The following article is submitted to us by Mr Vivian Wineman, one of the trustees of the Next Century Foundation. It is his personal view. It does not represent the view of the Next Century Foundation:
There is an ancient Rabbinic tradition that if a court is presiding over a trial particularly in a capital case and none of the judges can find any fact in mitigation for the defendant then this is a sign that they should consider releasing him. There cannot be anyone so bad that there is no mitigating factor on his side.
I think of this in relation to the man who has more power than anyone else on this entire planet and is the least qualified to exercise it.
A distinguished Oxford academic pointed out to me recently that Trump is by no means the first crook to take up residence in the White House. Nor, one might add, is he the first sexual predator to do so. Nor indeed is he the first political figure to oppose measures, with which he agrees, purely in order to deprive his opponents of the credit for them – putting party and self, before country.
He is however the first Potus never to have occupied any position either in the US government or in its military – never to have worked in anyone’s interest but his own. He is also the first convicted felon to serve as President after he was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records in the State of New York.
His business career was not exactly an unblemished triumph. By the time he was elected President for the first time, in 2016, he had already filed for corporate bankruptcy six times and had faced thousands of law suits. Now he is ensconced in Pennsylvania Avenue, however, for the second time he has been hugely successful – for himself. Whatever financial problems he may have had when he first entered office, he will leave it as an extremely wealthy man.
Ordinary folk like ourselves might wonder what motivates people like President Trump and his fellow leader turned kleptocrat-tycoon President Putin, to carry out their predatory activities. After all we are talking of billions not millions of other people’s money that they have got their mitts on – far beyond the dreams of avarice – but when it comes to such things, ours not to reason why.
I did say at the beginning that I should find something good to say about the Donald. It has not been easy. Even his intervention in the world cup was entirely misjudged. Why else should people with strong cultural ties to the USA living in countries allied to it be so relieved when Belgium gave them a hammering? Separately why should the US be the one state at the UN to oppose increased road safety measures – apparently this might morph into action over climate change?
We can however praise his determination to confront Iran although he is selective about his dictators. His dealings with Putin make him more the Neville Chamberlain of our time than the Winston Churchill. And his war against Iran has probably strengthened that government and made its acquisition of nuclear weapons more – not less likely, as has his offer of assistance to Saudi Arabia. As Sun Tzu, the great Chinese philosopher and strategist is alleged to have said ‘ tactics’ (which in this case have been brilliant) without strategy are the noise before defeat.
We can at least acknowledge his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. As the Psalmist said ‘seek the peace of Jerusalem. May those who love you prosper, For the sake of the house of the Lord I shall seek your good’.
VW 23.07.2026
