Pushing
Propaganda For President Pence?
Some Might
Call It A “Palace Coup”
Trump’s term will last less than 200 days — the
second shortest ever
By Ronald
L. Feinman
February 18, 2017 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Raw
Story"
-
The news
of the forced resignation of National Security
Adviser Michael Flynn, due to the scandal that
he, as a private citizen, spoke to the Russian
ambassador in December after President Barack
Obama issued sanctions on Russia for their
aggressive behavior, has rocked the Donald Trump
Presidency.
Trump, already under fire by many conservatives
and Republicans for his “bromance” with Russian
President Vladimir Putin, is suspect as to his
loyalty to traditional American foreign policy,
as a result of him having hired Flynn in the
first place. Critics had observed that Flynn
seemed unreliable and had poor judgment. Former
colleagues darkly joked that there were “Flynn
facts,” a reference to his penchant for making
up stuff. Flynn had also been criticized for
being too close to Putin. At the Republican
convention he joined in a chorus of “Lock her
up,” a reference to Hillary Clinton.
Many foreign policy professionals are shaking
their head at Trump’s inappropriate behavior and
language every time he speaks in public, or
issues a Twitter comment, and his instability
and recklessness. His having a security meeting
over the North Korean missile test in public
space at dinner in full vision of other guests
is a sign of his failure to act responsibly. His
abrupt ending of a phone call to the Australian
Prime Minister, our loyal ally in four wars in
the past hundred years, is alarming. His
inconsistent message in his dealings with China,
first indicating he accepted the idea of two
Chinas, and then backing off under pressure, is
disturbing. His inconsistency on the two-state
solution in the Middle East is a major problem,
as is his seeming lack of respect for Germany’s
Chancellor Angela Merkel, and lack of strong
support for NATO.
The fact that Vice President Mike Pence played a
major role in pushing Flynn out is a sign that
Pence is already asserting himself with Trump,
and it seems clear that Pence will not stand by
and allow our foreign policy to be damaged, or
our national security to be endangered. The
American people, ultimately, would not expect
anything less.
Mike Pence is an establishment Republican, with
12 years in the House of Representatives, where
he served in a leadership position as Republican
Conference Chairman in his last four years in
the House before running for Governor of
Indiana. Pence is a no-nonsense, hard-nosed
Republican whose strong Christian convictions
have shaped his politics, including his stands
on women’s issues, gay and lesbian matters, and
his refusal to accept the concept of global
warming. His stands on these and other issues
alienated moderate Republicans in his state. His
poll numbers were low when Donald Trump picked
him for vice president. Many doubted Pence would
have been able to win a second term as governor.
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Pence knows how to play “hard ball” and it is
clear by his demeanor and body language that he
is often uncomfortable with Trump’s freewheeling
and careless behavior. An investigation into the
Flynn matter will develop, with Speaker of the
House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell promoting it. Additionally, Senators
John Cornyn of Texas, Roy Blunt of Missouri,
Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, and John
McCain of Arizona all are pushing for hearings.
As the FBI investigates this situation further,
which would be expected to occur as a normal
procedure after such a high level and immediate
scandal, the earliest ever in any Presidential
term (25 days), there will be calls for Trump to
resign or be impeached.
Pence will have the difficult job of defending
Trump in public appearances, but can be expected
to work behind the scenes to insure that Trump
stabilizes his utterances and actions,
particularly on foreign policy and national
security matters. Pence faces now a situation
that has some similarity to Gerald Ford under
Richard Nixon during a time of trouble and
controversy, and the possibility of future
Congressional action against Donald Trump if his
mental behavior continues to disturb the top
leadership of the Republican Party and the
foreign policy establishment.
As this author wrote on January 22 on History
News Network, Pence could, even if Trump
vehemently opposed it, invoke the 25th
Amendment, Section 4 with the approval of a
majority of the cabinet, which would make Pence
“Acting President.” Some might call it a “palace
coup” but Pence could make a convincing case
that it is too risky to leave Trump in power.
Pence faces a great burden, and whether one
agrees with his own agenda on domestic and
foreign policy, it seems clear that the Vice
President would do what he feels compelled to do
if the situation further deteriorates.
One would imagine that if such a scenario
occurred, that Donald Trump would resign, as
Richard Nixon did in 1974 after the House
Judiciary Committee approved his impeachment.
But with an unhinged person such as Trump, who
can say what would happen in such a
circumstance?
In
any case, it seems likely that Donald Trump will
be leaving the Presidency at some point, likely
between the 31 days of William Henry Harrison in
1841 (dying of pneumonia) and the 199 days of
James A. Garfield in 1881 (dying of an
assassin’s bullet after 79 days of terrible
suffering and medical malpractice). At the most,
it certainly seems likely, even if dragged out,
that Trump will not last 16 months and 5 days,
as occurred with Zachary Taylor in 1850 (dying
of a digestive ailment). The Pence Presidency
seems inevitable.
Ronald L. Feinman is the author of
Assassinations, Threats, and the American
Presidency: From Andrew Jackson to Barack Obama
(Rowman Littlefield Publishers, August 2015).
