With racial tensions at an all-time high following the riots that erupted in Charlottesville on the weekend, Donald Trump’s lacklustre response has sent his approval ratings plunging to new lows.
Can the 45th President and his seemingly unraveling administration survive this latest controversy?
During the course of the 2016 presidential campaign the contentious Republican candidate was branded ‘Teflon Trump’.
Despite his tendency to sprout various inflammatory statements or provoke international incidents, thus far, nothing seems to stick.
We look back at some of the events that have had the potential to topple the presidency.
- Charlottesville
Outrage over President Trump’s lacklustre response to the violence that broke out following a white nationalist rally in Virginia, has continued to ferment in the aftermath of Saturday.
Two days later, Trump bowed to Washington pressure and issued a statement condemning the violent demonstrations over the weekend.
Monday’s presidential statement unequivocally declared “Racism is evil” and called out those who incite racial hatred as “repugnant”.
A mere day later, Trump’s tone towards the divisive events evidently softened during a press conference, where he commented:
“You had a group on one side that was bad. You had a group on the other side that was also very violent. Nobody wants to say that. I’ll say it right now.”
Trump’s failure to categorically condemn white supremacists and Neo-nazi’s actively inciting racial hatred, has prompted outcry and raised serious questions over the future of his tenure in power.
Race-relations in the country continues to be a pressing issue, with the deep-set wounds of slavery and segregation having never truly healed.
A leader who fails to unite an increasingly divided country, only exasperates such a delicate national climate, giving room for prejudice and bigotry to weave its way into the cracks.
2. Russia
Never far from view during the Trump presidency, the controversy surrounding collusion with Russia during the course of the election continues to prompt calls for the President’s impeachment.
The federal inquiry into the claims has thus far unearthed contact within the Trump campaign team and the Russian government during the course of the election, alongside continuous allegations of obstruction of justice against the commander-in-chief.
The President has dismissed ‘that Russia thing’ as a ‘witch hunt’ against him, but the investigation continues to raise concerns over an imminent case for his Impeachment and removal.
3. Cold War 2.0: North Korea
Nuclear tensions with North Korea have significantly heightened under the Trump administration.
Not only does the diplomacy crisis have the ability to shatter his presidency, a nuclear arms race threatens to cause unprecedented global destruction.
Whilst the U.S remains the only country to have actively used an atomic bomb against another nation, growing tensions between Kim Jong-Un and the conduction of various illegal missile tests continue to be a deeply worrying development within the global community.
4. Derogatory comments towards women
The public release of a series of tapes of then Republican candidate Donald Trump exposing various derogatory comments he made about women, at first seemed to present a watershed moment in the election race.
It was thought at the time that the reality mogul and former Ms Universe owner, had finally crossed the line, seemingly paving the way for the historical election of the first woman president.
Donald Trump eventually went on to cause one of the most stunning upsets for Washington establishment politics to date, with 53 percent of women behind him.
The Trump phenomenon and the wave of populism sweeping global politics continued to march inexorably forwards, defying pollsters.
Whilst it would seem there is no group that the real-estate magnate could not justify offending, his luke-warm rebuttal to the violence in Charlottesville across the weekend suggests otherwise.
5. Accusing Obama of wire-tapping
Lastly, President Trump accused his predecessor Barack Obama of wire-tapping the Trump Tower offices in the run-up to the election.
Taking to his preferred platform, Twitter, to announce the unfounded claims against a former elected official, no doubt could leave the President open to culpability of libel, and thus presidential misconduct – crucially potentially giving the Senate ground for Impeachment.
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
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Moreover, regardless of party divisions, questioning Barack Obama integrity risks permanently damaging democracy – the ideology that underpins the very fabric of US society.
With Trump’s presidential approval ratings currently at a disappointing 36 percent and an average approval rating of 40 percent, it seems his numerous controversies may be finally catching up with him.
Whilst the President may be surpassing records regarding the sheer volume of crises and controversies in one-term, his legacy on the nation may be the most enduring and destructive yet.