It is a maddening theme, like the old records that used to skip every now and then, playing the same part of a song, over and over again.
Only, no one can apparently fix this, or get past that part of the record, much less replace the damn record or record player.
President Donald Trump once again took an action that has much of the rest of the world crying foul, and condemning him for it. Specifically, it is Mexico, Canada, and members of the European Union that are crying foul and threatening as much legal action as can be mustered, because they claim that Trump’s tariffs are breaking the law.
Also a repeating theme, prominent members of Trump’s own Republican party are scratching their heads and looking and acting like they have been completely blindsided by President Trump.
By now, can we really buy into their notions of being completely taken aback and horrified by Trump’s unpredictability?
That, too, sounds like a broken record.
Initially, the Trump administration exempted American allies from the tariffs on steel and aluminum that were specifically targeting China. But all of that changed yesterday, when it was announced that the 10 percent tariffs on aluminum and 25 percent on steel imports would be slapped on all steel imports from the European Union, Canada, and Mexico. Of course, this prompted these nations to take a unified stance condemning Trump’s tariffs. They also promised to impose tariffs of their own on American exports, and not just restricting it to aluminum and steel, either.
Now, all of the world is fearful of an all-out trade war. Trump assures us, like he always does, that he knows what he is doing. This apparently is just one more strategy in “Making America Great Again,” right?
Indeed, the friction between traditional American allies and the United States led by Donald Trump is once again growing. And once again, Republicans are voicing their shock and horror at another seemingly reckless Trump action. Here, according to an article by Burgess Everett of Politico, are some of the reactions by prominent GOP lawmakers:
Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) called it “bad news” and predicted imminent retaliation from the key U.S. allies. Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said there is "mounting evidence that these tariffs will harm Americans." And Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) warned that similar policies 90 years ago sparked the Great Depression.
“This is dumb. Europe, Canada, and Mexico are not China, and you don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents,” Sasse said. “‘Make America Great Again’ shouldn’t mean ‘Make America 1929 Again.'"
That, too, was a running theme, that traditional friends are being treated like enemies.
Apparently, that seems to be the Trump way. He escalates everything into a crisis, seemingly as part of his nature. Either this is his “art of the deal” in getting America to win so much that Americans would grow tired of winning, or this is his mistaken assumption that the way that he did things in the business world will work at least equally well in the world of international politics.
Are we winning yet?
All of this while Trump is, once again very predictably, playing the part of victim again. And it happens to center around yet another story of him conveniently overlooking racist actions of political allies, while attacking someone with a high profile who is vehemently criticizing him.
Yes, Trump wants to express his idiotic opinions on all subject matter. He cannot apparently help himself, he is addicted to it. But somehow, he remained amazingly silent when it came to Roseanne Barr’s racist tweets, when she suggested that a member of the Obama administration was like the "Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj."
Are you surprised?
Yeah, neither am I.
But none of that stopped Trump from his typical stance as crying out and playing the part of the victim always being treated unfairly, like the delicate little snowflake having yet another meltdown. You know, like he always does. He did not respond to Barr's racist tweets for over one full day after she released them. But when he finally did, it was...surprise, surprise...all about him. And also, another surprise, he refused to condemn Barr. Here is what he tweeted when he finally actually acknowledged the controversy at all:
"Bob Iger of ABC called Valerie Jarrett to let her know that "ABC does not tolerate comments like those" made by Roseanne Barr. Gee, he never called President Donald J. Trump to apologize for the HORRIBLE statements made and said about me on ABC. Maybe I just didn't get the call?"
He later added this:
"Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that's O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!"
Right. Yet another broken record that repeats so much, that it drives you crazy. Trump promising that we are winning.
Well, he was right about one thing. A lot of Americans – the majority of them, in fact – are indeed growing tired of his brand of “winning.”
It's a decidedly Manichean world view. It allows for no gray area or nuance. You are with Trump or you are against him. And which side of that line you fall on will determine how he reacts to you. Roy Moore, a Trump supporter, gets the benefit of the doubt in the face of a serious of allegations by women against him. Al Franken, a Trump opponent, gets called out for allegations by women against him. Trump demands apologies anytime he is impugned but shows no compunction or remorse when he does the same to others. And so on and so forth.
This is a feature of Trump (and Trumpism), not a glitch. There is one standard for friends and family, and a very different one for opponents, losers and haters. And never the twain shall meet.
Very true.
You know, Trump has made it clear that ratings matter to him like with no other president before. This really cannot be surprising, given that he is a former reality television star and, to some degree, still is (if you can call his presidency "reality"). But it seems to me that this show is getting old and repetitive, and running on repeat. Also, I believe that Trump is running on empty. Also not a surprise, for such a shallow man, with shallow values now defining his ridiculous excuse for a presidency.
Here are the articles that I used in writing this particular blog entry, and from which the quotations used above were taken (except for the Roseanne tweet, which is all over the internet, and does not necessarily need to be traced back to one source, other to "credit" Roseanne for her stupid tweet):
Republicans gobsmacked by Trump’s tariffs: GOP lawmakers thought the president was going to hit China — not key U.S. allies. by Burgess Everett of Politico, May 31, 2018:
https://www.politico.com/
Donald Trump's very clear double standard on Samantha Bee by Chris Cillizza, CNN Editor-at-large, June 1, 2018:
https://www.cnn.com/2018/06/
No comments:
Post a Comment