There have been many times that Donald Trump’s ignorance has been embarassing, hilarious, and even concerning. His ignorance during a recent interview on his views of Western liberalism, where he fully supported Vladimir Putin’s stance, is downright dangerous.
Peter Baker asks Trump if he agrees with Putin about demise of "Western-style liberalism." Trump then criticizes LA and SF run which are "sad to look at" because they are run by "liberal people" … which was not the question.
— David Nakamura (@DavidNakamura) June 29, 2019
Far from being what most modern people consider the views of liberal voters, liberalism is the concept that people have the right to be free from government control and corruption. Liberalism is why black and brown people cannot be legally discriminated against, it’s why women were able to fight for and get the right to vote, and it’s why we have a system of democracy. In an interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that liberalism, in the sense that it’s meant literally, is “dead.”
Time magazine reports on Putin’s interview by saying:
‘The liberal ideology that has underpinned Western democracy for decades is “obsolete,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with the Financial Times published Friday.
‘Speaking to the FT on the eve of the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, during which world leaders will discuss trade, security and other matters, Putin said “the liberal idea” had “outlived its purpose” and “come into conflict with the interests of the overwhelming majority of the population.”’
During an interview with The Washington Post, Trump was asked about that statement. Utterly confused about the meaning of the words, Trump began bashing California and Democrats.
The Washington Post reports that:
‘When a reporter asked if the president agreed with Putin’s suggestion, in a recent newspaper interview, that “Western-style liberalism” was in decline, Trump had another thing in mind.
‘He criticized the cities of Los Angeles and San Francisco, which he said are “sad to look at” because they are “run by liberal people.”’
Dear @realDonaldTrump: You are stupid for believing Vladimir Putin over American intelligence professionals and law enforcement.
Tune in to the Mueller hearing on July 17. You might learn something. #SaturdayThoughts https://t.co/pZqr4VQa4g
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) June 29, 2019
To be perfectly clear, the literal definition of liberalism is as follows, according to Brittanica:
‘Liberalism, political doctrine that takes protecting and enhancing the freedom of the individualto be the central problem of politics. Liberals typically believe that government is necessary to protect individuals from being harmed by others, but they also recognize that government itself can pose a threat to liberty. As the revolutionary American pamphleteer Thomas Paineexpressed it in Common Sense (1776), government is at best “a necessary evil.” Laws, judges, and police are needed to secure the individual’s life and liberty, but their coercive power may also be turned against him. The problem, then, is to devise a system that gives government the power necessary to protect individual liberty but also prevents those who govern from abusing that power.’
It is unsurprising that Putin doesn’t care for liberalism; after all, he lives in a Communist country and operates as a dictator. For a president of the United States to defend that, much less to not even understand what the term means, is more frightening than anything else Trump has said or done.
As Robert Mueller said, Russian interference in our democracy should concern every American.
But not the President, apparently, who thinks it’s a joke.
And if we don’t act to secure 2020 against further inference, Putin will have the last laugh. https://t.co/2kB7HcHXAi
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 28, 2019
Featured image screenshot via YouTube
