by
Hans Izaak Kriek*
His tweets are going about politics, personal messages and his family. But also, the mainstream media and individual people reacts on him on social media and mostly weird reactions. Trump’s reaction on the media is extremely clear special to CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post and New York Times.
It’s always ‘FAKE NEWS’. Donald Trump: “Last night in Phoenix I read the things from my statements on Charlottesville that the Fake News Media didn't cover fairly. People got it!” – “Not only does the media give a platform to hate groups, but the media turns a blind eye to the gang violence on our…” - “The Fake News is now complaining about my different types of back to back speeches. Well, their was Afghanistan (somber), the big Rally” - HISTORIC rainfall in Houston, and all over Texas. Floods are unprecedented, and more rain coming. Spirit of the people is incredible. Thanks.”
But anyway, there’s more to tell. Vice President Mike Pence: “Trump’s triumphs are many after only six months and he’s just getting started.” Let’s see what he has done so far. The President has signed more than 40 bills and nearly 40 executive orders on everything from health care to energy, infrastructure and more. While the previous administration turned to federal agencies to enact its agenda, Trump has signed more laws to slash through federal red tape than any president in the United States and has saved businesses up to $ 18 billion a year costs.
And whereas the last administration stifled the use of America’s vast energy resources, President Trump has put a renewed emphasis on American energy – approving the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, rolling back the Clean Power Plan, and putting America First by withdrawing from the Paris climate accord. President Trump inherited an economy that would barely budge – but under his watch, American businesses small and large have already created more than 800,000 new jobs since January. Company after company is responding to the president’s agenda with optimism – investing billions of dollars in American jobs, American workers and America’s future.
But Trump did much more. What about his foreign policy. In a speech announcing a new strategy for Afghanistan the president said: “Our troops will fight to win.” The 16-year war against the Taliban is at a stalemate, as the country’s security situation spirals out of control.
Although Obama officially ended the U.S. combat mission there, more than 8,500 U.S. troops remain to train local forces and conduct counterterrorism operations. U.S. military officials have requested thousands of additional troops to help assist Afghan military forces as the Taliban have surged. In a speech in August, Trump announced a new strategy that would likely include an increase of 4,500 troops to the war effort. The new direction calls for an end to “nation-building” and puts more pressure on Pakistan and India to contribute more.
And about North Korea nuclear threat Trump said: “We can let a madman with nuclear weapons let on the loose like that.” The Obama administration used economic and diplomatic pressure in an effort to compel North Korea to give up its nuclear program. So, far Trump has done the same, while warning of military action. Trump indicated he was counting on China, Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner, to use its influence to pressure North Korea. More recently, he has acknowledged that strategy has not succeeded and often taken to Twitter to chastise Beijing for not doing enough. Even as he has proclaimed an end to the Obama policy of “strategic patience” and pushed for new sanctions against North Korea, Trump has said that the solution is “not as simple as people would think.”
After more than 200 days there’s still more, but recently there was a special announcement of Angela Merkel, German Chancellor, she said: “Donald Trump must be shown appropriate respect for holding the office of the US President”.
Even if she may differ with him on policy issues, Merkel, campaigning for a fourth term in office after a September 24 national election, has refused to bend to pressure from her Social Democrat (SPD) rivals to resist demands by Trump for NATO members to increase their defense spending. As a committed Atlanticist, she has stressed the strength of German relations with the United States even when flagging differences in opinion on policy. "If you take the president of the United States, whatever differences of opinion there may be, I know he prevailed in a tough election.
It wasn't reserved for him on a silver platter," she told business daily Handelsblatt in an interview. "In the end, he won the election under American electoral law and that means he is democratically elected and that this person should be shown the appropriate respect, regardless of how I assess his views," she added.
*Hans Izaak Kriek is international political commentator for European Business Review and editor-in-chief of Kriek Media
By: N. Peter Kramer
