In a wide-ranging and extended “town hall” session with Fox News’ Greta van Susteren, Donald Trump explained his basic approach to national security and America’s role in the world. Using Japan – which has had the effrontery, over several generations, to make great automobiles and sell them at subsidized prices! – as an example, The Donald laid out the Trump Doctrine. In his best Tony Soprano whisper, Trump explained:
This is extortion on a scale that Tony could not dream of. “That’s a very nice country you have there, Mr. Abe. Be a shame if anything bad were to happen to it.”
It also reflects Trump’s monumental strategic stupidity. The last time Japan tried to “defend itself” – or Germany, for that matter – we got World War II. We’re now seeing what the Middle East looks like when Saudi Arabia, another candidate for the Trump shake-down, tries to defend its interests on its own: Yemen.
When he’s not peddling cement overshoes, Trump sounds like he’s negotiating a union contract. “We can’t be policeman to the world,” insists Trump. “We’re not getting properly reimbursed.” We want automatic cost-of-living raises and all of August for vacation.
Neighborhoods of all sizes need policing. The Donald would not build a hotel in a place without protection, where gangs were the law. It’s much better to have the Japanese and Germans turn their engineering attention to cars instead of rocketry or nuclear warheads. That they do so is a product of six decades of American protection; peace and prosperity are the dividends of American power.
So, too, is liberty. Japan and Germany did not reinvent themselves, in 1945, as pacifistic democracies as a result of mater self-reflection. But Trump is not running to be the “leader of the free world.” That’s for suckers. Trump demands a better deal.
On the other hand, the post-1945 order has been a pretty good deal for America and its allies. Nice world you got there, Uncle Sam. Be a shame if anything bad happened to it.
