April 30, 2018: Trump Puts the Ignoramus in Ignorance

 

4/30/18: Today might be a good day to give Trump credit for movement in relations with North Korea. President Moon Jae-in of South Korea and Kim Jong-un have met to discuss ending a state of war that has existed since 1950. Kim is talking about denuclearizing the peninsula. 

Naturally, Trump and his supporters believe this proves the president is the greatest leader ever. At a rally over the weekend the audience chanted, “Nobel, Nobel.” Still, it’s hard to imagine Trump – who often talks cavalierly about touching off nuclear war – ever receiving the Peace Prize. 

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Iran has no nuclear weapons. North Korea does.

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Of course, the president had to be a dick in discussing such matters. First, he insisted he shouldn’t have been left to deal with North Korea, as if he wanted to be elected president, but didn’t want to have to handle complicated problems. Mostly, he wanted to talk about his greatness, a greatness that rested on the many impressive skills of his great self. He would solve the North Korean nuclear puzzle when no one else could. “The United States has been played beautifully, like a fiddle, because you had a different kind of a leader,” Trump said. “We’re not going to be played, okay? We’re going to hopefully make a deal. If we don’t, that’s fine. The United States in the past was played like a fiddle.” (See: 12/24-25/18; 12/8/19.) 

Trump couldn’t just admit that previous administrations faced difficulties too. North Korea tested its first nuclear weapon when George W. Bush was in office. Pressure to force the North to halt testing failed because neither China nor Russia would back the U.S. up. North Korean missile tests while Obama was in charge increased the danger. Tough economic sanctions were imposed. China remained unhelpful. So long as China traded with the North, sanctions failed. 

Meanwhile, the Obama administration managed to put in place crippling sanctions on Iran. By 2015, Iran had enough enriched uranium to build an estimated 8-10 atomic bombs and the skill and capacity to build its first bomb in 2-3 months. In the face of danger, China, Russia, Great Britain, France, and Germany signed on along with the United States for a deal to end sanctions in return for Iranian agreement not to pursue a nuclear weapons program for ten years. Iran shipped 98% of its enriched uranium to Russia. The Iranians agreed to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor facilities to ensure compliance. The IAEA has consistently reported – fiddles aside – that Iran has abided by the agreement. 

Iran has no nuclear weapons.

 

So, what does the Trump administration plan to do? Trump would like to tear up the deal, which he recently called a “disaster” and “insane.” The French, Germans and British say the deal is working as intended. 

In fact, two of Trump’s favorite people, and we do not mean Playboy Bunnies, agreed in a phone call today that the Iranian agreement should be preserved and fully implemented. Those buddies: Vladimir Putin, Trump’s Secret Santa pal, and French President Emmanuel Macron.

 

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TRUMP loves Macron – as we saw recently during the first state visit of Trump’s tenure in office. With reporters looking on, the President of the United States appeared to have a foreign policy boner. “We have a very special relationship,” Trump continued, referring to Macron, who stood by his side. 

“In fact,” Trump said, glancing at his best French friend, “I’ll get that little piece of dandruff off.” 

With that, he flicked some speck on the French president’s shoulder and grinned at TV cameras like some lovable dope. “We have to make him perfect – he is perfect,” the Big Orange Buffoon explained. 

 

“Against ignorance we have education.” 

The next day, in a speech to Congress, Macron went out of his way to point to the critical foreign policy mistakes of the Trump administration. Vox highlighted five times Mr. Perfect rebuked the Buffoon. When it came to climate change, Macron explained the different paths one might take. “I believe that against ignorance we have education,” he began, implying that Trump put the ignoramus in ignorance. He listed other dualities, finishing with this: “Against the threats on the planet, science.” 

Climate change wasn’t a “hoax, or a communist ploy dreamed up to hurt the United States. Macron explained: 

Some people think that securing current industries and their jobs is more urgent than transforming our economies to meet the global challenge of climate change. I hear these concerns. But we must find a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy. Because what is the meaning of our life, really, if we work and live destroying the planet [emphasis added]…What is the meaning of our life if our decision, our conscious decision, is to reduce the opportunities for our children and grandchildren?

 

By polluting the oceans, not mitigating CO₂ emissions, and destroying our biodiversity – we are killing our planet. Let us face it. There is no planet B.

 

Macron also mentioned the dangers of “Fake News.” With the greatest liar in U.S. history occupying the Oval Office, you knew he was thinking of Trump when he warned, “Without reason, without truth, there is no real democracy, because democracy is about true choices and rational decisions. The corruption of information is an attempt to corrode the very spirit of our democracies.” 

How about scrapping the Iran deal? Good idea or bad? 

We must ensure stability and respect sovereignty of the nations, including that one of Iran, which represents a great civilization. Let us not replicate past mistakes in the region. Let us not be naive on one side. Let us not create new walls ourselves on the other side. There is an existing framework called the JCPOA to control the nuclear activity of Iran. We signed it at the initiative of the United States. We signed it, both the United States and France. That is why we cannot say we should get rid of it like that.

 

Or to put it more succinctly, in terms of foreign affairs, the Trump administration really sucks! 

The sun sets over Washington.

May 8, 2018: Trump Withdraws from the Iran Nuclear Arms Deal

 

5/8/18: Trump withdraws from the Iran nuclear arms deal, which means he kept his campaign promise, albeit a stupid one. Australia, France, Germany, Great Britain and Japan, all U.S. allies, oppose the move. Turkey calls it “an unfortunate step. The European Union faults the move, citing the fact that almost everyone except Trump believes the deal was working. Iran has zero nukes today – the perfect number. “We fully trust the work, competence and autonomy of the International Atomic Energy Agency that has published 10 reports certifying that Iran has fully complied with its commitments,” an EU spokesman offers. China and Russia, which had agreed to the deal, make it clear they’re not interested in renegotiating. 

Iran threatens to resume uranium enrichment. This they had ceased, according to IAEA inspectors.

Our allies are not pleased.

June 11, 2018: G-7 Summit Ends Badly - No One Likes President Trump, Except Vlad

 

6/11/18: I think we can all agree that the G-7 summit in Canada did not end particularly well. 

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” said Robert D. Hormats, a veteran of both Republican and Democratic administrations, who served as an adviser at a dozen G-7 gatherings in years past. “The irony is this institution that was designed largely by the United States was really designed to shore up alliances and political relationships and resolve economic issues. This just served to do the opposite of that.” 

 

“A pathetic little man-child.” 

Prime Minister Trudeau has made it clear he does not appreciate the U.S. instituting tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum on the pretext that such imports represent a “security threat.” 

It is true. The U.S. would want a healthy steel and aluminum industry in case of war. This blogger is a former history teacher. 

He can see that point. 

Nevertheless, you can see, if you’re not a Trump-loving dope, why this position might irk the Canadians: 

1.     Canadian air units are assisting the U.S. in the battle against ISIS in Syria right now. 

2.     Canada was the first NATO signatory to invoke Article 5, and come to our aid after the attacks on 9/11. 

3.     40,000 Canadians fought by our side in Afghanistan; casualties totaled 158 killed, 635 wounded. 

4.     Canadian soldiers, sailors and air personnel joined us in the First Gulf War. 

5.     Canadian forces fought alongside us during the Korea War. 

6.     Canadians were on the same side in World War I. 

7.     Canadians were on the same side in World War II.

 

And: 

8.     The President of the United States is a giant ass hat.

 

The reaction of our closest allies after being slapped with tariffs is negative in the extreme. Roland Paris, a former adviser to Trudeau, drops all diplomatic niceties and mocks Trump. “Big tough guy once he’s back on his airplane,” Paris tweets. “Can’t do it [insult Trudeau] in person, and knows it, which makes him feel weak. So he projects these feelings onto Trudeau and then lashes out at him. You don’t need to be Freud. He’s a pathetic little man-child.” 

It’s not just Canadians who express disgust. “International cooperation can’t depend on anger and small words,” a statement from the French reads. “Let’s be serious and worthy of our people.” 

The German foreign minister describes the results of the G-7 in blunt language. “It’s actually not a real surprise. We have seen this with [Trump on] the climate agreement or the Iran deal. In a matter of seconds, you can destroy trust with 280 twitter characters [emphasis added, unless otherwise noted]. To build that up again will take much longer.” 

Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor is clearly unhappy. “We won’t allow ourselves to be had again and again,” she says of trying to work with the mercurial U.S. leader. “The withdrawal, so to speak, via tweet,” from a carefully-crafted agreement on principle was “sobering and a bit depressing.”

 

A picture from the summit, showing Merkel and Trump in a less-than-friendly pose, quickly goes viral. This leads to further mockery of Trump. The Evening-Standard, a British paper, posts some of the best humor: 

 …and this… 

 

An editorial titled “A Group of Seven Fiasco in Canada” quickly appears in the Japan Times. Here are some of the main points:   

If U.S. President Donald Trump’s objective is to make himself the center of attention at every international event, he is succeeding. If he aims to undermine the legitimacy of international institutions, he is making progress. If, however, he seeks to make America great again, his actions are working at cross purposes to his goal….

 

Trump…held a solo news conference when he departed at which he charged that his country was “the piggy bank that everyone was robbing. And that ends.”

 

It goes without saying that accusing your friends of “robbing” you for years is no winning strategy in the eyes of the British, French, Germans, Italians, Japanese or Canadians. 

The editorial continues: 

Picking fights with friends is not making America great again. Rather, it is weakening the foundation of American power, a development that none of its allies and partners wish to see. It is also helping governments that prefer a world that is ruled by raw power and indifference to the aspirations to democracy and the dignity of its inhabitants.

 

As for letting Russia rejoin the G-7, our allies are aghast. Peter Westmacott, former British ambassador to the U.S., openly questions the president’s approach. “Trump is readier to give a pass to countries that pose a real threat to Western values and security than to America’s traditional allies. If there is a ‘method to the madness’…it is currently well hidden.” 

Not even Dan Coats, Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence, is onboard. At a conference in France, Coats lists a series of recent actions inimical to Western nations, taken by Russia: 

These Russian actions are purposeful and premeditated and they represent an all-out assault by Vladimir Putin on the rule of law, Western ideals and democratic norms.

 

His actions demonstrate that he seeks to sow divisions within and between those in the West who adhere to democratic norms. The Russians are actively seeking to divide our alliance and we must not allow that to happen.

 

So – if Putin is following news out of Canada – he will surely be satisfied with his decision to help Trump win the 2016 election.

Putin ♥’s Trump.

 

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WE ALSO LEARN TODAY that the president has a habit of ripping up documents after he reads them. This is a legal problem because the Presidential Records Act requires that all papers read or touched by the Chief Executive must be preserved. Naturally, aides have tried to break the president of his habit. 

Just as naturally, he refuses to listen. 

 

Earning his $65,969, taping shredded paper back together. 

Solomon Lartley, a nearly 30-year veteran in the records management office, tells reporters that he spends most days, earning his $65,969, taping shredded paper back together. 

Reginald Young Jr., “a senior records management analyst” tells reporters for Politico that in more than two decades of government service, he has never been asked to do anything like this. “I’m looking at my director, and saying, ‘Are you guys serious?’ We’re making more than $60,000 a year,” Young explains. “We need to be doing far more important things than this. It felt like the lowest form of work you can take on without having to empty the trash cans.” 

And that’s how Donald Trump wastes almost $130,000 in taxpayer money annually, if not more.

January 8, 2020: Iran Fires Missiles at U.S. Bases

 

1/8/20: Apparently, Iranian missiles fired at the U.S. base caused no casualties, and may have been intended to miss – but to serve as a warning, that Iran could strike back hard if it wished. Several buildings appear on satellite images to have been hit with precision-guided weapons. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Paul Gosar decides to add to the public’s “understanding” of the situation by tweeting a faked photo of former President Obama and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani shaking hands. 

When reporters criticize his trick, Gosar gets mad. He never said the picture wasn’t photoshopped! He didn’t say the two men actually met! The picture only shows them shaking hands! 

Who the f**k would think from looking at the picture Gosar posted that they had ever met????

  

 

Several questions quickly come to mind. First, how did a fool like Gosar get a degree in medicine? 

Second, who are the 22,300 dopes who “liked” this photo? 

Third, does Gosar grasp how clueless many of his and Trump’s fans really are? If they see this photo, they’re going to start shouting that Sharia law is sweeping the nation, and howling that Obama has been a Muslim all along. 

Let’s be honest. In 2016 we know two-thirds of Trump supporters believed Obama had a Quran hidden under the bed.

 

Ah! Silly me. For Trump supporters, I should point out the simplest facts. The Quran is the holy book of Islam. 

Damn it! I should also explain that Islam is the religion of Moslems. 

Or: Muslims. 

Nuts. Did I mention that freedom of religion is enshrined in our First Amendment? So, if Obama had been a Muslim, it wouldn’t be a problem. 

(Of course, he wasn’t.) 

Even Sean Hannity knew the truth; but by the time Trump decided to run for office, Hannity didn’t want those two-thirds of Trump fans to remember that he had previously blasted Mr. Obama in 2007 for his choice in pastors. That would be Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright, of the Trinity Unity Church of Christ, which is assuredly not the name of a mosque. 

It paid off in 2016, to scare the ill-informed into thinking Obama was a Muslim, and only Donald could save the nation. So Hannity, Trump, and most of the right-wing world went with that simplistic narrative. 

Now, with war a looming possibility, Gosar stirs the fools again. Democrats shake hands with our enemies!!!

 

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Trump hopes NATO will get involved. 

SO, THE NATION WAITS. President Trump is scheduled to speak to the American people at 11 a.m. The minutes tick by. 

Behind the scenes, Trump is making sure every hair is in place. 

Check. 

Orange cream applied all over the face. 

Check.

 

At 11:25 a.m. he finally strides to the podium. Despite his bone spurs, he manages not to limp. 

First, the good news. Although the Iranians fired twenty missiles at U.S. bases in Iraq just hours before, Trump explains, “We suffered no casualties, all of our soldiers are safe [emphasis added] and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases.” 

Second, the U.S. would “immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions” on Iran. Because Trump was going to get them to the negotiating table. Like in “one day,” or maybe less. 

As he used to say… (See: 1/3/20.) 

Third, Trump was hoping our NATO allies would help out more in the region. He would really like it if they would get “much more involved in the Middle East process.”

 

We know they’re going to jump at that deal. Because Trump has made a living insulting other NATO members, such as France, Germany and Canada, and because he refused, early in his presidency, to say he’d abide by Article V of the NATO agreement. That essential article says an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all. Trump even said the alliance was “obsolete.” 

Then he said it wasn’t. 

The French, the Germans, and the Brits all helped work out the Iran deal which President Obama brokered. When Trump came in and tore up that deal, they all said it was working. 

Trump “broke” the Middle East. Now, he wants our allies to help fix it. In his little talk today he called on those three allies, Russia and China, to help him get a new deal with Iran. After he tore up the last deal those nations helped negotiate.

 

Hey, maybe the Kurds will help! Oh, wait. Trump screwed the Kurds this past October. 

Finally, Trump assures listeners, “As long as I’m president, Iran will never be allowed to have nuclear weapons.” 

This is wonderful news, as every MAGA fan will tell you, because Iran has never had any nuclear weapons.

January 1, 2021: Trade Deficits Balloon - No Iran Deal

 

January 1, 2021: Happy New Year! In just nineteen days, Lame Duck Donald will be toast and butter. 

Iran decides this would be a good time to poke Loser Donald in the butt on his way out, announcing that they will begin enriching uranium to 20% purity, five times the 4% level agreed to under the deal they made in 2015. 

That was the deal Trump called the “worst deal” in history. So, having ripped up that deal, The Art of the Deal genius found out the hard way, that talking smack as a candidate and getting real diplomatic deals done, are two different species. The “worst deal” and other Obama moves kept Iran from getting nuclear weapons for a decade. The always petulant Mr. Trump tore it up, essentially because it had Mr. Obama’s fingerprints on it. (See also: The Affordable Care Act.) 

It will take 90% enriched uranium for Iran to build a nuclear weapon. So this is their way of firing a “warning shot.”

 

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Sen. Mitt Romney studies the Trump administration plan for rolling out vaccines to fight COVID and summarizes that plan in less than glowing terms. “That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable.” That might be the epitaph for the Trump presidency, really.

 

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“A true liberal believes in advancing freedom not only here at home, but around the globe.”

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WE KNOW TRUMP FANS are having a difficult time at this point, what with their hero’s premature political demise. This blogger hates to be kicking then while they’re down. But what Mr. Trump learned the hard way (if he learned anything at all in three years in the White Houseˆˆ) is that diplomacy is hard. For instance, Mexico never did pay for the wall. North Korea spent the president’s entire term in office increasing its nuclear arsenal. All Trump got for his troubles were a few “love letters” from Kim Jong-un. China never did fully implement a trade deal and the U.S. trade deficit under President Trump increased.

 

According to U.S. Census Bureau figures, the worst trade deficit in eight years under President Obama was $745.5 billion in 2015. 

The MAGA Man took over and slashed that fat deficit to…$792.4 billion in 2017. 

(Blogger scratches head. That does not look like an improvement.)

 

Okay, maybe 2018: $872 billion. 

(Blogger rubs eyes in astonishment.)

 

Surely, a third time would be a…WTF… the deficit for 2019: $854.4 billion. 

(Blogger smacks forehead.)

 

Well, then, surely, Mr. Trump got the hang of this trade deficit business in his last year in office before a majority of Americans tossed him out. 

Son of a b****! The trade deficit is already $814.7 billion for 2020, with one month left to go.

 

To be fair (something this president has never been when attacking others), it does not appear that Census Bureau figures have been adjusted for inflation. Even if we allow for that, Trump has failed to fix our trade deficit problems and had to sit by and watch them grow instead. 

Much of this is beyond any president’s control, but that didn’t stop Trump from bashing his predecessors, particularly Mr. Obama. This liberal blogger might also point out that he was never personally sorry to hear Trump talk about taking on the Chinese in regard to trade. After all, a true liberal believes in advancing freedom not only here at home, but around the globe. Chinese communist leaders have always marched in the opposite direction. And I, for one, have spent the last decade trying to avoid buying Chinese-made products whenever possible, rather than contribute to support of a hostile government, which refuses to allow its citizens basic freedom. 

Avoiding Chinese-made goods is increasingly difficult since, for instance, a company like General Electric is content to produce all its lightbulbs in China. (That also makes a liberal mad.)

 

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ANYWAY, Happy New Year to all. And best wishes to all the Trumps in 2021, as they embark on various new endeavors. 

Such as: giving depositions in various courtrooms. 

 

(ˆˆNote: We mentioned Trump’s “three years” in office, above. We are subtracting the 432 days he spent at his private clubs and golf courses.)