As one journalist said, last night’s televised town hall with Donald Trump “met all expectations” and was quite interesting, for a number of reasons. For one, the fact that Trump was able to get a platform on CNN, an outlet which has long been staunchly opposed to him, was interesting and worth focus in and of itself. And while the discussion with Trump got cut short by about half an hour only to extend the time for “analysis” from the same hackneyed talking heads who are not even worth listening to, Trump covered more than enough for a discussion and more than enough for lengthy reflection on the state of international affairs.
The discussion began with the all-too-common attack on the 2020 election and how it materialized. Whether the attack on the 2020 election is legitimate or not depends on your knowledge and viewpoint. But what followed the usual attack on the 2020 election was quite profound. He began with subduing the legal cases which have been brought up against him and which are being brought up against him. Then, Trump addressed the competence issue in Washington, and how at the heart of the multi-faceted crisis in Washington today is the issue of competence given that “they’re all stupid” as Trump put it. Trump’s simple language has long been the surface of very deep and historic issues, and the same went for last night. After the competence issue, Trump mentioned the debt crisis, which in addition to the competence issue makes up the basis and foundation for why Trump is still alive politically. The debt crisis and how the debt crisis arose over the last couple of decades can serve as the singular explanation or factor behind Trump’s ability to stay alive politically. One can sometimes wonder whether Americans or people in Washington have actually wrapped their heads around the gravity and the implications of the debt crisis.
Then, the issue of Russia and Ukraine came up, and Trump got a lot of heat from some people for his answer when asked if he wanted Russia or Ukraine to win the war. Trump’s answer, which was that he wanted the killing to stop, was both interesting and logical, for a couple of reasons. For one, America’s traditional foreign policy position has been one of neutrality, and Trump reflected the historical American position. Second, there is a logic behind why he did not say he wanted Ukraine to win, because logically, Ukraine cannot win the war. Wanting Ukraine to win the war would amount to wishful thinking. Thus, the better and more logical answer would be that the war should end peacefully. The discussion then ended with a spat over classified documents, which is perhaps the reason why the discussion got cut short by a half hour given the double standards over this issue which Trump highlighted.
In sum, Trump got through all the important and universal issues that needed to be highlighted with the time and the opportunity which he was afforded. Competence, debt, foreign policy, and double standards and the injustice behind double standards was all that he needed to discuss, and he discussed what he needed to discuss. To frame Trump’s discourse last night as being filled with lies and so forth which the mainstream media tried to do is futile and wrong, given that on one hand, truths are undeniable, and on the other hand, the truth can never be repressed for too long. A number of truths came out of last night’s televised discussion with Trump, and now, we need to take some time to reflect on them.
Adam A. Azim 