President Trump besieged by four M-words

Washington pundits are saying that President Donald Trump is being driven to the wall by those four M-words - military, market plunge, media, and Mueller investigation. Furthermore, the neurotic responses from the U.S. president are adding woes to the 4Ms, which represents the political, economic, and social trouble Mr. Trump is currently faced with.

Following the letter of resignation from U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis, which was disclosed on Thursday, the first M-word reported by CNN was military.

CNN pointed out that the Trump administration is witnessing a cadre of military officials dotted by the president stepping down one after another including former U.S. National Security Advisor Herbert McMaster, former Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, and Secretary of Defense James Mattis. In particular, Mr. Mattis has effectively opposed Trump’s diplomacy and security policies, stressing the importance of alliance in his letter of resignation.

The ever-tumbling New York Stock Market is also exasperating Mr. Trump. Last week, the major American stock exchange indicators including Nasdaq have tanked roughly by 7 percent with the Fed raising its benchmark interest rate and the news on the possibility of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell being sacked circulating Wall Street. The plunge is the deepest ever since 2008. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that the president never ordered to dismiss the Fed chairman in an attempt to put out the fire, but market still remains jittery. This bodes ill for Mr. Trump, who has always cited the bullish market as evidence of the economic growth engineered by his administration.

The investigation led by Robert Mueller into the alleged conspiracy case between Russia and the Trump camp is also gaining momentum, which might lead to presidential impeachment. It has been reported that the scope for investigation is being zeroed in as the personnel with critical evidence such as Michael Cohen, the former attorney for Mr. Trump, and former national security adviser Michael Flynn are cooperating with the prosecution.

Mainstream newspapers such as the Washington Post and the New York Times are railing at the White House. They are intensifying their denouncement in the face of Mr. Trump’s attempt to label them as “fake news.” On Monday, CNN inveighed against the American president calling him “disruptor-in-chief,” whose uncontrollable power is fueling pandemonium in Washington.

In addition, politicians are cranking up their offensives against government shutdown, which was caused by the conflict over border walls budget. Reportedly, the White House rejected the proposal on a 5-billion-dollar budget and instead offered a 2-billion-dollar budget to the Democratic Party, but an agreement has not been reached yet.


lightee@donga.com