Trump’s Poland moment
President Trump prides himself on his deep connection to his supporters, and his loose, unfiltered rhetoric is the way he cultivates that. But the American people in general are much better served — particularly when the president is traveling abroad — when he sticks to the script written for him, as his appearances in Poland yesterday would suggest.
The president’s speech in Warsaw was an impressive affirmation of democratic values — followed by a press conference in which he focused on trivial nonsense, including his main domestic priority, discrediting the media.
The speech was the more important moment for Trump and for the nation. In it he paid moving tribute to Poland’s long struggle against tyranny, and affirmed the U.S. commitment to Article 5 of the NATO alliance, which he had pointedly declined to do in his Brussels speech (he did toss in a gratuitous boast about squeezing “billions” out of member nations since taking office; Trump will always be Trump). He even called out Russia, urging it to “cease its destabilizing activities in Ukraine and elsewhere, and its support for hostile regimes” i.e. Syria and Iran. Then ... he talked to the press. Asked first at a news conference with Polish President Andrzej Duda about North Korea — and for a comment on his recent tussle with CNN — Trump naturally jumped on the second part of the question, dubbing the network “fake news.” He also took a swipe at NBC, whining that the network hasn’t shown loyalty after “The Apprentice” made it a fortune.
Asked about Russian interference in the election, Trump repeated the weak “a lot of people interfere” claim and slammed Barack Obama by name, chiding him for not going public with intelligence that the Russians were meddling. He may be right on the merits there, but clearly doesn’t buy into the notion that politics stops at the water’s edge.
Naturally the off-script moments got the most attention, partially overshadowing a sober, traditionally conservative speech affirming democratic values and calling on the community of nations to defend them. For that, as usual, he has himself to blame.