Donald Trump seems to have pulled it off again. The master of setting traps for the media attracted a hailstorm of abuse for failing to shake a disabled boy’s hand.
Hillary Clinton and JK Rowling were quick to jump on the bandwagon. JK Rowling went all out, including this: “How stunning, and how horrible, that Trump cannot bring himself to shake the hand of a small boy who only wanted to touch the President.”
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It turns out the video which caused the storm had been edited badly, probably deliberately. Trump had in fact been perfectly social with the boy. Neither of the two like handshakes. The boy’s mother confirmed all this with her own pictures and a message for JK Rowling.
Why do you care? Because this is the simplest example of Trump’s consistent ability to generate drama and scandal, only to walk away vindicated. The media describes his presidency as plagued by scandal, but a great proportion of the scandal is initiated, controlled and contrived by him, leading to predictable results.
A Twitter war over a disabled child’s lack of handshake isn’t the only example in the news. The Washington Post has an opinion piece about how the Russia collusion story is disappearing. Too much of the Democrats’ own collusion with Russia was coming to light in the media spectacle.
Twenty Republicans have sent a letter to the attorney general asking for an investigation into Clinton’s own Russian collusion given the past investigation seems to have been botched. Trump has the Democrats cornered because they cannot disavow their interest in Russia’s collusion with American politicians now.
The master of chaos
These scandals hide the true issues and problems Trump faces. And they discredit Trump’s opposition, which is a dangerous development. We no longer know which chaos is of Trump’s making and which is not.
Take for example the real issue of Russian collusion – North Korea. With China refusing to be of much help, the US will have to turn to Russia to apply pressure. Unfortunately, US Congress is hell-bent on doing the opposite and pushed increased sanctions on Russia. Trump eventually agreed to sign the law.
Ironically, this sabotages the relationship between the US and the EU, who is the victim of US sanctions on Russia. Once again, Trump has twisted the tables on his political enemies in the US, leaving them pursuing friendly fire he initially opposed.
The political opportunity to appease the EU, improve relations with Russia and put pressure on North Korea in one fell swoop now presents itself to Trump. All he has to do is oppose Congress on sanctions. He will come off vindicated once more.
Meanwhile, the US representative to the United Nations confirmed the US is sick of waiting for action on North Korea. Trump announced the same on Twitter.
North Korea claims much of the American mainland is now within its missiles’ reach. With the potential in-laws well within the confirmed range of North Korea’s missiles, things are getting interesting on a personal level.
Survival shelters that are popular with American apocalypse enthusiasts are now selling well in Japan. They used to feature on Japan’s TV shows about how weird foreigners are.
Until next time,
Nick Hubble
Capital & Conflict
Category: Geopolitics