Living with a reality TV president

It is becoming increasingly impossible to keep up with the rough and tumble of the Trump White House. Just when you think you have managed to wrap your head around the latest sacking or knifing of a cast member in the comedy of the absurd unfolding before our eyes, something new happens to confound you.

The fun never seems to stop at this White House – much of it being put to good use by late-night talk show hosts and television writers. But reel life cannot match the originality and excitement of reality TV – which is live from the White House daily – to the horror and fascination of mystified Americans and people around the world.

The tweeter-in-chief burns the midnight oil to keep everyone perpetually engaged and at their wits’ end. Sometimes it feels as though, in the words of Jennifer Ruben of the Washington Post, Trump is not really president – he just plays one on TV.

Only six months after the billionaire-businessman took charge of the most powerful office on the planet, this administration has been in total meltdown. There is utter chaos and confusion on every front – more so inside the White House.

Not a day passes without some damning disclosures or scandals roiling the administration or claiming some of its high-profile members. The raging political storm over the alleged Russian hacking of the US elections, their intervention on Trump’s behalf and the ties of various members of the First Family to the Russkies simply refuses to blow over.

The bloodbath began with the sacking of Sally Yates, the acting attorney-general, who had strongly advised the administration against the travel ban on citizens of six Muslim nations. But no tears were shed for her as she was an Obama appointee.

However, the biggest first casualty of the men picked by the president had been General Michael Flynn, the national security adviser, over his involvement and ‘financial dealings’ with the Russian diplomats in the months and weeks before the election.

It was followed by Trump firing James Comey, the FBI director, because of his apparent determination to probe what is fast turning out to be the Achilles heel of this administration: the Russian connection. Ironically, Trump had not long ago praised Comey to the skies when he launched an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails in the middle of the presidential elections.

Comey’s sacking only deepened the crisis, leading to the bipartisan appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to probe the whole Russian mess. Indeed, it is turning out to be the biggest millstone around this president’s neck – his own Watergate, if you will. From the revelations about the Trump campaign’s numerous meetings with the Russians – some of them involving the son and son-in-law of the president no less – to Trump’s own admission about Moscow’s possible ‘involvement’ in the US elections, it gets more damaging and fascinating with each passing day.

In the meanwhile, Steve Bannon – the crazed, white supremacist guru and influential chief strategist of the president who has advocated a blanket ban on all Muslims – was either shown the door or walked out on his own.

Nearly 10 days ago, Sean Spicer, the mercurial White House press secretary who had been a source of much merriment on Saturday Night Live, quit over the appointment of Anthony Scaramucci as the communication director. Now Scaramucci is out too – apparently due to his foul-mouthed antics. A profanity-laced tirade by Scaramucci against Reince Priebus and Steve Bannon was made public last week and laid bare the bitter infighting within the West Wing.

And yes, the White House now has a new chief of staff in General John Kelly, a former four-star marine, after Priebus was fired. Apparently, Kelly has been picked up for his successful and ruthless crackdown on illegal immigrants across the country as the head of Homeland Security. Amnesty International’s Naureen Shah has argued that as the all-powerful man in charge of the White House, Kelly could turn out to be Trump’s enforcer-in-chief and prove even more ruthless in the administration’s crackdown on the poor illegal immigrants.

But can Kelly succeed where everyone else has failed – that is, in making this president think and act like one? As many on both sides of the political divide have rightly concluded, the real and chief source of this administration’s woes is none other than the man at the top. Trump seems to be his own worst enemy, as he goes about throwing his weight around and casually wrecking lives and careers – many of them picked up and propped by him.

Look at the way the president has been going after his own attorney-general, the veteran Jeff Sessions, attacking him repeatedly for recusing himself from the probe into the Russian ties. The president has been tweeting against Sessions and accusing him of being ‘weak’ and ‘beleaguered’.

Sensing his discomfort and possible reaction, both the Republicans and Democrats have repeatedly warned Trump against firing Mueller. If the president ignores the warning and sacks the special counsel who is known for his integrity, he could unleash a massive backlash from both sides of the divide.

The two avuncular adults in the administration – Defence Secretary James Mattis and Secretary of State Rex Tillerson – have been missing in action for some time, giving rise to rumours of their exit.

Meanwhile, Trump’s elaborate attempts to undo his predecessor Barack Obama’s flagship achievement, the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare, have repeatedly foundered – much to his embarrassment. The latest attempt to repeal it was defeated by just two votes, thanks to the critical support of veteran Republicans like John McCain.

Despite the fact that there is no Plan ‘B’ and that a thoughtless repeal of the existing healthcare scheme could imperil millions of American lives, Trump and the Republican establishment have been itching to throw it out, simply because it is not in the interests of their big corporate donors.

However, many in the governing party are also worried about a possible backlash from their voters. That is precisely why – despite the Republican control over both houses of the Congress and the White House – Obamacare has turned out to be far more robust than the designs of its critics.

The administration’s lofty promises on the immigration front have met the same fate.  The unprecedented, absurd ban on people from six Muslim nations has also been challenged in several US courts and thrown out. The strong checks and balances of American democracy have been valiantly fighting back. As for the big, ‘beautiful wall’ that the president promised to build along Mexico to keep out illegal immigrants, the less said, the better.

The same incoherence and disorder reign on the foreign policy front, making the leader of the free world a laughing stock. Trump’s Russian ties and endless adoration of Putin are not just a source of concern at home, but have been giving sleepless nights to America’s European friends and allies. The administration has also been sending mixed and confusing signals to its allies in the Middle East, further fuelling its dangerous faultlines.

In the midst of the Russia probe, the US has hit Moscow with punitive sanctions, largely under pressure from the Congress. This has provoked a swift and massive backlash from Putin, expelling more than 700 US diplomats and other officials.

It goes without saying that all this confusion and policy paralysis is not exactly helping America’s global standing and clout. And this is only the first year of this presidency. The problem is that unlike in The Apprentice, the reality TV show that made Trump a household name, the US voters cannot turn around and tell their president: ‘You’re fired!’ Having elected him by ignoring his eventful past and reputation, they now have to live with the consequences.

Email: aijaz.syed@hotmail.com

The writer is an award-winning journalist.