President Donald Trump came into office for his second term, declaring that he wished to downgrade our involvement in international affairs and overseas wars, attracting the support of isolationists in the Republican Party, which has long had a history of promoting that view, as in the two World Wars of the first half of the 20th century.
However, Trump had no problem in cozying up to authoritarian dictators, including the leaders of the Russian Federation, China, North Korea, Hungary, El Salvador, and elsewhere.
And there is now growing evidence of Trump’s desire to be aggressive toward our Latin American neighbors, and even Canada, displaying his imperalist urges.
So he has, earlier, made an issue of the Panama Canal, and spoken of making Canada “the 51st State”! He is unlikely to abandon these thoughts with still more than three years to go in this term.
But now, Trump, without Congressional authorization, is utilizing his “Commander in Chief” authority to promote attacks on what he believes are boats that are transporting drugs in the Caribbean, and coming from Venezuela, having caused the destruction of four boats, and the deaths of 21 people on board, without any clear cut evidence to have initiated such attacks.
Certainly, the US Navy could have stopped these boats and inspected them, and if need be, arrest those onboard, but just to attack and obliterate the ships and the occupants is a violation of international law, when America is not at war with any nation in the Western Hemisphere.
There are also veiled threats against nations, such as Mexico, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and particularly against Brazil, because that nation has convicted its former President for inciting a insurrection, equivalent to the one Trump provoked, and should have been convicted for, if the Biden Administration had only moved faster, to prevent Trump from running again for President in 2024.
Trump’s push to deport hundreds of thousands of Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, who were supposed to have protection against harsh dictatorships in those nations, is another sign of his antagonism toward Latin America.
We are in for a period of controversial imperialistic ventures by the 47th President, reminding us of past sins toward the Western Hemisphere!
I can’t wait for Trump’s rantings and ravings of the injustice of not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. What’s even more delicious is that it was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Machado.
Maybe Trump will gather his Seven Dwarf cabinet so he can stage another “Superlative Slam” performance art on how he was robbed again of credit for his greatness.
Paul, it is so pleasing to wake up to this fantastic news, as the Nobel Peace Prize should go to a person who promotes DEMOCRACY, not authoritarian government! But you are right, Trump will be a “sore loser”, and will focus on himself as usual! 🙁
We can reminisce about the good old days when politicians paid for their corruption. Today is the 52nd anniversary of the resignation of Spiro Agnew, that nattering nabob of negativity and bags of cash.
Maybe we can award Tom Homan the Spiro Agnew Ignoble Piece prize!
Paul, ugh to the reminder of Spiro Agnew, one of the most despicable individuals in all of American history! Whenever I have mentioned him in a lecture where he is seen as appropriate to mention, I get sounds of disgust and unpleasant faces from the participants, who remember how evil he was! Thank goodness, he was forced out of office, and we were blessed (by comparison) with Gerald Ford as the successor to Richard Nixon!