The madness of King Donald continues apace, making America a continuing embarrassment on the global stage (and showcasing the continuing psychiatric emergency).
The same man who tries to demean and demonize Democrats as communists literally rolled out the red carpet yesterday—complete with a military flyover—for the leader of the Chinese Communist Party.
The same man who attacks and slaps our northern neighbor, Canada, with 50 percent tariffs with the hope of damaging its economy had nothing but flattery for China’s dictator, Xi Jinping.
“I met President Xi at the plane (Airport!) yesterday and he looks strong, vibrant, and fit — Better than ever,” Trump swooned on Truth Social. It was reminiscent of his giddy excitement meeting murderous dictator Vladimir Putin last year in Alaska when American soldiers were ordered to roll out the red carpet in Anchorage.
This was followed up yesterday by welcoming the Chinese press into the Oval Office—the “friendliest press corp,” Trump said about reporters whose press freedoms rank 178th in the world, just above North Korea—while continuing to deny American news outlets access all morning.
This despite a federal judge’s 1 AM ruling Thursday morning that the White House should “immediately return, reinstate, and restore” the press credentials of reporters and other employees from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. They eventually got hard passes in the afternoon—after their news organizations requested an immediate hearing from the judge because of the regime’s defiance of the judge’s order—but Xi’s White House arrival was not televised by the networks who stuck together.
The hypocritical, whining post from Trump, whose ban motivated the atypical show of solidarity: “CNN and MSDNC, to show you how fake they are, today refused to cover one of the Biggest and Most Beautiful Events to take place in many years…The event was magnificent — Actually made for Television.”
The temper tantrums will not stop. Nor will his violations of our Constitution.
But it’s the actions at the United Nations on Wednesday that provided the clearest illustration of the unhinged nature of the man in control of America’s nuclear arsenal. He had not come to the UN prepared to show respect for its historical commitment to cooperation.
No, he was there to prove that might makes right, lie about how “hot” the U.S. is and pressure the world’s leaders to kowtow to his belligerent demands. He was more than willing to use his speech to defecate on the UN’s sacred goal of global peace and human rights through collective action.
In one moment, he was boasting what a great peacemaker he is. In the next, he was threatening to “annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly,” and to “drive them into hell with no chance of survival.”
In one sentence he was touting the “largest oil deal in history” to benefit Venezuela and the U.S. In another he was exposing his utter immorality, rooted in his undeveloped, backward brain: “To the victor go the spoils.”
Again and again, this man whose mental and physical decline is accelerating, emphasized power: “Our military is the most powerful on earth…Our power is expanding…America [is] the most powerful country in the world.”
Just to remind you how far we’ve slipped off the axis of decency and human values, let’s recall President Joe Biden’s speech at the UN in 2023. “Cooperation, partnership,” he asserted, “these are the keys to progress on the challenges that affect us all and the baseline for responsible global leadership.”
At the risk of whiplash, let me share one memorable riff by Biden:
As president of the United States, I understand the duty my country has to lead in this critical moment; to work with countries in every region linking them in common cause; to join together with partners who share a common vision of the future of the world, where our children do not go hungry and everyone has access quality healthcare, where workers are empowered and our environment is protected, where entrepreneurs and innovators everywhere can access opportunity everywhere, where conflicts are resolved peacefully and countries can chart their own course.
The United States seeks a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people because we know our future is bound to yours. Let me repeat that again: We know our future is bound to yours.
Remember when we had a leader who talked like a real president? Here’s how I summarized the contrast between Biden and the madman that more than 77 million Americans chose to retake the levers of power a year ago:
This is no grinding, grueling America First talk, no thinly veiled aggression wrapped up in fake, flag-waving patriotism, no litany of violent invectives meant to fuel hostility and target the vulnerable, no effort to flaunt American (or his own) superiority on the world stage. This was a chance to share human values and advocate for expanding alliances.
This was in an essay entitled “A Matter of Values.” In 38 days, we have one last chance to get this right—to constrain the madness of King Donald, hasten the end of the MAGA sickness and reassert our values.
It’s up to all of us—we, the people—to get this done.
One small addendum: I came across a video by a singer and a band performing Irving Berlin’s 1941 protest song about Adolf Hitler. Its title: “When That Man Is Dead and Gone.” Among its lyrics: “Satan thought up a plan/dressed as a man/walking the earth/And since he began/the world is hell for you and me/but what a heaven it will be/when that man is dead and gone.”
Kinda feels relevant, huh? Have a listen and enjoy!
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“There is no kind of government more deformed than that in which the wealthiest are regarded as the noblest.” - Cicero
I didn't think I could feel more humiliated than I did when trump kowtowed to Putin, red carpet and all. But he managed to do so with Xi Jinping. Tom Nichols has a piece in today's Atlantic, basically saying that we shouldn't have any more summits until trump is out of office. The preparation, the diplomacy, the groundwork for fruitful, face-to-face conversations are sadly lacking in all of trump's "summits." Nichols points out that trump gets all gooey eyed before the dictators and can only manage to bully our allies. This man is not only a psychiatric disaster, he is evil, truly evil. I doubt he'll be chastened by the mid-terms. He'll flail around for months that it was all rigged, etc., but he won't quit the corruption, the grift, the lawlessness, the mess until he is "dead and gone." I for one, can hardly wait for his exit, stage right.