Is Donald Trump the defective clock that is correct twice a day?
Donald Trump gave an extensive interview to George Stephanopoulos on ThisWeek. The interview showed a somewhat more polished Donald Trump that was rather surprising. To be clear he still displayed that childish high school braggadocio even if less pronounced.
Donald Trump’s tax plan remains a plutocrats dream come true. His immigration stance remains an exercise in prejudice. His stance on Syria and his acknowledgement of U.S. failed Iraq/Middle East policy that we are still trying to recover from is spot on.
Stephanopoulos asked if he agreed with those that want to establish a no-fly zone in Iraq with the expectation to curb Russian military activity against Assad’s enemies.
George Stephanopoulos: Let’s talk about foreign policy.
We’ve seen Russia go heavy into Syria this week, at least two days…
Donald Trump: Yes.
George Stephanopoulos: — of airstrikes. Yesterday, Hillary Clinton; today, John Kasich; both say we should establish a no-fly zone in Syria. Would you do that? Donald Trump: I don’t think so. I think what I want to do is I want to sit back — and this does not sound like me very much — but I want to sit back and I want to see what happens. You know, Russia got bogged down, when it was the Soviet Union, in Afghanistan. They thought that would be quick and easy and they’ll go in and they’ll clean it up, they can…
George Stephanopoulos: You think he’s falling into a trap?
Donald Trump: Well, I think it’s a — I think it’s not going to be great for them, if you want to know the truth. But let’s just — look, they got bogged down. It destroyed the Soviet Union. I mean they essentially went bankrupt. They — it destroyed the Soviet Union, Afghanistan. Now they’re going into Syria. There are so many traps. There are so many problems. When I heard they were going in to fight ISIS, I said, “Great.
George Stephanopoulos: But they’re
Donald Trump: Let them.’
George Stephanopoulos: — not bombing ISIS.
Donald Trump: Well, not yet. But they don’t want ISIS going into Russia, either. So they’re not bombing them yet. And the other thing I look at is Assad. Assad’s a bad guy, but they’re all bad guys. We’re supporting rebels. You know, they talk about the Syria Free Rebels. We’re supporting rebels. We don’t even know who they are. I spoke…
George Stephanopoulos: So it’s better the devil you know?
Donald Trump: Well, I spoke to a general who’s very, you know, much on — he said, “Mr. Trump, we have no idea who these people are.” They may be worse than Assad. So we’re going to spend all of this effort, all of this — we’ll probably have to go against Iran now. I mean and Iran, we’re making Iran rich and powerful. You notice Iran now is coming in with the ground troops. They have 150 billion dollars. All of the sudden they’re rich. The sanctions are gone. Everything’s gone. What we’ve done with Iran is one of the most incompetent things I’ve ever seen. So now, we have this and we don’t — we — we’re going to fight for people that we don’t even know who they are. Now if you look at Libya, you look at Gadhafi, you look at what’s gone on there, you look at Iraq, with Saddam Hussein, I mean do you think we’re better off now, because I personally don’t?
…
Donald Trump: I understand the whole thing with migration. It’s a horrible thing. It should have never happened in the first place. We screwed up. This country has screwed up the Middle East so badly, with breaking up Iraq. We have so destabilized the Middle East. It is a mess.
So a broken clock is correct twice a day. But one must remember, like Donald Trump, it is wrong most of the times.