United Nations Watch—President Trump’s first address to the United Nations General Assembly was a bit of a hodge-podge. At times, it sounded as if it were a message to Americans that Trump would be defending them and their interests even if (and especially when) those interests contradicted the conventions of the world. (His Reaganesque line about socialism failing Venezuela because it has been “faithfully implemented” caused a titter among some of the gathered leaders, which Trump seemed to appreciate.)
At other times, he directed strong messages to bad actors in the world like Iran, North Korea, and Venezuela. “If the righteous many do not confront the wicked few, then evil will triumph,” he said.
And at other times, Trump sounded a message of unity and global purpose.
“We will fight together, sacrifice together, and stand together for peace, for freedom, for justice, for family, for humanity, and for the almighty God who made us all,” he said at the end of his speech. “Thank you, God bless you, God bless the nations of the world, and God bless the United States of America.”
It was a message that sounded a tad incongruous next to his exhortations for nations to seek their own interests above all, but Trump’s goal was to thread this needle: to argue for the sovereignty of nation-states, which he called the “best vehicle for elevating the human condition” while also arguing that doing so would achieve peace and prosperity throughout the world.
On the other hand, Elliott Abrams found a lot to love about Trump’s U.N. speech, including one particularly great line I referenced above: “The problem in Venezuela is not that socialism has been poorly implemented, but that socialism has been faithfully implemented.”
“That has to count as one of the nicest lines ever delivered in that General Assembly chamber,” wrote Abrams, who called the speech a success for its “striking rhetoric” and “strong argument.” Read the whole thing at National Review Online here.
Talking Turkey—Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Islamist president of Turkey, told PBS’s Judy Woodruff in an interview that President Trump called him last week to say he was “sorry” about a violent incident in Washington in May during Erdogan’s visit the capital. Government security officers and supporters of Erdogan attacked several protestors of the Turkish leader’s government, injuring 11 people. The incident led to the arrest of nearly 20 Erdogan supporters, including two U.S. citizens and several Turkish nationals. The Turks blamed U.S. authorities for the protest and reaction getting out of hand.
In her interview with Erdogan, Woodruff asked how he could work with Trump when the two had different views about what happened in May. “I’m very sorry about that,” Erdogan said, according to a translator. “Actually, President Trump called me about a week ago about this issue. He said that he was sorry, and he told me that he was going to follow up on this issue when we come to the United States within the framework of an official visit.”
A White House spokesman, Raj Shah, says Erdogan’s claim about the nature of the phone call is “not true.” Trump and Erdogan did speak on September 9, as a White House readout of the call at the time indicates. “President Trump emphasized the common commitment of the United States and Turkey to work together to increase regional stability,” the readout from September 9 read.
Trump has spoken positively about the U.S. relationship with Turkey as it relates to fighting terrorism, particularly during Erdogan’s May visit to Washington. “Today, we face a new enemy in the fight against terrorism, and again we seek to face this threat together,” Trump said following their Oval Office meeting. About a month before that, Trump called Erdogan to congratulate the strongman on the success of a referendum largely seen as curbing Turkey’s democratic tradition.
Trump Tweet of the Day
God bless the people of Mexico City. We are with you and will be there for you.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2017
Mueller Watch—From the Wall Street Journal: “Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s office has interviewed Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about President Donald Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey . . .”
Gregg Easterbrook’s Tuesday Morning Quarterback is a must-read for several reasons, but one of my favorite features are the thought-provoking (or sometimes just laugh-provoking) Stats of the Week.
I especially loved this one from Tuesday’s entry, on the pathetic Cincinnati Bengals’ pathetic start to the season: “Cincinnati Bengals possession results for the season so far: Punt, interception, interception, punt, interception, punt, fumble, punt, punt, downs, interception, end of game; punt, punt, fumble, field goal, punt, punt, field goal, field goal, punt, punt, punt, downs, end of game.”
Read TMQ every Tuesday morning (duh) throughout the NFL season at WeeklyStandard.com.
Song of the Day—“Madman Across the Water” by Elton John.
