These Trump scandals are equal parts shocking and terrifying. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Trump Administration scandals that may have gotten lost in the firehose of news over the last 8 years.
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00:00President clutching a Bible at an historic church damaged by fire.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks
00:09for the Trump administration scandals that may have gotten lost
00:12in the firehose of news over the last eight years.
00:14We need you to remind him that this is the United States of America,
00:20and it is a great country, and we need you to stand up for those children.
00:2610. The Helsinki Summit with Vladimir Putin
00:29People came to me, Dan Coats came to me, and some others,
00:33they said they think it's Russia.
00:34I have President Putin, he just said it's not Russia.
00:40I will say this, I don't see any reason why it would be.
00:43After the 2016 election, tensions grew between the U.S. and Russia,
00:47leading to the Justice Department appointing the Republican former FBI director
00:51Robert Mueller to investigate Russian interference.
00:54In July 2018, President Donald Trump met with Russian President
00:58Vladimir Putin in Helsinki.
01:00It was a summit meant to address many topics, including the election.
01:04Trump sought to improve relations between rival countries,
01:07a goal received with deep skepticism by Western experts.
01:11During a press conference after the meet, standing side-by-side with Putin,
01:15Trump controversially sided with Putin over U.S. intelligence agencies.
01:20I think that the United States has been foolish.
01:22I think that the probe is a disaster for our country.
01:27There was bipartisan outrage.
01:29Critics accused Trump of undermining U.S. security and emboldening an adversary.
01:34The fallout included widespread media condemnation,
01:37congressional backlash, and questions about Trump's motivations.
01:41It remains a lasting stain on his foreign policy record.
01:45President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today,
01:50and what he did is an incredible offer.
01:52He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators
01:58with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer.
02:02Number 9. Abandoning an ally at the request of a strongman leader.
02:06The final straw was the president's decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria.
02:10They're coming back now. We won, and that's the way we want it.
02:14The Kurds are a large ethnic minority on lands that traverse the borders of Iraq,
02:19Syria, Turkey, and Iran.
02:21Despite being stateless, they've been a critical U.S. ally in the region for decades.
02:26Kurdish Peshmerga forces were instrumental in toppling Saddam Hussein and later fighting ISIS.
02:32In Syria, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces also played a key role in reclaiming territory from ISIS.
02:39However, in 2018, President Trump abruptly announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from northern Syria.
02:46At the urging of Turkish President and aspiring dictator Recep Erdogan,
02:50he effectively abandoned the Kurds overnight.
02:52This decision left them vulnerable to Turkish military attacks and was widely condemned as a betrayal.
02:58Trump's Defense Secretary James Mattis resigned in protest,
03:01highlighting deep divisions within the U.S. administration.
03:04And James Mattis is a measured and sober person.
03:07And he said, my four decades of service that are dedicated to those principles
03:12are at odds with your presidency. That is a sweeping statement.
03:15Number 8. Sharpiegate and nuking hurricanes.
03:19Trump has long had a reputation for being loose with facts.
03:22As president, it got him and America in trouble.
03:26On one such occasion in September 2019,
03:29he inaccurately claimed that Hurricane Dorian would hit Alabama.
03:33This caused consternation in the state and triggered widespread fear
03:36as Alabamans hurriedly prepared for the storm.
03:39The National Weather Service contradicted him though,
03:42leading Trump to publicly display a tracking map altered with a Sharpie
03:46to include Alabama in the storm's path.
03:48NOAA, an independent scientific agency,
03:51was then forced to issue a controversial statement supporting Trump,
03:54leading to concerns about political interference in scientific agencies.
03:59People rely on their forecasts and their warnings to make really critical decisions.
04:03They issued a statement that instead of siding with their forecasters
04:09at the National Weather Service, they sided with President Trump.
04:13Compounding this, it was later reported that Trump had also suggested,
04:16in multiple briefings, the use of nuclear bombs to disrupt hurricanes,
04:21an idea so insane it thankfully was never seriously tested.
04:25When NOAA put out the statement siding with President Trump
04:29rather than its own scientists, the reaction from the meteorological community,
04:34from the atmospheric science community, from the weather community,
04:37was one of outrage.
04:43Washington, D.C., the seat of power.
04:47Looking like a war zone.
04:53In June 2020, Trump waded into the nationwide protests against police brutality.
04:58I am your president of law and order.
05:01At his direction, peaceful demonstrators were forcibly removed
05:05from Lafayette Square near the White House,
05:07with officers using tear gas and rubber bullets.
05:09The crowds aggressively dispersed.
05:12Everybody to protest!
05:16Soon after, the path was clear for a stunning moment of political theater.
05:23This violence was seemingly employed only to enable a photo op
05:26at nearby St. John's Church, however.
05:29Trump's critics responded with widespread condemnation of the act
05:32as an abuse of power.
05:34General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
05:37later apologized for his presence during the incident.
05:40He acknowledged that it gave the impression of military involvement
05:43in domestic politics.
05:45The controversy only deepened, though.
05:47Trump deployed unmarked federal agents to tackle protests in Portland
05:51a few weeks later as well.
05:52They abducted protesters off the streets without identifying themselves,
05:56eroding democratic norms and violating their civil rights.
06:04In an unusual move, President Trump invited Russian Foreign Minister
06:08Sergei Lavrov to a mostly private Oval Office meeting in May 2017.
06:13There, he sparked a major controversy by revealing
06:16highly sensitive intelligence to Russia.
06:18Let's explain what's at stake right now.
06:19This is information about the fight against ISIS that is so sensitive
06:23that the U.S. doesn't even share it with our allies.
06:25It could jeopardize the source of the secret.
06:27If true, this could be the most significant and dangerous mistake
06:31of the Trump presidency.
06:32The information, provided by Israel, reportedly concerned an ISIS plot.
06:37By sharing it without the allies' consent,
06:39Trump risked compromising sources and methods.
06:42Intelligence agencies around the world were terrified that this could
06:46threaten vital relationships between Western allies.
06:49Ultimately, Israel was furious.
06:51In the intelligence-sharing game, discretion is everything,
06:55and the casual revelation of classified intelligence made it clear
06:58that the U.S. could no longer necessarily be trusted
07:01with critical information.
07:03In the aftermath, nations all over had to re-examine their own
07:06national security vis-a-vis their relationships with America.
07:09Many sources we've talked to in covering this administration
07:13are concerned about how intelligence and classified sense of information
07:19is treated and handled.
07:23It's been a year since Hurricane Maria left a path of devastation
07:27and destruction across the Caribbean and in Puerto Rico.
07:30The death toll from the storm has been disputed, particularly in Puerto Rico.
07:34Until recently, the number stood at 64.
07:37But findings from a report commissioned by the governor
07:40raised that number to nearly 3,000.
07:42President Trump's handling of Hurricane Maria was roundly condemned
07:45by his critics as an abject failure.
07:48The federal response was widely described as being marked by
07:51incompetence, bigotry and corruption.
07:53Federal resources came to Puerto Rico with insufficient speed or volume,
07:57leaving thousands without basic necessities for months.
08:00I think that what strikes me the most is the duration of the disaster.
08:05I've covered hurricanes in the past, and during the first few days
08:08after the hurricane, you have very chaotic situations,
08:12but that usually ends pretty fast.
08:15And here you had people whose lives were completely upended for months.
08:21Trump downplayed the crisis, disputing the official death toll
08:24and appearing to blame Puerto Ricans for their own misfortune.
08:27The administration's response was then seen as neglectful,
08:31especially comparing to the aid provided to mainland states.
08:34Corruption allegations further hampered the recovery efforts,
08:37with reports of misallocated funds and cronyism.
08:41They're mostly focused on their grief, and they haven't done an in-depth analysis
08:47of who was to blame, but they see that they didn't have what they needed,
08:53they weren't protected.
08:55When President Trump finally visited the island,
08:58his towel-toss moment only led to more outrage.
09:01It was seen as a perfect encapsulation of his insensitive approach
09:05and lack of empathy.
09:07Number four, the Muslim ban.
09:09Five years ago, then-President Donald Trump signed an executive order
09:13that banned people from seven Muslim-majority countries
09:16from entering the U.S. for 90 days.
09:19One of Donald Trump's first acts as president
09:21was his 2017 executive order banning people from a list
09:25of Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.
09:28Advocacy groups called the ban blatantly discriminatory
09:30and inherently un-American.
09:32Donald J. Trump is calling for a total and complete shutdown
09:37of Muslims entering the United States
09:40until our country's representatives can figure out what the hell is going on.
09:47The rollout was a chaotic and poorly-planned disaster.
09:50There was virtually no notice,
09:52either to travelers or the agencies responsible for enforcement.
09:56The order sparked confusion and protests
09:58at essentially every international airport in the country.
10:02Amidst accusations of bigotry, immigration lawyers had to step up.
10:06They volunteered across the country to help travelers navigate the legal mayhem.
10:11Challenges quickly arose, with courts blocking the ban
10:14and questioning its constitutionality.
10:16The administration's defiance of judicial orders
10:19then nearly triggered a constitutional crisis,
10:22testing the limits of executive power.
10:24I was speaking to one New Yorker not too long ago, just a few days ago,
10:28who submitted his application for a revised decision,
10:31and he is still waiting.
10:33And so the ban is not in place technically,
10:36but he has not been reunited with his wife and his three daughters.
10:40Number three, withdrawing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Accords.
10:44Hillary Clinton did not think a whole lot of Donald Trump's views
10:47on climate change.
10:50Donald thinks that climate change is a hoax perpetrated by the Chinese.
10:54I think it's real.
10:55I did not.
10:56Science is real.
10:57I do not say that.
10:58As a pro-fossil fuel candidate,
11:00Donald Trump repeatedly called climate change a, quote,
11:03Chinese hoax.
11:04And as president, one of his first acts was to pull out of the Paris Climate Accords.
11:09In order to fulfill
11:12my solemn duty to protect America and its citizens,
11:17the United States will withdraw
11:22from the Paris
11:26Climate Accord.
11:33The decision, while inevitable based on his campaign,
11:36was still received with shock and anger around the world.
11:39Critics argued that abandoning the agreement
11:41showed a complete disregard for science
11:43and a shirking of America's responsibility for its emissions.
11:47The withdrawal weakened America's standing abroad.
11:50It was one of a number of Trump's choices that isolated the U.S.
11:53from its allies, and America's climate leadership was severely curtailed.
11:58The decision sparked controversy over the future of international cooperation
12:02on climate change, deepening divides between the U.S.
12:05and developing nations.
12:06Germany, France and Italy issued a rare joint statement
12:10calling the Paris Accord irreversible
12:12and stating it cannot be renegotiated.
12:15That was a blunt rejection of President Trump's assertion
12:18that he will eventually negotiate a better deal on climate.
12:24President-elect Donald Trump announcing today he will leave his position
12:26at the various companies of the Trump Organization,
12:29but he said he will not divest his ownership.
12:31After winning in 2016,
12:33Donald Trump threw a number of political norms out the window.
12:36Arguably the biggest was his decision not to divest from his business interests.
12:41He's maintaining his ownership interests.
12:43He's turning over management to his two sons
12:46and his current chief financial officer.
12:50Critics pointed out that all presidents do this.
12:52Jimmy Carter famously gave up the reins of his peanut farm
12:55to avoid conflicts of interest.
12:57And so by retaining ownership of the Trump Organization,
13:00Trump opened the door for private and foreign interests
13:03to profit him personally.
13:05Businesses and foreign powers patronized his properties
13:08and by doing so gained access,
13:10effectively bribing him and his family.
13:12The Times also identified more than 20 foreign officials,
13:16politicians and groups aligned with governments abroad
13:19that held events at the president's properties
13:22or paid for rooms there.
13:23Trump's financial entanglements blurred the line
13:26between his personal and public interests.
13:28An example, it was revealed in 2024
13:31that the government of Egypt may have funneled $10 million to Trump.
13:35We all know the president is known for building skyscrapers
13:38like Trump Tower just behind me,
13:40hotels and golf resorts,
13:41but the New York Times is reporting
13:43the president and his family have been building something else
13:46since he entered politics, a swamp,
13:48the exact kind he campaigned against.
13:50Before we unveil our top pick,
13:52here are some dishonorable mentions.
13:54In 2019, Trump wanted to buy Greenland.
13:58Denmark slammed the story as absurd.
14:01And strategically for the United States, it would be nice.
14:04And we're a big ally of Denmark and we help Denmark
14:07and we protect Denmark and we will.
14:09Citing abortion, Trump defunded the UN Population Fund,
14:13cutting maternal and child health care.
14:15The Secretary General deeply regrets the decision
14:18by the United States to cut financial support
14:21for the UN Population Fund,
14:23which could have devastating effects on the health
14:26of vulnerable women and girls
14:27and their families around the world.
14:29Trump sought to ban transgender people in the military
14:32and announced it on Twitter.
14:34Please be advised, he declared,
14:36the United States government will not accept
14:38or allow transgender individuals
14:41to serve in any capacity in the US military.
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15:00Number one, family separation.
15:02Let's start with that number.
15:04The exact number is 911 children you've identified
15:07in this court filing as having been separated
15:09from their families between June 28th of last year
15:12and June 29th of this year.
15:14Trump's family separation policy was part
15:16of his zero-tolerance approach to illegal immigration.
15:19The government forcibly separated thousands of children
15:22from their parents at the US-Mexico border.
15:24They were forced into detention centers,
15:27often under horrific conditions.
15:30Reports soon emerged of children held in cages,
15:32lacking basic necessities
15:33and suffering severe emotional trauma.
15:36The policy was condemned as inhumane.
15:39Critics called it state-sponsored child abuse.
15:42Further scandal arose from the involvement
15:44of for-profit contractors.
15:46Evidence emerged detailing both corruption
15:48and gross ineptitude.
15:50Children were often shunted around the country
15:52with little to no tracking.
15:54Although the policy was ended and dismantled by Joe Biden,
15:57its lingering effects remain.
15:59Many families are still not reunited.
16:02That's one of the troubling things.
16:03I think that's one of the parts of this story
16:05that needs to be told,
16:07is that we are not getting the information.
16:09The service providers for the children
16:10are not getting the information.
16:12In many cases, the children's facilities
16:14are not getting the information.
16:15So we don't know how many have been reunified.
16:17We know that many have not, most have not,
16:20and some parents have even been deported
16:22without their children.
16:23What's your verdict
16:24about the Trump administration controversies on this list?
16:26Or about others that perhaps aren't in this video?
16:29Let us know respectfully in the comments below.
16:32President Putin, did you want President Trump
16:34to win the election?
16:37Yes, I did.
16:37Yes, I did.
16:38Because he talked about bringing the Russian relationship
16:41back to normal, Putin said.