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| Trump or George HW Bush? America must decide which vision of the world it wants | Trump or George HW Bush? America must decide which vision of the world it wants |
| (36 minutes later) | |
| The question before America today is whether President Donald Trump’s vision of the world, or that of former President George HW Bush, will prevail. | The question before America today is whether President Donald Trump’s vision of the world, or that of former President George HW Bush, will prevail. |
| President Bush helped build the infrastructure of a more peaceful world. When he entered the White House, the United States and the Soviet Union were in a nuclear standoff. When he left office, the cold war was over. The Soviet Union was gone. Europe was reuniting. The United States had brought the world together to confront aggression by Iraq. President Bush’s world was imperfect, but he set it on the right course. | |
| Today, the world he built is in peril. The passing of President Bush while Trump was in Argentina for the G20 summit could hardly be more illustrative of how a hopeful world seems to be slipping away. | Today, the world he built is in peril. The passing of President Bush while Trump was in Argentina for the G20 summit could hardly be more illustrative of how a hopeful world seems to be slipping away. |
| Watching the G20, two different visions of the world – the world of Trump and the world of President Bush – were on display. | Watching the G20, two different visions of the world – the world of Trump and the world of President Bush – were on display. |
| Trump not only takes the side of autocrats – he also undermines democratic allies. | Trump not only takes the side of autocrats – he also undermines democratic allies. |
| Trump wants to take us back to a world dominated by autocrats. A world where might makes right, where states do not believe in international cooperation, and where human rights are confined to the thoughts of philosophers. A growing number of world leaders share this vision. President Vladimir Putin leads a Russia that invades other countries. President Xi Jinping runs a China that bullies its neighbors in Asia while pursuing an ethnic cleansing campaign against its Uighur population. The viral video of the brotherly embrace between Putin and Saudi Arabiancrown prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 exemplifies a growing sense of autocratic impunity. | Trump wants to take us back to a world dominated by autocrats. A world where might makes right, where states do not believe in international cooperation, and where human rights are confined to the thoughts of philosophers. A growing number of world leaders share this vision. President Vladimir Putin leads a Russia that invades other countries. President Xi Jinping runs a China that bullies its neighbors in Asia while pursuing an ethnic cleansing campaign against its Uighur population. The viral video of the brotherly embrace between Putin and Saudi Arabiancrown prince Mohammed bin Salman at the G20 exemplifies a growing sense of autocratic impunity. |
| Trump not only takes the side of autocrats – he also undermines democratic allies. He regularly picks fights with America’s friends, from his G7 spat with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to criticism of German chancellor Angela Merkel over immigration to his feud with French president Emmanuel Macron on a trip to France. When Prince Mohammed murders a US-based journalist, Trump takes the side of the Saudi autocrat over seeking justice for Jamal Khashoggi. Trump supports Putin over his own advisers, whether it’s on Russia’s interference in US elections or Ukraine. | Trump not only takes the side of autocrats – he also undermines democratic allies. He regularly picks fights with America’s friends, from his G7 spat with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau to criticism of German chancellor Angela Merkel over immigration to his feud with French president Emmanuel Macron on a trip to France. When Prince Mohammed murders a US-based journalist, Trump takes the side of the Saudi autocrat over seeking justice for Jamal Khashoggi. Trump supports Putin over his own advisers, whether it’s on Russia’s interference in US elections or Ukraine. |
| Trump’s envy of autocrats extends to his actions at home – attacking the media, the judiciary, law enforcement, and talking about jailing his political enemies. Trump even openly admires how the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un “speaks and his people sit up at attention … I want my people to do the same.” Trump’s actions are undermining American democracy and resulting in a more dangerous world. | Trump’s envy of autocrats extends to his actions at home – attacking the media, the judiciary, law enforcement, and talking about jailing his political enemies. Trump even openly admires how the brutal North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un “speaks and his people sit up at attention … I want my people to do the same.” Trump’s actions are undermining American democracy and resulting in a more dangerous world. |
| On the other side are the democrats. From Merkel to Trudeau to President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, leaders of the world’s democracies are standing up for the very things that have made the world a more peaceful place. Taking action on climate change. Pushing back against Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. Speaking out in support of human rights. | On the other side are the democrats. From Merkel to Trudeau to President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, leaders of the world’s democracies are standing up for the very things that have made the world a more peaceful place. Taking action on climate change. Pushing back against Putin’s aggression in Ukraine. Speaking out in support of human rights. |
| But Democrats are on the back foot. Some countries that have traditionally upheld democratic norms are now represented by more populist leaders, such as Trump and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy. Brazil elected right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who openly derides democratic ideals. The United Kingdom is mired in a slow-motion national catastrophe as it withdraws from the European Union. Democratic erosion is on the march from Hungary to Turkey, the Philippines to Poland. And without American leadership, the world’s democracies are struggling to unite in the face of the autocratic tide. | But Democrats are on the back foot. Some countries that have traditionally upheld democratic norms are now represented by more populist leaders, such as Trump and Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy. Brazil elected right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro, who openly derides democratic ideals. The United Kingdom is mired in a slow-motion national catastrophe as it withdraws from the European Union. Democratic erosion is on the march from Hungary to Turkey, the Philippines to Poland. And without American leadership, the world’s democracies are struggling to unite in the face of the autocratic tide. |
| Luckily, Trump is not America. And today, voices – from new members of Congress to a growing chorus of grassroots organizations – are rising to push back against Trump’s dictatorial style at home and his recklessness abroad. | Luckily, Trump is not America. And today, voices – from new members of Congress to a growing chorus of grassroots organizations – are rising to push back against Trump’s dictatorial style at home and his recklessness abroad. |
| Voices are rising to push back against Trump’s dictatorial style at home and his recklessness abroad. | |
| When America leads, it can achieve amazing things, from the creation of the United Nations to the reunification of Europe, peace in the Balkans to the Paris climate agreement. This was President Bush’s vision, as he put it when rallying the world against Iraq in 1990: “The crisis in the Persian Gulf… offers a rare moment of opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation… a new world order… Today that new world is struggling to be born… A world where the rule of law supplants the rule of the jungle. A world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak.” | When America leads, it can achieve amazing things, from the creation of the United Nations to the reunification of Europe, peace in the Balkans to the Paris climate agreement. This was President Bush’s vision, as he put it when rallying the world against Iraq in 1990: “The crisis in the Persian Gulf… offers a rare moment of opportunity to move toward an historic period of cooperation… a new world order… Today that new world is struggling to be born… A world where the rule of law supplants the rule of the jungle. A world in which nations recognize the shared responsibility for freedom and justice. A world where the strong respect the rights of the weak.” |
| Today, that new world is still struggling to be born, and the fate of this vision may very well rest on what President Bush prided most, service to others: “I have spoken of a Thousand Points of Light, or all the community of organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good… The old ideas are new again because they’re not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in.” | Today, that new world is still struggling to be born, and the fate of this vision may very well rest on what President Bush prided most, service to others: “I have spoken of a Thousand Points of Light, or all the community of organizations that are spread like stars throughout the Nation, doing good… The old ideas are new again because they’re not old, they are timeless: duty, sacrifice, commitment, and a patriotism that finds its expression in taking part and pitching in.” |
| As a progressive, I disagreed with President Bush’s politics and many of his policies. As a foreign policy professional, I am in awe of his achievements. As a public servant, I am inspired by his service to his country. And as an American, I am proud he was my president. | As a progressive, I disagreed with President Bush’s politics and many of his policies. As a foreign policy professional, I am in awe of his achievements. As a public servant, I am inspired by his service to his country. And as an American, I am proud he was my president. |
| In these troubled times, let us not discard ideas of global rules and norms like freedom and justice as “old ideas” – they are not old, they are timeless. America must continue to fight for them, pick up President Bush’s mantle, and spark a thousand points of light as we build a new world. | In these troubled times, let us not discard ideas of global rules and norms like freedom and justice as “old ideas” – they are not old, they are timeless. America must continue to fight for them, pick up President Bush’s mantle, and spark a thousand points of light as we build a new world. |
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