Bcon

On Friday, as former Ambassador Maria Yovanovitch was testifying, President Trump made a series of tweets criticizing her performance as ambassador, which got Democrats so triggered, his tweets were read soon after they were made, and the narrative presented was that the tweet was witness intimidation.

"Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad," Trump tweeted. "She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors."

"They call it 'serving at the pleasure of the President,'" Trump continued. "The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First!" Trump also noted that he's done far more for Ukraine than his predecessor than Obama.



Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
· Nov 15, 2019
Everywhere Marie Yovanovitch went turned bad. She started off in Somalia, how did that go? Then fast forward to Ukraine, where the new Ukrainian President spoke unfavorably about her in my second phone call with him. It is a U.S. President’s absolute right to appoint ambassadors.

Donald J. Trump
✔
@realDonaldTrump
....They call it “serving at the pleasure of the President.” The U.S. now has a very strong and powerful foreign policy, much different than proceeding administrations. It is called, quite simply, America First! With all of that, however, I have done FAR more for Ukraine than OBama



This triggered Adam Schiff. "What we saw today is it wasn't enough that Ambassador Yovanovitch was smeared. It wasn't enough she was attacked. It wasn't enough that she was recalled for no reason, at least no good reason. But we saw today witness intimidation in real-time by the president of United States," Schiff said. "Once again going after this dedicated and respected career public servant in an effort to not only chilled her but to chill others who may come forward. We take this kind of witness intimidation and obstruction of the inquiry very seriously," he added.

Really? First of all, Yovanovitch wouldn't even had known about the tweet until after her testimony had Schiff not posted the tweets in the first place, but regardless, where's the intimidation? I can't see any. If Schiff was taking this seriously, he wouldn't be lobbing absurd charges for the purpose of piling on more ridiculous charges against Trump hoping something will stick.


But what really gets me is how it's been almost seven years since Barack Obama left one of his ambassadors to die in a terrorist attack on a U.S. consulate, and the same people who defended the Obama administration endlessly over that, are feigning outrage over Trump's tweet expressing his opinion. Democrats have been crying "impeach!" over everything for years, and now every time Trump expresses an opinion, we're hearing "intimidation." The same party that defended the Obama administration's failure to protect our consulate in Libya from an attack that claimed four American lives, including that of a U.S. ambassador, are now trying to tell us that we should be outraged over a harmless tweet—a tweet that, regardless of what one thinks of the content, was written after Yovanovitch started testifying, and as far as Trump knew, she wouldn't have even had an opportunity to see until well after her testimony concluded? A tweet that she'd have been oblivious to had Schiff not brought it up.
As White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham said in a statement, the tweets were “simply the President’s opinion, which he is entitled to.”

PeterS

So what "very strong" foreign policy Trump is boasting about...placate our enemies and denigrate our friends? Under Trump we are friends with Russia, North Korea, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia and enemies with everyone else. If the intent is to develop a new axis then Trump's foreign policy is working great!

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

That's another lie. You just don't have one clue about what Trump is trying to do in developing relatively peaceful relations with foreign nations.

Donald Trump Is the Peace Candidate

By Rosa Brooks | July 28, 2016, 12:45 PM

Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for inviting me to speak here at the Democratic National Convention. Like so many of you, I came here intending to support Bernie Sanders, or maybe Hillary Clinton, or at least Michelle Obama, who gave a kick-ass speech. But also like so many of you, I have found myself asking, time and again, “Yes, Hillary, I get that it would be cool to have a female president, but how do you intend to bring about world peace?”

Because let’s face it, my fellow Americans, Hillary is not that persuasive as the peace candidate. There was that whole Iraq War v**e thing, for instance, for which I forgive her, though the Iraqis may not. And there was the Libya intervention thing and the “I want to do an unspecified something more in Syria” thing. Worst of all, Clinton seems utterly determined to bait the Russian bear. She denounced Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea as “illegal,” and she even once compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Adolf Hitler, which, as everyone knows, is not a nice thing to say about someone, even if he is sort of like Hitler.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are not the actions of a woman who wants world peace. Remember, folks, Russia’s superpower status may have slipped a little in recent decades, but Putin still controls about 8,000 nuclear weapons. Is it really a good idea to make this guy mad?

That’s why I am here in Philadelphia today to tell you that I have changed my mind. Sure, I would love to see a woman in the Oval Office one of these days, but let’s get our priorities straight. Reducing global conflict and preventing nuclear Armageddon has to take priority over giving a little something to the girls. So here’s what I want to tell you, ladies and gentlemen: I’m v****g for Donald Trump, peace candidate!

It’s simple. Donald Trump is the only candidate we can count on to end 70 years of dangerous tensions with Russia — the only candidate who is actively extending a hand of friendship to our longtime adversary. Where Hillary Clinton has mocked and criticized Vladimir Putin, Donald Trump has speculated that the Russian president might someday become his “new best friend.” Where Clinton once sneered that Putin “doesn’t have a soul,” Trump has compassionately noted: “It’s never been proven that he’s k**led anybody.”

In fact, Trump and Putin seem poised for a relationship that’s truly special. Trump has called Putin “very bright” and praised him as a “strong leader … a powerful leader,” while Putin has described Trump as a “really brilliant and talented person, without any doubt … the absolute leader in the p**********l race.” True, some people have argued that, if properly t***slated, Putin’s words were not quite that adulatory, but let’s not be picky! In a world so painfully full of violence and discord, it is a truly beautiful thing to see two strong, masculine men openly expressing their admiration for one another.

In a world so painfully full of violence and discord, it is a truly beautiful thing to see two strong, masculine men openly expressing their admiration for one another.

But it’s not just a matter of a few personal compliments: Trump has made it clear that if elected, he’ll adopt policies designed to reassure Moscow of his good intentions. Where Clinton has denounced Russia’s actions in Ukraine and suggested that NATO should serve as a counterweight to Russian territorial expansionism, Trump has dismissed NATO as “very obsolete” and suggested he might be reluctant to defend America’s allies against a Russian invasion. Where Clinton has called for tougher sanctions in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Trump has magnanimously declared his willingness to consider recognizing Moscow’s sovereignty over Crimea and his openness to eliminating U.S. sanctions against Russia. And where Clinton has condemned the alleged Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee’s email servers, Trump has taken the opposite tack, inviting Russia to hack into Hillary Clinton’s emails as well. True friends share secrets!

Imagine, my fellow Americans, a world permanently freed from the once omnipresent fear of nuclear conflict between two great superpowers. Imagine a world in which Russia and the United States stand together as friends and allies — a world in which Donald and Vladimir stand together, hand in hand. To echo Donald Trump’s moving words after the Republican National Convention, what a love-filled world that would be!

With a Trump presidency, we will finally see two great nations, once bitter enemies, co-sponsoring Miss Universe competitions together and harmoniously collaborating to destroy what’s left of Syria. Together, our two great nations can joyfully divvy up the Baltic and Central Asian states between them. Together, our two great presidents can share ideas on how to undermine the legislative and judicial branches of government — and together, they will pioneer new ways to confound the Fourth Estate and bamboozle their fearful publics.

My fellow Americans, a Hillary Clinton presidency would be a catastrophe, dangerously increasing the risk of deadly military confrontation with Russia. In a Trump presidency, however, decades of competition and distrust will give way to festive pool parties featuring lovely ladies, fierce leopards, and gleeful cries of “You’re fired!” When Trump and Putin launch the first-ever U.S.-Russian reality TV series, who will want realpolitik?

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in supporting Donald Trump — the one candidate who promises peace in our time!

Rosa Brooks is a law professor at Georgetown University and a senior fellow with the New America/Arizona State University Future of War Project. She served as a counselor to the U.S. defense undersecretary for policy from 2009 to 2011 and previously served as a senior advisor at the U.S. State Department.

2bltap Loc: Move to the Mainland

Just perfect!
Semper Fi
Mike