International relations in chaos

President Donald Trump has accumulated a long trail of scandals that threaten to weaken his hold on power at the White House, and undermine his ability to steer his country's domestic and international affairs.

The latest episode involved the revelation made public by his once trusted lawyer Michael Cohen about hush money allegedly ordered by Trump to silence women he allegedly had sexual affairs with. One of the women involved in the latest scandal is Stephanie Gregory, better known as Stormy Daniels, who is a pornography film star, and the other woman is Karen McDougal, a Playboy model.

These salacious relationships, on the top of earlier scandals, have the potential of bringing down the US president from power should his Republican supporters decide to "gang up" with his Democratic foes and pull the rug from under his feet.

Yet, the US president remains defiant as always and has since threatened all sides for even thinking about impeaching him by saying that any such move would cause a crash in the US market and bring the US economy to a standstill.

Against this backdrop, the world does not know how to deal with the US, including China which is locked in a tariff battle with the US that can undermine the entire world economy. This is not to mention US-Russian relationship, which is already at a low ebb after the imposition of US punitive sanctions on Moscow for a variety of reasons.

The world is, therefore, at a standstill not knowing which way to turn, including of course the countries of the Middle East on regional and global issues. The ensuing chaos in international relations threatens to multiply and expand as the days and months pass by as long as the US house is not in order. 

The direct casualty could be world peace and stability. Never before has Washington put the international community in such a dire situation. The sooner the dust settles in Washington the better for all sides.