Every new year, we look back towards the past year to see the good, bad and ugly. If 2018 can be boiled down to a theme—it would be sex, lies, guns and Trump. Trump fits into all three categories.
Guns were rampant again this year with no end in sight in terms of gun control. On February 26, 2018, in Parkland, Florida, one of the safest towns in the U.S. , a school gun shooting occurred and 17 persons died including teachers and students. This time may have been different than previous gun shootings in that it galvanized students to hold the March for Our Lives on March 25, 2018. It once again raised the issue of gun control. Like in so many times and years before, no meaningful gun legislation occurred.
On June 29, five journalists were shot and killed at the Annapolis Gazette in Annapolis, MD. Throughout the Trump administration, Donald Trump has shouted chants that the media is the enemy of the state. Our constitution’s first amendment is freedom of the press. Yet, the person sitting in the White House holding the office of President continues to attack the press as an enemy. While the shooting and death of 5 journalists is not directly attributable to Trump, the constant attacks on the media with chants of fake news using the term “enemy”, have no place in the U.S. Following the deaths of the journalists, the Trump administration had to be convinced that a lowering of the U.S. flag in mourning was appropriate.
October 28, 11 persons were killed while holding religious services in a Pittsburg synagogue. Following Trump’s 2017 response to the Charlottesville, VA killing of Heather Heyer during a neo-Nazi march, many persons in Pittsburgh had no desire to see Trump visit there. In 2017, Trump all but defended the neo-Nazi’s hatred of Jews stating there were fault on both sides of the aisle. As a former prosecutor, I understand that violence and hatred have no place in this country. Apparently, Donald Trump doesn’t fully understand the ramifications of spewing hatred with words and acts. Both have consequences.
Sex played an important part in 2018. From Supreme Court justice Brett Kavanaugh, CBS executive Les Moonves, Bill Cosby to Donald Trump, sexual harassment, sex crimes and paybacks continued to play a huge part in 2018. CBS executive Les Moonves lost not only his job but a $120 million severance pay, after an independent investigation revealed a decades long history of sexual harassment against women employees. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh fared better than Moonves. Professor Christine Blasey Ford testified publicly accusing Brett Kavanaugh of attempted rape in high school, with “100%” certainty. Many Republican lawmakers still voted to confirm Kavanaugh to a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court. It just goes to show how little has changed since the Clarence Thomas hearing and Anita Hill’s testimony.
In a different outcome, on September 26, Bill Cosby, once considered America’s TV dad, received a sentence of 3-10 years in prison for sexual assaults committed against Andrea Constand which occurred 14 years earlier. In April, Cosby was convicted of three counts of aggravated sexual assault and classified a “sexually violent predator” requiring lifetime registration.
From accounts from the Mueller investigation, Donald Trump was implicated in ordering and directing the payment of hush money and other ways to silence his sexual escapades with several women, according to alleged testimony by his fixer, attorney Michael Cohen and others. It is suspected that if such behavior had been known, it may have derailed his presidential outcome. We will never know.
According to the Washington Post as reported by Fact Checker’s database, Trump had an unprecedented year of deception averaging 15 false claims a day in 2018. This triples the amount from the year before, according to Fact Checker. This would account for a November Quinnipiac poll which found that 58% of voters saying Trump wasn’t honest. For obvious reasons, there is not enough room to discuss his voluminous false claims in 2018.
Aside from false claims, Trump continues to side with Russian President Putin at every opportunity. In 2018, he sided with Putin saying there was no 2016 Russian interference in our election—going against the report of our U.S. intelligence community. At every turn, Trump has tried to derail the Mueller investigation—changing Attorney Generals. His most dreaded fear of impeachment may occur in 2019.
The latest Trump debacle is the government shutdown. Trump refused to sign legislation on December 22 that would allow the government to remain open and running. Instead he insisted on $5 billion for a wall between the U.S. and Mexico. As of January 1, 2019, the federal government workers and contract workers remain hostage to a wall without pay—that Mexico was supposed to pay for.
2019 brings the hope of some stability in the government with the oversight of the Democrats taking control of the House.
Washington, DC based Debbie Hines is a lawyer and former Baltimore prosecutor.
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