Some day, maybe a few decades from now, I think the history textbooks will refer to the events of the past week as the "before and after" moment in the Trump presidency. The moment when he hit rock bottom, and showed the entire world just how wildly unqualified he is at being president. What makes this different from before? That's a fair question. It's not like Trump's incompetence hasn't been on display before: at the United Nations, meeting European heads of state, mishandling the North Korean nuclear situation. The difference is that now, we're seeing the consequences of that incompetence in tangible, horrific terms - pictures of devastation and stories of suffering coming in from Puerto Rico. Before Puerto Rico, the consequences of Trump's incompetence could only be measured in harsh rhetoric and cooled relationships. Trump certainly antagonized heads of state, among others, but nobody died. He raised tensions with North Korea, but still, nobody died. That's the difference here. Trump's screw-ups up until now carried consequences, but not dire ones. Before Puerto Rico, his incompetence didn't matter the way it does now.
A US territory was leveled by a natural disaster, and Trump's reaction has been marked by callous indifference, zero sense of urgency, and political grandstanding. A president who is more concerned about San Juan's mayor hurting his little feelings, who takes days to waive a law in order to speed up deliveries of aid, who lectures residents with a "pull yourself up" sanctimonious attitude, is unfit to lead. Trump's unfitness has been obvious since Day 1, but this is arguably its worst manifestation. This is his "Nero fiddled" moment.
Donald Trump has crossed over from a loudmouthed buffoon to a dangerously incompetent president. He has Americans' blood on his hands now. The GOP Congressmen who shield him are complicit, and their constituents need to exert pressure on them to stand up to Trump. The citizens who support Trump after what we just witnessed need to walk back their support, or otherwise be called out and shunned. Personally, I don't want to associate with those people anymore. It's not political theater anymore. Those people and Congressmen are enabling someone who will do grave damage the longer he remains in office. Trump is not a harmless nuisance any longer, and it's time to start considering the need to impeach him.
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