If Trump is being advised by lunatics now, that's a problem. And if he's just so ignorant and pig-headed that he doesn't know or care what he just did by having his staff arrange a call with Taiwan, that's not a bold way of violating pointless norms. It's extraordinarily dangerous and portends all kinds of problems for our country, the world, and the prospects for peace between nations.If Trump is cozying up to vigilante murder advocate Duterte, that's frightening -- but it might just be a warmup for next year.
I cannot understand how Trump was allowed to offer a state visit to Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines. It's beyond belief. That absolutely cannot happen. Figuring out how to handle Duterte and our longstanding relationship with the Philippines is a real conundrum, and a ton of work would have to be done before we could even think of rewarding Duterte with a state visit. Honestly, I don't think it would ever be justifiable.
And Trump cannot go plodding into Pakistan-India relations without getting a briefing from the State Department. They are nuclear-armed powers on constant alert against sneak attacks from each other, and it's unimaginably irresponsible to speak with either government without carefully considering the implications of every word you're going to say.
Consider the fact that the party of racist Geert Wilders is currently leading in the polls in the Netherlands. Far-rightist Norbert Hofer is neck-and-neck with his Greens Party opponent in the race for Austria's presidency. And white nationalist Marine Le Pen could conceivably win the French presidency.
I assume Trump's going to roll out the red carpet for all of these folks if they win. He's not just going to accept the results of these elections -- he's going to prioritize the normalization of these governments. He's going to lavish the winners with more praise and a warmer D.C. welcome than he's going to extend to, say, Angela Merkel.
Yeah, it's going to be a fun four years.
****
UPDATE: Election results are in, and Norbert Hofer lost.
Maybe Trump can go on an extended European victory tour, holding campaign rallies to support all the extremist candidates who want to Make [insert country] Great Again. After all, the US is too small a stage now for a man of his gifts. He may only have a few years left, so let him save the world. He's the only one who can.
ReplyDeleteMike can mind the store at home, processing whatever bureaucratic paperwork Paul and Mitch send him.
I don't believe he'll last 4 years, he'll either quit or be impeached
ReplyDeleteHe looks like a heart attack candidate to me.
ReplyDeleteIan Welsh has an opinion on Bannon you might like to read.
Kaye the time might well come when Democrats might have to urge the Joint Chiefs and/or various public officials to disobey instructions from the president, in the national interest. But politically, they'd be crazy to vote for Trump's impeachment. Exchanging Trump for Pence would make it much harder to win the crucial 2020 state and Congressional elections.
ReplyDeleteit seems Putin has been a busy boy...
ReplyDeleteHey, if Mussolini and Hitler could have their bromance, why not Trump and [fill in the blank]?
ReplyDeleteYes, I went there. Because it's looking like the world is going there.
"Kaye the time might well come when Democrats might have to urge the Joint Chiefs and/or various public officials to disobey instructions from the president, in the national interest."
ReplyDeleteDuring the Final Days of Richard Nixon's presidency, supposedly Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger told the military to check with him before carrying out Nixon's orders.
I hope your readers have eye protection. Whole lot of axe grinding going on here. Hint, when the sparks stop you are down to the wood handle. Safety first !!
ReplyDeleteWow, dude, you signed up at Blogger just this month? To say that to me? Where do you cash a check written in rubles?
ReplyDeleteIn Trumpistan rubles cash you! Hughly!
DeleteAs you quote BooMan, he wrote "I cannot understand how Trump was allowed to offer a state visit to Rodrigo Duterte, the president of the Philippines. It's beyond belief. That absolutely cannot happen."
ReplyDeleteAllowed by whom?
TRUMP IS THE BOSS.
Or anyway soon will be.
That was the first and most critical consequence of the election.
The idiots who are "mad as hell and not going to take it any more" chose him to be The Boss.
And so he gets to do crazy stuff and there is no one whose permission he needs.
NO ONE can say, "Hey, that's not allowed."