The story dominating today’s news cycle is of course the president delivering his first speech before a joint session of congress; a speech which generally received positive reviews for its tone and tenor. This story misses a far larger point.
To his credit President Trump stuck to the prompter and gave what was clearly the best speech of his short political life. Yes, the bar is very low but we must acknowledge that an administration clearly on its heels after 40 tumultuous days needed this president to convey a message of thoughtful, controlled serious leadership. We can debate the president’s policies but last night he did what he had to do and he should be given credit for it.
In terms of substance there was very little there, there.
The president repeated many of his campaign promises about immigration, infrastructure, trade, taxes and national security. Once again there was a great deal of generalization and not much in the way of specifics. And as we have witnessed in several of Trump’s previous public statements, many of the statistics he threw out last night to make his case have been debunked by the fact checkers.
There was also the repeated disconnect between the president’s words and his actions.
In his speech the president talked about making sure we have clean air and clean water. But just moments before he signed a bill making it easier for the coal industry to dump processing waste into nearby streams and waterways. In his speech the president promised to help the forgotten middle class but the first bill he signed after his inauguration reversed an Obama interest rate cut on FHA mortgages that would have reduced payments by homeowners by hundreds of dollars per year.
Trump’s tone was music to the ears of the Republican Party. The substance of his remarks remains to be seen.
For me the far bigger story was not what the president said during his speech but was missing from his remarks.
An apology.
Early that same morning the president, in a moment of rank cowardice, blamed his generals for the failings of the Yemen raid that resulted in the deaths of a Navy Seal and 29 civilians; including several women and children.
Appearing on Tuesday morning’s Fox and Friends, Trump was asked about the military mission that cost Chief Petty Officer William “Ryan” Owens his life. Trump gave this response:
“This was a mission that was started before I got here. This was something that was you know, just…they wanted to do. They came to see me and they explained what they wanted to do, the generals, who are very respected. My generals are the most respected that we had in many decades, I would…I Believe. And they lost Ryan.”
I have read over this statement several times to make certain I wasn’t reading something into Trump’s statement that wasn’t there. It seems clear to me that the president is saying:… and I’m paraphrasing here…This was a plan the Obama administration developed…he left office before the mission could be launched…the generals came to me and said they still wanted to do it…I trust the generals so I said ok…Ryan died. Not my plan. Not my fault. They (the generals) lost Ryan.
Show me where in Trump’s actual quote he steps up to his responsibilities as the nation’s Commander –in-Chief. Show me where he demonstrates any sense of mourning for the loss of a brave American hero.
And then to add insult to injury he has the audacity to use Ryan Owen’s sobbing wife as a political prop during his Tuesday night speech.
The President’s most important duty is that of our nation’s Commander-in-Chief. There is no decision more important than sending our young men and women into harm’s way. President Donald J. Trump authorized that mission. Not Barak Obama. Not Trump’s military generals. The responsibility for that young man’s death lies with the officer that sent him into battle. President Donald Trump.
Rather than accept his constitutional and moral responsibility Trump pushed the blame onto his subordinates.
For Donald Trump to shirk that responsibility is outrageous. It is cowardice at the highest level.
President Trump! If you don’t have the guts to accept responsibility for your decisions then do everyone a favor and get the hell out of the White House.
Donald Trump does not deserve the unquestioned loyalty and obedience of the brave military men and women serving under his command.
At a time when it mattered most Trump proved once again that he is unfit to serve.
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