Is Trump’s Suspected Corruption a Warning to Us All?

Published in UOL
(Brazil) on 4 January 2021
by Jamil Chade (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Kelsey Lewis. Edited by Elizabeth Cosgriff.
“So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.” These phrases were said by Donald Trump in a conversation that could be classified as anything but Republican, obtained by The Washington Post. It exposes the American president trying to pressure a Georgia official to find votes that would allow him to declare victory in the state.

Trump did not win in Georgia and The Washington Post’s revelations opened a can of worms for the Republican Party, with prominent voices warning of the crime Trump was committing.

At the same time, 10 former secretaries of defense of the world's largest military power have published a letter in which they call for the transition of power to take place within the rules of democracy. The list includes different politicians and ultraconservatives like Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.

Humiliating democratic norms and apparently willing to promote fraud and making clear his contempt for the rule of law, Trump should serve as a warning sign for everyone.

The press, with a solid system and strong sense of democracy, may have averted one of the biggest political scandals in decades.

But if Trump failed and ran into a system stronger than himself, what should we think of so many other countries where institutions are not solid and where parties are merely vehicles for controlling power?

A legend and example to be followed by many populists around the world, Trump developed a curriculum of implementing a strategy of power and repeated communications through various channels. (It never hurts to remember that Ernesto Araújo, the chancellor, described Trump as the only person who could save the West).

And for that same reason, we have to worry about what the American's attitude means.

Yes, we need to ask ourselves why charlatan leaders are obsessed with silencing and killing the credibility of the press.

Yes, we need to ask why we abandoned our traditional international stance to accompany the Trump administration in every international vote.

Yes, we have to ask why President Jair Bolsonaro insisted on saying that his sources pointed to a fraud in the Democrats' victory. Yes, we need to know why we were at the end of the line in recognizing Joe Biden's victory. What were we waiting for?

Trump's willingness to corrupt an election is not just a matter for the American voter. What's at stake is democracy. There and in other countries around the world.



"Então, olhe. Tudo que eu quero fazer é isso. Eu só quero encontrar 11.780 votos, que é um a mais do que nós temos. Porque ganhamos no Estado". As frases são de Donald Trump, numa conversa nada republicana obtida pelo Washington Post e que revela o presidente americano tentando pressionar uma autoridade na Geórgia a encontrar votos que permitissem que ele declarasse sua vitória no estado.

Trump não venceu na Geórgia e as revelações do Washington Post abriram uma crise profunda no Partido Republicano, com vozes importantes alertando sobre o crime que Trump estaria cometendo.

Em paralelo, dez ex-ministros da Defesa da maior potência militar do mundo publicaram uma carta na qual pedem que a transição de poder ocorra dentro das regras da democracia. A lista inclui diferentes políticos e ultraconservadores como Dick Cheney e Donald Rumsfeld.

Humilhando as regras democráticas, aparentemente disposto a promover fraude e deixando claro seu desprezo pelo estado de direito, Trump deve servir como um sinal de alerta a todos.
A imprensa, um republicano com forte sentido da democracia e um sistema sólido podem ter evitado um dos maiores escândalos políticos em décadas.
Mas se Trump fracassou e esbarrou em um sistema mais forte que ele, o que devemos pensar de tantos outros países onde instituições não são sólidas e onde partidos são meros veículos para controlar o poder?

Mito e exemplo a ser seguido para muitos populistas pelo mundo, Trump fez escola ao implementar uma estratégia de poder e de comunicação repetida em diferentes partes. (Nunca é demais lembrar que Ernesto Araújo, o chanceler, descreveu Trump como a única pessoa que poderia salvar o Ocidente).
E, por essa mesma razão, temos de nos preocupar com o que a atitude do americano significa.

Sim, precisamos nos perguntar por qual motivo líderes charlatães têm a obsessão de silenciar e matar a credibilidade da imprensa.

Sim, precisamos perguntar por qual razão abandonamos nossa tradicional postura internacional para acompanhar o governo de Trump em todas as votações internacionais.

Sim, temos de perguntar por qual motivo o presidente Jair Bolsonaro insistiu em dizer que suas fontes apontavam para uma fraude na vitória dos Democratas. Sim, precisamos saber por quais motivos ficamos para o final da fila no reconhecimento da vitória de Joe Biden. O que estávamos esperando?

A disposição de Trump de corromper uma eleição não é um assunto apenas do eleitor americano. Em jogo, está a democracia. Lá e em outros países pelo mundo.
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