United States of America eSeries: 'It’s almost like it's going to be two Americas'

'It’s almost like it's going to be two Americas'

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July 1, 2021

Stephen Collinson and Caitlin Hu

'It's almost like it's going to be two Americas'

Donald Trump has had better Wednesdays.

The ex-President's firm and its top financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, have been indicted and are expected to be charged with tax crimes on Thursday. A panel of historians issued a new ranking of US presidents — where he debuted behind all but three of his predecessors. Finally, the Democratic-led House, with two rebel Republicans, voted to create a committee to probe his incitement of the January 6 Capitol riot.

The 45th President's most immediate concern is the charges, which are expected to be filed by the Manhattan district attorney's office over tax benefits and perks awarded to employees of the Trump Organization. Although the real estate magnate turned commander in chief is not expected to be personally charged, the move will come as a blow given that he used the company to build his fame as a master of the art of the deal.

Prosecutors have been combing through the company's financial records and lately, Trump's own tax returns, in an investigation that has lasted two years. They had hoped that Weisselberg would cooperate with them, but he refused, people familiar with the matter told CNN. The indictment could pile more pressure on him to turn on Trump – who prizes loyalty above everything else.

The first charges from the investigation do not preclude future action against Trump or other officers in the company, currently run by the former President's eldest sons. There are also open investigations into whether Trump inflated the value of his properties for insurance assessments but undervalued them for tax purposes.

Expect an explosion soon from Trump at his Bedminster golf resort in New Jersey. The former President has already branded the investigations as politically motivated witch hunts perpetrated by Democratic prosecutors. Trump has managed to outrun real trouble throughout a life of bankruptcies and personal, business and political scandals. Can he keep it up as his legal worries deepen?

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Mexico's richest man will foot the bill to repair Mexico City's collapsed subway line.

China is facing its worst power shortage in a decade.

And the woman accused of causing a cyclist pileup in the Tour de France was arrested.

Meanwhile in America, Bill Cosby was released from jail after a judge vacated his conviction.

Former US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld died at 88.

And a California couple was fined $18,000 for digging up protected Joshua trees.

Ranked 41

There's never been a President as obsessed with ratings and rankings as Trump, who last year awarded himself an A+ on pandemic handling. So, he's not going to be pleased with the latest Historians Survey of Presidential Leadership, where he makes his first appearance in 41st position, ahead only of perennial presidential losers Franklin Pierce, Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan. He can't even beat William Henry Harrison, who died a month into his term.

The survey, released in partnership with public affairs channel C-SPAN every time the occupant of the Oval Office changes, offers an interesting snapshot of how assessments of a president's legacy improve or fade over time. The presidents are ranked on 10 qualities, including crisis leadership, relationship with Congress, moral authority, handling of international relations and the economy, and whether they pursued equality for all.

Trump performs poorly on all counts and bottoms out on moral authority, according to the survey. That's what four years of constant lying and two impeachments will get you.

Conservatives usually mock the survey, claiming that it's the work of lefty historians in their academic ivory towers. But one of the panelists this time was conservative columnist Amity Shlaes, who praised C-SPAN for assembling a "diverse group" of historians and professional observers of the presidency.

But there may be hope for Trump yet, as perceptions of presidents tend to improve after they have left office. George W. Bush, for instance, hit the list at number 36 in 2009 and has now climbed to 29. Barack Obama cracked the top 10 for the first time in the new survey, edging out Lyndon Johnson, whose pioneering domestic presidency was soured by the Vietnam War. Bill Clinton, however, slipped four places from his all-time top ranking of 15 to 19, his transgressions perhaps seen under new light.

No prizes for guessing the top three. Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin Roosevelt seem untouchable at the top of almost every historical ranking — earning high marks for the existential national crises they overcame and the political and moral examples they set.

'It's almost like it's going to be two Americas'

America's stark divide over vaccination could produce dramatically different realities in parts of the country as the extra-transmissible Delta variant spreads, infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci warned on Wednesday. "When you have such a low level of vaccination superimposed upon a variant that has a high degree of efficiency of spread, what you are going to see among under-vaccinated regions -- be that states, cities or counties -- you're going to see these individual types of blips," he said. "It's almost like it's going to be two Americas."

Thanks for reading.

On Thursday, OPEC meets virtually. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg arrives in Kosovo for a two-day visit. Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusan President Alexander Lukashenko take part in a video forum.