The View from Right Field

The Problems With Trump: #2 – Foreign Policy

Parts of Donald Trump’s foreign policy are unclear; other parts seem to be in conflict with each other.  Sometimes he seems mainly focused on eliminating our trade deficit; he appears to think we are losing (and for President Trump, “losing” is never good) when countries sell more stuff to us than they buy from us.¹  Other times he complains that the US is being taken advantage of when we spend more on defense than countries we are helping to protect spend on themselves.

Also, a thread goes through the thinking of many of President Trump’s appointees that we can’t afford to deal with all of the problems in the world.  We have to focus on our most important problems.  In this regard and to these appointees, China is our main adversary, so we have focus on them and let other countries deal with other problems.  For example, Europe should deal with Ukraine.² 

The Coming Constitutional Crisis of 2024 – And American Foreign Policy

In a recent news review,¹ one of the commentators said that, because Trump has made the world part of our political fracas, the political rhetoric now, during the campaign. may be more dangerous for America, and foreign relations. than what comes after November, when the election is over.

I disagree.  I’m afraid the result won’t be known – or, perhaps more accurately, won’t be accepted by the “losing” side – and the things will heat up even more after November 7.  I worry that the election will result in a constitutional crisis greater than any we have seen since 1860-61 – because, no matter who wins, the other side won’t accept it.² 

If Trump loses, he and his supporters will say the election was stolen.  Former President Trump is already saying the election will be rigged.  We know what some Trump supporters did on January 6, 2021.  Who knows what they may do this time.  I understand that last time Mr. Trump was President and that gave him things he could try to do.  But this time, his people may be more upset.

Israel, Ukraine, and More: Biden Must Do More; Congress Must Do Its Job.

I applaud President Biden’s actions and support of Israel since the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7.  It is right, proper, and necessary.

At the same time, we must continue our support of Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression and terrorism.  It is unfortunate that President Biden did not send more weapons and more advanced weapons to Ukraine sooner, so Ukraine could have been closer to victory before Hamas attacked Israel.  But we are where we are, and now we must keep our focus on two wars at once.

Helping Ukraine. Defending Taiwan. Talk Is Cheap. Actually Doing It Costs Money.

If you support Ukraine in its war with Russia, if you think the United States needs to defend Taiwan’s right to choose if it unites with China, then you need to support more money for defense.  The Russian attack on Ukraine is a new kind of war.  Actually, it’s not a new kind of war, but it is a kind of war that we have not seen for a long time.  It is a war of attrition, which means it is a war of weapons, supplies, and ammunition.

We are rapidly using up our inventories of all kinds of weapons and supplies in supporting Ukraine.  If we are going to continue to support Ukraine, we are going to need more of these things.  Right away.  And if we support the right of Taiwan to decide its own fate, we need to get supplies of these things to them – right away.  Plus, we need to replenish our own supplies because who knows where else trouble might arise.  There are countries and groups that might think now is a good time to take advantage.