Racism and corruption in the Trump Administration
The Michael Cohen saga has been a long and ongoing affair, having continually revealed the dirty inner-workings of the Trump administration. From being placed under investigation, to providing his riveting testimony to Congress, Michael Cohen and the investigations surrounding him have provided ample evidence that Trump is a distrustful President who selfishly acts in his best interests only.
Although it is hard to prove that Trump is a “criminal” based on the evidence provided by Cohen, it is clear that Trump was surrounded by an inner circle of aides who conducted substantial criminal behaviour on his behalf. Accordingly, this implies that the President of having potentially engaged in illegal activity. Moreover, the information revealed by the warrants for Cohen’s raid and arrest, along with the conclusions drawn in the Mueller report, bring about more questions than they do answers. The ultimate question is: Did Trump collude with Russia to rig the 2016 Presidential election?
Cohen’s Testimony before Congress: Racism and Corruption in the Trump Administration
On February 27, 2019, Michael Cohen appeared before the U.S. Congress and made several shocking statements during his testimony that came together to paint an explicitly racist and corrupt image of the President. During his testimony, Cohen called Trump a racist, a cheat, and a conman. He further alleged that the President knew about WikiLeaks obtaining the Democratic National Committee emails and had lied about the fact that he directed real estate negotiations with Moscow throughout his campaign. He also claimed that President Trump did not intend to run for office with the best interests of the country in mind, but rather was preoccupied with a dominant motive of forwarding the interests of his own personal brand.
Furthermore, Cohen claims that Trump is a steadfast racist and that the racist tendencies Trump portrays in public are far worse in private. Cohen claimed that Trump asked him if he could name a country run by a black person that wasn’t a “s***hole” and said that Black people would never vote for Trump because they were supposedly “too stupid”. According to Michael Cohen, President Trump would inflate and deflate his wealth when it suited him, usually to avoid paying taxes. Cohen also claimed that Trump was well-aware of the scheme to pay “hush money” to porn star Stormy Daniels, who Trump allegedly had an extramarital affair with. Cohen provided evidence to prove his claims in the forms of copies of letters, newspaper articles, copies of letters written by the President’s order, and receipts.
Although no explicit statements of collusion between Trump and Russia are made, what was revealed in Cohen’s testimony were the many negative traits and actions of the President. Additionally, such a testimony is bolstered by the fact that Cohen appeared to be acting honestly and demonstrated remorse during his testimony since he repeatedly apologized for his past discretions.
While some of Cohen’s allegations may seem unsurprising, they are actually quite shocking, since they confirm what many have long suspected about Trump in regards to the true scope of his racist tendencies, financial mismanagement, and his tendency to lie to the public. Firstly, these allegations imply that the President is someone who utilizes explicit deception and falsehoods in order to hide his backroom dealings. Even after being told to end the negotiations with Moscow, Trump ignored such orders and continued negotiating a deal, all while claiming he was no longer in discussion with them.
Secondly, these allegations reveal Trump to be a figurehead with deeply entrenched racial biases who displays discrimination brazenly and unapologetically. A President who does not uphold equality for all is not truly a President for the people, something that is commonly accepted as a key requirement for his position as head of state. The allegations made by Cohen not only confirm the racism Trump is accused of covertly displaying, but also further the fact that the practical reality regarding his bigoted view of the world may be far worse than the public may imagine.
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