When Trump was running for president back in 2016, he was so confident in the loyalty of his supporters that he actually boasted, “I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.” He seems increasingly willing to test his theory by saying and doing more outlandish, and even dangerous, things on an almost daily basis.
Recently, he decided impulsively in a tweet to order our troops out of Syria, despite the likelihood that Turkey would immediately launch an assault on the Kurds, our allies in Syria who courageously fought and killed thousands of ISIS fighters. Almost simultaneous with our troop departure, the Turks, as predicted, invaded Syria and started inflicting damage upon the Kurds.
Legislators from both sides of the aisle have strongly condemned this reckless act, but Trump does not listen to them or to anybody. He claims to know more than the generals and pronounces himself “a stable genius” and one of “unmatched wisdom.”
Because of his action, our nation’s loyalty and commitment will now be legitimately questioned by all of our allies, and more than 10,000 ISIS jihadists now in prison may once again see the light of day to spread their terror and endanger our own national security.
In justifying his actions, Trump said the following:
“The Kurds are fighting for their land, just so you understand. They’re fighting for their land and as someone wrote in a very, very powerful article today: They didn’t help us in the Second World War, they didn’t help us with Normandy, as an example …”
What possessed Trump to allow the slaughter of our allies the Kurds, partially because they were not present on the beaches of Normandy more than 75 years ago, is beyond the comprehension of any thinking human being.
Troops from 12 Allied nations participated in the invasion of Normandy—Australia, Canada, Belgium, France, Czechoslovakia, Greece, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the United Kingdom and, of course, the United States.
No, the Kurds, who are an ethnic group, not a nation, did not participate in the invasion. Nor did the Polynesians participate in the American Revolution. Has the president completely lost his senses!
Germany was on the beaches of Normandy killing our young men, but that was almost four generations ago, and Germany is now one of our staunchest allies. Trump’s lack of empathy and knowledge of history are frightening.
As Trump’s behavior becomes more unstable, it is his loyalists in Congress who do not know American history. Had they learned the lessons of Watergate, they would know that many of those who were last to jump ship when Nixon went down were kicked out of office in a landslide victory for the Democrats.
And those who blindly follow Trump, regardless of what he does, should know that what he is responsible for is far worse than shooting somebody on 5th Ave. Just ask the Kurds whose women and children are now running for their lives.