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One of our greatest presidents, Theodore Roosevelt, said it best: “To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
With TR’s philosophy in mind, let’s review where things stand for Donald Trump on the global stage:
The Russians are pushing the president around, as demonstrated by Vladimir Putin’s telling him to keep his nose out of Venezuela—a country not in Russia’s backyard but ours. The Russians have also thumbed their nose at Trump in Syria and Iran.).
The leader of tiny, impoverished North Korea, Kim Jong Un, is the one making demands now, giving the president until December 31 to shape up and stop being “impracticable.” Trump once gushed like a giddy teenager about how he “fell in love” with Kim, and now wants another date—a third summit. But Trump doesn’t get that he’s been dumped. He still seems to think that Kim will magically give up his nuclear weapons, even though no one else, including the U.S. intelligence community, does.
And after promising that “trade wars are easy to win,” Trump faces a country that is digging in, now that China has struck back at us with tariffs of its own. White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow admitted Sunday that yes, Americans are being hurt.
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There are many more examples, but the big picture clear: When it comes to foreign policy, we have a president who talks a good game, blows a lot of smoke, and has almost nothing to show for it. He keeps saying America has never been more respected than it is today. It isn’t.
The annual global survey by the Washington-based Pew Research Center shows that after plunging in 2017, the year Donald Trump became president, “America’s international image continues to suffer,” with “favorable views of the U.S. at historic lows in many countries polled.”
Does this sound like “respect” to you?
There are a handful of exceptions, notably in Israel, where approval of America has inched up from 81% at the end of Barack Obama’s presidency to 83% now. In Russia, it has climbed to 26% from 15%. So against an ocean of disrespect and contempt, Trump can point to a two-point bump in Israel and a double-digit gain in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Hooray.
Trump supporters might say “who cares what the world thinks?” I’ve answered this before and it’s worth answering again. It matters for many reasons. For starters, an estimated 36 million American jobs—perhaps yours?—are linked to trade.
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It matters because we need foreign investment. In 2017, the world had some $4 trillion invested in the United States. Capital coming into America reflects confidence in America; it creates and sustains millions of American jobs—again, perhaps yours. When foreigners stop investing here, when they see more attractive opportunities elsewhere, watch out. By virtue of its sheer size, the United States remains the top destination for foreign capital, but its share has declined by a third since 2000, to 25%; there are plenty of green pastures elsewhere, it seems.
And let’s connect the dots in another way: The Pew survey mentioned above showing that the United States isn’t as respected as it used it be? If that were to persist, it could also hurt capital flows.
It also matters because of one of the items mentioned above: Iran. All of a sudden, out of the blue, war drums are beating on the Potomac. Trump just dispatched an aircraft carrier and bombers to the region and there’s talk of sending 120,000 American troops. Isn’t this the same guy who keeps saying that we wasted trillions of dollars on Mideast wars? Money that could have been spent fixing things here at home?
If you think the Iraq war was a mess—and remember Trump now claims (falsely as usual) that he opposed it—consider the following: Iran is far bigger than Iraq, and is backed by Russia. And unlike 2003, when we went into Iraq, Trump would find it lonely going, thanks to his alienating, in one way or another, so many of America’s longtime allies.
Three of them—Britain, Germany and France—happen to be part of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and think it’s working well. The other two powers that are part of that deal are China and Russia, both of whom would be thrilled to see America weaken itself further by spilling more blood and treasure on the very kind of war that Trump himself has called a waste.
Trump may get angry when he finds out that the Brits, Germans and French won’t help us in Iran. But Trump reaps what he sows. He is a transactional man who views everything on a deal-by-deal basis; he can’t blame others for doing the same. Isn’t what’s good for the goose also good for the gander? So yes, it helps to have friends and yes, it matters what the world thinks.
You know who wants to take out Iran? Israel and Saudi Arabia. Both asked George W. Bush and Barack Obama to attack Tehran; both presidents told them to get lost. But in Donald Trump, the Israelis and Saudis may have finally found a president who doesn’t know any better.
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