Trump At the U.N. – World Leaders Laugh, & Disagree (#239)

The United States President, Donald J. Trump, addressed the United Nations Assembly in New York on Tuesday September 25th, 2018 and was laughed at for his embarrassing need for exaggerated self-promotion. His insistence that globalization, nations uniting to work on global issues such as trade, climate change and conflicts, was evil, and only independent patriotic nationalism was the new solution, showed a shocking lack of historic perspective, as did his insensitivity to being in and addressing the ‘United Nations’ (U.N.), which for all its many weaknesses has been a critical forum for all nations to address their conflicts and grievances in a peaceful and cooperative manner, thereby mitigating global conflict. The open disagreements that were voiced by the World leaders that followed Trump with their own speeches were rooted in some of the following realities, facts and arguments.

Trump’s consistent theme of inviolate national sovereignty and right to self-governance, of each nation, and proud nationalism and patriotism, was the cause of the past, almost constant wars, between the European Nations, and the prime reason of the last two World wars. Is Trump ignorant of the fierce pride of the German and Japanese people, which their leaders fed to fever pitch, with calls to racial and national exceptionalism, aggressive patriotism, and hateful war, which led to worldwide slaughter, a World War? Or is he just too stupid to care, as he fans the same flames with the same ‘nationalism, patriotism’ triggers.

His continuing insistence that America now believes that every nation has the right to sovereignty and self-rule was immediately shattered by him as he then went on to dictate what other countries can or cannot do. His statements that each nation must act in its own self-interest was accompanied by threats and admonishments to other nations on their behaviors, which were not in line with America’s interest, and therefore not acceptable to America; totally contradicting his statements of inviolate sovereignty, right to self-governance and individual national policy, fierce pride and patriotism in their own way and culture.

Trump stressed that under him America will go its own way and will not be governed or dictated to by other nations. Which left everyone wondering, when has not the United States, in living memory, not gone its own way? When has it not governed itself? And, when have American interests been subjugated to other country’s interests, since independence from Britain in July, 1776? One wonders.  

Conversely, when has the independent America ever left other nations alone to do their very own thing regardless of American interests, without dictating, threatening or attacking? Even recently, after the Second World War, anyone remember America’s active diplomatic and military intervention in Korea, Vietnam, all of Latin and South America, most of Africa, South and East Asia, Grenada, Cold War with Russia, China, all of the Middle East – with complete destruction of Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and of course there is still Afghanistan, Pakistan,  and now Iran.

For Trump to stand in front of the U.N. Assembly and say that prior to him, America has been taken advantage of, and that America respects each country’s national sovereignty and the right to self-governance, and that America wants to be left alone and not be dictated to, are some of the most ludicrous statements made by an American President. Even the Multilateral International Institutions that Trump rails at, America had a leading hand in setting up, like WTO (World Trading Organization), NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), and the U.N.

Even in ignoring Trump’s strained and clownish performance as a public speaker, the man comes across as the most ignorant of all major leaders. He is ignorant of, and indifferent to, the lessons of history, oblivious and careless of facts, sower of racial, religious and national divisions, and the destroyer of global trade; therefore entirely unsuitable to be the President of the most powerful country in the World.

In fact, if Trump at the U.N., was in some ancient hall of a gathering of kings, and his was the most powerful kingdom, with his performance at the U.N., he would also have been the unwitting ‘Court Jester’, who with his sheer unsuitability of speech, lack of intelligence and sensibilities, provided the greatest mirth to all other kings and nobles in attendance. With his blatantly untrue and over the top exaggeration of his administration’s achievements, Trump did achieve what he falsely and frequently accused Obama of making of America: the laughing stock of the World.

With his opening statement Trump made himself the court jester:

‘In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.’

The U.N. audience of global leaders and diplomats could not restrain their snickers and outright laughter at this astonishingly untrue and self-congratulatory boast. The most powerful man in the World reduced himself and his country to a parody of an unwitting standup comic, sheepishly responding to the open laughter with:

‘Didn’t expect that reaction, but that’s okay.’

That sheepish response got Trump louder laughter and applause (a born court jester). An American President making himself the laughing stock of the World is not ‘okay’ at all for the U.S., or the free World, especially not when he is trying to impress the World Body of his competence and accomplishments. But then this is Donald Trump, who had to explain in the wake of the Hurricane Florence that it was ‘one of the wettest we’ve ever seen, from the stand point of water’.

After the discomfiting laughter, Trump carried on boasting about the U.S. economy, in terms of his own achievements.

As has become the signature phrase of his administration, Trump used all statistics in the context of ‘ever’. The economy was the strongest ever; the Stock market highest ever; unemployment lowest ever; biggest tax cuts ever; construction of best wall ever; most money for strongest military ever; and so on…

While most of the economic statistics are looking good at this time, the caveat has to be, that when the word ‘ever’ is used, then the numbers from the past have to be adjusted to reflect the time and context in which they were generated, to be accurate when compared to the current ones. Of course neither Trump, nor his team, ‘ever’ concerns themselves with such necessary details, in the pursuit of accuracy, which is never important to them.

But, the main issue is something else - none of these numbers and statistics recited by Trump at the U.N. really bears out what he was trying to say - which was, that all of this was his doing, alone, which of course it wasn’t. Trump ploughs ahead with his gross inaccuracies as if no one is aware of the facts, but they are.

Much as neither Trump or the Republicans will ‘ever’ admit it, the growth trajectory of the American economy has been set since 2009, when President Obama rescued the collapsing economy and put it on its current and yet to be broken trend. Every GDP growth chart of the U.S. economy shows it. Trump came very late to this current, almost decade long growth cycle.

Additionally, when Obama kept the economy going, in spite of obstacles a lot more serious and larger than Trump has ever faced, Trump derided Obama’s achievement as nothing but ‘false economic growth’. But from the minute he took over, it all became very legitimate, and ‘his’ growth - ‘booming like never before’.

The same is true of the U.S. stock markets. The current upward stock market trend in the U.S. also started in 2009 under Obama, and climbed for the two full terms (8 years) of his Presidency. During those challenging 8 years, according to Trump, the steadily climbing stock market was nothing but a ‘stock market bubble’. He continuously derided Obama and the long bull market as false. But now, while the same stock market is still inflating, all of a sudden, under him, the ‘stock market bubble’ has become a concrete indicator of his prowess as a President. Gone forever are his words ‘false and bubble’, to be replaced by the ubiquitous ‘strongest ever’.

[Trump touted that under his stewardship $10 Trillion in wealth has been added, but as we all know, those Trillions could disappear in a matter of days if there was another major correction, which is normal and almost inevitable.] 

As for Trump’s - ‘jobless claims are at a 50-year low’ - drastic unemployment and loss of jobs were dramatically reversed by Obama and his administration after the collapse of employment in 2008, and that trend is still continuing. Trump has been the beneficiary of that long downward unemployment trend.

As for his boast – ‘the largest tax cut ever’. They are not. Further, they are not very beneficial either. Trump doesn’t care to mention that the tax cuts were condemned by almost every tax and economic expert as the wrong tax cuts at the wrong time, because of the large and growing shortfall in his budgetary spending.

The other thing neither he nor his Republican stooges mention is that 80% of the tax cut benefits went to America’s wealthiest, and that any benefits to the general economy, from the tax cuts, were going to be very short lived (just this year). And after that, the tax cuts will become detrimental, as Trump’s administration is now generating over Trillion dollar annual deficits. Dramatically falling tax revenues at the time of large growing deficits is not good policy– you do the math.  

Running up large deficits are necessary at a time of severe economic downturns to stimulate and support growth, but are wasteful and entirely unnecessary at a time of strong economic growth, as now. Giving the wealthiest in America 80% of the benefit of ‘Trump/Republican Tax Reform’ is incredibly wasteful and short sighted, and in the long-term very damaging to the economy, and thus the average American, as it accelerates the already widening gap between the rich and the rest of the Americans.  

But Trump’s ignorance of good governance and money management doesn’t stop there as his next boast to the U.N. demonstrated.

Trump boasted that under his administration:

‘We have secured record funding for our military - $700 billion this year, and $716 billion next year. Our military will soon be more powerful than it has ever been before.’

Firstly, the secured funding is debt; secondly, America’s military already was, and has been for decades, the strongest best funded military in the World - by far.

That is why, after the collapse of the Soviet Union in December of 1991, the United States became the sole military  ‘Super-Power’ of the World. America’s Defence Budget has been larger than the combined defence budgets of the next FIVE biggest defence budgets in the World, including China, Russia, Great Britain, France etc.

Besides, the corruption and waste in the United States military is already legend. Giving the U.S. military more money is like giving an addict more drugs, it’ll only increase the waste. Giving them more money is not going to make them better or ‘more powerful’; odds are it will make them more wasteful and corrupt. Some still remember the infamous scandals of $100 hammers, and the $100 Billion plus write-offs on fighter jets and other weaponry that never materialize.

And, an even more grotesquely funded military only encourages American political hawks, backed by the powerful defence industry, to look for additional wars to blow things up in, even if the last couple of wars cost upwards of $7 to $8 Trillion and achieved nothing, but cost human lives, American and foreign.

If one is to look to the last hawkish administration before Trump’s, the Iraq war went from: ‘seek & destroy weapons of mass destruction’ that threaten humanity, to ‘Iraqi Freedom’, to keeping ISIS at bay, to destroying ISIS, to ‘enduring political and military mess that is now the Middle East’. The Afghanistan war went from: ‘hunt down and destroy Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden, to - destroy the Taliban, to - bring security and development, to - hold off the resurgent Taliban, to - OMG they are baaack!, to ….?’

In the meantime, upwards of $7 to $8 Trillion spent, millions of civilian lives lost (in other countries) and no clear resolution to anything, and still the battles rage.   

Terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda and ISIS have been pushed back and materially hurt - but by no means eliminated. That fight will go on indefinitely.

To do all that, the American military does not need more money than the next 5 to 6 countries defence budget combined. It just needs to stay out of unnecessary wasteful wars (both in money and in human lives) and become more efficient and responsible. Under Donald Trump that isn’t happening.

Also, it’s a myth that America’s threats are primarily external. On average, each year, more American lives are lost by shootings within America by Americans than by any foreign terror group, or country. And, when was the last time any external country invaded or wanted to invade America?   

Conversely, when was the last time America invaded other countries?

So what is this ‘threats’ drum Trump is always beating about? Its all about Business interests and conservative votes. In 1961, President Dwight Eisenhower (a Republican) had strongly warned fellow Americans to be wary of the ‘military-industrial complex’, a partnership of defence contractors and the armed forces that in his estimation posed a grave threat to American democracy. Well, decades later his worst nightmare is coming true in Donald Trump, who is happy to inflate an already bloated defence budget by tens, if not hundreds of Billions, which will further fatten the defence contractors and the armed forces (the military-industrial complex), while he subverts and attacks all of America’s institutions that make it truly democratic: its institutions of law and order, its intelligence agencies, fair and free elections, racial and gender equality, bipartisan governance, the free press, protection of consumers and the environment. Welcome to Eisenhower’s nightmare.

On foreign policy Trump was particularly proud of his achievements in getting a meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-Un, and obtaining the promise of denuclearization, in spite of every American expert on North Korea telling him that it wasn’t happening. But Trump needs the optics. So he persists.

North Korea has been playing this game well, for decades. And in spite of Trump’s insistence, former American Presidents and other Western leaders weren’t all fools. North Korea is famous for leading the West on, but never ever giving up anything meaningful. Donald Trump didn’t mention at the U.N. that earlier in his Presidency, North Korea had dramatically escalated its missile testing program till he was reduced to plaintively complaining: ‘North Korea has just launched another missile. Does this guy have anything better to do with his life?’

In his speech Trump insisted that it was his efforts that made Kim Jong-Un stop firing any more missiles, every which way. It is possible, but highly unlikely. It was most probably something far more pragmatic, like North Korea running out of money to carry out any more expensive tests, after it had achieved Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capability, which was confirmed by U.S. intelligence. These nuclear and ICBM tests are expensive, and at the best of times North Korea is seriously strapped for cash.

And so far, North Korea has only dismantled damaged and unusable missile testing sites (the old game of giving a few crumbs in exchange of something significant) and has made no moves whatsoever, to denuclearize. 

At a later news conference, Trump acknowledged that no concrete steps had been taken by North Korea to dismantle any of its nuclear weapons, and he didn’t know if it would happen and ended with his ubiquitous ‘but that’s ok’; and he insisted, to justify his efforts, that he hadn’t given anything in return as, ‘the sanctions are still all in place’. Two points about that:

One, he knows that North Korea circumvents a lot of the worst effects of some the key sanctions with the help of China and Russia (Nikki Haley was complaining about that just a few days earlier) and he knows he can’t do anything about it.

Two, what Trump gave North Korea, and Kim Jong-Un in particular, was priceless. He gave them both that which they could not get, regardless of all their previous efforts. Trump gave the country and its reviled leader, recognition, legitimacy and a free pass into the global community from which they had been determinedly barred by previous American administrations, and all Western governments.

Trump literally embraced Kim Jong-Un, and now, doesn’t fail to shower him with compliments every chance he gets. Kim Jong-Un couldn’t have asked for anything more. It was beyond his wildest expectations.

After giving Kim Jong-Un global credibility, legitimacy and recognition – in other words giving him 'everything' – Trump got nothing but the cessation of missile tests from a bankrupt country that now has ICBMs, with capability of carrying nuclear weapons to America; oh, and the dismantling of unusable testing sites. What a deal!

All these staged shenanigans, just so Donald Trump can get some kind of document that promises the eventual dismantling of North Korea’s existing nuclear weapons at some time, so the Donald can claim historic victory, while actually achieving nothing material.

In the meantime, back at the ranch, Donald Trump tears up a comprehensive, internationally recognized, ‘Nuclear Agreement’ with Iran, labelling it unacceptable. This Nuclear Agreement was signed by ‘five (5) plus one’ countries, which are the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: Russia, China, Britain, France, the U.S., and Germany. The Agreement was additionally endorsed by the E.U. and the U.N. But it was accomplished by Obama, so it had to go.

A signed Nuclear Non-proliferation Agreement between a major power, Iran, and the 5 members of the Security Council, Trump found unacceptable, so he tore it up, because Obama’s administration achieved it. Instead he wants one that isn’t there, and in all probability never will be. But that non-existent agreement will have Trump’s name on it. To quote Ron White, the American Comic, ‘You can’t fix stupid’. Nor can you cure a dangerous, destructive narcissist.

For the destruction and chaos of Syria, Donald Trump blamed Iran exclusively. He did not mention Russia, the actual lead from the opposition side, against the USA and Saudi Arabia led coalition. Iran is Russia’s coalition partner on the ground supporting Assad. It was Russia’s full throated active lead role in the war in Syria, which turned the war for Assad in Syria from defeat, to victory. Russia was pivotal. But no mention by Trump of Russia in Syria.

In his incessant attacks on Iran, Donald Trump blames the country for every global sin that the USA and Saudi Arabia led coalitions are really responsible for in the Middle East. The destruction of Iraq, Libya, Syria and Yemen, is not the work of Iran, but the USA led coalitions. The greatest terrorist organizations in the World, Al Qaeda and ISIS, are NOT Irani, but rather Sunni Arab, which are opposed to Shia Iran, and are backed by Iran’s enemies, the Sunni Arab countries.

Iran is no angel, but the constant charges against them should be at least somewhat accurate, not total fabrications. Some in the World can actually read.

Let us not forget that none of the 9/11 attackers were from Iraq, yet, it was Iraq that was destroyed by America in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, and Saudi Arabia was left untouched in spite of the fact that most of the 9/11 attackers were Saudi. Obviously, America has chosen to side with Saudi Arabia and the Sunni Muslims (majority of Muslims) against the Shia Muslim minority which is led by Iran. That is ok, if that is what it wants to do for its commercial interests. But at least it, and Trump, should be truthful about it, rather than feeding everyone BS.

America led coalition destroyed Iraq on totally false, trumped up charges of WMDs, and this seems to be a repeat of the same strategy. Iran has no nuclear weapons, nor has it ever had them (confirmed by the CIA and Israel’s MOSSAD). Yet, Iran is being touted as the global threat, and threatened with regime change & possible destruction, if it doesn’t capitulate to the constant attacks and economy killing U.S. sanctions. Iran is being forbidden to do anything that is in its own interest but has to succumb to the U.S. dictates.

Even the fact that Iran kept to all its terms in the nuclear deal (all the other countries in the deal verify that fact) did not stop Donald Trump (or Netanyahu) claiming that somehow it breached the ‘spirit’ of the deal if not the terms. That is categorically denied by the other countries that are party to the agreement, and is pure BS as far as legal contracts and agreements are concerned. Instead it is international thuggary, when in fact it was only America which broke the agreement. (By the way, what happened to Trump’s inviolate sovereignty of every country, its right to pursue self governance in its own interest?)

Still, in his address Trump faulted Iran as the worst country. So why?

IRAN has a lot of Oil, and Natural Gas, and no Nuclear Weapons!

(Unlike North Korea, which Trump embraces and America tip toes around and dare not invade.)

IRAQ, had a lot of OIL, and NO Nuclear Weapons. The U.S. attacked it and changed its authoritarian regime and de-facto controls it.   

Libya had a lot of Oil, and NO Nuclear Weapons. So it was attacked and its authoritarian regime changed.

In the Middle East, that leaves primarily Saudi Arabia and other energy rich ‘Sunni’ States like Kuwait, Qatar, etc. which are partners. And even though the most active, powerful and dangerous terrorist groups are Sunni, and supported by Sunni States, these States are not attacked, or even railed against for any offenses. Not even for 9/11.

That is why nobody in the U.N. could take Donald Trump seriously. The World is not ignorant, they are woke. Everyone in attendance was aware of the decade’s long American vendetta against Iran. From destroying its democracy in the early 1950s, to the arbitrary cancelling of a multi-country international nuclear agreement by Trump, to the relentless economic sanctions that make a mockery of Trump’s faux concern for the Iranian people, whom these sanctions really hurt. Therefore the U.N.’s leaders generally dismissed Trump’s views as the rantings of a dangerous demagogue that had to be heard, mocked, but not agreed with. 

Trump went on to outline his administration’s views of the new America; an America that was to be governed by Americans, for Americans, and not by foreigners. And Trump stated America was not going to be pushed around anymore. When exactly that was happening (?), no one quite knows.  Trump asserted that all the countries of the World had been cheating America in trade, aid, defence, and just about everything else of importance till now, and he was no longer going to allow it. According to Trump, America has been, till now, a total victim of an unfair devious World that had plundered America and pushed it around. No more, thanks to him. How it still managed to become the sole Super-Power, Trump wouldn’t know. Delusional is too kind a word for such a leader.

On such occasions as Trump addressing the United Nations, laughter is the best medicine. Trump At the U.N. – World Leaders Laugh, & Disagree