PRESIDENTIAL LEGACY
JONNY STEINBERG: Trump and Zuma two peas in the same political pod
Both hold the values of constitutional democracy in contempt, both fell into legal trouble, and both carry heavy chips on their shoulders
Who would have imagined that SA and American presidential history would arc in exactly the same direction at exactly the same moment? This time last year, SA had a president who believed he had to retain political power to stay out of prison. His quest to remain a free man nearly brought the country to its knees. We have not yet discovered the half of what he has done, but it was a very dark time. Prominent figures in Jacob Zuma’s own party grew accustomed to looking in their rear-view mirrors to see if they were being followed. House break-ins and muggings were assumed to be the work of security agencies. Zuma was itching to bring down the entire edifice of our constitutional order; he would have had the country under martial law had his security forces played along. Now, across the ocean, Donald Trump’s lawyers, accountants and advisers are making deals with the Mueller investigation one after the other. The president is watching in horror; he has come to believe he must win the 2...
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