If the question was whether the president would take 'America First' to the United Nations, the answer is 'yes'. What he said today at the Generally Assembly was belligerent and pugnacious, and, in many ways, not what one would expect of an American leader. This was not bridge-building or diplomacy, this was a loud Yanqui-Qaddafiesque extravaganza.
Leavened, of course, by laughter at his achievement boast.
Essentially, we are withdrawing from the world.
And we are great, just great!
This will be wholeheartedly cheered by his fans in the heartland and Israel, plus Russia and China, but almost anywhere else this is not exactly boffo.
Please note that when Trump says "we", he means himself, and refers largely to his imaginary reality. Which is "great news for our citizens".
All of "our homelands are like nowhere else on earth". Now, as an American of Netherlandish culture living at the extreme western edge of civilization (San Francisco, California), several countries look absolutely identical.
All of Scandinavia is largely fairies, trolls, and goblins, the East Bloc is fundamentally undifferentiated (it's all "Greater Lithuania" anyway) despite some animosities. And no offense, but the Arab countries all look alike.
Latin America? Brazil versus the Spanish speakers.
They all play soccer very well.
"Additional sanctions will resume November Fifth, and more will follow."
In his speech special excoration was reserved for Iran, which he blamed for every woe in the region, neatly ignoring the funding from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States for Isis and extremism in Europe.
"The Region's Agenda -- not good!"
My sympathies are with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, because talking to an idiot is well nigh impossible.
His speech was not as rambling as one would expect from a successor to Muammar Qaddafi, but the bluster was yuge. Remarkably, he didn't sound as mushmouthed as he usually does, and there were enough commas and periods to show that someone else wrote much of his speech (Bolton, very likely, with some Pence, and a smidge of Conway). There were even some rhetorical semicolons! Kudos! The teleprompter was not visible.
And the medication was at just the right dosage.
So the big questions are: Does he know what he said?
Can he intelligently discuss any part of it?
How long was he trained?
Hypnosis?
He said "not good" twice. The second time was when he lambasted Opec, many of whose members are intrinsically linked to our military and support our posture overseas. 'Not good' is one of his signature phrases.
International court (no), great achievements, Isis, Iraq, Iran, Socialism, Jerusalem, Opec, Germany, drug gangs, immigration, more socialism, Venezuala, Cuban sponsors, misery and oppression, democracy, even more sanctions, hard look at U. S. foreign assistance. And yet another attack on our allies, which are mostly Western Europe and Japan, over money, plus no more than twenty five percent of the United Nations Peacekeeping budget, but only if we feel like it.
Peace without fear, hope without despair.
And security, without apology.
America, America, America.
And so forth, and so on.
It ended on ten minutes of high-flown repetitiveness.
I listened to all of it, twice. Several parts repeatedly.
That's time I will never get back.
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