"So even if you think Zelenskyy made a fatal error by actually telling the truth about the predicament his nation finds itself in, even if you think the mineral deal—with no security guarantees—is brilliant, the fact remains that the administration mishandled the situation. Remember, Zelenskyy is a politician too. And for the better part of an hour he was asked to sit there as Trump painted a false moral equivalence between Russia and Ukraine and was dismissive of Ukraine’s plight and the history that led to this. If you actually want a deal, maybe don’t do that in public? I mean, the Ukrainians are watching too.
"In response to Zelensky’s bait-taking, [commentator Rich] Lowry says that Zelensky 'made an excellent point, but he wasn’t there to be right or to win an argument.' Fair enough. But this is yet another situation where others are to blame for not fully adjusting to the fact that Trump is a thin-skinned, malicious toddler with poor impulse control. It’s always someone else’s fault for not enabling or humouring him sufficiently.
"You know who knows Trump is easily baited into childish outbursts? J.D. Vance. And either out of cynicism or petulant incompetence, he acted on that. ...
"This disaster never should have been possible in the first place. [For starters, this was supposed to be a photo op. Lots of arguments happen behind closed doors between world leaders. They were supposed to head into a meeting to hammer out the details on this mineral deal. Instead, Trump took 40 minutes of questions, some from MAGA loyal 'journalists' who asked him stuff like how he mustered so much 'moral courage' and what not. But then,] Trump’s position is that we should make a profit over Ukraine’s misfortune. That’s why he insists America should get its money back 'plus.' As in we should get back the '350 billion' we gave to Ukraine (a wildly inflated and inaccurate numberTrump cannot be talked out of using) plus a little extra for our troubles.
"That’s grotesque.
"Even as a rhetorical negotiating ploy, it’s grotesque. In his inaugural address, John F. Kennedy Jr. said, 'Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.' That might have been overly grandiose, but it was directionally right for the leader of the free world to draw those lines. Trump’s—and most emphatically Vance’s—position is 'We might help you out, we might not. It all depends on our cut'."~ Jonah Goldberg from his op-ed 'Dishonor and Incompetence in the Oval Office'
PS: From Paul Wells:
"Donald Trump’s empty heart makes him crave a breathtaking amount of sucking up, all the time.
"The big thing that everyone noticed when the sucking up became too insufficient, was that Trump and JD Vance jumped Volodomyr Zelensky in the Oval Office because, Vance said, Zelensky is ungrateful for American support. On that score, here is video of Zelensky thanking America again and again and again, for years:
7 comments:
Funny how for decades you have been extolling the virtues of naked self interest and now you see it happening in practice there are daily posts complaining about it. This is what Francisco D'Anconia in power would look like.
Funny how you've been reading me for decades, and haven't noticed that if the Toddler in Chief were practicing *rational* self-interest for the US—to promote its prosperity and genuine greatness, rather than his blowhard simulacrum—he would be embracing free trade, peace with and support for like-minded others, and pissing on its would-be destroyers.
Instead, the Toddler looks nothing like Francisco D'Anconia, and more like Mr Thompson. Or Cuffy Meigs.
Funny how what seemed like a group of like-minded individuals discussing pro-freedom philosophical matters turned out to be full of proto-fascist spergs. (Host excluded, of course).
Well said Peter and Craig, couldn’t have said it better myself.
Funny how someone can reference a character from an Ayn Rand novel, but know little about what the book's about.
Excellent work deducing the entire contents of my brain from two sentences. You must be some kind of savant.
You don’t have to be a savant, nor deduce the entire contents of your brain to know your version of selfishness is in no way consistent with Ayn Rand’s.
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