Even the daffy, done-deal secretary of Health and Human Services recognized last summer that his yet-reelected boss was "the worst president ever." The grounds for that comment came nine years earlier from the boss' pending ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham: "I don’t think he has a clue about anything."
Yesterday, Israeli P.M. Bibi Netanyahu confirmed Graham's observation as he stood beside Mr. Reelection: "You see things others refuse to see. You say things others refuse to say." Yes and they do so for the following reasons:
Trump's Gaza initiative is even daffier than RFK Jr —"literally the most incomprehensible policy proposal I have ever heard from an American president,” said Andrew Miller, a Middle East policy adviser to Presidents Obama and Biden. Halie Soifer of the Jewish Democratic Council of America added that "the notion that the United States is going to take over Gaza ... isn’t just extreme, it’s completely detached from reality." Arab studies scholar Khaled Elgindy asked "What U.S. interest could this possibly serve?" after noting that Trump's comments were "truly bizarre and incoherent."
Incomprehensible, detached from reality, bizarre and incoherent — the modifiers are words nearly of kindness when stacked against Trump's words. They defy definition (barring the last word of this column).
"The U.S. will take over the Gaza strip ... We’ll own it." The cost of this "America First" imperialism, said Miller, "would make the $40 billion foreign assistance budget that Trump and Elon Musk call a waste look like a rounding error."
Continued Trump: "If it’s necessary, we’ll [send in U.S. troops] ... We’re gonna take over that piece and we’re gonna develop it ... The only reason the Palestinians want to go back to Gaza is because they have no alternative ... I would think that they would be thrilled."
You bet, why wouldn't they be thrilled to be removed, again? After all, it's not as though their forcible deracination would also violate reams of international law and President Two Men and a Truck has no domestic legal authority to carry it out. But not to worry. Trump's got this. "I don’t mean to be cute — but the Riviera of the Middle East!" But cute extraordinaire it was, or, as Sen. Chris Van Hollen labeled it, "ethnic cleansing by another name."
Trump did utter one item that was bizarrely comprehensible. "Everybody I’ve spoken to loves the idea of the United States owning that piece of land." That there is indisputable and deeply understandable — much like everybody to whom a hyper-pixilated little corporal spoke just loved his idea of opening a second-front Russia offensive.
Yet to one person the idea is altogether unlovable, or at least it was. In the last, excruciating months of Trump's previous reign he made clear to West Point graduates what "America First" was all about. "It is not the duty of U.S. troops to solve ancient conflicts in faraway lands that many people have never even heard of." To the shock and awesome horror of all those Trumpers who once so admired his 1920s isolationism, well, what can we say, except — suckers.
Trump's jack-in-the-box imperialism is pretty much unloved by a few nations in Gaza's neighborhood as well. Egypt and Jordan — the joker's desired destinations for violently uprooted Palestinians — have already rejected the boneheaded idea. (Displaying his characteristic arrogance born of ignorance, Trump ventured, "They say they’re not going to accept. I say they will.")
In a "sharply worded reaction" (AP), Saudi Arabia flatly opposed the stupidity of it all, saying its support for an independent Palestinian state is a "firm, steadfast and unwavering position." Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was equally steadfast — and succinct: the proposal is "unacceptable" (see: stupidity).
And wouldn't it be nice if maybe Gazans could have a word or two about it? You know, the targets of Trump's ineffable absurdities? Fifty-two-year-old Abu Firas, who lost 80 relatives to Netanyahu's madness and at present resides in a tent on the Riviera's coast, thought it would be nice indeed. "We would rather die here than leave this land," he said.
Important to note is that Trump popped off with this detached-from-reality Gaza proposal in simultaneity with U.S. "efforts" to nail down Phase Two off Israel-Hamas' ceasefire, meant to liberate the remaining hostages held by Hamas and bring about a more lasting peace. Important, if former Middle East negotiator David Aaron Miller is to be believed, and he's very believable.
"All of the hoopla on the U.S. taking over Gaza caused us to miss the real story," he said. That story is not "it’s safe to say it can’t happen" but rather "Bibi leaves the White House among the happiest humans on the planet." Because most Israelis are less than fired up over extending the ceasefire and leaving Hamas in control, the Israeli prime minister now has "a lot of latitude about how to proceed," as the Times paraphrased Miller.
On that score he's correct. But I disagree about what constitutes "the real story" of Trump's charade, in that its ramifications sprawl far beyond the Middle East. They're global. The United States is being led by a man who has "completely lost it," as Sen. Chris Murphy observed of yesterday's gibberish capable of being gibberished only by someone who has in fact completely lost it.
The worldwide effects of Trump's preposterous-cum-just-plain-silly "leadership" are that America's enemies are once again delighted and its soon-former friends are aghast. Great Britain and France certainly are, a little something they too have made clear.
Noted by others many times over is that Trump's "America First" is but America last and alone. And it's more alone than ever. So is much of the world. The country that spearheaded the post-WW II international order now spits on global order of any kind — a catastrophic "go ahead do what you like" bulletin from yours truly Trump ...
because he's also truly "detached from reality," which psychiatrists call psychotic.
I suspect we are just quibbling over semantics here, but my take is that “his somewhat larger responsibility of maintaining at least some semblance of rational U.S. foreign policies” is not a responsibility that has ever entered his mind. It’s of no concern to him, and he has no interest in listening to anyone who thinks it is. He’s not irrational, he just doesn’t give a damn. Giving said damn is, in fact, likely beyond him. Distinction without a difference? Probably. It gets us to the same hellscape in the end.
Greenland, Panama, Canada, Gaza, have I missed any countries on Dithering Don's foreign adventure list? He's making George W. Bush look like a model of restraint. Well the good news for anyone getting kicked out of the military for being non white, non male, and non christian is that thanks to the drunken lecherer they just installed to head DOD and his "anti woke" agenda, it will only be white straight christian male boots on the ground. You know, his biggest voting bloc. Let them manosphere dwelling, Seth Rogan loving red pill boys show the rest of us how it's done! Sure hope there's enough of 'em!
"Displaying his characteristic arrogance born of ignorance, Trump ventured, "They say they’re not going to accept. I say they will.")"
That sounds like something a rapist would say. This is all a stupid distraction. Why the f isn't anybody doing anything about an unelected foreign billionaire and his Hitler youth minions raiding the damn Treasury?!? I can't concentrate knowing my livelihood is in danger. Again, people are getting distracted by what the fat orange idiot is saying, and not paying attention to what he is doing or allowing to done on his watch! Get your heads together, people!
I get where you, and everyone else, are coming from — but I don’t actually think this is incomprehensible gibberish from someone who has lost it. It’s literally the thing I expected the most. In the first place, it’s not new. Both Donnie and Jared have been extolling Gaza’s beachfront redevelopment potential for years. Remember, we’re talking about a whole family of shady real estate developers here. And Gaza isn’t unique in this. Remember Trump going on about how North Korea had beautiful beaches that would be perfect for hotels and tourism? This is just what Trump sees when he sees a beach: a perfect location for condos, hotels and casinos.
Sure, from an international relations point of view, from…