Donald Trump has proven over and over that history is not his strong suit. He has said that Canada attacked the White House in the War of 1812 (it was the British), that a general used bullets dipped in pig’s blood to kill Muslims, and that Frederick Douglass is still alive.
Putin listening to Trump talk about the history of Russia/Soviet Union/Afghanistan like#Pressconference pic.twitter.com/jgrfjs8jLe
— Yeah, I said it (@aalleyne) January 2, 2019
During a press conference on Wednesday, Trump informed reporters that Afghanistan forced the fall of the Soviet Union because Russia went bankrupt fighting them. That is simply untrue and incredibly ignorant. War with Afghanistan contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the history is just not that simple.
"Russia used to be the Soviet Union. … They went bankrupt fighting in Afghanistan," @realDonaldTrump says at today's marathon cabinet meeting. pic.twitter.com/MZB72gHyKy
— Todd J. Gillman (@toddgillman) January 2, 2019
The Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, President Ronald Reagan, Mikhail S. Gorbachev, peaceful revolutions by the people in the countries where communism had been forced on them, all of these things contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union. By the time the economy failed, which was largely the result of Gorbachev’s economic reforms, the Soviet Union had all but collapsed, anyway.
‘The Soviet nuclear arsenal was vast, as were Soviet conventional forces, and further weakening of Gorbachev could derail further arms control negotiations. To balance U.S. interests in relation to events in the Soviet Union, and in order to demonstrate support for Gorbachev, Bush signed the START treaty at the Moscow Summit in July 1991. Bush administration officials also, however, increased contact with Yeltsin.
‘The unsuccessful August 1991 coup against Gorbachev sealed the fate of the Soviet Union. Planned by hard-line Communists, the coup diminished Gorbachev’s power and propelled Yeltsin and the democratic forces to the forefront of Soviet and Russian politics.’
Following a bizarre rant about the Soviet Union, Trump says this about Afghanistan: "Why isn't Russia there? Why isn't India there? Why isn't Pakistan there? Why are we there? We're 6,000 miles away? But I don't mind… I think I would have been a good general." pic.twitter.com/bQ36x1RSZH
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 2, 2019
A president who doesn’t understand history is doomed to repeat it. With Trump at the helm, we’re in serious trouble.
Please tell me Trump didn’t just say the Soviet Union spent so much money in Afghanistan they had to change their name to Russia pic.twitter.com/KplGuB7m83
— Marlon Weems (@GeekTrader) January 2, 2019
Featured image via Twitter
