Having a Tremendous Time. Wish You Were Here.

Donald Trump & Melania enter the Oscar De LA Renta Fashion Show, New York (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

President Donald Trump and his family/entourage have just returned from their first overseas tour of Europe and the Middle East.  He declared the trip a great success, as is his wont, though to most observers it was anything but.  All this trip really proved was that American prestige can no longer be taken for granted.  Not with this guy at the helm.

First, the Trumps went to Saudi Arabia, where they were wined and dined by the sheiks in exchange for his take on Mideast foreign policy.  He responded by telling them the U.S. isn't going to harp on the Saudis and other Arab countries for their human rights abuses, or to tell them how to live.  That kind of sucking up should keep the oil flowing for a few more years.

Then the Trumps went to Israel, where they reiterated the U.S.'s lasting devotion to that country, whether they deserve it or not.  He also declared his hope that the Israelis and Palestinians can work out some kind of peace solution, but didn't offer details.  It was also rumored that Trump asked his aides to take the measure of the walls Israel built to keep the Palestinians confined to the West Bank, so he could build one of his own to keep out the Mexicans.  But that's so fake news.

Finally, the President and his entourage came to Europe, where he told NATO members to pay up or else, and to pick a fight with Germany over trade practises that he thought were unfair to Americans.  That prompted German chancellor Angela Merkel to declare that Europeans can no longer depend on the United States for much of anything.

The European leaders also tried to persuade Trump to continue with the Paris accord on global climate change, which would reverse a campaign promise he made to get the U.S. out of it.  The President said he's still thinking about it, but there are reports indicating that he's already made the decision to pull out.  If that's true, then what did you expect from a man whose exposure to nature is limited to the golf courses he owns?  Thanks to Trump, there will be bigger swamps to drain by the end of this century, if predictions of rising oceans swallowing up coastal lands comes true.

Now that the Trumps are home, the President can go back to being captain of a sinking ship.  The latest is that senior advisor Jared Kushner, who also happens to be Trump's son-in-law, is part of an FBI investigation into whether he and others colluded with the Russian government over last fall's election results.  With that going on, it should be real interesting to hear what former FBI director James Comey, former National Security advisor Michael Flynn and others have to tell Congress.  Oh, and Trump still has to name Comey's replacement.

In just a few short months, the reputation of the United States has plummeted to the point where anything President Trump says or does has the potential to do great harm to his country and the world at large.  A few days of alienating his allies on their home turf should have driven home the point.  If the President doesn't realize this now, maybe he never will.