HAVING A PRESIDENT TRUMP EQUALS: "STUPID STATEMENTS"!

…This president will never learn to be presidential

 

Trump just can’t stop showing his ignorance.

 

When it comes to making stupid statements, President Trump seldom disappoints.

 

When Trump was asked about how he felt about Putin’s outrageous demand to reduce US diplomatic staff in Russia by 755 Americans, Trump’s ignorant response was: “I want to thank him [Putin] because we’re trying to cut down our payroll.  As far as I’m concerned, I’m very thankful that he let go of a large number of people because now we have a smaller payroll.”

 

That has to be one of the most outrageously stupid responses, but being that there is a Trump “bromance” for President Putin, I guess his comment does make some weird sense.  The reality is that those diplomats did not leave the diplomatic service just because they were expelled from Russia.  The payroll will not be reduced.  These diplomats have a wealth of information about Russia and they will instead be re-assigned elsewhere.  They will not be fired or furloughed.  Yes, some may decide to leave on their own, but they would not automatically be fired and walked out the door.

 

Just like Trump not denouncing the white supremists that caused the deaths in Charlottesville, VA, that response about US / Russian diplomats from the president, makes one wonder about our president.  Now we wonder whether our president thinks seriously about defending and advancing American national interests before he opens his big mouth. It most certainly is not in the nation’s interest to support racists or to reduce US staff at our embassy in Russia by 755 Americans.

 

Obviously, first and foremost, in Russia, our ability to obtain information about Russia will be drastically constrained by this personnel reduction. There are representatives of dozens of US government agencies and departments inside Russia, not just in the State Department. All of them now will be less able to inform their agencies back home about Russia.

 

As to the Russian issue, we will now have fewer people gathering data about Russia’s military modernization programs, that’s both nuclear and conventional. We will have fewer people acquiring information about Russian foreign policy decision-making. We will have fewer people writing cables about economic trends in Russia. Our national security team in Washington, including the president, will be less informed about Russia as a result of this staff reduction. That may be good for Putin. That’s bad for the United States.  But the way Trump feels about Putin, it’s probably just fine with him.

 

The most important issue is that this change will also mean that we will have less capacity to conduct diplomacy, either the formal kind between our now skeletal State Department and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.  Or for those informal relationships that usually develop between American and Russian soldiers, economists or astronauts that help to nurture ties between our two governments.

 

Trump claims he wants better ties with Russia, but that’s harder to do with such a depleted team in Moscow.

 

The American embassy also supports the verification of major treaties, such as the NEW START NUCLEAR TREATY and other Russian international obligations.

 

 

How can it be in the national interest to have less capacity for these activities? That’s also good for Putin and not good for the United States.

 

Finally, the loss of our Russian employees will be especially devastating. Some of our Russian national experts in nuclear physics, economics, politics and military affairs have worked for decades at our embassy. They have invaluable experience, expertise and contacts. Reducing their number serves Putin’s interests, not ours.  It will also be nearly impossible for them to find new jobs in Russia.

 

So when Trump praises Putin for these reductions, what country’s interests is he actually advancing?

 

This is just one more example why it was a terrible choice for choosing Trump as the head of the most powerful country on the face of the earth.

 

Nuff said.

 

Copyright G.Ater  2017