I've been watching the reaction from the "pundits" and the "experts" to Donald Trump's speech outlining his views on foreign policy. For the most part, it seems these people did not hear or understand what Trump said or else they are just wrong. Let's look at some of the main criticisms:
1. Trump did not give details of his foreign policy plans. For example, Trump said he would destroy ISIS but did not say exactly how he would do it. This is perhaps the most common criticism of Trump's speech. The problem is that the criticism is nonsense. Before the speech, the Trump campaign made clear that in the speech Trump would set forth the goals for American foreign policy in a Trump administration. They also made clear that the speech would not include the detailed policy steps to be taken to achieve these goals. After all, it was just a half hour speech. So when Trump spoke, he set forth his policy goals, not the means and methods to achieve these goals. Anyone who paid attention to the speech and why it was given understood that. Simply put, the torrent of criticism from the "experts" and "pundits" over the lack of details means that these people did not bother to pay attention.
2. A second prominent criticism is that Trump contradicted himself with his policies. The usual example offered by the self-proclaimed experts is that Trump said that America would be a dependable ally, but he also said that our allies would have to do more to be part of our alliances and that America ought to be more unpredictable in foreign policy. Only someone trying to misunderstand what Trump said could think that these points contradict each other. First of all, Trump made clear that were he president America would no longer act as the guardian of all these other countries. It would be an alliance in which all members made the required contributions, not one in which America provides the defense and most of the others skate by. Being reliable does not mean being a patsy. If you ask your spouse to do more of the work around the house, it doesn't mean you are about to file for divorce. Second, America can be unpredictable in its tactics while still being a reliable ally. If Russian jets buzz and American destroyer, we want the Russians to wonder what our response will be. If Putin fears that we might retaliate, he might not be so quick to provoke us in the first place. That does not mean that we will not honor our obligations to NATO or other allies.
3. A third common criticism of Trump's speech is that he used the slogan "America First". That was the slogan of a movement in the USA in the 1930 that was isolationist in nature. Supposedly, Trump made a big mistake by choosing those words. Now I realize that we have just spent seven plus years with a president who thinks than what he says is more important than what he does, but even these "experts" should understand the basic truth that actions not words are what count. Most likely, there are very few people who would be able to identify the slogan from the 1930's. There are fewer still who would know what it meant at that time. But even if there are a few who know that history of these words, it really doesn't matter. Trump is not trying to bring back isolationism, and his speech makes that clear. The entire criticism is nonsense.
4. Then there are the idiots who don't seem to understand what they are talking about. The best example I could find came from a piece by Noah Rothman writing at Commentary. Rothman makes the following criticism of Trump's speech (among others).
"Trump noted that only four of America’s NATO allies meet the requisite goal of spending the equivalent of 2 percent of GDP on defense – as of 2015, the number was actually five: the United States, the United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, and Estonia."
So our pundit/expert Rothman complains that Trump got the number of US allies wrong. To prove his point, he lists those five US allies that Trump calls only four. Rothman, however, lists the United States as an American ally. It's not. Someone should tell Rothman that the United States is America. Okay, I'm sure he knows that, but it's bizarre that Rothman makes his snarky comments only to be clearly wrong with his numbers. Trump was correct.
5. The German foreign minister today criticized Trump for his America First views. Our German friend says that nothing can be resolved in the world by the USA alone. It takes all the great powers cooperating according to herr foreign minister. Maybe he should read Trump's speech. Trump talked about honoring alliances but being guided by what is good for the USA. It must worry the Germans that there could be an America that saw that American interests are what is important for the USA. If the Germans want to promote German interests (which they do all the time), they can. No matter what the Germans say, American can do what's good for themselves too.
1. Trump did not give details of his foreign policy plans. For example, Trump said he would destroy ISIS but did not say exactly how he would do it. This is perhaps the most common criticism of Trump's speech. The problem is that the criticism is nonsense. Before the speech, the Trump campaign made clear that in the speech Trump would set forth the goals for American foreign policy in a Trump administration. They also made clear that the speech would not include the detailed policy steps to be taken to achieve these goals. After all, it was just a half hour speech. So when Trump spoke, he set forth his policy goals, not the means and methods to achieve these goals. Anyone who paid attention to the speech and why it was given understood that. Simply put, the torrent of criticism from the "experts" and "pundits" over the lack of details means that these people did not bother to pay attention.
2. A second prominent criticism is that Trump contradicted himself with his policies. The usual example offered by the self-proclaimed experts is that Trump said that America would be a dependable ally, but he also said that our allies would have to do more to be part of our alliances and that America ought to be more unpredictable in foreign policy. Only someone trying to misunderstand what Trump said could think that these points contradict each other. First of all, Trump made clear that were he president America would no longer act as the guardian of all these other countries. It would be an alliance in which all members made the required contributions, not one in which America provides the defense and most of the others skate by. Being reliable does not mean being a patsy. If you ask your spouse to do more of the work around the house, it doesn't mean you are about to file for divorce. Second, America can be unpredictable in its tactics while still being a reliable ally. If Russian jets buzz and American destroyer, we want the Russians to wonder what our response will be. If Putin fears that we might retaliate, he might not be so quick to provoke us in the first place. That does not mean that we will not honor our obligations to NATO or other allies.
3. A third common criticism of Trump's speech is that he used the slogan "America First". That was the slogan of a movement in the USA in the 1930 that was isolationist in nature. Supposedly, Trump made a big mistake by choosing those words. Now I realize that we have just spent seven plus years with a president who thinks than what he says is more important than what he does, but even these "experts" should understand the basic truth that actions not words are what count. Most likely, there are very few people who would be able to identify the slogan from the 1930's. There are fewer still who would know what it meant at that time. But even if there are a few who know that history of these words, it really doesn't matter. Trump is not trying to bring back isolationism, and his speech makes that clear. The entire criticism is nonsense.
4. Then there are the idiots who don't seem to understand what they are talking about. The best example I could find came from a piece by Noah Rothman writing at Commentary. Rothman makes the following criticism of Trump's speech (among others).
"Trump noted that only four of America’s NATO allies meet the requisite goal of spending the equivalent of 2 percent of GDP on defense – as of 2015, the number was actually five: the United States, the United Kingdom, Greece, Poland, and Estonia."
So our pundit/expert Rothman complains that Trump got the number of US allies wrong. To prove his point, he lists those five US allies that Trump calls only four. Rothman, however, lists the United States as an American ally. It's not. Someone should tell Rothman that the United States is America. Okay, I'm sure he knows that, but it's bizarre that Rothman makes his snarky comments only to be clearly wrong with his numbers. Trump was correct.
5. The German foreign minister today criticized Trump for his America First views. Our German friend says that nothing can be resolved in the world by the USA alone. It takes all the great powers cooperating according to herr foreign minister. Maybe he should read Trump's speech. Trump talked about honoring alliances but being guided by what is good for the USA. It must worry the Germans that there could be an America that saw that American interests are what is important for the USA. If the Germans want to promote German interests (which they do all the time), they can. No matter what the Germans say, American can do what's good for themselves too.
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