It’s been an interesting day or so, to say the least. President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin is what I’m speaking of.
Hanging by a Thread
I have been a somewhat reluctant supporter of Donald Trump since the Republican National Convention two years ago. I did not support him for the Republican nomination. To this day, I don’t often care for his choice of words. I don’t care for his name-calling. I don’t care for his lack of polish. I don’t care for many of his tweets. I don’t care for his cultural Christian tendencies versus biblical Christianity. And I don’t care for his unwillingness to call out Russia and its leader for their moral failures.
You may be asking, then, why I consider myself a supporter, albeit a reluctant one. I want President Trump to succeed. I want him to succeed in restoring our economy. I want him to succeed in putting our national interests first. I want him to succeed in reducing government regulations on health care, small businesses and the average worker. I want him to succeed in filling Supreme Court vacancies with Constitutional conservatives. I want him to succeed in his efforts to foster peace with our enemies (he often calls them “competitors”). And in many ways, I want him to succeed against the so-called establishment.
Elections of Entertainment
In the commentary I’ve seen and read this morning, someone mentioned that we haven’t had a truly qualified president in a quarter-century. 2018 minus 25 years equals 1993. That’s the year Bill Clinton was sworn into office. I concur with this observer—our last president deserving of the office was George H.W. Bush. Ever since he was voted out of office in favor of Clinton, it’s been nothing but a media circus. While each president since then has had some high points (Clinton signing welfare reform into law, George W. Bush responding to 9/11/01, and Barack Obama acting to kill Osama bin Laden), all three of them failed miserably in one area or another. If Americans continue to elect presidents based on entertainment value and media buzz, we will continue to get the same result: garbage in = garbage out.
[Related: Could this be the Most Entertaining Presidential Race Ever?]
Obama’s Change of Heart on Russia
After hearing President Trump’s remarks yesterday in Helsinki, it’s only natural to wonder where his allegiance lies. Make no mistake: Putin is an enemy to America. But President Obama seemed to be ignorant of this fact in 2012:
Unlike President Obama, Mitt Romney’s position on Russia hasn’t changed since 2012. Romney posted this tweet yesterday:
When will we stop electing the one who attracts the most media attention and start electing the one who is most capable of leading our country? And make no mistake—I am by no means referring to Hillary Clinton! But what about numerous other Republican candidates that ran in 2016? Was Trump really the best choice?
Should Trump Resign?
I am not ready to call for President Trump to resign, though I’ve thought about it. I’m not there (yet) because I continue to believe he wants what he thinks is best for America. I believe there is evidence of this in many of his policies and in what he says during interviews. My hope is that he’s simply an incompetent communicator and doesn’t fully realize the weight the words of his office carry. In fact, this afternoon, President Trump stated he used the wrong word during the post-summit press conference with Putin:
In addition, could it be that President Trump hasn’t seemed to be too interested in rebuking Putin and Russia for meddling in our elections because perhaps the United States engages in similar behavior abroad?
Nevertheless, the President’s words do matter—whether he uses them intentionally or accidentally. Yesterday, he used the wrong words.
That's Rich 
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