Yes, Thump has ventured over seas. The Middle East and then Europe . The first stop was Saudi Arabia where is made an ass of himself before he even stepped foot on the tarmac but gesturing to the Saudis with his signature "two thumbs up " The problem is that the two thumbs up thing is the equivalent of giving someone the middle finger in this country. However, despite having been warned, the petulant man child who has the impulse control and social skills of a pre teen did it anyway.
However, we wont dwell on that. The fact is that he was well received. Why? Well let's see. The Saudis are fond of an authoritarian misogynist for starters. They are happy that Trump is intent on undoing Obama's Iranian deal. Or, maybe it was the multi billion dollar arms deal that Obama hedged on for fear that the weapons could fall into the hands or terrorists that the Saudis may well be in bed with.
Moving on, the big news of the day was his speech on Islam. It was supposed to be a unifying message aimed at bringing together the worlds major religions, but was it?
There is so much to be said about that. Lets see what two NY times OP Ed writers had to say about it"
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/21/...-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region&_r=0
Selected Excerpts:
"Two of our opinion writers, Mustafa Akyol in Istanbul and Wajahat Ali in the Washington, D.C. area, watched President Trump’s speech in Saudi Arabia this morning and discussed what they thought it means for the Middle East, American foreign policy and Muslims around the world."
"Wajahat Ali: “Assalam Alaikum.” I mean that sincerely. President Obama opened his remarks in Cairo in 2009 — which this speech was obviously meant to echo — with the universal greetings of peace used by more than one and a half billion Muslims.
I retained a morsel of hope that President Trump would use his “Islam” speech in Saudi Arabia as a corrective measure — if not a 180 shift — for his previous anti-Muslim statements, and his use of Muslims as a political piñata to advance a white-nationalist, anti-immigrant agenda. I hoped he would actually be inspired by the beauty and spiritual depth of our respective religions, Islam and Christianity, specifically using this platform to reach out to Muslims through shared narratives of hopes, verses from the Quran and Bible, personal stories of his positive interaction with Muslims and the rich benefits and contributions of diverse American Muslim citizens.
Of course, I’m not a naïve, wide-eyed idealist and I didn’t drink the Halal Kool aid. I knew the bar was exceedingly low, so all Trump would have to do is stay on script, not say anything egregiously offensive and it would be considered an “improvement.” Which it was."
So he didn't blow it, but it was not anything profound by any means.
"Mustafa Akyol: Greetings — or salaams, too! I watched the speech in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from a not-too-distant place: Istanbul. I agree that it definitely did not come out as advertised.
A “speech on Islam” could have included some references to the faith, an acknowledgment that Islam is a great religion with values in common with Judeo-Christianity, and with a history of pluralism and tolerance. A “speech on Muslims” could have also been richer, with perhaps examples of how Muslims have contributed to the world, including to American society. This was a more modest, narrow and pragmatic speech, mostly appealing to Muslim leaders — in fact, only Sunni ones — for more cooperation against terrorism. But given Mr. Trump’s earlier views on Islam, it could have been worse!"
Yes, it is agreed . Shallow if not hollow. Oh well. At least he did not start a war on this trip. Yet. Tune in tomorrow.
