One cannot help but observe the audacious irony in how former President Donald Trump launched a criticism of the civil unrest that occurred in cities like Los Angeles, as if witnessing some sort of rebellion against the authority. A closer examination of reality, however, reveals one immensely glaring insurrection that had been engineered and orchestrated under his watch, the capitol riots in Washington D.C. on 6th of January, 2021. Not just that, but he also went on to pardon participants involved in this insurgency, lending an insubstantial veneer of innocence to those supposedly guilty of defying constitutional norms.
In sharp contrast with the lofty objective of Musk’s DOGE to cut-overly inflated government expenditure, Trump’s actions spoke louder than his words, rendering his poise thoroughly unconvincing. The feat of deploying troops to quell the protests in Los Angeles backfired terribly both strategically and financially, shoveling an exorbitant $100 million out from the Federal coffers.
It wasn’t just the vast expenditures incurred through his military deployment. Trump’s decision to stage a military parade squandered an additional $50 million, making his austerity motive a far-fetched reality.
Trump’s consistent criticism of Hillary Clinton’s email scandal did nothing to discourage his indulgence in a similar, arguably more serious situation. He daringly carried high classified documents into Mar-a-Lago, refusing to provide testimony post such an incident by pleading the Fifth on 450 occasions during his deposition.
Trump’s hypocritical acceptance of Pete Hegseth’s public discussion of classified information with the press confirmed the growing understanding of Trump’s twisted sense of proper conduct concerning sensitive information.
Despite the Trump administration’s public crusade against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives under the notion of creating an even playing field in the society, Trump’s personal choices belied this stance. He succumbed to blatant favoritism in his decision-making process for cabinet roles and Supreme Court appointments, superseding merits and expertise.
His performance throughout his term as a president raised significant questions on his understanding of the Constitution that he vowed to uphold during his oath of office. His audacious maneuvers, such as deporting individuals bereft of the due process and toying with the idea of revoking the citizenship rights of native-born citizens, laid bare his disregard for constitutional sanity.
In stark irony to his ridicule of President Biden for a minor and inconsequential stumble on the stairs of Air Force One, Trump himself became a victim of a similar incident. Instead of acknowledging the fallibility of mankind, he shrugged it off as a commonplace occurrence.
Interestingly, Trump had sought to undermine Biden’s image by exaggerating his physical stumble on the stairs of Air Force One, using it as an argument to question Biden’s capacity to serve as a president. What an ironic twist of fate it was when Trump himself faced a similar stumble, downplaying it as a non-issue.
However, Trump and his coterie seem to follow an awry set of rules when it comes down to evaluating their rivals like Biden. Even the most minor incidents are blown out of proportion and presented as evidence of Biden’s alleged incapacity, as it happened when President Biden accidently tripped on Air Force One’s stairs.
While Biden faced unprecedented ridicule from the Trump’s side for a trivial stumble, Trump didn’t hesitate to brush off his own, virtually identical, misstep as something to be dismissed. Such hypocrisy seems to be the theme of the Trump era, where norms, principles, and standards often crumbled under political convenience and strategizing.
Nonetheless, this pattern of behavior sheds light on the hypocritical stance often adopted by Trump and his supporters. They seem more than ready to seize on any opportunity to criticize and demean Biden and his team, while ignoring, or even justifying, similar or much worse actions when it comes to their team.