White House change means paradigm shift

Last week’s impeachment of US President Donald Trump can be termed as the straw that broke the camel’s back.

Despite his condemnation of the January 6 storming of the US Capitol, to oust Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice-President Mike Pence and destroy the votes, the House of Representative impeached him by voting 232-197 with10 Republicans voting with the Democrats. 

Since the November 3 presidential election, President Trump has been hitting international headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Besides being the only president to be impeached twice during his tenure, the January 6 incitement of insurrection was Trump’s face of ignominy. Five people, including a police officer, died in wake of violent protests.

Worse, the spread of disinformation and misinformation through social media about alleged election fraud had him banned from Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. And his conspiracy theories about election rigging were dismissed by the court.

Understandably, Trump, initially impeached in the House of Representatives on December 18, 2019, for abuse of power over his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress, has been trumpeting the fact that he has transformed America. But he will have an ignominious end of his militant political tendencies and milieu today. 

With about 400,000 people dead due to Covid-19 and more than 23.1 million infected and millions more jobless, Trump cannot exonerate himself from blame.

Lamentable state of affairs

Economic meltdown and the recession have precipitated stubbornly high unemployment. Worse still, America’s global image is in a shambles due to his autocratic leadership, violent insurrection, racial discrimination, white supremacy, police brutality, flagrant violation of the law and disdain for democracy. 

Indubitably, his palliative policies on economy and health , which are way past their sell-by date, have culminated in a lamentable state of affairs. 

In April last year, for example, Trump made some outrageous, implausible and outlandish remarks. He suggested that disinfectant infection can be the best cure for the Covid-19 virus. That stirred up a hornet’s nest. What a monstrous thought!

As Joe Biden and Kamala Harris take the helm, their in-tray is full. They must give the Covid-19 pandemic, economic depression, systemic racism and fundamental human rights that have ravaged the US the deserved attention.

They must embrace stewardship and servanthood leadership and integrity and tolerate political and racial diversity to restore the positive global image of the US. 

Biden has promised to be a dynamic agent of political, economic and social transformation. The time for a paradigm shift is now. It is never too late to do good. The buck stops with President Biden.

Mr Muthama is a business management and strategic management lecturer at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT), consultant, and author. [email protected].