Low Global Approval of Trump, and Yet...

Public opinion on Donald Trump's standing on the world stage is dismissal. A multinational Pew Research Center report indicates that only 23% of adults across 36 countries worldwide express confidence in Trump to make good policy decisions on world affairs. His "America First" policies have strained relations with established Western allies, resulting in what appears to be an "America Alone" reality. 

While diplomatic tensions are high and traditional partnerships are strained, there seems to be inadequate pushback both domestically and internationally to curb this out-of-control despot as he wrecks havoc on the social and political stage both here and around the world.

Some of his most unconventional and disruptive policies include threatening sweeping tariffs on our closest allies like Canada and Mexico, threatening to annex Greenland and Canada, declaring international waterways as under U.S. control, undermining NATO and pulling the U.S. from multilateral pacts such as the Paris Climate Agreement. He also has suggested that the U.S. should control the Strait of Hormuz and charge for use of the vital shipping lane. He radically cut or froze international development funding, including global health initiatives. 

He has used the influence and might of the most powerful nation on this planet to play petty games, and one-up world leaders. His policies have denied food to starving people in Ethiopia while food rots in African harbours. He has disrupted the flow of lifesaving malaria prevention efforts and HIV/AIDS drug programs. He has rolled back the clock on climate change, erasing the positive strides of the Biden administration in the Paris Agreement on climate change. 

His positions on Ukraine, Gaza and Panama are haphazard. They are based on whim, rather than actual facts, planning and expertise. All of these policies have negatively impacted the world economy and threatened social stability worldwide. 

Nevertheless, world leaders still bow at his feet, strategizing about how to interact without triggering him. It is unbelievable to me that the entire WORLD seems to allow this toddler to throw tantrums as the world order devolves into a quagmire of his creation. 

Who will stop him? Clearly the American voter has not, up to this point, been able to do so. Perhaps November will show us a different America. Perhaps, in November, voters will stop looking for the PERFECT solution and pursue an ACHIEVABLE solution. Perhaps in November America will give the world something new to work with...a way to repair the damage inflicted by this toddler-king who still has not made it out of his diaper. 

Trump Accounts Closed Due To Money-Laundering Probe

 By Mildred Robertson

Capital One Bank closed roughly 385 accounts linked to President Donald Trump and the Trump Organization in 2021 after identifying characteristics associated with potential money-laundering risk under its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) policies.

Trump went to court, alleging that Capital One unlawfully denied the organization financial services for political reasons following the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The Trump Organization accused the bank of political discrimination, arguing that the decision reflected the shifting political climate after the attack.

A motion filed by Capital One in a Florida federal court refutes that claim, stating that the decision followed several months of internal review by its Financial Crimes Compliance Team. The court filing over this past weekend requested that the lawsuit be dismissed, stating that “The closures were the result of months of analysis and careful review by Capital One’s AML team in accordance with bank policies and regulatory guidance.” 

According to Capital One, AML is an internal financial crimes and risk-compliance unit that investigates suspicious transactions, screens customer accounts against global watchlists, and ensures adherence to federal bank regulations. AML cited patterns in the flagged Trump accounts that were consistent with those identified through federal banking guidance as suspect.  

It is reported that Capital One had been fined $390 million by federal regulators just months before closing Trump’s accounts, due to lax anti-money laundering practices, which caused a heightened internal scrutiny of compliance issues. While Capital One did not actually accuse the Trump organization of illegal money laundering, it states that the accounts were closed based upon standard regulatory practices. The bank says that it never publicly disclosed why the accounts were closed and that the organization was given several months to move funds elsewhere.

It will be left up to the court to decided whether the "debanking" of Trumps accounts is anti-money laundering enforcement as stated by the bank, or is political discrimination. This litigation does, however, open the possibility that sensitive financial information related to the Trump accounts may become a matter of public record; an occurrence likely not considered by the Trump organization when bringing this suit.