Reluctance is the proper word to describe the president's forthcoming trip. I have harped on this all week and still cannot believe he is going. Now the NY Times has at least written some about his reluctance. It is a juicy article with some nice vignettes from the past which I shall share. The fact is that trump has been essentially unwilling to brief himself properly. He is concerned with the present Washington chaos. That's the news.
Tentative is not strong enough
A ginger sort of resistance is not close to the level of reluctance the president manifests.
We have a man who likes his own bed and prefers Trump-branded properties. We have a president who brushes aside documents prepared to assist him in meeting the minimal standards of diplomacy. He is big time reluctant to go where he does not want to be.
Parody
We are talking about a parody of old-time colonialism. That is what Trump is. And such a personage will not be caught dead subordinating himself to people in the various countries he is scheduled to visit. Who else would have demanded a Golden Coach? Who else likes the sound of zillion-gun salutes? Who will doubtless dominate the news by gaffes we have not even imagined yet? I still cannot believe he will go through with it.
Foreign Trip Comes at Crucial Time, but Trump Is a Reluctant Traveler https://t.co/PhDwdqaRHt
— Stephen C. Rose (@stephencrose) May 18, 2017
The vignettes in the article above are priceless if a bit gross.
The authors remind us of the elder president Bush throwing up during a ceremonial dinner in Japan. Bill Clinton got news that he had won a sexual harassment lawsuit when he was in Africa. He responded by "banging a bongo drum, strumming a guitar and chomping on a cigar.
Headlines
Trump seems to have an iron stomach and plays no instruments, but he has a mouth that manufactures headlines, the more shocking the better.
If the fate of the world was not in the balance it might be entertaining. If he continues to trash Clinton and Obama while visiting global hot spots you will know where his heart and mind are -- squarely on the unfolding battle in the U.S.
The script
The notion that Trump will stick to a script on his journey abroad is in a word specious, meaning misleadingly optimistic.
There is no script other than spontaneous words to the media who are Trump's army though he despises most of their number. The president will play to the media and through it to his base.
Expectations
If you expect a sudden flood of internationalism, forget it. If you expect a nod to globalism, dream on. But if you came for civilization meaning "us" versus the great unwashed, those with no Christian credentials, you are in the right place. Trump's foreign trip -- if it takes place -- will serve the base.
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