Donald Trump’s Oceans*
The most powerful man in the world understands maps as hearsay — as he has reminded us more than once.
A friend from Poland asks me with a mix of concern and amusement if Donald Trump is really that scary. Even scarier, I tell her, after reading the new U.S. National Security Strategy and after watching the broadcast of the draw for the FIFA World Cup. The latter, of course, is not as scary as the first, but it is a perfect illustration of who the most powerful man in the world or the most influential in Europe is — according to Politico.
Many people do not watch or listen to Trump, seeing it as either a waste of time or something unpleasant. However, I believe that it is impossible to form a proper (as the Russians say) opinion about him by reading only his edited speeches or popular bon mots. Editors often delete the president's repetitious language — not just individual words, but his rambling. My advice to those who think I'm exaggerating — and there are still some, though fewer every week — is to read the full transcript and then watch President Trump's Dec. 8 interview with Dasha Burns for Politico.
Pay attention to how many times the leader of the free world comments — out of the blue — on the intelligence of his predecessor, Joe Biden, how he expresses hatred for London Mayor Sadiq Khan — in any instance — and repeats his obsessive thesis about the "rotten West." And then watch it again and focus less on the content and more on the form. Trump is somewhat restrained this time: first, Politico put another feather in his cap of titles, decorations and gold, and second, they sent a charming and attractive (and at the same time very smart, which he may not suspect in his misogynous ways) blond to interview him.
And again, there was a repetition of Napoleon Bonaparte's gesture, who placed the imperial crown on his own head — this time, Trump proudly hangs a gold commemorative medal around his neck, one that accompanied a golden statuette.
Burns was born in Ukraine and is a journalist who shows not only intelligence but also a psychological attitude that allows Trump to believe that he controls the conversation. However, Burns does this with a dignity that FIFA President Gianni Infantino completely lacked. One could probably understand that Infantino wanted Trump to graciously allow a trouble-free (or relatively trouble-free) World Cup. But in handing Trump the large golden FIFA Peace Prize, which Trump fondly stroked, Infantino had an artificially casual demeanor and a wide — far too wide — smile that would have suited a 19th-century Belgian governor handing beads to a tribal chief in Congo in exchange for a diamond mine.
And again, a repetition of Bonaparte's gesture, placing the imperial crown on his own head. This time, Trump proudly places a gold commemorative medal around his own neck, the medal that accompanied the golden statuette.
I'm not writing this for fun, but to illustrate who the man is who not only repeats but also implements the old Moscow policy of weakening the Atlantic alliance, cutting the U.S. off from Europe and leaving Europe at Russia's mercy. The American president who says he will intervene in the sovereign policies of European states and who supports far-right movements like the Alternative for Germany, and for whom the ideal leader is the anti-EU Viktor Orban, Putin's Trojan horse in Europe. I’m not mentioning Poland here, a country that Trump describes as an addition to the glorious Hungary, because I hope that the Polish president and his advisers will come to their senses in time when they understand that if Trump forces Ukraine to surrender, the only safe Polish border will be those 467 kilometers (approximately 290 miles) with Germany. It's enough to look at a map.
Trump, however, knows the maps only as hearsay, as he has reminded us more than once. This time in an interview he talks about Crimea surrounded on four sides by the ocean, as land which, of course, should be ceded to Russia. Full control of the Black Sea, something no one explained to Trump, is Russia's eternal dream, but NATO countries and Ukraine today legally hold 80% of the coastline. If international law continues to crumble and fade because of Trump, then the most powerful man in the world will soon be Vladimir Putin.
*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original Polish with a paid subscription.
A friend from Poland asks me with a mix of concern and amusement if Donald Trump is really that scary. Even scarier, I tell her, after reading the new U.S. National Security Strategy and after watching the broadcast of the draw for the FIFA World Cup. The latter, of course, is not as scary as the first, but it is a perfect illustration of who the most powerful man in the world or the most influential in Europe is — according to Politico.
Many people do not watch or listen to Trump, seeing it as either a waste of time or something unpleasant. However, I believe that it is impossible to form a proper (as the Russians say) opinion about him by reading only his edited speeches or popular bon mots. Editors often delete the president's repetitious language — not just individual words, but his rambling. My advice to those who think I'm exaggerating — and there are still some, though fewer every week — is to read the full transcript and then watch President Trump's Dec. 8 interview with Dasha Burns for Politico.
Pay attention to how many times the leader of the free world comments — out of the blue — on the intelligence of his predecessor, Joe Biden, how he expresses hatred for London Mayor Sadiq Khan — in any instance — and repeats his obsessive thesis about the "rotten West." And then watch it again and focus less on the content and more on the form. Trump is somewhat restrained this time: first, Politico put another feather in his cap of titles, decorations and gold, and second, they sent a charming and attractive (and at the same time very smart, which he may not suspect in his misogynous ways) blond to interview him.
And again, there was a repetition of Napoleon Bonaparte's gesture, who placed the imperial crown on his own head — this time, Trump proudly hangs a gold commemorative medal around his neck, one that accompanied a golden statuette.
Burns was born in Ukraine and is a journalist who shows not only intelligence but also a psychological attitude that allows Trump to believe that he controls the conversation. However, Burns does this with a dignity that FIFA President Gianni Infantino completely lacked. One could probably understand that Infantino wanted Trump to graciously allow a trouble-free (or relatively trouble-free) World Cup. But in handing Trump the large golden FIFA Peace Prize, which Trump fondly stroked, Infantino had an artificially casual demeanor and a wide — far too wide — smile that would have suited a 19th-century Belgian governor handing beads to a tribal chief in Congo in exchange for a diamond mine.
And again, a repetition of Bonaparte's gesture, placing the imperial crown on his own head. This time, Trump proudly places a gold commemorative medal around his own neck, the medal that accompanied the golden statuette.
I'm not writing this for fun, but to illustrate who the man is who not only repeats but also implements the old Moscow policy of weakening the Atlantic alliance, cutting the U.S. off from Europe and leaving Europe at Russia's mercy. The American president who says he will intervene in the sovereign policies of European states and who supports far-right movements like the Alternative for Germany, and for whom the ideal leader is the anti-EU Viktor Orban, Putin's Trojan horse in Europe. I’m not mentioning Poland here, a country that Trump describes as an addition to the glorious Hungary, because I hope that the Polish president and his advisers will come to their senses in time when they understand that if Trump forces Ukraine to surrender, the only safe Polish border will be those 467 kilometers (approximately 290 miles) with Germany. It's enough to look at a map.
Trump, however, knows the maps only as hearsay, as he has reminded us more than once. This time in an interview he talks about Crimea surrounded on four sides by the ocean, as land which, of course, should be ceded to Russia. Full control of the Black Sea, something no one explained to Trump, is Russia's eternal dream, but NATO countries and Ukraine today legally hold 80% of the coastline. If international law continues to crumble and fade because of Trump, then the most powerful man in the world will soon be Vladimir Putin.
*Editor’s note: This article is available in its original Polish with a paid subscription.
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