Gift Baskets on Order from Vlad, Xi & Kim
static3.uk.businessinsider.com
If the US presidential election were held tomorrow, Trump would probably (and I can’t believe I have to qualify that!) lose in the US but would win hands down against any candidate if the vote were held in Russia, China or North Korea. Granted, negotiating with North Korea is far better than going to war, even though all previous negotiating attempts have ended up failing, but aside from that, all the international events of the recent past have been big wins for Russia, China and North Korea and probably net losses for the US. Putin is undoubtedly gleeful over the rift Trump has been creating and exacerbating between the US and its Western allies, including his calls for reinstating Russia into the G7, and the trade war he has been instigating. Meanwhile, as he insults Canada’s prime minister, Trump continues to fawn over dictators, now adding North Korea’s Kim to his list of favorites, lavishing praise and compliments on this ruthless head of a brutal murderous regime, as well as giving him his long-sought legitimacy on the world stage on an equal footing with the POTUS during the recent reality TV summit. While getting little to nothing concrete in return, Trump has promised to end joint US-South Korean military exercises, which he termed provocative war games, using North Korea’s rhetoric, without first clearing that with South Korea and other Asian allies! He has also previously supported reducing our military presence throughout the Pacific, which would be a huge win for China, and I assume would be strongly opposed, at least in private, by most or all senior US military advisers. There was a very rare and revealing moment of candor and self-awareness in Trump’s post-summit press conference (not highlighted by the press as far as I saw), in which he stated that if in 6 months it turns out he was wrong about his assessment of the success of the summit, he might admit it, but would probably find some excuse! Wow! Although North Korean denuclearization is certainly a very high priority and justifies trying new approaches, overall Trump’s foreign relations (I don’t know if it can even be called a policy) has so far been doing more long-term harm than good for the US, while providing benefits for our adversaries. And, just as with his domestic debacles, congressional Republicans, aside from a few not running for reelection, have very conspicuously rolled over and played dead. Just imagine what they would be screaming if Hillary Clinton was in the White House and had done any of these things! Sad!