Western values at risk, says Trump
POLAND: United States President Donald Trump has brought a starkly populist and nationalistic message to Europe, characterising Western civilisation as under siege, and putting the US on a potential collision course with European and Asian powers that embrace a more cooperative approach to the world.
Speaking in Warsaw yesterday ahead of his arrival in Germany for a contentious Group of 20 summit, Trump delivered an address that was both provocative and short on specifics - arguing that Western values were increasingly imperiled by ‘‘radical Islamic terrorism’’ and extremism, and casting himself as a champion in a vaguely defined clash of cultures.
‘‘The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost?’’ Trump said, speaking at a monument to the 1944 Polish resistance to Nazi occupation in World War II.
‘‘Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilisation in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?’’
Later in the day, Trump took to Twitter to proclaim: ’’THE WEST WILL NEVER BE BROKEN. Our values will PREVAIL.’’
The fiery address to a friendly crowd stacked with supporters of Poland’s populist ruling party did not define those Western values in any detail, however, and was devoid of the kind of explicit endorsement of democratic ideals common among past US presidents. Unlike Barack Obama last year, for example, Trump did not direct any criticism at his host, Polish President Andrzej Duda, for a crackdown on press freedoms and for other restrictive policies.
On the eve of a planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Trump again refused to say definitively whether Russia had interfered in last year’s US presidential election, as US intelligence agencies strongly assert, though he did rebuke Moscow for its ‘‘destabilising activities’’ in Ukraine and elsewhere.
Trump’s foreboding message stood in stark contrast to the more optimistic notes struck by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other European leaders at the start of the G20 summit in Hamburg.
The day’s events included the formal announcement of a trade agreement between the European Union and Japan, a deal akin in size to the North American Free Trade Agreement and other multilateral pacts that Trump has vilified and sought to scrap or alter.
Besides trade, the two-day G20 meeting highlights several other fissures between Trump and European leaders, including on climate change and immigration.
The stop in Poland - which Trump called ‘‘the geographic heart of Europe’’ - was both a symbolic and strategic choice for the new American president. The Eastern European nation is a critical US ally.
Polish government officials arranged for buses to bring supporters into Warsaw from the rural parts of the country, where the ruling Law and Justice Party’s support is strongest.
Trump’s speech was also notable for its explicit commitment to Article 5, the collective security provision of the Nato treaty. He notably left out a mention of Article 5 during a speech in late May at Nato’s new headquarters in Brussels.
Another priority is shoring up support for his effort to contain North Korea after its defiant test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. Trump warned yesterday that North Korea could face ‘‘some pretty severe’’ consequences, but Washington also confronted firm opposition from Russia and China over any possible response.
– Washington Post