What are good reasons to impeach and remove President Trump?

I’m writing this because he’s using salami tactics. Every time when you think it can’t get worse, it is. And we’re getting numb to the previous scandals as bigger ones emerge. It’s true that many people stay upset about his presidency, but mainly about the newest stuff. It would be nice if we could distance ourselves a bit from the problems and think again: What would be good reasons to impeach Trump?

1. The Russians sabotaged the election of Hillary Clinton because they preferred a political idiot over a savage politician. You can’t blame Trump for being liked by a foreign government, even for all the wrong reasons.

2. He is a political outsider. That may be true to a degree that was not seen before, but he’s not the first fictional hero from the big or small screen. Reagan showed that that doesn’t exclude someone for the highest office.

3. He’s incompetent as he does not understand the political process. That’s not a good reason either. Even if he’s practically illiterate and only gets his information from TV. He’s been chosen by the People, and he’d better be helped to understand how and where to fit in and be helpful.

4. He purposefully hurts people verbally, because it gives him free publicity, gives him short-term victories, and for many makes him come across as strong and competent. Yet, in a country where Free Speech is sacred, that is hard to block from the most powerful man.

5. He says rude things that damage the honor of the presidency and never says sorry. That may be true to a degree that was not seen before, but that doesn’t exclude someone from the highest office. Also Nixon was not more or less forced to quit just for being vulgar.

6. He’s socially inapt, especially not good at humbleness or empathy, especially in understanding society’s underdogs – except for Jews. In short: he’s not nice enough and upsets people. That is not a good criterion to dump him. One day we may need someone more nasty.

7. He’s authoritarian. It’s no problem to be the boss when you’re the boss, but in a democracy you can’t play despot. That’s true, but that only means that other politicians refuse to cooperate with him. He doesn’t have the possibility to turn the country into a dictatorship. Let him be angry about that for all he wants but – again – unpleasantness and character flaws are no ground for dismissal.

8. He’s mentally and/or neurologically sick. He’s not. He’s often misunderstood. People read into his behavior what they want to or project their own mindset onto him. Sometimes he’s forgetful, which is normal under stress or when you’re basically uninterested in what needs to be said or done. He is rigid in his tactics (did anyone notice?) and either a bully or a pushover, lacking the stamina and patience needed in negotiations but many are. He has a short fuse, but that makes him unpleasant to deal with but not incompetent. He’s crafty and not stupid.

9. He is dangerous because he could single-handedly start a nuclear (world) war, and he’s crazy enough to do so. This is not true as nuclear war is bad for business. Nuclear weapons only give money to the rich as long as they are stored and not used. Further, this idea that he could launch the missiles in five minutes is only to return fire, not to start a war as aggressor.

10. All of the above together. It does add up, that’s true. But it’s like someone with 20 ailments but no sickness. You may call him weak but not ill.

11. However, there is one aspect that I left out. He’s dishonest in the highest degree. Not just the way lawyers, businessmen and politicians typically might lie all day long. He has no regard whatsoever for facts that don’t suit him. The end – winning – justifies the means – always. He’s a weathercock, a pragmatist (non-idealist) and con artists in the extreme. He’s impossible to work with or trust. That should be the sole reason to send him home. And fast.

His removal will compensate for all the times we should have heard “I’m sorry.” And then, of course, a lot of damage needs to be undone.

The take away from this presidency must be that it should be over with lying indifferent politicians. This paradise of make belief and pretense ought to be vacated. We need to usher in a new era of politicians with integrity. Merely sending Trump off is not enough.

About the Author

MM is a prolific and creative writer and thinker, previously a daily blog contributor to the TOI. He often makes his readers laugh, mad, or assume he's nuts—close to perfect blogging. He's proud that his analytical short comments are removed both from left-wing and right-wing news sites. None of his content is generated by the new bore on the block, AI. * As a frontier thinker, he sees things many don't yet. He's half a prophet. Half. Let's not exaggerate. Or not at all because he doesn't claim G^d talks to him. He gives him good ideas—that's all. MM doesn't believe that people observe and think in a vacuum. He, therefore, wanted a broad bio that readers interested can track a bit what (lack of) backgrounds, experiences, and educations contribute to his visions. * This year, he will prioritize getting his unpublished books published rather than just blog posts. Next year, he hopes to focus on activism against human extinction. To find less-recent posts on a subject XXX among his over 2000 archived ones, go to the right-top corner of a Times of Israel page, click on the search icon and search "zuiden, XXX". One can find a second, wilder blog, to which one may subscribe too, here: https://mmvanzuiden.wordpress.com/ or by clicking on the globe icon next to his picture on top. * Like most of his readers, he believes in being friendly, respectful, and loyal. However, if you think those are his absolute top priorities, you might end up disappointed. His first loyalty is to the truth. He will try to stay within the limits of democratic and Jewish law, but he won't lie to support opinions or people when don't deserve that. (Yet, we all make honest mistakes, which is just fine and does not justify losing support.) He admits that he sometimes exaggerates to make a point, which could have him come across as nasty, while in actuality, he's quite a lovely person to interact with. He holds - how Dutch - that a strong opinion doesn't imply intolerance of other views. * Sometimes he's misunderstood because his wide and diverse field of vision seldomly fits any specialist's box. But that's exactly what some love about him. He has written a lot about Psychology (including Sexuality and Abuse), Medicine (including physical immortality), Science (including basic statistics), Politics (Israel, the US, and the Netherlands, Activism - more than leftwing or rightwing, he hopes to highlight reality), Oppression and Liberation (intersectionally, for young people, the elderly, non-Whites, women, workers, Jews, LGBTQIA+, foreigners and anyone else who's dehumanized or exploited), Integrity, Philosophy, Jews (Judaism, Zionism, Holocaust and Jewish Liberation), the Climate Crisis, Ecology and Veganism, Affairs from the news, or the Torah Portion of the Week, or new insights that suddenly befell him. * Chronologically, his most influential teachers are his parents, Nico (natan) van Zuiden and Betty (beisye) Nieweg, Wim Kan, Mozart, Harvey Jackins, Marshal Rosenberg, Reb Shlomo Carlebach, and, lehavdil bein chayim lechayim, Rabbi Dr. Natan Lopes Cardozo, Rav Zev Leff, and Rav Meir Lubin. This short list doesn't mean to disrespect others who taught him a lot or a little. One of his rabbis calls him Mr. Innovation [Ish haChidushim]. Yet, his originalities seem to root deeply in traditional Judaism, though they may grow in unexpected directions. In fact, he claims he's modernizing nothing. Rather, mainly basing himself on the basic Hebrew Torah text, he tries to rediscover classical Jewish thought almost lost in thousands of years of stifling Gentile domination and Jewish assimilation. (He pleads for a close reading of the Torah instead of going by rough assumptions of what it would probably mean and before fleeing to Commentaries.) This, in all aspects of life, but prominently in the areas of Free Will, Activism, Homosexuality for men, and Redemption. * He hopes that his words will inspire and inform, and disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed. He aims to bring a fresh perspective rather than harp on the obvious and familiar. When he can, he loves to write encyclopedic overviews. He doesn't expect his readers to agree. Rather, original minds should be disputed. In short, his main political positions are among others: anti-Trumpism, for Zionism, Intersectionality, non-violence, anti those who abuse democratic liberties, anti the fake ME peace process, for original-Orthodoxy, pro-Science, pro-Free Will, anti-blaming-the-victim, and for down-to-earth, classical optimism, and happiness. Read his blog on how he attempts to bridge any tensions between those ideas or fields. * He is a fetal survivor of the pharmaceutical industry (https://diethylstilbestrol.co.uk/studies/des-and-psychological-health/), born in 1953 to his parents who were Dutch-Jewish Holocaust survivors who met in the largest concentration camp in the Netherlands, Westerbork. He grew up a humble listener. It took him decades to become a speaker too, and decades more to admit to being a genius. But his humility was his to keep. And so was his honesty. Bullies and con artists almost instantaneously envy and hate him. He hopes to bring new things and not just preach to the choir. * He holds a BA in medicine (University of Amsterdam) – is half a doctor. He practices Re-evaluation Co-counseling since 1977, is not an official teacher anymore, and became a friendly, powerful therapist. He became a social activist, became religious, made Aliyah, and raised three wonderful kids. Previously, for decades, he was known to the Jerusalem Post readers as a frequent letter writer. For a couple of years, he was active in hasbara to the Dutch-speaking public. He wrote an unpublished tome about Jewish Free Will. He's a strict vegan since 2008. He's an Orthodox Jew but not a rabbi. * His writing has been made possible by an allowance for second-generation Holocaust survivors from the Netherlands. It has been his dream since he was 38 to try to make a difference by teaching through writing. He had three times 9-out-of-10 for Dutch at his high school finals but is spending his days communicating in English and Hebrew - how ironic. G-d must have a fine sense of humor. In case you wonder - yes, he is a bit dyslectic. If you're a native English speaker and wonder why you should read from people whose English is only their second language, consider the advantage of having an original peek outside of your cultural bubble. * To send any personal reaction to him, scroll to the top of the blog post and click Contact Me. * His newest books you may find here: https://www.amazon.com/s?i=stripbooks&rh=p_27%3AMoshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&s=relevancerank&text=Moshe-Mordechai%2FMaurits+van+Zuiden&ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1