The federal government remains shutdown at present, and according to all indications, will be shut down indefinitely — but that’s not going to stop President Donald Trump from going on about how great he is. Late Thursday afternoon, when the Senate adjourned yet again without a spending package to re-open the government, the president took to Twitter to share praise a pundit had offered for his agenda — since that’s what’s relevant as hundreds of thousands of government workers remain indefinitely unemployed, apparently.
Trump posted:
‘Brad Blakeman: “The American people understand that we have been played by foreign actors who would rather have us fight their battles for them. The President says look, this is your neighborhood, you’ve got to stand up to protect yourselves. Don’t always look to America.”’
Although Trump has repeatedly pushed this America First ideology, its most recent application is to his abrupt decisions to withdraw the United States entirely from Syria and somewhat from Afghanistan, where the country has been embroiled in lengthy conflict.
The U.S. has been in Syria to fight the Islamic State terror group that most certainly still remains a potent threat, despite the president’s insistence otherwise. His administration claimed the group “defeated” back in 2017 — and attacks have continued ever since.
Trump’s national security team rebuffed his idea to withdraw from the Syrian fight against the Islamic State, but Trump made the announcement anyway, angering Defense Secretary James Mattis to the point that he’s resigned.
Trump, however, prefers to stick with the advice of pundits as opposed to acknowledging the fact that the fate of untold millions depends on what he’s turned into a political spectacle.
He has previously sought to apply the America First principle in contexts like the economy, slapping tariffs on allied nations who he claimed were taking advantage of the U.S.
That, however, does not match up with reality — as he himself has acknowledged at least once, when he made up a trade deficit with Canada.
The stance didn’t work then and precedent and circumstance pushes the idea that it’s not going to work now, either.
Featured Image via YouTube screenshot
