Trump’s Foreign Policy Initiatives
What’s the story with the tariffs on China? The deal with Iran? Regime change in Venezuela? Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula? America’s competitiveness on the global stage? The national debt and our economic security? Here’s a piece called “All of Trump’s Foreign Policy Initiatives Are Failing.” Yes, it’s from a liberal source, but it seems to be very well researched and presented.
It really couldn’t have happened any other way, when you think about it. Here’s a list of Trump’s key characteristics as a human being. As you review each one, consider, perhaps on a scale from 1 – 10, how conducive it is to excellence in foreign policy:
• Can’t be trusted: thoroughly dishonest, lies habitually, often without motive
• Emotionally unstable: constantly lashing out against all critics
• Fanning the flames of intolerance: constantly stirring up political base, largely consisting of overt racists
• Narcissism: has no self-reflection, believes irrationally that his judgement is always right, even in matters in which he has no understanding or experience
• Paranoia: critical of allies, distrusts their intentions
• Credulousness: trusts the world’s most obvious criminals and liars, e.g., Putin and Kim Jong-un
• No interest in the well-being of the average person: aggressively destroying the environment, driving up the national debt to please billionaire donors, kicking people off healthcare, ruining public education
• Blind to others’ ill-intentions toward the U.S.: enabling Russia to dismantle U.S. democracy, China playing us like a fiddle, slowing destroying our economy; U.S. pummeled without a shot fired
• Enemy of world peace: the civilized world is furious about Iran, Saudi Arabia, Israel
• Constant self-aggrandizement: takes credit for anything remotely good, even if he had nothing to do with it; immediately distances himself from, and blames others for his decisions that caused harm
• Childish delight in revenge: still fighting Hillary and Obama
• No understanding of macroeconomics: doesn’t even try to learn about fiscal-, monetary-, trade-, or currency-related policies
• Phobia of opposing ideas and constructive criticism: automatically rejects well-meaning and considered advice, ignores the efforts of learned people to help, immediately replaces those who try to guide him towards successful policies with yes-men.
• No real business acumen: several bankruptcies, only successes have come from shady deals and ripping off vendors, partners and customers
• Clear criminality: object of 16 different criminal investigations
• Regarded as a buffoon/laughingstock: has brought ridicule and scorn to the U.S.
• Internationally reviled: broadly considered a terrible human being: a vulgar, uneducated and cruel person, a white supremacist, xenophone, homophobe, and misogynist, an unrepentant sexual abuser
If you were trying to develop a recipe for a complete disaster in international relations, there’s not too much missing here.
Craig,
Why do you torture yourself with these bizarre fantasies?
This is what comes of inventing your own facts to prove your own theories!
The US has been involved in a “trade war’ with the Peoples Republic of China for more than 25 years, and losing!
Confrontation between the US and its allies and an increasingly militaristic, nationalistic, expansionist China has been inevitable for 25 years.
The President is shrewd and astute enough to choose the most favorable battleground, a time when the US is strangest and China weakest to bring about a relationship in which both sides can survive and prosper in relatively peaceful co-existence.
The task is not easy, or without danger. China is formidable rising power and will not be mollified by a display of weakness or cowardice. Appeasement will simply be regarded as weakness.
Venezuela is a problem for not just the US, but the whole of South America. For at least 10 years the has regime hung on by the increasing use of gangsters, a corrupt military and foreign mercenaries, while the people starve.
Are you suggesting this is the fault of Donald Trump? George Bush would have sent in US forces, Obama wrung his hands and bleated, President Trump’s policy is patient, but increasingly effective.
Iran is another problem growing larger in the middle East. The Israeli’s will not sit by and allow Iran to acquire Nuclear Weapons and delivery systems. Like so many of his well-intentioned but poorly thought out weak deals, President Obama’s deal with the Iranians was mostly a costly sham.
President Trump is simply putting out a potential fire hazard before it becomes a major conflagration.
His approach in North Korea was unconventional, and still a work in progress, but it’s working and proving effective.
His instance NATO nations share the burden, has made NATO stronger and more effective, when saving the US money. South Korea and Japan are equally starting to pay for the “American Shield” while bearing their share of the burden.
After heavy pressure from the President Mexico revised the terms of NAFTA as did Canada, in addition Mexico has sent troops to both southern and Northern borders to stem the flow of illegal migrants. Guatemala has done the same.
Russia has been contained and ceased supporting disruption among its neighbors.
The President’s foreign policy initiatives have met with considerable success, without the use of military force. All these achievements have occurred with the assistance of a booming domestic economy.
What you really hate, what is driving you crazy, is his success!
But what’s sad, is in your blind hatred you can’t see that hating his success is hating the success of your own nation!
As the Democrats will find in 2020, just yelling “never Trump” won’t work anymore. Just as turning the President’s visit to El Paso into a political demonstration, by anti-trump demonstrators, only aliened the victims and the rest of the nation.
A Pavlovian response of hatred every-time the President is mentioned , is counter-productive. As is continually listing all his imagined flaws and faults.
After two years, he’s still President and his support is growing. If you’re smart, I would suggest a different approach.