Is Political Anxiety Fueling Fear Over Trump’s Actions?

What will President Trump do if special counsel Robert Mueller gets close to finding a smoking gun? Is Trump impulsive, unstable, desperate, and self-serving enough to bomb North Korea in order to distract Americans from the investigation? Maybe not, but the fear that he might creates political anxiety and  stress among many Americans.

The Impact of Trump’s Policies on Political Anxiety

The jury may still be out on the impact of Trump’s policies, but the stress and anxiety created by his behavior is real and widespread. Many have lost sleep, suffered from headaches and stomach pain, and harmed relationships over political differences, due to Trump-induced anxiety.

Political Anxiety Escalates: Comparisons to Authoritarian Leaders

{mosads}His abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey and reports that he asked Comey to drop the Flynn investigation are reminiscent of the way Vladimir Putin disposes of his critics. His false claim that Comey exonerated him, and his conflicting explanations of why he fired Comey are unsettling. But giving Russia classified information about ISIS that we received in confidence from Israel, our only Middle East ally, is alarming.

How Trump-Related Political Anxiety Impacts Mental Health

We’ve watched as Trump degraded his office, threatened relationships with our allies, lost their respect, and made America a laughing stock. Since the election, our connection to politics has become increasingly one of stress, anxiety, fear, and shame. Trump-related anxiety is so common it’s been given an unofficial diagnosis: post-election stress disorder.

Rising Levels of Political Anxiety Across America

The American Psychological Association recently reported that two-thirds of people are stressed about the future of the country, including nearly 60 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats. Mental health professionals nationwide are seeing a steady stream of patients that suffer from anxiety, depression, and sadness related to daily news about the Trump administration’s behavior, according to Kaiser Health News.

Symptoms of Political Anxiety in Patients

Nancy Molitor, 28 years a psychologist, says many of her patients are having trouble sleeping and focusing at work or are fighting more with family members. Other psychologists say patients are concerned about maintaining civil relationships with friends and loved ones with different political opinions.

Political Anxiety Eroding Trust Among Friends and Family

Psychologist Angela Londoño-McConnell notes, “People seem to be looking at those they know and love and wondering if they really knew them and if they can trust them.” “There has been nothing like this,” says William Doherty, a therapist for 40 years. “Nothing close.”

The Foreign Press and America’s Political Anxiety

Esther Lerman Freeman, clinical psychologist at Oregon Health & Science University said, “Patients report nights of shattered sleep.” She added, “when something is not predictable, it makes people more anxious.”

The foreign press has observed America’s anxiety. Die Zeit, a German national weekly newspaper, reported that many Americans “aren’t sleeping well, they are suffering from frequent headaches or stomach pains, they are nervous, suspicious and afraid.”

Political Anxiety Intensifies Over Trump’s Russian Connections

Concerns over Trump’s Russian connections intensified when he fired Comey and gave the Russians confidential information he received from Israel. Why does he cozy up to a man who strips Russian companies of their wealth to enrich his oligarchs and his ex-wife and daughter with multimillion-dollar mansions in France, and jailed his opponents?

Does Trump hope to lift sanctions to finally build Trump Tower in Moscow? After all, he’s been trying for 10 years and predicted in a 2007 deposition, “Russia is one of the hottest places in the world for investment,” and that, “We will be in Moscow at some point.” Is there a hidden agenda to sacrifice U.S. interests for personal gain?

Perhaps not, but can we be blamed for wondering? Trump asserts all such questions are part of an unprecedented “witch hunt.” But how can we believe anything he says? He has falsely claimed that he had a record electoral win and a record crowd at his inauguration, that he knows more about ISIS than our generals, that he can’t release his tax returns because he’s under audit and that President Obama tapped his telephones in Trump Tower.

He has also said, “I have nothing to do with Russia, for anything … to the best of my knowledge, no person that I deal with does.” What about Paul Manafort, Carter Page, Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, and Betsy Devos’s brother, Erik Prince, the billionaire founder of Blackwater?

The Urgent Need to Address Political Anxiety Through Investigation

It’s frustrating and depressing that Americans can’t believe what the President says. That lack of credibility also creates anxiety and frustration over his policy positions. He recently pivoted to less outlier, more mainstream positions on NAFTA, NATO and trade, but who knows if he’ll pivot back? Will he make good on his campaign threat to throw tariffs on Chinese imports to distract us from the Russian probe? That would start a trade war and throw the U.S. into recession.

Conclusion: Political Anxiety as a Call to Action

Damage done by bad policy, whether it’s healthcare, tax reform, or immigration, is palpable — it can be observed. But the damage done to the American psyche is insidious — not obvious. Consequently, it is not a motivation to act, but it should be. It is urgent that the special counsel and Congress, including Republicans, get to the bottom of the Russian investigation and finally determine if Trump should be removed. In the meantime, Republicans need to do a better job of reining him in.

The post Suffering from political anxiety? It’s called post-election stress disorder first appeared on Inside The Political Chaos.

Donald Trump’s insistence on a summit with Vladimir Putin, disregarding the advice of aides and worries of allies, is consistent with his obsession with the Russian leader. But it’s inconsistent with his pattern of choosing policies that resonate with his supporters — there’s no indication that Trump’s followers condone this bromance. The underlying Trump-Putin Gain suggests that personal financial interests may be influencing Trump’s favorable stance toward Putin.

Trump-Putin Gain: Consistent Obsession Despite Public Disapproval

So why does Trump pander to Putin? He won’t criticize him and incessantly flatters and coddles him. He has winked at the annexation of Crimea, threatened NATO, suggested that the G7 should readmit Russia, and done nothing to prevent Russian meddling in U.S. elections.

Trump-Putin Gain and Its Impact on U.S. Sanctions and Policy

Many fear Trump will hand Putin unwarranted concessions, like unraveling U.S. sanctions against Russia. Trump was always soft on them anyway. After Russia requested a secretary of state who favored lifting them, Trump obliged, appointing Rex Tillerson instead of Mitt Romney. When Congress enacted sanctions on 15 Russian entities and individuals in 2017, Trump delayed implementing them for seven months and reversed a decision to impose more.

Trump-Putin Gain: The Personal Financial Incentives Behind Trump’s Policies

What could be motivating Trump’s largesse toward Russia? It’s hard to argue that it’s what’s best for America. A pattern of reported facts suggest it could be personal financial gain.

Trump-Putin Gain: How Russian Money Fuels Trump’s Business Aspirations

Throughout the 2000s, Russians bought many apartments in Trump Tower and $100 million worth of Trump properties in Florida. But these sales dropped precipitously in 2014 after the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russian oligarchs for the Crimean incursion. Lifting sanctions would likely restore these sales, and the profits would flow through a trust run by Trump’s sons, with the president as sole beneficiary. Indeed, Trump admitted that he’d “be looking at” lifting them.

Trump’s Business Aspirations in Russia: The Trump-Putin Gain

Trump has many business aspirations in Russia that Putin can make or break. In 1986, Trump met with the Soviet ambassador about building a luxury hotel in Moscow, and announced a potential Trump International complex there. At the 2008 Russian Real Estate Summit, Trump touted plans for condos and hotels in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sochi. In 2011, he licensed his name to an aborted Azerbaijan hotel for $1 million and promoted a Trump Tower in Kazakhstan. Even as he campaigned for the Republican nomination, Trump signed a letter of intent to build Trump Tower in Moscow.

Financial Ties to Russian Money: The Trump-Putin Gain Connection

Trump’s business depends heavily on Russian money. Donald Trump Jr. said in 2008 that “Russians make up a … disproportionate cross-section of … our assets,” and later added, “We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia.” Eric Trump told a journalist, “We don’t rely on American banks; we have all the funding we need out of Russia.” (He later denied saying that.)

Trump-Putin Gain: Financial Ties and Potential Blackmail

In 2008, Deutsche Bank’s real estate group stopped lending to Trump after he defaulted on a $330 million loan. Inexplicably, he subsequently borrowed $75 million from another DB group. European and American regulators punished DB for laundering billions from Moscow. It’s not a huge leap to suspect that Trump’s DB money came from Russia.

Since Trump’s nomination, 70 percent of Trump sales were to limited liability companies frequently used by Russians to hide their identity, stow cash and, most likely, violate U.S. sanctions. Hundreds of millions of dollars from unidentified sources funded Trump’s unprofitable golf courses in Ireland and Scotland. Testimony before Congress suggests they were used to launder money for the Russian mafia. Steve Bannon told Michael Wolff, in speaking of White House corruption: “This is about money laundering … the path to …Trump goes right through Paul Manafort, Don Junior and Jared Kushner.”

The Trump-Putin Gain: How “America First” Became “Russia First”

The blackmail potential in all these financial shenanigans is abundant. Implicating Trump in almost any of these schemes could expose him to charges of money laundering and bank fraud.

“America first” ideology has actually put Russia first. Leaving the Trans-Pacific Partnership, Iran nuclear deal and Paris Climate Agreement lost America international forums where it communicated, led and influenced. Cutting the State Department’s budget and foreign aid weakened America’s global clout and allowed Putin to expand Russia’s sphere of influence.

Trump’s threat to cut aid to Central America damaged trust in the U.S. Now Putin is providing aid there, reopening military bases and building a satellite-tracking station that could spy on the U.S. Trump’s rejection of Obama’s soft Cuba policy may result in a repeat of Cuba’s pivot to Russia after Dwight Eisenhower rejected Cuban efforts for diplomatic and trade ties. Trump’s trade tariffs and insults of EU and Canadian leaders threatens relationships with our closest allies. His escalating criticism of NATO make some worry the United States might actually leave the alliance – the ultimate gift to Putin.

Conclusion: The Trump-Putin Gain and Its Threat to American Democracy

Congressional Republicans are muting their nervousness about Trump giving away the store, settling for bromides about how there’s nothing wrong with just talking to Russia. It’s hard to imagine how talking under these conditions will serve America’s interest, but on the other hand, we may finally see Trump Tower built in Moscow. In keeping his stakes in 500 foreign businesses — no other president had any – Trump has unprecedented cause to tailor foreign policy for personal gain. He promised to “drain the swamp,” but there are more reptiles in it than ever, and many speak Russian.

Alan Dershowitz: How Trump could be impeached

Famed law professor is defending Trump, but still lays out a scenario for impeachment.

The post Why is Donald Trump so sweet on Vladimir Putin? It might just be personal financial gain first appeared on Inside The Political Chaos.