Getting rid of President Trump will achieve nothing

I suppose it’s a lot easier to be detached from the mess that’s happening in America being across the pond and sipping tea. But the most striking thing I found from the presidential race was the complete lack of criticism from this country and indeed Americans too of Trump’s Republican challengers.

In many ways, they were worse. Ted Cruz the Republican senator said there was no need to fund Planned Parenthood as long as America didn’t fall into a shortage of condoms and that the Colorado mass shooter Robert Dear was a “transgendered leftist activist.” That, reported by Rolling Stone, was all in one week of his presidential campaign. That man had the support of the party and real political experience.

Compared to Trump, I believe Cruz could have done a lot more damage. And it looked likely that without Trump, he would have done. Now that doesn’t mean I’m excusing any of the horrific things Trump has said. It’s just to make the point that American right wing politics, much like most right wing politics everywhere, is corrupt, broken and black to the core and not just to the orange flavoured wig.

This same rhetoric continues with Trumps presidency and a call to impeach him. This will solve nothing. Trump has already in a few days defunded Planned Parenthood, signed an executive order for his great American wall and called for a return of U.S black sites where torture is (kind of) legally ok, or at least legally ambiguous. However, this tirade would continue following a hypothetical impeachment through Trumps Vice, Mike Pence. A man who, like Cruz, is just as twisted as Trump yet has the backing of his party. From commenting that working mothers emotionally harm their children, to saying women don’t belong in the military (through a weird rant on Disney’s Mulan), that the LGBTQ community is ruining Western

Ted Cruz

From commenting that working mothers emotionally harm their children, to saying women don’t belong in the military (through a weird rant on Disney’s Mulan), that the LGBTQ community is ruining Western civilisation and that women who have miscarriages deserve punishment. This man is no saviour to end Trumps rule. He may not be a demagogue, but he is a devil.

A poll from the Public Policy Polling company found that 35% want to impeach Trump with 50% against it including 65% of Clinton supporters for it. Trump’s base is firmly behind him, but he’s not winning over those who didn’t vote for him, quite rightly. He’s clearly in over his head and doing a poor job already all political leanings aside but to replace him with a competent man who shares his ideology would only make matters worse allowing for more pushing of legislation most likely in more secretive ways. Two civil rights groups have already set-up the campaign to impeach Trump.

But that cannot be the answer. The answer must be from now until election time to refuse to acknowledge him as President, to take away his power by uniting in solidarity to aid those who will be targeted under Trump. The answer is more protests like the women’s march, to get involved in civil liberties group and our role in Europe is to pressure our governments to take as many refugees as possible now that Trump has cut off the borders.

A narcissistic psychopath is powerful because of the office he holds and the platform that allows him. If the office cannot be taken away then his platform must be rejected. Through protest. Through refusal to accept. Through joining in one global effort to ensure that the tireless work of activists over decades is not overruled by one spoon to mouth demagogue not to pass the office onto another one.