Do Not Give Trump Credit for Reading Off the Teleprompter When He Spent Years Saying US Must Get Out of Afghanistan

For Years Trump Demanded the US Get Out of Afghanistan. Now, He’s Sending More Troops.

President Donald Trump Monday night will deliver a speech from the Fort Myer military base in Virginia. He will read from the teleprompter – probably well – explaining, according to reports, that he has authorized sending an additional 4000 troops to Afghanistan. And 24 hours later, he will hold a campaign rally in Arizona, possibly announcing a pardon for “Sheriff” Joe Arpaio. 

This is not a coincidence. This “policy” was designed for one thing and one thing only: to change the conversation from Trump’s disastrous remarks offering support to white supremacists.

Pundits Monday night immediately will once again say he sounds “presidential.” They will say that, after spending literally four hours at Camp David Friday afternoon, before returning to Bedminster to golf this weekend, President Trump has finally grasped the realities of being Commander-in-Chief.

Four hours at Camp David. Not a full day:

They will likely say sending more troops is the right thing to do, and herald him as a leader.

Do. Not. Let. Them. Get Away. With It.

Several times now Trump has delivered speeches he did not write, on topics he did not understand, and its been said by those on the left and right that he sounded “presidential.”

And the next day he went back to being Donald Trump.

In other words, the reality TV star was acting. Period.

Trump Monday night will once again read from a teleprompter.

Before running for the White House, Trump spent years blasting U.S. foreign policy on Afghanistan. Here’s a small sample:

Sending America’s best to fight and possibly to die in a war that’s actually been fought for centuries is not “presidential.” This is Trump theater at its “best.” President Obama did not run to the nearest military base to use as a prop when he decided to send additional troops to Afghanistan. 

This is theater.

This is his plan to move the conversation from his tacit support of white supremacists. Even the White House title on the YouTube live feed is all about making Trump look “presidential.”

“President Trump Gives a Presidential Address to the Nation“

Do not let President Trump use the lives of America’s soldiers to change the conversation, to “look presidential,” to reclaim his hollowed-out presidency. 

This is a failed president. He deserves zero credit for what we’re about to see. We must stand firm against those who will use this to Trump’s advantage. That’s not what America’s military is for.

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Image by John Pemble via Flickr and a CC license