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Cesspool of Uncertainty

The damage done by the Trump presidency runs deep. Even if a new regime takes the reins, this will not guarantee that the country’s woes will be miraculously solved.

By Taha Kehar | August 2020

As the 2016 US presidential race reached its denouement and the world had to accept the inevitability of a Trump presidency, a few analysts indulged in the futile search for a silver lining. In a conciliatory piece for The Washington Post – titled ‘Calm Down. We’ll Be Fine No Matter Who Wins’ – Kathleen Parker asserted that Donald Trump would be reined in by the House or the Senate if he came into power. In hindsight, the columnist’s conclusion was fuelled by the blind optimism that the institutions of American democracy would neutralize Trump’s impulsive tendencies.

Four years on, the Trump presidency has pushed the US to the brink of collapse. The institutional failures in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge in recession-related job losses and the ongoing protests against systemic racism in the country have exposed the fragility of the American polity. According to a national election model, Trump may lose the popular vote owing to the economic recession triggered by the global pandemic. In a similar vein, an extensive survey of the American electorate conducted by the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project has indicated that former US vice-president Joe Biden holds a “double-digit” lead over Trump.

Despite these optimistic signs, the damage done by the Trump presidency runs deep. Even if a new regime takes the reins, this will not guarantee that the country’s woes will be miraculously solved. At this critical juncture, the very institutions that were expected to impose much-needed constraints on an impetuous statesman have been drained of their vigour. Now that the checks and balances within the political system have been compromised, political norms have been consistently flouted and American democracy remains a pale reflection of its former glory.

Since he assumed public office, Trump and his cronies have repeatedly struggled to obey the law and have on countless occasions found ways to circumvent it. For instance, the law prohibits federal employees from overspending to benefit themselves or their colleagues during official travel. In the past, prison sentences have been meted out to federal employees who have violated this legal principle. In 2019, Vice-President Mike Pence’s visit to Dublin for a series of meetings resulted in thousands of taxpayers’ dollars being spent. Instead of staying at the site of the meetings, Pence opted to stay at the US president’s hotel, which was nearly 180 miles away. As per news reports, the vice-president’s decision to pay for his own room did little to salvage the situation since it involved him paying a chunk of his own salary into his supervisor’s pocket. Though he was criticized for breaking the law, Pence didn’t have to face severe consequences for his actions.

Similarly, The Hatch Act of 1939 disallows government employees – except the president, vice-president and a few designated high-level officials – from engaging in specific political activities. And yet, presidential counsellor Kellyanne Conway, who had persistently violated the legislation and even courted an investigation, wasn’t subjected to strict punitive action. This is primarily because Trump decided to disregard recommendations to take “appropriate disciplinary action” against Conway.

The Trump presidency has undermined the congressional oversight of the executive branch.

That Pence and Conway were granted exemptions depicts the extent to which Trump’s cronies can voluntarily opt out of adhering to an otherwise strict legal framework. It is difficult to treat these examples as one-off exceptions that have little or no bearing on the fate of the American polity. To the contrary, these trends may point towards an emerging trend of selective accountability that could erode confidence in the fabric of political life in America.

The Trump presidency has also undermined the congressional oversight of the executive branch and, thereby, the doctrine of separation of powers that underpins America’s constitutional system. In 2019 alone, Trump declined to cooperate with 20 investigations conducted by the US Congress. These developments portray Trump as a leader who prefers to exercise exclusive control over the executive branch – an approach to governance that defies the official protocol. The desire to shield his administration under the guise of a dubious form of executive privilege has resulted in critical information being withheld. According to news reports, the White House has admitted that transcripts of Trump’s phone calls with leaders of various countries have been transferred to “a secret server” that can only be accessed by a selected group of officials. Furthermore, officials have been prevented from making testimonies before and supplying key documents to congressional committees.

These attempts to refuse congressional oversight may be viewed as a distinctive feature of the Trump presidency. However, these tactics set a dangerous precedent that may encourage future heads of government to evade checks and balances.

The spirit of a strong democracy is vested in its institutions. Political leaders are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner to ensure that these institutions don’t lose their legitimacy. Trump’s unpredictable style of leadership and his penchant for frequent Twitter tirades may be forgotten once a new president enters the White House. However, the institutional weaknesses spurred on by the hotel magnate’s near-autocratic method of governance cannot be easily erased.

As the US braces itself for a contentious presidential race, it must remember that a new crop of leaders is required to restore the people’s trust in the institutions of American democracy. A frayed political system needs competent leaders who can revive the relevance of constitutional and political norms. As America moves beyond the difficult years of Trump’s presidency, it must work towards fostering a strong leadership that can pull its democracy out of the cesspool of uncertainty.

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