Did Trump Change the World Order in Just One Week?

The Democracy of the United States has survived wars and the Great Depression. At no other time has the foundation of our Democracy been threatened as it is today.

THIS MEMORIAL Day, we heard much about all the brave men and women who fought and died so that we can live in a free country. They proudly gave their ALL. My greatest fear is that one day soon we may learn those we honored on this Memorial Day and those soldiers in the future, may have given their life in vain. Our democratic government is being threatened! I know that's an appalling statement to make and I do not make it lightly, but examine the evidence presented by the Trump administration.

FIRST, IT was proven that the Russians interfered with our democratic elections. Trump has denied this, and has never castigated the Russians for this dastardly deed. May I remind you, “Russia is an evil empire.” Not my words, but the words of President Ronald Reagan.

THEN THERE'S Trump's inexplicable obsession with the Russian government and Vladimir Putin throughout Trump's campaign. To this day, Trump has steadfastly refused to acknowledge Putin's heinous crimes against humanity. Instead, we learned that Trump's closest advisers have plotted and schemed to subvert our democratic government by attempting to set up covert communications between Trump, his associates, and Putin and his associates. Adding insult to injury to the American government, it was requested that Trump and Associates use the Kremlin's communication system to accomplish this work-around. Even Putin thought that was the most bizarre and shocking request his administration ever had.

IMMEDIATELY, upon taking office, Trump began alienating allies and ingratiating himself to dictators. You will recall Trump's strained meetings with Angela Merkle of Germany and Justin Trudeau of Canada. In contrast, you will recall the very warm reception given the Foreign Minister and Ambassador of Russia. Trump's gift to them was blurting out highly classified information. You will also recall his fawning over Erdogan of Turkey. Turkey, at one time, had a quasi democratic government. Under Erdogan, he moved to have the government changed to give him all ruling power. Trump's preference for these autocrats over our long-time allies was clearly visible.

NEXT CAME, Trump's first trip abroad—our Representative to the entire world. His first stop was Saudi Arabia, ruled by a King. (Trump's Secretary of Commerce said it was nice not to see protesters and placards when they arrived. In Saudi Arabia, doing such calls for beheading.) Trump loved the decadence of the palace and deference shown to the King. He pledged his friendship to this autocrat who commits crimes against humanity routinely. This was the “kind” Trump.

MOVING ON to the NATO Summit in Brussels, we saw the “bully” Trump. He acted like a belligerent, ill-mannered child. These are our closest friends and allies. These are our partners, but Trump's actions and words showed disdain for them. From the handshake attempting to dominate the newly elected President of France, to the shoving of the President of Montenegro to place himself in front of the entourage, he has created a situation with our allies that may take years to overcome.

IF THERE ARE any adults in the room, they need to discipline Trump and his associates. We now have enough evidence and information to pull security clearances of many of Trump's associates while we await the outcome of the investigation. Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and co-President, should be the first in line. At this point, we do not know the extent of the relationship with Russia, but continued sharing of highly sensitive national security information with these individuals is dangerous. It's going to be interesting to see who in the government has the guts to call for Kushner to step down until he is cleared. This is the prime reason we have laws against nepotism.

THE MOST compelling evidence our democracy is being threatened is Trump's war on the media. “Freedom of the Press” is so important, it's the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The media is not an “enemy of the American people,” as Trump has stated. Trump's consistent attacks on the media is creating an atmosphere of hate and violence that puts hard-working journalists at risk. Just last week in Montana, a candidate for the U. S. Congress body-slammed a reporter for merely asking an important question on the eve of the election. He still won and many electors stated it didn't make any difference to them. This man, now a Congressman, is dangerous. Trump's words put hate in his heart and he acted on it. His despicable behavior was rewarded, now he is emboldened. Speaker Ryan has the authority to refuse to seat him. Yeah, like that's gonna happen.

THESE ARE very confusing times. We don't know who our friends are. We don't know who our enemies are. We don't know who we can trust. After this much-hyped over-seas trip, Trump has not given any press conferences or interviews to tell us details and share his foreign policy plan. We've lost our way. We better find it fast or all those who gave their ALL will have died in vain.