Friday, May 26, 2017

He was on his best behavior


Yo, Angie....you know, for a fat girl you sure don't sweat much*

President Donald Trump has been on a whirlwind tour of the Mideast and Europe all week, wowing them with his unique flair for diplomacy.  He began in Saudi Arabia, smiled politely, didn't show them the bottom of his shoes, and even joined in a sword dance without cutting any of his hosts.  Good job Mr. President.

Then he flew on to Israel where he met with Benyamin Netanyahu, visited the Wailing Wall, the first sitting President to ever do that, and reassured them that he never mentioned "Israel" as the source of the information he gave the Russians.  "So, we're good, right?"  Sure, why not.

Next up, the Vatican, where he met with Pope Francis, completing his "Big 3 of Religion" trifecta.  It was reported to be a very pleasant meeting, with His Holiness and the Pope exchanging personal gifts.  *Umm, wait...maybe I got those...*



Seriously, it truly was a nice gesture by him to visit all three major religious centers in an effort to maybe help bring a little peace to the world.  Kudos President Trump.  Through all this he pretty much kept to the script his keepers prepared from him and avoided making any newsworthy gaffs.  Two thumbs up, sir.


Then he moved on to the NATO meeting in Brussels where he fell off his "good manners" wagon a time or two.  He lined up all his fellow NATO leaders and then scolded them publicly for going cheap on their defense spending.  He actually made a good point, but might have saved his 20 lashes for behind closed doors, just sayin'.  Or better yet, let one of his lackeys make his point for him, with a dash of tact added.  (I wrote several years ago that much of the generous social safety net many Europeans enjoy is due to them spending their money on popular social benefits instead of their own defense, passing that responsibility on to NATO.)  He left on a pleasant note, however, telling his hosts he thought Belgium was a beautiful city.  *How sweet*


So you're the Prime Minister of the newest NATO member, Montenegro?  Well, good for you.  Now outta my way, boy.

At this writing President Trump is at the G-7 meeting in Taormina, Sicily, and the Twitterverse is still calm.  He's supposedly going to bring up the need to review our current trans-Atlantic trade agreements.  Fair enough.  *Play nice, Mr. President*

All things considered, he seems to behave himself better overseas than he does in Washington.  Maybe we should up the limit on his Gubment American Express card and send him off again.  Can I get an Amen?

S

*  OK, I made that one up...he never said that.  To my knowledge.

11 comments:

  1. I tweeted we need a travel ban to keep him out. Did you notice his wife swatting his hand away twice? And she's staying in NYC at taxpayer expense because of Barron. Lol

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  2. I really think he's smarter than we think. He's got a lot of experience presenting himself. 'Course I could be wrong, and that would be a disaster!

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    1. I think he's business smart, but geopolitically ignorant.

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  3. Any chance it is because his handlers kept him busy, off of twitter and watching cable news?

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    1. That seems like a pretty slam dunk bet, Bill.

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  4. BTW, you and Trump should read how NATO payments work https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/26/world/europe/nato-trump-spending.html

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    1. OK, I read it, and my position remains unchanged. If one of the other NATO members invoked Article 5, it would be the US that made up the VAST majority of planes, tanks, equipment, personnel, etc that would be needed to defend Europe. Yes, long term it would be in OUR interest to defend Europe, but it would be their survival at stake RIGHT NOW! If the US dropped out of NATO and Europe faced an existential threat without US support, they'd fold like a card table. Legally they aren't in default, but practically speaking they are not pulling their financial weight.

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    2. NATO or not, the U.S. wouldn't stand by if there was a threat in Europe. After all, they need to justify the trillions of dollars in military. Seems like Trump might have been better off thanking the NATO leaders (the so called coalition) for following the U.S. into the disaster in Iraq, as well as the endless war in Afghanistan before chastising them.

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  5. Not so sure if he's business smart...clearly he doesn't understand that any trade deal with Germany is the SAME as a trade deal with any other country in the European union. And this AFTER Angela Merkel had explained it to him (several times).

    And he has no clue about the BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC, that makes more BMWs than it sells in the U.S. (because they EXPORT them).

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