林德宜：特朗普美国最糟的总统

从大多数方面来看，美国卸任总统特朗普的任期对美国人、美国的幸福感以及在世界上的地位来说，都是一场不容置疑的灾难。

当他于1月20日离任时，民调显示他是美国历史上最不受欢迎的总统之一。根据主要的民意调查机构，包括保守、温和和自由派内的民意调查机构的数据显示，特朗普最新的支持率仅为38％，而反对率高达58％。在美国的现代历任总统中，受到美国公众如此负面反馈的总统，还得追溯到1945-53年任期的杜鲁门总统。

即使特朗普最忠诚的支持者，也不能否认特朗普以下的败绩：

●相对2017年奥巴马卸任时的4.7％失业率，当下的失业率为6.7％

●新冠疫情导致美国40万人死亡，是迄今全球死亡人数最多的国家

●财政赤字近3兆美元／12.09兆令吉。他上任时是6650亿美元／2.6兆令吉

●尽管对中国征收贸易税和疫情对全球贸易的破坏，美国依然面对著史上最大的贸易逆差

●美国现在从世界各地进口的商品和服务数量超过其出口的总量，也是史上最高的

对美国造成伤害

残酷的事实是，特朗普经济学扩大了美国的赤字，使美国人平均每年承受数万美元的高额负担，却同时让包括他的商业帝国在内的大财团和富豪从中受惠。

除经济上的失败外，人们也会铭记特朗普对美国政治体系的攻击。

选举结束后，就在选举人团召开会议正式确认拜登在总统大选获胜前，美国首都华盛顿特区开始流传，指伊朗计划在特朗普召集的集会前，向纽约展开类似911的袭击，以报复美国一年前对伊朗军官苏雷曼尼的暗杀。

讽刺的是，袭击美国首都的不是外国或外国恐怖分子，而是总统本人及其支持者。据美国3个联邦执法机构说法，特朗普支持者是“2021年最大的国内恐怖主义威胁”。美国联邦调查局，国土安全部和国家反恐中心最近在联合发布的情报公报中指，美国面对著的威胁来自于反政府和反权威的暴力极端主义者，例如民兵暴力极端主义者（MVE），基于种族或族群动员的暴力极端主义者和“基于党派政治而不满”的国内暴力极端主义者。

拒绝承认大选失败

特朗普多次在国内外，公开拒绝承认大选失败，拒绝关键州选举的结果，指称出现大规模选民欺诈和选举舞弊，呼吁美国群众推翻选举结果的做法──将永远记载在美国历史和政治课本中。

根据特朗普的说法，“美国就像是一个第三世界国家，这些选票从各地传来，通过不懂是谁拥有的投票机器涌入的。他们称之为‘小故障’。这些小故障不是小故障。这些故障被发现传来的数千张选票，全都是我的反对票。”

无论当前针对特朗普的弹劾程序结果如何，即使他最忠实的共和党盟友也必须承认，特朗普对美国国会大厦遭袭击以及前所未有的混乱和暴力场面负有主要责任。

美国人对特朗普总统任期的糟糕表现以及总统和国会缺乏领导力，带来的长期影响，深表关注，最近民调显示71.4％人认为，美国正在朝错误的方向前进，而仅14.6％觉得这国家走在正轨上！

至于对全球影响，奥巴马执政时的美国驻华大使骆家辉就指出，美国国会的骚乱，对美国在全球的地位带来的伤害。

“中国在嘲笑我们，并指美国一直在向世界各地推崇民主，文明和稳定的价值时，本身却不是一个典范……。长期以来，我们一直在向其他国家宣讲坚持法治，允许大选后政权转移，确保军方不会不满大选成绩，而介入并推翻政府，如今，世界各国……对美国所发生的事情深表关注，敦促美国人遵守法治，尊重选举的结果和权力和平的移交。如今这些国家反向对美国说教。”

《特朗普美国最糟的总统》（Trumpˇs Disastrous Presidency）原文：

By most measures Donald Trump’s presidency has been an unmitigated disaster for the American people and the nation’s sense of well being and standing in the world. 

When he leaves office on 20 January, it will be with the polls showing him to be one of the most unpopular presidents in US history. The latest calculation of his job approval rating based on polling data from the main polling organizations including a balance of conservative, moderate and liberal polling agencies found his approval figure at only 38% whilst 58% disapproved of him. No other modern US president - going all the way back to Harry Truman who was US president from 1945-53 has had such negative feedback from the American public. 

The record of his failure cannot be denied even by his most fervent supporters：

●6.7% current unemployment rate compared with 4.7% when Obama left office in 2017
●400k dead from covid, by far the worst of any nation in the world
●an annual deficit of almost $3 trillion. It was $665 billion when he took office
●largest trade deficit in history despite trade levies on China and the covid pandemic disruption. 
●the United States is now purchasing more goods and services from the rest of the world than it sells abroad than at any time in history

The ugly truth is that Trumponomics has exploded the US deficit, burdened the average American tens of thousands of dollars annually in higher bills whilst lining the pockets of the wealthy and corporations, including his own business empire.

More than his economic failure, Trump will be remembered for his assault on the very heart of the US political system.

Self Inflicted Damage to US Position

Following the election count, and just before the convening of the Electoral College to formally ratify Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election, the rumour had swept Washington DC that Iran was planning a strike along the lines of the 9-11 attack on New York ahead of the Trump rally in the capital to avenge the assassination of Iranian general Soleimani by the US.

The irony of this story is that it was not a foreign country or foreign terrorists that struck at the US capital but the President himself and his supporters. According to a trio of US federal law enforcement agencies, Trumpers pose "the greatest domestic terrorism threat in 2021”. The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the National Counterterrorism Center recently announced in a Joint Intelligence Bulletin that the threat comes from "anti-government or anti-authority violent extremists," such as militia violent extremists (MVEs), racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists and domestic violent extremists "citing partisan political grievances."

Refusing to concede defeat in the election, rejecting the election results in key states, alleging massive voter fraud and electoral malpractice, Trump’s statements and call to the American masses to overturn the election outcome - repeated many times to audiences not only in the US but around the world - will be forever etched in the books of US history and politics. 

According to Trump, “the US is “like a third-world country -- these ballots pouring in from everywhere, using machinery that nobody knows ownership, nobody knows anything about. They have 'glitches', as they call them. Glitches. The glitches weren't glitches. They got caught sending out thousands of votes -- all against me”. 

Whatever the outcome of the current impeachment proceedings against Trump, even his most loyal Republican allies must recognize that Trump had a major responsibility for the storming of the US Capitol building and the unprecedented scenes of mayhem and violence.

And Americans are expressing their concern with the longer term impact of Trump’s disastrous presidency and the lack of leadership from both the president and Congress in the most dramatic way with 71.4% recently polled voting to say that the country was heading in the wrong direction whilst only 14.6 felt that the country was on the right track!

Global Impact of Trump’s Election Challenge

As for the outcome around the world, Gary Locke, former US ambassador to China under Obama’s government. has noted that the Capitol Hill riot has likely damaged American standing around the globe.

“China is laughing at us and saying we’re not the model of democracy and of civility and of stability that we have always been lecturing the rest of the world to embrace….For so long, we have always been preaching to other countries to uphold the rule of law, to allow governments to transfer power after an election, to make sure the military doesn’t step in and overthrow governments because they didn’t like the election, “Now, we have all these other countries around the world ... expressing concern about what has happened in America, urging Americans to observe the rule of law and to respect the peaceful transfer of power and abide by the elections. They’re now preaching to us.”