The Trump Doctrine: "We're America, Bitch!"

Well, this actually happened, in a way. The real photo was taken when these world leaders were pressing our President on Protectionism and Tariffs (and why they are dumb to enact). Can you imagine what Caravaggio would have done with this picture? Yes, there's the hilarious temper-tantrum toddler aspect photo-shopped... but throw in some shadows and shafts of light, and there's a Baroque masterpiece in the making!

Speaking of masterpieces, the aftermath of the recent G-7 circus summit was truly one for the ages. As you may know by now, an agreement was forged by the seven world leaders, one that had been crafted to accommodate most of the United States' wishes. The other six leaders were anxious to keep Trump from screwing the pooch; much of what he demanded was included in their negotiations. Although re-admitting BFF Russia into the fold, as Le Grande Orange wanted, was not considered.

No matter. Tweeting from Air Force One on his way to meet Kim Jong-un, the President accused Canadian PM Trudeau of being a duplicitous lil' shizzle-weasel. Trudeau had held a post-event press conference when he answered a question about a retaliatory tariff against the US (against our BGH-addled dairy products vs. their steel and aluminum products), something that the two had discussed in public and private for weeks. Betrayal like this cannot stand! So Trump pulled out of the G7 agreement entirely, causing worldwide dismay among non-fascist/communist leaders and economists.

(Meanwhile a nascent shadow alliance called CRANK is emerging... China Russia America North Korea (thanks, Rick Wilson). Trump has succeeded in alienating all of our allies in pursuit of appeasing our enemies. James Bond has a whole new set of villains to fight!)

So, after Trump's anti-Trudeau/G7 hate-tweet, his Special Trade Advisor Peter Navarro chimed in with this sentiment: "There's a special place in Hell for any foreign leader who engages in bad-faith diplomacy with President Donald J. Trump."

Justin Trudeau enjoying a "special place in Hell".

This "yeah, he sucks" sycophancy elicited much amazement. "I can't stop thinking about this interview," said conservative foreign policy expert Max Boot. Such rhetoric from the US government is usually reserved for the leaders of enemy states that we are about to invade, like Saddam Hussein or Adolf Hitler. But Canada? Eternal damnation for cute lil' Justin "Puppy-Dog-Eyes" Trudeau? For something that both sides knew about? On the other hand, there may be a special place reserved for an entirely different group of people...

Which leads us to ponder, why? Was this just an excuse to wiggle out of an agreement he didn't want to be a part of, even though it was US-friendly? Was it a Trumpian signal to Kim Jong-un that no one messes with The King of America First, so better watch it, mister? Was it because his daughter has a crush on JT?

Was it yet another action taken on behalf of Vlad Putin to destabilize the international post-War economic order? Disrupting, dismantling and leaving international alliances among traditional allies has been a hallmark of Trump. What's his plan? A recently departed White House official says there isn't any:

"The former official said he doesn't think Trump is playing 'the sort of three-dimensional chess people ascribe to decisions like this. More often than not he's just eating the pieces.'"

Well, this follows the comments from former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that Trump is "a fucking moron." His former National Security Advisor, H.L. McMaster, called him an "idiot, a dope, with the intelligence of a kindergartner." Others call him "the 2-minute man, with the patience for a half-page." He doesn't like to read and prefers his reports with lots of graphics. This is a President who eschews his Daily Security Briefings for "Fox and Friends" to get his information.

What has emerged from this mindset is something called The Trump Doctrine. It's short and not sweet. Most staffers in the White House know all about it. And here it is:

"We're America, Bitch!"

Please read that article, if only for the low-calibre commentary by White House staff. Although really a slogan and not a doctrine, it does capture the utterly sleazy, coarse and sophomoric qualities that animate the White House. It fully supports the idea that the US has become a dim-witted bully, like the Troll in Harry Potter.

Forgotten are the core values of what has made this country great. Forgotten, too, is the network of like-minded democracies that have persevered with us through a multi-generational-long Cold War against the very nations that the US is now pursuing as new allies. It's the Trump Topsy-Turvy World, where allies are enemies and enemies are allies.

"He's like Heath Ledger's Joker, but without the operational excellence," opined a G-7 senior official after Trump's departure. This is a fun movie comparison, but I think the better one would be Charles Foster Kane. Wildly ambitious, vain, corrupt and empty.

We'll leave you with a couple of pleasant, life-affirming short video clips. One features the classic movement of a brown-nose, in this case Vice President Mike Pence. It's funny, and kinda weird:

And after despairing over the ebbing values of our nation, I came upon this wonderful piece. It's the last pitch in a baseball game that will determine which school goes to the state high school championship. As it happened, the pitcher and the opposing batter were close childhood friends. What happens is a stirring display of sportsmanship and class; the country may be circling the drain, but moments like this suggest we're not going down quite yet:

https://twitter.com/espn/status/1006264953345576960

That is really good. We could be so lucky to see such values work their way up the ladder...