WELCOME to “The Apprentice President Show” at the White House. As former California governor and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger tries to get “The Apprentice” reality show an audience, erstwhile host Donald Trump is getting worldwide coverage for all the wrong reasons. Probably, Arnold show’s ratings may just rise, what with Trump’s unflattering remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast.
From day one, President Trump has acted more like a showman than the Chief Executive of the United States of America. He was more concerned about getting to the bottom of the number of people who attended his inauguration that was obviously much lower than that of his predecessor Barack Obama than on what the Women’s March and other protests around the world meant to his incoming administration. The ease in his signing executive orders undoing some of initiatives of the previous administration such as Obamacare and the Trans Pacific Partnership illustrated vindictiveness not decisiveness.
Instead of uniting his nation to “make America great again,” he has divided it with controversial moves on migrants and refugees. It seems like he may be losing allies (think Australia and Mexico) and stoking war (with Iran) with his tweets and comments, signs of disrespect to the position that he holds.
What was he thinking when he ordered that botched military operation in Yemen that caused the deaths of at least 14 suspected al-Qaeda militants, one US Navy Seal and civilians? Already there are allegations that the president had approved the mission “without sufficient intelligence, ground support or adequate backup preparations.” Such hasty decision-making is certainly dangerous for one who can order the firing of nuclear weapons.
In less than a month, the United States lost the respect of nations with the antics of White House apprentice Trump. It won’t be easy to regain that respect, if Trump does not transform speedily from showman to a statesman.
With Trump so far failing to pass the litmus test of leadership, there are expectations of Germany’s Angela Merkel becoming the champion of the Free World. Already, China has offered itself as an alternative to the “crisis” of Western democracy and capitalism with Chinese President Xi Jinping championing globalization during his speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And don’t discount President Vladimir Putin, who has acted with more swagger with Russia’s victorious role in Syria.
With an unwritten script on how he will lead the United States, Trump may need to realize that there are no “take twos” in the reality of the US presidency. There is no scriptwriter, director or producer to blame for mistakes, and the buck stops with the President, and his name is Donald Trump.