Trump presidency: 100 days of contradictions

As President Donald Trump approaches his 100 days in office, there have been many contradictions, some that have been forgotten, and others that cannot be ignored. For example, on April 7, President Trump ordered 59 Tomahawk cruise missile strikes in Syria after video emerged of chemical weapons being used against Syrian women and children. A week later, President Trump used the “mother of all bombs” in Afghanistan. MOAB is a 30-foot, 21,000-pound weapon that reportedly targeted ISIS fighters hiding in caves.

These actions directly contradict Trump’s claim to make “America first” and to no longer be the policemen of the world. Secondly, Trump vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. However, with a majority of Republicans in the House and Senate, the architect of the Art of the Deal could not close the deal. He simply tweeted about the Freedom Party’s obstructionist ways and moved on to Tax Reform. His designs to reconstruct the U.S. tax codes may be the mother of all contradictions. This is the same president who refuses to release his own tax returns and, from all appearances, he never will. Trump promised to build a wall to secure the southern border and Mexico would foot the bill. Mexico is still laughing about that while American taxpayers could be stuck with a bill of $8 billion to $40 billion,

according to Bloomberg.

There is nothing new about politicians contradicting themselves; they wouldn’t be politicians if they didn’t. Trump has perfected mendacity to an art from, but to the detriment of his own credibility. For example, on his first day in office, he declared that his inauguration was the biggest in history. The U.S. Parks service quickly disabused him of that notion. Later, he was certain 3 million people voted illegally, denying him the popular vote in November’s election. That turned out to be a figment of his imagination. And, recently, without an iota of evidence, he accused his (bad or sick) predecessor of tapping his phones. That’s what happens from watching too much Breitbart and FOX News in the early morning hours.

Now if we can’t believe any of the aforementioned, why should we not believe that the recent military actions in Syria and Afghanistan were mere distractions to divert attention away from the investigation of the Trump presidency and its possible ties to Russia? After all, only an airport runway was damaged in Syria, no evidence of 98 ISIS fighters being killed in the mountains of Afghanistan has surfaced and no policy has developed from either operation. Apparently, the ploy worked. When was the last time you heard the name Vladimir Putin?

Finally, Trump claimed that he sent an “armada” to the Sea of Japan to rattle the nuclear cage of Kim Jong Un, the one world leader who may be more unstable than Trump. Apparently, the ship took the wrong exit and engaged in a joint exercise with Australia instead. But what the president’s rhetoric has done, at best, is create a crisis that rivals the thought of Russian missiles in Cuba in 1962. At worst, there is the possibility of mushroom clouds gathering on the horizon.

To President Trump’s credit, Neil Gorsuch sits on the Supreme Court, thanks to Republican senators nuking the confirmation rules. Trump’s only other victories during these 100 days are reversals of President Obama’s policies through Executive Order, an action the former president was excoriated for by Republicans.

President Trump’s three months in office has felt like three years, and when White House spokesperson Sean Spicer is at the podium, things get even more surreal. Rarely does a day go by without contradiction and issues of credibility. Other days, it’s difficult to differentiate if a Saturday Night Live skit is imitating the Trump administration or if the Trump administration is imitating a Saturday Night Live skit. Either way, it hurts the same whenever you laugh.

James E. Cherry is a poet, novelist and social critic from Jackson.