The Cruelty of Donald Trump
The cruelty of Donald Trump is not something one would normally associate with a president of the United States of America. Almost by the day this president’s cruel conduct becomes more outrageous, and the greater the adverse reaction he provokes from other countries, including those numbered among America’s friends, the more he seems to enjoy it.
When I was sworn in as an Attorney in New York State in 1992 I could never have imagined that one day a sitting US president would be responsible for separating children from their parents and having them locked in cages.
I endorse, and fully support, today’s Statement on US border policy from New York State Bar Association President, Michael Miller, who writes:
“The current policy of separating minor migrant children from their parents as part of US border policy is cruel and heartless child abuse, it is inhumane and it is un-American.
“Many of these children have already suffered and this policy imposes a completely avoidable trauma. Additionally, the forced separation of the children from their parents deprives both parent and child of reasonable due process and is a gross departure from the norms of a civilized society.
“The American Academy of Pediatrics has pointed out that by forcibly removing children from a parent or parents on whom they have relied throughout an arduous journey to the border, the US government is engaging in child abuse that can result in irreparable harm with lifelong consequences.
“The American Medical Association has adopted a resolution opposing the practice of separating migrating children from their caregivers in the absence of immediate physical or emotional threats to the child’s well-being.
“The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has severely criticized the US border policy of separating migrant minor children from their parents, calling such actions ‘unconscionable’.
“The New York State Bar Association calls upon the Trump administration to immediately cease this dangerous and inappropriate policy, which denies the children and their parents basic due process and potentially exposes the children to serious long-term harm.
“We also call upon our members to contact their representatives in the US House and Senate with a simple message: immediately enact legislation prohibiting the separation of children from their parents at the border, absent physical or emotional threats to the children’s well-being.”
Three former first ladies, including Laura Bush, the wife of George W Bush have denounced the policy and so have church leaders and other figures across the political landscape. Polling suggests that a significant majority of voters (67 per cent according to CNN) disapprove of Trump’s zero tolerance policy.
As if all this is not bad enough, Trump’s latest insult to the world community is to announce the United States’ withdrawal from the UN human rights council.
In common with all my professional colleagues who may read this blog, I entered the law to contribute to the cause of justice. It seems to me that it is our duty to unite in condemnation of this barbarous conduct, to draw attention to it and to fight it with all legal means at our disposal.
As I finish writing this tonight, I see a BBC headline which reads “Trump promises to keep families together”. I sincerely hope so. But we really don’t know what this man is going to do next.
Donald Trump has never professed to be a Democrat, but neither is he a Republican in the sense that we understand it. We have known for a long time that he is brash, we have known for a long time that he is a bully, but now he reveals that he has all the hallmarks of a tyrant. He needs to be checked, but only the American people can do that.