President Donald Trump has won the “loser of the year” title from the German magazine Der Spiegel.
The news outlet on Thursday delivered a withering assessment of Trump’s 2020 in an article headlined “The loser of the year.” The piece of more than 3,300 words pulled no punches in criticizing Trump’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, his refusal to accept an election defeat, and for good measure, it took swipes at other presidential actions this year.
Headlined in German “Der Verlierer des Jahres” the article published online on Thursday describes how Trump’s refusal to accept President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is “not surprising,” because, as Roland Nelles and Ralf Neukirch write: “nothing is normal under Trump.”
“Instead, he speaks of massive electoral fraud, although there is no evidence for it. Trump’s presidency ends as it began. Without decency and without dignity.”
“The country is more divided than ever since the times of the Civil War. This is not a by-product of Trump’s politics, it is their goal,” the piece says, concluding that “permanent conflict is part of his strategy… he does not even give the impression that he is the president of all Americans.”
The Black Lives Matter movement and the protests and counter-protests following the killing of George Floyd in May meant that “now is the time to unite the country,” Der Spiegel says, however, “Trump is fueling the conflict.”
“He sends federal troops to Portland, although the Governor of Oregon is against it. He blames the ‘Antifa’ for the violence and avoids setting himself apart from right-wing extremist militias.”
The article criticizes Trump’s dismissal of numerous administration officials, his impeachment trial and the GOP senators it says have acted as his enablers. “The formerly proud party of Abraham Lincoln has degenerated into a collection of spineless yes-men.”
However, Der Spiegel suggests the presidency was shaped the most by the coronavirus pandemic which “mercilessly exposes Trump’s weaknesses” that were driven by a “disdain for science and expertise.”
It says that Trump played down the pandemic, politicized it and “refuses to take responsibility in the worst health crisis the country has suffered for one hundred years. He is complicit in the deaths of numerous Americans.
Donald Trump hat die Pandemie stets verharmlost, dann erkrankte er selbst an Covid-19 und wurde zum Superspreader. Rekonstruktion der entscheidenden Phase vor seiner Abwahl. https://t.co/HShQyKLRz0 pic.twitter.com/2H4MZbauRf
— DER SPIEGEL (@derspiegel) December 10, 2020
