President Harry Truman placed a sign on his Oval Office desk that stated “The Buck Stops Here.” This signaled that Truman made accountability top priority. In contrast, President Donald Trump appears completely unwilling to be held accountable.
This president barely makes one statement without a deflection, name-calling or other-blaming. His knee-jerk response to information he doesn't like is to call it “fake news.” His tendency to discount facts and ridicule others is a means to avoid accountability for his lies and mistakes.
Donald Trump's entire career has been marked by avoiding accountability. He dodged the draft during the war in Vietnam by filing five deferments. He declared bankruptcy six times. He's notorious for shady business practices and stiffing people he owes money to. He blamed his $25 million payout settlement of a series of lawsuits against Trump University on the presiding judge's ethnic heritage. He claims that all 19 women who accused him of sexual misconduct are liars. His assertion — although false — that he doesn't settle lawsuits indicates his distaste for accountability.
This president's refusal to release his tax returns, like other presidents have, reflects disdain for transparency. His response to Russia's criminal influence-peddling during his presidential campaign is to call it “a made up story.” By his own admission, he fired FBI Director James Comey because of the Russian investigation. He reportedly ordered White House counsel Don McGahn to fire Robert Mueller, Comey's successor to that investigation. Trump loyalists are maligning the reputations of investigators on the case and are conspiring to derail the investigation, altogether, to protect this president from accountability.
Public records reveal a Donald Trump who will stop at nothing to avoid accountability. The question is will this president submit to examination in this matter of national sovereignty? Will the buck stop at President Trump?
Janean Lanier
Hutchinson