that at 45 percent. Anyone wondering how this vitriol and animosity by nearly half the country would manifest itself needed to wait only 24 hours. The day after the inauguration, the largest protest ever to hit the nation’s capitol took to the streets to voice their displeasure over our new president.
This has left many wondering if President Trump can survive four long years in the White House. Will the public cries for him to go eventually gain enough strength to force him out of office? The short answer appears to be, by itself, no. However, because he is so incredibly unpopular with the American people, he’s not going to have a lot of breathing room when things start to go south.
And if his first week in office, is any indication, it appears it is inevitable the Trump administration will find itself in serious jeopardy. Here are just a few landmines that could blow up the Trump presidency.
To Russia With Treason
There is far too much smoke to believe there isn’t a fire in the area of dubious dealings between Vladimir Putin and Trump’s inner circle. It seems more than conspicuous that most of Trump’s key comrades…er I mean, colleagues all have a close connection with Russia. Most notably, Secretary of State and The Simpsons oil tycoon stereotype Rex Tillerson raised eyebrows at his confirmation hearing when he refused to frame Putin’s international aggression as war crimes.
It seems very likely this group will do something that is clearly not in America’s best interest and the rumblings for Trump’s impeachment or resignation will grow louder. This is assuming that no further proof of the Buzzfeed blackmail allegations surface before then. If those claims – that the Russians have blackmail sex videos of the sitting president, are verified, he would be done that day. Even the staunchest Republicans could not support a president who is in a blackmail positon to another global superpower.
Business Conflict of Interest
President Trump thinks he won by not putting his business interests in a blind trust but, in doing so, may have sowed the seeds of his downfall. The reason why every modern president who preceded him has done so is two-fold. It is to ensure the president doesn’t manipulate his business interests so as to profit from actions he takes while in office. But it is also to protect him against such allegations. The blind trust is a way to close off that speculation before it actually begins.
By having his sons run his business with only his word he won’t be involved, the president has opened himself to serious allegations of misconduct. Even worse, if this misconduct can be proven to have violated federal laws, his Presidency will be done on the spot.
Any casual observer would be led to believe that Trump does not have the self-restraint to not exploit a lucrative business opportunity when it arises. And when forced to choose between corporate profits and government ethics, it’s not even a fair fight.
His Ill-Advised War With The Media
President Trump has spent his whole life experiencing media coverage from the vantage point of being a celebrity. If People Magazine or Vanity Fair was going to print something he didn’t like he could easily bully or cajole them into backing down. He never had to worry about the harsh and brutal truth seeing the light of day. So when the press caught wind of the allegations of sexual misconduct and then the Access Hollywood tape surfaced, Trump became furious that the press was digging for the truth.
His unbridled hostility with the press paints him in a light as someone with something to hide. His only recourse is to try to delegitimize the press so as to cast doubt on any “facts” they report. Former Labour Secretary Robert Reich has an amazing video showing how the president is attempting to undermine the free press using tactics popular with tyrants around the world.
What Trump will learn is the national press corps cannot be bullied or intimidated into becoming the administration’s mouthpiece. This will only make them dig in harder to uncover the truth.
And when this happens, it will be lights out. If the other reasons don’t do the job first.