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Op-Ed: Trump has succeeded in destroying our relationship with the world

Donald Trump ran a campaign full of off the cuff promises of bringing back jobs, building a wall, doing away with regulations and other plans that were in themselves, frightening to many people. Many in the news media, when attacking his claims, were denigrated and accused of printing false or fake news.

But after winning the electoral vote, the President-elect didn’t tone down his rhetoric, as some political pundits thought he would. Taking to Twitter, he became more vocal, using the social media site to blast anyone who spoke out against him, from a union boss to his latest attack on Civil Rights legend John Lewis.

He butted in on the weather drone confiscation incident by the Chinese Navy, a problem that was being handled through the proper governmental channels, to begin with. But his Twitter remarks succeeded in angering the Beijing government. He insulted China by talking to the president of Taiwan, adding to the now growing tensions.

I have watched as Trump has worked to destroy our relationship with Mexico, our NATO allies and now the European Union. Then, over the weekend, he added insult to injury by threatening our good neighbor to the north, his press secretary saying very clearly that Canada could also be treated to tariffs for automobiles manufactured by U.S. automakers in Canada.

I won’t even go into the CIA’s intelligence on alleged Russian hacking that possibly impacted on the election because the election is over and done. But Trump’s continuing attacks on U.S. intelligence agencies is dangerous, and a sure way to promote distrust in the agencies. This is something the American public does not need at this time.

But after Trump’s weekend interview comments that NATO is obsolete, and his seemingly uncaring attitude regarding the state of the European Union, and his Brexit comments, even I was shocked. He succeeded in putting a number of European countries on edge, and further isolating the U.S. from its allies. And I believe that is the gist of Trump’s plan — to put the world on notice that he really doesn’t care about anything but his bottom line. After all, he is a businessman.

And for what it’s worth, That is very dangerous. We have not been this close to a world war since the Cuban Crisis of the 1960s. Trump, with his very vocal and very big mouth seems to have no one big enough on his team to reign him in when he gets on a tirade, and this is going to hurt him, his policies and his presidency.

As for the inauguration, it is going to be one of two things — either it is going to go smoothly, or it is going to be disastrous. The news media keeps squawking about us being in “uncharted territory” with this inauguration. We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we? But in closing, I am saddened by what has been happening, and I am angry that the man who has been chosen to run our country is doing nothing more than running it into the ground.

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We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of our dear friend Karen Graham, who served as Editor-at-Large at Digital Journal. She was 78 years old. Karen's view of what is happening in our world was colored by her love of history and how the past influences events taking place today. Her belief in humankind's part in the care of the planet and our environment has led her to focus on the need for action in dealing with climate change. It was said by Geoffrey C. Ward, "Journalism is merely history's first draft." Everyone who writes about what is happening today is indeed, writing a small part of our history.

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