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CNN
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A weekend of terror in Israel has sharpened already grave questions about the capacity of the politically fractured United States to lay out a unified and coherent response to a world spinning out of its control.
When the House of Representatives descended into chaos last week, many Republicans, Democrats and independent experts warned that anarchy raging in US politics sent a dangerous message to the outside world. But no one could foresee just how quickly the paralysis in Washington would test the country’s reaction to a major global crisis.
The horrific Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians, which have killed hundreds of people and shattered the country’s sense of security, thrust the Middle East to the precipice of a new era of violence and instability. This followed a period of relative calm and after US presidents spent years trying to extricate American forces from the region.
Israel’s response to the carnage caused by a major Iranian proxy raises the possibility of a wider regional war that would further destabilize the global order already rocked by the war in Ukraine and China’s flagrant challenges to Western power.
A situation this dangerous requires a calm, united and thoughtful US response, supported across the political spectrum. But the turmoil in America’s politics – plagued by internal extremism, threats to democracy and the hyperpoliticization of foreign policy – means it will be an impossible task to bring the country together at a perilous moment.
Swift efforts by lawmakers to quickly register support for Israel and to rush extra aid to its government could be hampered by the collapse of the Republican Party’s ability to govern in the House after the ouster of Speaker Kevin McCarthy last week by his party’s extreme elements.
And the US is also facing an unprecedented election season. A president with low approval ratings confronting questions about his advanced age could go up against a potential Republican nominee who could be an indicted felon by Election Day. This means, at best, the United States will spend the coming months preoccupied by its own political plight. At worst, the world’s superpower guarantor of democracy could actually worsen global disruption and instability.
Republican front-runner Donald Trump rushed to exploit the crisis for his political gain, accusing President Joe Biden of causing the conflict because of “weakness.”
“Joe Biden betrayed Israel, he betrayed our country. As president, I will once again stand with Israel,” Trump said.
Foreign policy issues rarely decide US elections. But the danger for Biden and the opening for Trump is that yet another crisis abroad could foment an idea that the world is in turmoil, American power is weakening and Biden is hapless. At home and abroad, chaos is Trump’s friend as he seeks to foment the classic conditions that benefit aspiring autocrats promising strongman rule.
Fractured American governance doesn’t simply pose a material issue for Israel and for Ukraine, whose US lifeline as it battles Russia’s unprovoked invasion is now in extreme jeopardy due to far-right Republicans. The spectacle also suggests to US enemies – including Iran, the main supporter of Hamas, and Russia and China – that the US is hopelessly divided and may struggle to wield power to safeguard its interests.
“It wasn’t my idea to oust the speaker. I thought it was dangerous,” Rep. Michael McCaul, the chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “I look at the world and all the threats that are out there, and what kind of message are we sending to our adversaries when we can’t govern, when we’re dysfunctional, when we don’t even have a speaker of the House?
“How does Chairman Xi in China look at that when he says democracy doesn’t work?” the Texas Republican added. “How does the Ayatollah look at this, knowing that we cannot function properly? And I think it sends a terrible message.”
US sends a message of chaos and weakness
The shuttered House created a particularly damaging symbol of the US – and the democratic system of governance it promotes around the world – in disarray. The Biden administration has the capacity to send immediate military aid to Israel, whose government has asked Washington for JDAM precision-guided munition kits and more interceptors for the Iron Dome air defense system as Hamas rockets rain down on Israeli cities. But any delay in seating a new speaker and creating a functioning majority in the House could have serious consequence.
Republican Rep. Michael Lawler, who faces a tough reelection in a New York district that Biden would have carried in 2020 under its new lines, warned that the chaos in the House needs to end. “Given the situation in the Middle East with one of our closest allies in the world, it is critical that we bring this to a close expeditiously,” Lawler told CNN’s Dana Bash. “And so, I think it is imperative, frankly, that this nonsense stop, that Kevin McCarthy be reinstated as speaker,” Lawler added.
Republicans left town after ousting McCarthy last week, and are expected to try to choose between Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, who has the backing of Trump, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise this week. But given the demands of extremists in the GOP conference, the complications of a tiny majority and the fact it took McCarthy a marathon 15 rounds of balloting to win the job in January, there is no guarantee that strong, new Republican leadership will quickly emerge.
While there is crossparty consensus over supporting Israel in the House, the US response to another murderous assault on a vulnerable democracy – Ukraine – threatens to be derailed by America’s viciously polarized politics in a way that could seriously erode Washington’s global leadership.
Right-wing Republicans who back Trump are echoing the former president’s opposition to further US aid and ammunition to Ukraine. While there is still a majority in favor of such measures in the House and the Senate, any future Republican speaker will likely have to pass aid packages with the help of Democratic votes – the very scenario that caused McCarthy’s fall as he tried to head off a damaging government shutdown (even though that stopgap funding bill did not include Ukraine aid, as the White House had wanted).
Already, the political showdown over Ukraine is causing deep concern in Kyiv that it will be unable to continue its fight against Russia in the current form without the more than $20 billion in assistance that the Biden administration has requested.
In a broader sense, the possibility that a populist, nationalist wing of the Republican Party under Trump could desert a democracy under attack from Russia – and therefore reward the aggression of an autocrat who shaped his worldview as a member of the KGB – threatens to not just shatter the logic of decades of US foreign policy, but to fundamentally change the US’ role in the world and the values on which its allies believed they could depend.
The politicization of global crises is not just confined to Israel or Ukraine. A Chinese spy balloon that wafted over US soil this year caused an extraordinary outburst of Republican fury toward Biden, which threatened to tie the president’s hands when managing the critical issue of US relations with the Pacific superpower.
A growing sense abroad that America’s political problems are limiting its ability to lead globally could also have a devastating effect on its power. This can only play into the hands of enemies in Beijing, Moscow and Tehran, who have all sought to influence US elections, according to US intelligence agencies, and all have strong geopolitical incentives in seeing American democracy fail.
The extraordinary and sudden Hamas attack on Israel – which has been compared to the September 11 attacks in the United States, and in terms of per capita casualties was far more bloody – falls into the category of tragedies that could change the world.
Aside from the awful human toll – now also being felt by Palestinian civilians in Gaza, where hundreds have perished in the initial Israel reprisal attacks on the infrastructure of Hamas – the onslaught will have far-reaching strategic consequences that will be felt in the US.
If evidence is found that Iran directly plotted the attack with Hamas, there will be huge pressure on the Israelis to respond by directly confronting the Islamic Republic, at the risk of sparking a wider regional conflagration that could draw in the United States.
The attacks and their fallout are also almost certain to disrupt the effort, in which the US is a key player, to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia and allied Arab states. Such an agreement would fundamentally reshape the region and further isolate Iran – a logical reason why it could have had an interest in perpetrating the Hamas assault. US officials are still trying to establish how, if at all, Iran was involved.
The horror in Israel presents Biden with another fearsome foreign policy crisis as he contemplates his reelection bid – alongside the war in Ukraine and a rising confrontation with China.
It comes at a moment of political vulnerability for the administration as it seeks to explain why it made a deal to release US prisoners from Iran that resulted in the release of $6 billion in frozen Iranian funds. The Iranian government can use the funds only to buy humanitarian and medical supplies. The deal took place far too recently for such money to be used to finance this attack. But such subtleties don’t count for much in an election year, as multiple Republican presidential candidates accused the president of funding Iranian terror.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday tried to defuse the political impact of the agreement. “Not a single dollar has been spent from that account. And, again, the account is closely regulated by the US Treasury Department, so it can only be used for things like food, medicine, medical equipment,” he insisted on “State of the Union.”
But, in a political sense, it only matters that enough Americans believe what the Republicans are saying is true.
GOP hopeful Nikki Haley, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, for instance, implied Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that funds that Iran may not have to spend on medicine because of the hostage deal could now be spent on terror.
“Secretary Blinken is just wrong to imply that this money is not being moved around as we speak,” Haley said, although her argument is undercut by the fact that Iran’s clerical regime has rarely seemed to prioritize the humanitarian needs of its people while building up a huge state military complex.
Another 2024 candidate, GOP Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, went even further, accusing Biden – who has been one of the strongest Washington supporters of Israel in half a century in politics – of being “complicit” in the attacks.
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has published at least 16 other books, including “The Art of the Deal” and “The America We Deserve.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1637″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
Three separate lawsuits — two class-action suits filed in California and one filed by New York’s attorney general — argued that the program was mired in fraud and deception. In November 2016, just days after winning the presidential election, Trump agreed to settle the lawsuits. He repeatedly denied the fraud claims and said that he could have won at trial, but he said that as president he did not have time and wanted to focus on the country.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2073″ width=”2928″ loading=’lazy’/>
Trump announced that he was running for president. He said he would 
the first presidential debate, which took place in Hempstead, New York, in September 2016.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2774″ width=”4931″ loading=’lazy’/>
Trump said, referring to lewd comments he made during a previously unaired taping of “Access Hollywood.” Multiple Republican leaders rescinded their endorsements of Trump after the footage was released.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1360″ width=”2417″ loading=’lazy’/>
Obama said.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2022″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
shares a meal in New York with Mitt Romney in November 2016. Trump and his transition team were in the process of filling high-level positions for the new administration, and Romney was reportedly in the running for secretary of state. That job ended up going to Rex Tillerson.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
three inaugural balls. The president, known for his affinity of over-the-top gold fixtures, 
Trump fired Comey a few months later, sweeping away the man who was responsible for the FBI’s investigation into whether members of Trump’s campaign team colluded with Russia in its election interference. The Trump administration attributed Comey’s dismissal to his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2001″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
has a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of several world leaders he talked to after taking office. Joining Trump in the Oval Office, from left, were Chief of Staff Reince Priebus, Vice President Mike Pence, senior adviser Steve Bannon, press secretary Sean Spicer and national security adviser Michael Flynn.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1946″ width=”3500″ loading=’lazy’/>
surprises visitors who were touring the White House in March 2017. The tour group, including many young children, cheered and screamed after the president popped out from behind a room divider.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
a White House ceremony in April 2017. Gorsuch was chosen by Trump to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016. Holding the Bible is Gorsuch’s wife, Marie Louise.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
The meeting with Lavrov was the highest-level encounter between the US administration and Moscow since Trump’s inauguration.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1067″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
See more photos from Trump’s first foreign tour in May 2017″ class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1428″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the first sitting US president to visit the wall.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
a private audience at the Vatican in May 2017. Joining the president were his wife and his daughter Ivanka.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2045″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
looks up at the sky during the total solar eclipse in August 2017. He eventually put on protective glasses as he watched the eclipse with his wife and their son from the White House South Portico.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2091″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
bucking his own party and siding with Democrats to support a deal that would ensure passage of disaster relief funding, raise the debt ceiling, and continue to fund the government into December.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2043″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
a five-nation tour of Asia that lasted nearly two weeks.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
his State of the Union address in January 2018. Trump declared that the “state of our union is strong because our people are strong. Together, we are building a safe, strong and proud America.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1806″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
listening session with student survivors of mass shootings, their parents and teachers in February 2018. The 
Macron pressed the United States to engage more in global affairs, contrasting with the steps the Trump White House has taken toward isolationism since he came into office.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1844″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
released by North Korea are welcomed at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland by Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in May 2018. Kim Dong Chul, Kim Hak-song and Kim Sang Duk, also known as Tony Kim, were freed while 
the photo was taken when there was a difficult conversation taking place regarding the G7’s communique and several issues the United States had leading up to it.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
their historic summit in Singapore in June 2018. It was the first meeting ever between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader. At the end of the summit, they signed a document in which they agreed “to work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” In exchange, Trump agreed to “provide security guarantees” to North Korea.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
was confirmed in October 2018.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Trump’s visit to Windsor Castle in July 2018.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2095″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
their summit in Helsinki, Finland, in July 2018. Afterward, Trump said he believed it had significantly improved relations between the two countries. “Our relationship has never been worse than it is now. However, that changed as of about four hours ago. I really believe that,” Trump said during a joint news conference. The Putin meeting was the last part of Trump’s 
had been invited for a working lunch to discuss topics such as urban revitalization, workforce training programs and how best to address crime in Chicago. ” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1800″ width=”2700″ loading=’lazy’/>
suspending Acosta’s press pass “until further notice.” A federal judge later ordered the White House 
the state funeral of George H.W. Bush in December 2018. In the front row, from left, are the Trumps, Barack and Michelle Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1424″ width=”2124″ loading=’lazy’/>
Trump clashed with Schumer and Pelosi over funding for a border wall and the threat of a government shutdown. Parts of the federal government did eventually shut down. 
Trump’s speech came a week later than originally planned.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1953″ width=”2930″ loading=’lazy’/>
meet at the Korean Demilitarized Zone in June 2019. Trump briefly stepped over into North Korean territory, becoming the first sitting US leader to set foot in the nation. Trump said he invited Kim to the White House, and both leaders agreed to restart talks after nuclear negotiations stalled.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1733″ width=”2600″ loading=’lazy’/>
Trump’s “Salute to America” ceremony featured military flyovers, music and a largely apolitical speech that struck a patriotic tone. But the event drew considerable scrutiny in the days leading up to it, as 
The photo quickly circulated on social media.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1814″ width=”2679″ loading=’lazy’/>
apparently altered map of Hurricane Dorian’s trajectory. The map showed the storm potentially affecting a large section of Alabama. Over the course of the storm’s development, Trump erroneously claimed multiple times that Alabama had been in the storm’s path.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2968″ width=”4448″ loading=’lazy’/>
didn’t mince words as she spoke to world leaders during the UN Climate Action Summit. She accused them of not doing enough to mitigate climate change: “For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away?” 
released a transcript of a conversation that Trump had in July with Zelensky. According to the transcript, Trump repeatedly pushed for Zelensky to investigate Joe Biden, a former vice president and potential 2020 political rival. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by Biden. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that she would be
a contentious White House meeting in October 2019. Democratic leaders were there for a meeting about Syria, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they walked out when Trump went on a diatribe and “started calling Speaker Pelosi a third-rate politician.” Pelosi said, “What we witnessed on the part of the president was a meltdown.” Trump later tweeted this photo, taken by White House photographer Shealah Craighead, with the caption “Nervous Nancy’s unhinged meltdown!” Pelosi then 
signing a new North American trade agreement in January 2020. The US-Mexico-Canada Agreement replaces the North American Free Trade Agreement, which Trump railed against during the 2016 campaign.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
State of the Union address in February 2020, a day before the Senate acquitted him in his impeachment trial. There was tension throughout the speech with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. At the beginning, Trump appeared to snub her for a handshake. At the end, Pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1573″ width=”2359″ loading=’lazy’/>
addresses the nation from the White House Oval Office in March 2020. Trump said he was sharply restricting travel to the United States from more than two dozen European countries, a drastic step he framed as an attempt to contain the coronavirus.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2335″ width=”3719″ loading=’lazy’/>
He has vented his frustrations on several occasions.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Operation Warp Speed, a program aimed at developing a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the year.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1845″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
photo op in Washington, DC, in June 2020. Part of the church was set on fire during protests the night before. Before Trump’s photo op, police cleared out peaceful protesters with rubber bullets, tear gas and flash bangs.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
his campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June 2020. It was his first rally since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and the indoor venue 
after returning from his campaign rally in Tulsa.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
Independence Day celebration in Keystone, South Dakota, in July 2020.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1067″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
he visits the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. This was the first time since the pandemic began that the White House press corps got a glimpse of Trump with a face covering.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2001″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
extending coronavirus economic relief in August 2020. It came after Democrats and the White House were unable to reach an agreement on a stimulus bill.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1663″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
his nomination acceptance speech in August 2020. “I stand before you tonight honored by your support, proud of the extraordinary progress we have made together over the last four incredible years, and brimming with confidence in the bright future we will build for America over the next four years,” Trump said in his speech, which closed the 
Trump tours an area affected by civil unrest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in September 2020.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1379″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
campaign rally in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in September 2020.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
The president was booed as he appeared near the coffin.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1066″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
introduces her as his Supreme Court nominee in September 2020. 
the New York Times reported that he paid no federal income taxes in 10 out of 15 years beginning in 2000. 
the first presidential debate in September 2020. At center is moderator Chris Wallace, who had his hands full as 
had tested positive for the coronavirus.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1864″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
his Covid-19 diagnosis.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
campaign-style speech from the balcony of the White House on October 10, 2020.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
separate town halls instead of debating each other in a town-hall format. The schedule change came about after Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus. The Commission on Presidential Debates proposed a virtual debate, but Trump refused to take part and Biden went ahead with plans for his own town hall. Trump’s campaign later arranged its own town hall — on a different network, during the same hour.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
second debate with Biden. Because the first debate quickly descended into a glorified shouting match, the Commission on Presidential Debates instituted 
his remarks, suggesting that attempts to tally all ballots amounted to disenfranchising his supporters. He baselessly claimed a fraud was being committed. “Frankly we did win this election,” he said, despite millions of votes still outstanding. A few days later, Biden was projected as the actual winner.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1066″ width=”1600″ loading=’lazy’/>
prepares to deliver an update on the administration’s coronavirus efforts. He inched closer to acknowledging he would not be president after January 20, though he stopped well short of recognizing his loss. “This administration will not be doing a lockdown,” he said. “Hopefully whatever happens in the future — who knows which administration it will be? I guess time will tell — but I can tell you this administration will not go to a lockdown,” Trump said in the White House Rose Garden.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1334″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
breached the US Capitol while Congress was meeting to certify the Electoral College’s votes for president and vice president. The Capitol was put on lockdown and the certification vote was paused after the rioters stormed the building.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2080″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
he was impeached for a second time. Ten House Republicans joined House Democrats in voting for impeachment, exactly one week after pro-Trump rioters ransacked the US Capitol. The impeachment resolution charged Trump with “incitement of insurrection.” 
the inauguration of Joe Biden. “I will always fight for you,” 
his first public remarks since leaving the White House.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1953″ width=”2930″ loading=’lazy’/>
speaks at a Republican convention in Greenville, North Carolina, in June 2021. During his speech, Trump baselessly claimed that his election defeat was “the crime of the century.”” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1666″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
his first post-presidency rally at the Lorain County Fairgrounds in Wellington, Ohio, in June 2021.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2696″ width=”4048″ loading=’lazy’/>
rejected efforts to overhaul gun laws, and they mocked Democrats and activists calling for change.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″ loading=’lazy’/>
the funeral of his first wife, Ivana, in New York in July 2022.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1704″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
he invoked the Fifth Amendment at a scheduled deposition. Trump was to be deposed as part of a more than three-year civil investigation into whether the Trump Organization misled lenders, insurers and tax authorities by providing them misleading financial statements. Trump and the Trump Organization have previously denied any wrongdoing.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1666″ width=”2500″ loading=’lazy’/>
seek the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1333″ width=”2000″ loading=’lazy’/>
pleaded not guilty to 34 felony criminal charges of falsifying business records. It is the first time in history that a current or former US president has been criminally charged.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”1666″ width=”2500″/>
federal indictment over his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving office.” class=”image__dam-img image__dam-img–loading” onload=’this.classList.remove(‘image__dam-img–loading’)’ onerror=”imageLoadError(this)” height=”2000″ width=”3000″/>
