Credibility

Despite pre-election predictions to the contrary, Donald J. Trump is the legitimate President of the United States.

Many Americans are unhappy with the election results and are gunning for him. He is getting very little slack from those who opposed him. Some of his efforts are being fought, in part because of what they are, but also because of who he is.

Just weeks into his term, still within his first 100 days in office, he has jolted the status quo and embarked on sweeping changes.

Agree with him or not, change is in the air.

The change, however, may be harder to come by than expected. Trump is running into a major stumbling block that may ruin his presidency.

That stumbling block is himself, Donald J. Trump.

His credibility is being questioned in almost every quarter.

And, he has brought this upon himself.

The turning point may have been his accusation that his predecessor, Barrack Obama, ordered wiretapping of Trump Tower.

This is a serious accusation that cannot be taken lightly. So far, Trump has offered no substantiation of the claim.

Then, despite statements from the FBI and other intelligence agencies, including British intelligence, and leaders in Congress that there is no evidence of the wiretapping, Trump and his team keep holding to the story.

Few exits for Trump exist. This is not a claim out of which he can easily spin.

The election campaign and his first weeks in office are rife with other unsubstantiated claims.

The words of a president have great weight and impact. They should be taken seriously. The president, whoever it may be, must be believed to be effective.

Yet, Trump’s words and claims regularly come into question. Is he to be believed or not?

A more important question pertains to what will happen when the country faces a dire situation. The country and perhaps the rest of the world will rely upon the president to give information and direction.

If the president has no credibility, that dire situation could be much worse simply by virtue of the fact that nobody accepts or believes the information coming from the White House.

There is nothing fake about concerns that this president is losing his credibility.

Credibility in that office is more important than all the rest. If only Donald J. Trump realized this.

Gordon Forgey

Publisher