A Little Foreign Policy Discussion?

 

Forgive me if I'm disregarding "the discourse" about President Biden's press conference regarding foreign policy--it's very stupid. Biden is exceptionally knowledgeable about world affairs and has simply done a fine job as president in fraught times. He isn't going to make everyone happy. A press conference isn't going to rescue him from a fickle media or self-aggrandizing "smart guys".  They want bumper stickers, he's got volumes of actual experience, just with a few "typos". 

While this pivotal/not pivotal press conference has been taking place, the former president has been sitting down with Viktor Orban, who had just been enjoying the company of Putin and Xi. Orban is pretending he's on a peace mission. Let me show you the Russian definition of peace:

It's not just that they want to keep Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson. They don't want Ukraine to be a country. This is not peace. It's the ragged bloody end of genocide. (Actually, why should they be rewarded by keeping anything they stole via murder? ) This is the "peace" Trump says out loud where people can hear that he would resolve "before inauguration". Oh and get back WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich. 

Some people have wondered if Trump has a secret backchannel to Russia. Or, like, what was up with his plane and the Russian plane at the tarmac that one time? I don't know how obvious it needs to be that Trump is more than happy to play at being president while he is out of office, especially at his "Winter White House" where he had umpteen boxes of classified US docs and maybe still hasn't given up all of them. (Logan Act, anyone? Is playing at foreign policy while not in office an" official act"?)  

It's pretty much out in the open. Who needs a secret backchannel. Trump could lie about the "Russia, Russia, Russia" hoax in 2016, but it is 8 years later, and Russia is once again out here helping him. 

He's thinking about how he can help them. Like preferentially withholding intelligence from our allies. (Shades of when he wanted to partner with Russia on "the cyber".) 

Maybe the political media needs to finally have the reasonable foreign policy discussion about whether our elections are being manipulated by outside forces and whether they want to fall for the "okey-doke" as they did in 2016, chasing false narratives instead of actually assessing the candidates on their real, not perceived merits. Who is really up for the job? Who is really not fit? Who is a rapist and felon who is meeting with a Putin-friendly dictator and isn't that a fucking actual scandal? 

As opposed to whether an old guy muffs up words a bit? Gets tired? I don't pretend I know--except I know Biden loves this country, and Trump bad-mouths it every chance he gets. I know I trust Biden's VP, Kamala Harris to do the job if he can't, and Trump is going to pick a sycophantic loser who is also going to be knee-walking gutless and susceptible to foreign influence (maybe Neckbeard Chamberpot from Hillbilly Adjacent, OH).

So that's the foreign policy discussion I really want to have. Not whether Biden is still being very competent and winning the admiration of our allies and the enmity of our foes--because of course he is. 

And just mindful of Hillary Clinton at the moment--do you know what else it takes a village to do? Listen to our elders and support one another. Why is the Democratic party not doing this better? The open conversation has been off-putting and disrespectful. Our electeds have far more reason to "No comment" and "internal conversation" than throwing dirty laundry on the street. It looks like bad home training to me.