President Trump leaves today for a visit to the Middle East and Europe. It seems to me that the most important stop is the very first one in Saudi Arabia. President Trump is meeting with Saudi leaders and the leaders of a great many Muslim majority states who are to issue a joint declaration condemning the Islamic extremism of ISIS and al Qaeda. This is something quite different from what we saw during the Obama years. President Obama was so intent on not mentioning the Islamic nature of the terrorist movements that he abandoned the field to groups like ISIS with regard to anything dealing with Islam. Having all these Muslim nations denounce the terrorists as perverters of Islam seems much more likely to have success with the average person than stating that ISIS is on the wrong side of history. It seems that the USA now has some strategy for countering the terrorists. Trump has moved on from Obama's theory that hiding would work.
There is also a very Trumpian second reason for going to Saudi Arabia. Enormous deals will be announced which will bring something close to half a trillion dollars in purchases by the Saudis of US goods or investments by the Saudis in US enterprises. This could have major positive impact on our economy.
After leaving Saudi Arabia, Trump goes on to Jerusalem. This stop is unlikely to have anything like the importance of the first one, but one never knows. It will be great to watch Trump visit sites in the portions of Jerusalem that were occupied by the Jordanians until 1967 without making some speech about curtailing "settlements". Trump has ended Obama's policy of trying to keep this land free of Jews.
The Rome visit with the Pope is more like a rest stop on the tour. It is the photo op kind of event that America is used to after Obama.
The final leg of the trip is a meeting with many heads of state in Brussels. We can discuss it more as it gets closer.
So what is the reaction from the media to this trip? I checked this morning to see how the mainstream media was going to attack it. It seems that the consensus attack that colors most of the reports filed by reporters for the mainstream media is that Trump's trip is "risky" and "attempts to do too much". Translating from mainstream media speak, one finds the real meaning of the attack. Trump is attempting to accomplish something on this trip, and if successful, he will greatly benefit the USA. That is not how a president should act. No, the president should follow the Obama model and go abroad but do nothing really other than to give a few speeches or maybe sign an agreement that is unenforceable. It's an idiotic attack, but one that will be pushed relentlessly nevertheless.
There is also a very Trumpian second reason for going to Saudi Arabia. Enormous deals will be announced which will bring something close to half a trillion dollars in purchases by the Saudis of US goods or investments by the Saudis in US enterprises. This could have major positive impact on our economy.
After leaving Saudi Arabia, Trump goes on to Jerusalem. This stop is unlikely to have anything like the importance of the first one, but one never knows. It will be great to watch Trump visit sites in the portions of Jerusalem that were occupied by the Jordanians until 1967 without making some speech about curtailing "settlements". Trump has ended Obama's policy of trying to keep this land free of Jews.
The Rome visit with the Pope is more like a rest stop on the tour. It is the photo op kind of event that America is used to after Obama.
The final leg of the trip is a meeting with many heads of state in Brussels. We can discuss it more as it gets closer.
So what is the reaction from the media to this trip? I checked this morning to see how the mainstream media was going to attack it. It seems that the consensus attack that colors most of the reports filed by reporters for the mainstream media is that Trump's trip is "risky" and "attempts to do too much". Translating from mainstream media speak, one finds the real meaning of the attack. Trump is attempting to accomplish something on this trip, and if successful, he will greatly benefit the USA. That is not how a president should act. No, the president should follow the Obama model and go abroad but do nothing really other than to give a few speeches or maybe sign an agreement that is unenforceable. It's an idiotic attack, but one that will be pushed relentlessly nevertheless.
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