Trump's boast draws laughs at U.N.

[_MeDotOrg]

President Trump began his speech at the United Nations today with a nod to one of the great world leaders: himself.

"In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country." There were audible snickers in the audience, at which point Trump said "So true", clearly caught off guard by the laughter. "I didn't expect that reaction, but that's OK," he added to more laughter and some applause.

I'm surprised he didn't talk about crooked Hillary. The speech, which I understand was primarily written by Stephen Miller, was a tone-deaf condemnation of multi-nationalism, which isn't a great selling point at the U.N. Perhaps we can go back to the good old days before the League of Nations.

Expect the right to spin this as "we wear the condemnation of the rest of the world proudly."

[_Some Schmo]

One of my primary reasons for thinking Drumpf is unfit for office is the way the rest of the world perceives America now. I mentioned to a Drumpf enabling friend (not a fan, just an enabler) that people from other counties thought we were a joke now. I couldn't believe it when he said he didn't care.

It sure seemed certain Drumpf enablers cared about how other countries perceived Obama (and he was actually respected).

The right in this country has only one ideology: parrot what the party leaders say. That's it. Their idea of thinking for themselves is going over their lines.

[_honorentheos]

This incident reminded me of an article I had read recently in the New York Times:

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/22/worl ... urope.html

It starts by introducing the idea behind a new book, "The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World". From the article:

His is one of several new books to take on the issues. In Mr. Kagan’s view, the United States’ retreat as the enforcer of the order it created after World War II is returning the world to its natural state — a dark jungle of competing interests, clashing nationalism, tribalism and self-interest.

“The liberal world order established by the United States a little over seven decades ago is collapsing,” Mr. Kagan writes, a function of American exhaustion with global burdens that began before Mr. Trump was elected and was one of the reasons for his victory.

But as a tired America pulls back from tending what Mr. Kagan calls “the garden” of the liberal order — an exceptional 70 years of relative peace and free trade, “a historical anomaly” made possible by U.S. leadership — the dangers are considerable, especially for Europe, he argues.

Already strained by populism and identity politics, Europe is in danger of returning to the strife that produced totalitarianism in the 1930s, he warns.

“The crucial issue is not the Middle East or even Russia, and it may not even be China,” Mr. Kagan said. “The big game is what it’s been for over a century. If we lose Europe, if we send Europe back to its normal condition, it’s over.”

It then contrasts this view with a number of other recent books on the subject of America's role in the world and this idea we've been maintaining an artificial bubble at some expense that has held back traditional international dynamics. And that we've come to focus much more on the costs of maintaining this bubble as we become less and less aware of the benefits it has afforded almost every generation currently still living in the US. The views in the article range from dire with a call for a reinvestment in this bubble to one much closer to "the doctrine of patriotism"* espoused by the President today. It doesn't offer any answers, but it did put a few books on my reading list.

It's closing:

Mr. Daalder and James M. Lindsay also have a forthcoming book, “The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Leadership,” describing the impact of what they consider the greatest shift in American foreign policy since the retreat from Europe after World War I.

Like Mr. Kagan, they see dire consequences. But they also argue that even if Mr. Trump won’t tend the liberal world order, America’s nine most democratic allies can do more to preserve it — in both global trade and security.

Mr. Lindsay and Mr. Daalder call for a “G-9” of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Australia, South Korea, Japan, Canada and the European Union to act more boldly in their own interest, as they are already doing on trade.

Mr. Kagan wants to influence those choices. Despite mistakes in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, retreat in the name of “reality” is naïve and ahistoric, he argues.

“After decades of living within the protective bubble of the liberal world order, we have forgotten what the world ‘as it is’ looks like,” he said. “To believe that the quarter-century after the Cold War has been a disaster is to forget what disaster means in world affairs.”

Recognizing that the NYT only offers a certain number of free articles per month, and for those who are interested but can't read it, here are the books it cites:

“The Jungle Grows Back: America and Our Imperiled World.”
“The Hell of Good Intentions: America’s Foreign Policy Elite and the Decline of U.S. Primacy,”
“The Empty Throne: America’s Abdication of Global Leadership,”
___________

*"doctrine of patriotism" has to be one of the oddest phrases I've ever heard spoken. I am still puzzled what Donald J. Trump meant when he said it was, “America is governed by Americans. We reject the ideology of globalism, and we embrace the doctrine of patriotism". I'm sure it makes sense in the same way understanding wetness from the standpoint of water makes sense.

[_honorentheos]

It's also interesting to read what President Macron of France said today at the UN, almost as if he were a debater tasked to rebut Trump's speech. For example:

"Only collective action allows for the upholding of the sovereignty and equality of the people in whose name we take action," Macron said. "This is the reason we must take action against climate, demographic and digital challenges. No one alone can tackle these."

Macron began by telling the assembly that the world order based on sovereignty and equality among nations that came into being in the 1600s was facing a "far-reaching crisis," and said the answer lay in cooperation and collaboration among nations.

"Nationalism always leads to defeat," said Macron, who couched his remarks in the historical context of Europe's world wars. "If courage is lacking in the defense of fundamental principles, international order becomes fragile and this can lead as we have already seen twice, to global war. We saw that with our very own eyes."

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/25/politics ... index.html

[_moksha]

The people laughing at that moment knew Trump was a narcissist, but that was like an over-the-top parody of himself - and not in a fun way like Muhammed Ali used to do. Most likely the UN Delegates have a better grounding in US history than Trump.

[_Kevin Graham]

Nikki Haley explains the laughter was because they respect Trump's honesty.

“They loved how honest he is,” Haley said. “It’s not diplomatic and they find it funny. ... When he goes and he is very truthful, they kind of were taken back by it.”

[_Some Schmo]

Nikki Haley explains the laughter was because they respect Trump's honesty.

“They loved how honest he is,” Haley said. “It’s not diplomatic and they find it funny. ... When he goes and he is very truthful, they kind of were taken back by it.”

Wow, talk about daft.

I'd respect Drumpf's honesty if he had any.

[_Some Schmo]