Day 78: Trump Hasn’t Earned Benefit of the Doubt on Anything, Including Syria

Constantly lying matters. When it’s time to tell the truth — as everyone learned in the The Boy Who Cried Wolf — people won’t necessarily believe you, even when you need them to.

Donald Trump and his administration haven’t just cried wolf a handful of times, they are duplicitous on a daily basis. Trump’s own words, wild accusations about former presidents, statistics involving everything from jobs to inauguration attendance, goings-on of members of Trump’s inner circle, reasons for doing something and agenda items are just a handful of the things that Trump and his team have blatantly lied about over the past 78 days alone.

With that in mind, yesterday, Trump ordered the U.S. to bomb a Syrian airbase that was allegedly home to the warplanes that carried out chemical attacks on civilians.

The attack came just days after Trump promised to not meddle in foreign affairs and put America first. His decision has angered many right-wing commentators.

Earlier this week, Trump blasted Obama for not doing more in the region, though Trump himself wanted restraint himself.

Bombing an area where someone is potentially storing chemical weapons is certainly a moral decision. But, at the very least, as an act of war, it likely required congressional approval.

Furthermore, there are legitimate questions surrounding the reasons for the bombing and whether Russia approved it ahead of time.

Trump wants the benefit of the doubt that he bombed the airbase for noble reasons. But with flagging approval ratings and more flip flopping and early crises than any politician in recent memory, it’s difficult to gauge what Trump’s true motivations are.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul remains unconvinced that the Russians are unhappy in the slightest about Trump ordering the bombing of the Russia-backed Syrian government.

Considering the laundry list of connections between Trump and Russia — as well as the growing discomfort with many on both both sides of the aisle on the secrecy and closeness of the relationship — some have speculated that the strikes were coordinated in an attempt to show that Trump and Russia are not closely linked on everything.

Trump has never earned the benefit of the doubt, and it’s really hurting him today.

78 days in, 1384 to go

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