Make America Wince Again

Donald Trump enters the Oscar De LA Renta Fashion Show, New York. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

AS Americans celebrated what might be one of the last July Fourths as a free country, President Donald Trump provided the fireworks.  He does that every week, actually.  Some of them happen to be duds.

At the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, Trump did not say or do anything stupid--which is a change from the last time he visited Europe.  He even let his daughter Ivanka save a seat for him during one of the meetings.  How sweet.

What was noteworthy during the summit were the latest examples of American prestige in freefall since Trump took office.

• Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin finally met face to face.  You might say it was a one-sided discussion with Putin doing most of the talking, no matter how much the White House tries to spin it.  From what we heard, there were questions about whether there was a serious back-and-forth between the two leaders over the Russians' alleged hacking of the 2016 U.S. presidential election.  You might also say that Trump wouldn't dare offend the man to whom he owes his job.
• The rest of the G-20 leaders reiterated their commitment to the Paris climate accords, telling Trump in so many words that his decision to take the United States out of the agreement is non-negotiable.  Hoping to pick up the slack, many American states and cities have said they're going to abide by the climate agreement with or without the federal government's help.  However noble that gesture is, it just wouldn't be as effective without Washington's backing.

Another sign of American weakness comes from North Korea, where they launched an experimental ICBM that's supposedly capable of reaching Alaska.  Short of war, there's not much Trump can do to put a lid on Kim Jong-Un's destructive ambitions except impose more economic sanctions.  China could help, but they've apparently decided that a united Korea with U.S. troops at its border would not be in their best interests.  Meanwhile, we wonder how the International Olympic Committee feels about staging its Winter Games in a potential war zone.  It's scheduled for Pyongchang, South Korea next February, and who knows what might happen by then.

The gulf between the President and the "fake news" media grows ever wider.  At the summit, trump did not hold a news conference.  His secretary of state Rex Tillerson did hold one, but only with no cameras present.

Before leaving for Europe, the President took to Twitter to pick fights with CNN and the "Morning Joe" program on MSNBC, whom he believes are guilty of not being as deferential to him like the hosts of "Fox and Friends" are.  So he tweets about "Morning Joe" co-host Mika Brzezinski's appearance in an unflattering manner, much like he's done with other women in the media.  He also retweeted a video showing him punching out a man with the CNN logo on his face at a pro wrestling match.  Classy.

Some believe Trump should be kicked off of Twitter for his constant violations of their policy.  But Twitter's not going to do that.  Just like Republicans and other Trump supporters are looking the other way, not seeing what he's doing to them.  He's the President of the United States, for goodness sake.  Nobody wants to do anything about him.

In the six months since President Donald Trump took office, he's done more through his actions to diminish the status of the United States at home and abroad (except maybe Russia) than any other leader in recent memory.  And we're just getting started.