Since the campaign it has been clear that if you want to know what Donald Trump is doing, simply invert many of his claims – “Crooked Hillary” was running against the most crooked man to ever run for office, his “greatest economy ever” is nothing more than a straight-line extension of the Obama economy despite a $1.5 trillion debt-laden boost from the tax cuts (87% of the “middle class tax cuts” went to him and others like him), and I could go on for thousands of words. Nowhere has this “truth inversion” been more true than his oft-repeated claim to put “America First.”
From the ban, to tax cuts, to the border wall, to dealings with Russia, the environment, and all of his and his administration’s ethical and legal violations, Trump has shown one thing to be true more than any other: he is always, and in all ways, #TrumpFirst. Always has been. Always will be.
So, when Trump suddenly, without consulting anyone other than Turkey’s authoritarian President Erdogan in a private call, decided to immediately withdraw troops from Syria, leaving ISIS undefeated and our allies there undefended, EVERYONE asked “why?”. The answer is, as always, because it benefits him and he always puts #TrumpFirst.
How?
From the election to this day, Trump has acted beneficially and deferentially towards Saudia Arabia and MbS in particular. The list of examples is long, but to take one, Saudia Arabia is excluded from the list of Muslim banned countries… despite being one of two countries to have it’s citizens actually attack America (see 9/11). Why? Trump has many business dealings and properties in Saudia Arabia. #TrumpFirst
At the time of the Syria announcement, MbS’s murder of Khashoggi had infuriated Erdogan and the Republicans to the point Trump was having trouble protecting MbS from possible criminal jeopardy. Erdogan had air-tight evidence that MbS directly ordered Khashoggi’s killing and GOP hawks were mad also. Always looking to benefit himself, Trump’s private call with Erdogan results in a “clear agreement” for America to withdraw troops immediately; an act that would weaken America in many ways. But Trump put America Last and gave Erdogan the ability to wipe out the Kurds. In exchange Erdogan agreed to stop releasing evidence and pushing for MbS’s prosecution, both of which ended immediately post agreement.
I speculated about this in the days after the shocking agreement, and since then Erdogan stopped releasing more evidence of the murder and making demands for justice. Then this week, as Trump hesitated in the troop withdrawal due to GOP & military pressure, suddenly, a new tape became public, showing Saudi agents removing Kasshogi’s body from the embassy. We immediately started the withdrawal & Trump reiterated he does not want Saudia Arabia punished.
Trump’s actions in Syria make America less safe from ISIS and terrorism, weaken our bonds with allies and our standing in the world, and gives Putin an unchallenged stronghold on Syria. Nothing about this action puts America First. Everything about it puts, as always, #TrumpFirst.
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