Authoritarian Leadership

Donald Trump’s Lack Of Concern For Human Rights In America And Other Nations

We now have a President who does not give a damn about human rights, whether in America or in other nations around the world. He embraces authoritarian leadership with gusto.

Nothing matters more than the defense and protection of human rights, but here we have a President who flirts with white supremacists, who promote antisemitism, anti Muslim, anti African American, anti Asian, anti Latino, and misogynistic attacks, and he has nary a word to say.

Here is a President who denounces Muslim terrorism, but ignores Christian extremists who encourage anti Muslim threats, and stir the kind of disaster that occurred in Portland, Oregon, by a Christian extremist, who stabbed three courageous men with two murdered, who defended two young women on a train from anti Muslim hatred.

Here is a President who consorts with governments that deny their citizens basic human rights, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, Russia, the Philippines, China and others, giving up the American ideal of speaking up for the basic rights of all people.

Trump even has the gall to say we have no desire to tell other nations how to treat their own citizens, when we have always stood, at least in theory, if not in action, for condemnation of such violations.

Trump has no concern for America’s basic values of civil rights, civil liberties, and human decency, and is ready to abuse those in any way he can, and to embrace foreign dictators who do the same.

This is not what our President should be representing or doing, and he needs to be attacked vigorously on this every day until he finally is forced out of office as a disgrace to the Presidency!

Donald Trump’s Love Affair With Authoritarian Leaders In Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Philippines, China And Rejection Of Democratic Allies

One of the most mystifying aspects of the Trump Presidency is his absolute love affair, his “bromance”, not only with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, but also with the authoritarian leaders of Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the Philippines, and China.

Russia is a growing threat to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Poland, along with Ukraine, and one wonder what Trump would do if Putin decided to invade those nations.

Turkey’s leader promoted violence against demonstrators at the Turkish Embassy in Washington DC, and Trump has nary a comment to make.

Egypt’s leader has established a hard line dictatorship, after a brief period of an “Arab Spring” four to six years ago.

Saudi Arabia is the most despicable country when it comes to human rights, including involving women, and there are no free elections.

The Philippines leader has caused the mass murder of thousands of suspected drug dealers and users, but many of them totally innocent, and Trump applauds him.

China clearly is not a democracy, and while we must work with them on North Korea’s threat, Trump has become a cozy “friend” of its government, ignoring their violations of human rights, and their assertions of rights to the waterways off of Taiwan and Japan and South Korea.

Trump embraces human rights violators and threats to world stability, while being rude and disrespectful to the leaders of our major allied nations—Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany,Italy and Japan, as well as Australia and Mexico.

What is going on in the head of Donald Trump?

Why does he seem to worship authoritarianism and show contempt for democratic nations?

In so doing, Donald Trump is creating an unstable world, which the United States will pay for in blood and tears, in the long run, even after Donald Trump is finally out of office!

The Double Standard For Donald Trump

Donald Trump has made more outrageous, deceptive, insulting, and inaccurate statements in nearly 15 months as a Presidential nominee, than any other Presidential candidate in American history.

Any other candidate would have been easily destroyed, or weakened, or repudiated if he or she made far less statements that were outrageous, deceptive, insulting and inaccurate.

It is frustrating to political observers that Donald Trump gets away with so much, and yet his loyal followers are not perturbed one iota by his sins.

It makes one wonder about the common sense and basic intelligence of those who adore him.

It makes one wonder about the dangers of a democracy that can lead people to support candidates that are as authoritarian, narrow minded, and intolerant as Donald Trump has proved to be in this campaign.

We have had authoritarian figures who have been a minor threat, such as George Wallace in 1968 on the American Independent Party; or Huey Long who was planning to challenge Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1936; or Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy, the leader of the Red Scare—but none are them were ever nominated by a major party for the Presidency.

So we are faced with the crisis that although it seems very unlikely that Donald Trump will be elected President in November, the thought that it COULD happen is terrifying enough!

The Donald Trump Connection To Authoritarian Leadership

It is very disturbing that Donald Trump has a connection to, and admiration for, authoritarian leadership.

Trump’s Russian connections are very troubling, and his lying about his past connections and relationship to Vladimir Putin are alarming.

The fact that Trump has suggested strongly that NATO needs to be reconsidered as part of American foreign policy, and his threat to stand aside if Putin were to try to seize the Baltic States–Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia–is an opening for Putin to take action, threatening the stability of the entire European continent.

The reality that Trump has his top aide, Paul Mantafort, having had connections to a pro Russian government in Ukraine, is horrifying. Trump has said that Russia does not control the Crimean area, which is delusional.

And Trump has also praised Kim Jong Un, the maniac who runs North Korea and has threatened nuclear attack against its neighbors and the United States.

It is clear that Trump is ignorant of the effect of his statements on national security and relations with our allies.

Were he elected President, the whole world would be harmed by his reckless speech and actions.

What Is It About Donald Trump That No Matter What He Says Or Does, It Seems Not To Affect His Supporters?

Donald Trump seems able to say or do anything, and somehow, it does not affect his supporters and undermine his candidacy!

He insults John McCain for being a Prisoner of War, an insult to the Arizona Senator and to veterans, and yet he survives criticism.

He ridicules a disabled journalist, an insult to disabled citizens, and yet he survives criticism.

He attacks women on their looks or intelligence, including Megyn Kelly, Carly Fiorina and others, and yet his misogyny does not seem to hurt him.

He attacks Mexicans in a derogatory manner, and talks of building a wall that will never happen, and yet he survives criticism.

He promotes the banning of anyone of Islamic faith from entering America, against our constitutional principles, and yet he survives criticism.

He does not reject David Duke and other white supremacists, and claims not to know about them, and yet he survives criticism.

He has followers who promote antisemitism, including David Duke but also others, and even has an Orthodox Jewish son in law, and he does not condemn such hatred, and yet he survives criticism.

He insults all of his political opponents, gives them all kinds of names, and makes up stories about them and their families, and yet he survives criticism.

He encourages harsh criticism of the news media, and promotes violence at his rallies, and yet he survives criticism.

He attacks Bill Clinton’s sexual exploits and blames Hillary Clinton for it, and he has scandalous sex scandals in his own background, and yet he survives criticism.

Donald Trump is, seemingly, not held accountable for his lack of specifics on any issue, and his reckless statements about domestic and foreign policy make him dangerous, and yet he survives criticism.

This is a man who is clearly a nativist, a racist, a misogynist, courts antisemites, is scaring our allies around the world, and has created a mob psychology similar to Mussolini and Hitler.

One has to wonder whether we are on the way to choosing an authoritarian figure who will destroy the Constitution and the traditions of this country, and maybe, just maybe, most of the American people will not give a damn!