LITD is still nowhere near drawing a firm conclusion on the legality or constitutionality of all that the VSG has said and done with regard to Ukraine, China, and his political opponents. But we can safely say that it bewilders those with whom he's dealing, and, more basically, that it's damn unseemly.
I'm clearly not the first to point out that he's brought the sharp-elbowed, horse-trading ways of the New York development world to what he sees as proper and effective presidential conduct. The deal is all that matters. The party across the negotiating table is going to be so okay with the terms of a deal that all the previous insults and slander will be forgotten. Furthermore, bargaining chips are where you find them. In the case of China, it may mean not weighing in on the Hong Kong situation in order to keep China engaged on trade:
Now, to someone who sets great store by the flourishing of human rights and sees Hong Kong as the lone outpost of Western-style governing in China, this will register as obscene. To Trump, it's just a component in a game.When President Donald Trump suggested — without prompting — that China should investigate Joe Biden and his son, he thrust another political grudge into what was already the world's most complicated and consequential relationship.The move startled Chinese officials, who say they have little interest in becoming embroiled in a US political controversy. And it amounted to the latest extraordinary effort by Trump to openly request political assistance from foreign governments.Thursday's comments weren't the first time Trump has injected Biden into his relationship with China, though he said Thursday he has never pushed Xi to investigate the former vice president. Nor is it the first time he has sought to trade favors with Xi, who this week celebrated the 70th birthday of his communist state with a note of congratulations from Trump.During a phone call with Xi on June 18, Trump raised Biden's political prospects as well as those of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who by then had started rising in the polls, according to two people familiar with the discussion. In that call, Trump also told Xi he would remain quiet on Hong Kong protests as trade talks progressed.
Then there's the matter of China's strategic aims. Is it really the kind of regime before which we ought to be airing our dirty laundry, having our president discuss political squabbles? The Chinese use any other kind of US weak spot they find to their advantage, why would this be any different?
I may not know all the exact ways in which this is objectionable, but I would ask the throne-sniffers this: In what way is it defensible?
This manchild is now calling for Romney to be imprached from the Senate. His base must love it. The obliteration of civility in America continues apace.
ReplyDeleteThe obliteration of my spelling continues unabated as I compose on my relatuvely tiny cell phone. Still, that's no excuse I know. Google now offers options for phraseoology to complete our sentences.
ReplyDeleteAutocorrect is perhaps the main catalyst for the disturbance of my serenity.
ReplyDelete"And yet most congressional Republicans refuse to break with the president. Despite his obvious wrongdoing and complete unfitness for the job, the vast majority of Republican office holders in Washington are “ride or die” supporters of Trump.
ReplyDeleteThe most common explanation for this stalwart commitment is simply fear. “Across the country,” reports The Washington Post, “most G.O.P. lawmakers have responded to questions about Trump’s conduct with varying degrees of silence, shrugged shoulders or pained defenses. For now, their collective strategy is simply to survive and not make any sudden moves.” The former Arizona senator Jeff Flake made a version of this point last month, when he said that most Senate Republicans — “at least 35” — would vote to remove Trump if it were on a secret ballot."https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/08/opinion/republicans-trump-kurds.html