Donald Trump Suggests He Would Not Defend Taiwan From China
The Republican nominee for the presidential election told Bloomberg that the island "is 9,500 miles away."
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Trump is an idiot and a coward. He doesn't give a shit about global security, he doesn't get that abandoning allies only makes us look weak and unreliable, and he has no principles which could compel him to take a stand. He will decide things based on his own emotions and ego, doing whatever he thinks makes him look good. And his idea of looking good is less about being a leader or statesman and more about pretending to be a tough guy that gets respect by rewarding friends and punishing enemies.
Remember, this is the guy who, when faced with a choice between showing leadership in the face of a pandemic or downplaying the disease so that it wouldn't be associated with him, went with downplaying the disease. If he can't be trusted to make the right choice in a conflict between a virus and humanity, why would we ever expect him to make the tough call to defend an ally in a difficult conflict.
Honestly, I think if Trump had been president in 1941, he would have downplayed the significance of Pearl Harbor and would have used it as an excuse to stop aid to our allies. But I'm sure he'd still be all for internment, it's very much his style.
pretending to be a tough guy that gets respect by rewarding friends and punishing enemies.
Or vice-versa, when it comes to the US' relationship with the countries themselves (as opposed to his personal fawning sycophancy towards dictators).
Right, it's not about whether they are America's friend or foe, it's only about their relationship with Trump. And unfortunately, Trump seems to be better at relating to dictators.
And it probably doesn't help that democratically elected leaders from countries that have longstanding relationships with the US tend to expect America to live up to it's obligations. They aren't coming in and kissing the ring in exchange for favors, they're putting the burden on the president to, you know, do his fucking job. "What's that, Ukraine wants the defense funding that congress allocated for them? Well what will they do for me?"
And unfortunately, Trump seems to be better at relating to dictators.
I know you're not intentionally mincing words, but I prefer to be as explicit about it as possible: Trump idolizes dictators and wants to be just like them. He is a fanboi of Putin, Xi, et al.