Donald Trump fails the test of accountability | Editorial

Presidents show their true character during times of crisis or when inevitable mistakes happen. But before, during, and after his time in office, Trump has consistently shirked responsibility.

Being president of the United States is an awesome responsibility. In addition to swearing an oath to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution, presidents decide when to send soldiers into combat and oversee a federal government that employs almost three million people and spends $6 trillion a year.

But presidents show their true character during times of crisis or when mistakes inevitably happen. During Donald Trump’s one term in office, he repeatedly failed that character test.

That’s because when things go wrong, Trump never takes responsibility. It is a character flaw that endangers the country if Trump returns to the White House. It is just one reason why the Republican front-runner is unfit for office.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Trump blamed a long list that included China, the media, past presidents, blue states, and hospitals. After he misled the public and undermined the science, a study found that Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic caused thousands of needless deaths.

Yet, when asked about his role in the lack of testing, Trump said, “I don’t take responsibility at all.”

That sums up Trump’s MO before, during, and after his time in office.

In 2015, he blamed Mexico for sending criminals, drug dealers, and rapists to America. Before the 2016 election, Trump blamed people of color and those with low incomes for ruining the suburbs. That same year, he blamed George W. Bush for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. When a couple of dozen women came forward claiming Trump sexually assaulted them, he blamed the media.

After a 2017 march in Charlottesville, Va., led by the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis, left a woman dead and others injured, Trump blamed the violence on both sides. That same year, after a Navy SEAL died in a raid in Yemen, Trump blamed the generals.

In 2018, Trump again blamed the media for the rise in anger after a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue. After General Motors cited Trump’s tariffs as a reason it was cutting jobs at five plants, he blamed the automaker for making “bad cars.”

Trump blamed OPEC for high gas prices that analysts said were caused by his tariffs. He refused to take blame for the impact those tariffs had on other businesses, saying the companies were poorly run. Trump later wondered if the pandemic was payback for his tariffs on China.

After taking credit for stock market gains, Trump blamed the Federal Reserve for a 2018 drop in share prices. In 2019, he again blamed the Fed for the sluggish economy and manufacturing slowdown.

Trump blamed the Mueller investigation into Russia’s election meddling on “treasonous critics” and former President Barack Obama. Contrary to Trump’s repeated false claims and Attorney General Bill Barr’s distortion of the Mueller report, the investigation found numerous links between Russia and the Trump campaign, along with evidence of obstruction.

After protests broke out following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Trump fanned the flames, then blamed the unrest on Democrats. Months later, he blamed Gold Star families for giving him COVID, even though he tested positive before meeting with them.

Before votes were counted, Trump claimed with no evidence that the 2020 election was rigged. He blamed Senate Democrats and big cities with large Black populations for stealing votes. Trump blamed his election loss on a fantastical conspiracy between “big media, big money, and big tech.”

Trump and his allies proceeded to blame his election loss on a kooky concoction that included Dominion Voting Systems, a deceased Venezuelan president, George Soros, state election officials, the U.S. Justice Department, the U.S. Supreme Court, and even Vice President Mike Pence.

After Trump fomented the deadly insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, he blamed Pence. After getting indicted for stealing classified documents, Trump, without evidence, blamed Joe Biden. He also blamed Biden for his indictment for trying to overturn the 2020 election. Trump used racial attacks to blame two Black prosecutors in New York and Georgia for those indictments.

Trump continues to blame his legal troubles on a deep state conspiracy, as if state and federal prosecutors in four venues got together to bring 91 criminal charges that include paying off an adult film star, attempting to overturn a state election, stealing classified documents, and attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election and block the peaceful transfer of power.

Many of Trump’s ardent supporters believe what he says instead of their own eyes and basic facts. But here’s the hard truth: Trump is like an incorrigible repeat offender who thinks he is above the law and refuses to take responsibility for his actions. Trump even blamed his wife for encouraging him to endorse failed Pennsylvania Senate candidate Mehmet Oz.

Trump’s sense of self-victimization was on display last week when a federal judge in New York threatened to eject the former president from court after he spoke out — repeating one of his oft-used, pity-seeking phrases: “witch hunt” — during the defamation trial involving a woman he was found to have sexually assaulted. The previous week, Trump defied a state judge in his civil fraud case by proceeding to give a rambling diatribe in which he whined, “I’m being persecuted.”

Trump’s lack of accountability stands in stark contrast to other presidents who faced the fire.

Following the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, President Biden said, “I take full responsibility for the decision.”

After the Iran-Contra scandal was exposed, whereby the U.S. illegally sold arms to Iran to fund a rebel group trying to overthrow a regime in Nicaragua, then-President Ronald Reagan said, “I am the one ultimately accountable to the American people.”

Days after the failed Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba, the White House issued a statement that said President John F. Kennedy “bears sole responsibility.”

Of course, former President Harry S. Truman famously kept a sign on his desk that read, “The buck stops here.”

The only time the buck stopped with Trump was when it went into his pocket. America can do better than an aggrieved, petulant president who blames everyone but himself.