President Trump is in Poland and gave a speech to a large crowd cheering “U! S! A! – U! S! A!” and “Dah! nald! Trump! – Dah! nald! Trump!” Video here, summary/reviews here and here.
It sounds fairly epic:
President Donald J. Trump has said the West faces an existential challenge to “defend our civilisation”, “borders”, and “faith”…
“We must work together to confront forces that threaten over time to undermine our values and erase the bonds of culture, faith, and tradition”, he said…
“Because as the Polish experience reminds us – the defense of the West ultimately rests not only on means but also on the will of its people to prevail. The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive?
“Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the courage to preserve our civilisation in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?” he questioned.
He praised the Warsaw Uprising of World War II. As is customary, he skipped over the bad role played by Polish collaborators in aiding the Holocaust.
Trump will continue on to a G20 meeting in Hamburg, Germany. As the Business Insider article puts it:
Trump…urged western NATO allies in Europe to spend more on defense, drawing a comparison with Poland which meets the agreed target of two percent of annual economic output.
Later on Thursday, Trump was slated to condemn “the steady creep of government bureaucracy” and praise the sovereignty of nations in a speech at a Warsaw square, according to excerpts released by the White House.
“The West became great not because of paperwork and regulations but because people were allowed to chase their dreams and pursue their destinies,” he will say, according to the White House.
Nice 🙂
As to the other side of the world: Trump Plans “Pretty Severe Things” In Retaliation Against North Korea
“I have some pretty severe things we’re thinking about,” Trump said at a news conference in Warsaw. “Doesn’t mean we’re going to do them. I don’t draw red lines.”
“I think we will just take a look at what happens over the coming weeks and months with respect to North Korea,” Mr. Trump added. “It’s a shame they’re behaving this way and they’re behaving in a very dangerous manner, and something will have to be done about it.”
I don’t see how North Korea can ever be solved without China’s active participation. And at this point, China is not even giving permission. If we take on North Korea without China, we will end up in a war with China. I trust that Trump knows it.
UPDATE: Added a bit of emphasis in the Poland speech, and here are more quotes from it. Trump on the importance of families:
We can have the largest economies and the most lethal weapons anywhere on Earth, but if we do not have strong families and strong values, then we will be weak and we will not survive.
Trump defending Western civilization:
Americans, Poles, and the nations of Europe value individual freedom…
… if we don’t forget who are [as a civilization], we just can’t be beaten…
We reward brilliance. We strive for excellence, and cherish inspiring works of art that honor God.
We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression.
We empower women as pillars of our society and of our success. We put faith and family, not government and bureaucracy, at the center of our lives. And we debate everything. We challenge everything. We seek to know everything so that we can better know ourselves.
And above all, we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person, and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom.
That is who we are.
The more I learn about this speech, the more I see to like in it. Remember (or as I’ve blogged before), I am a Western supremacist.
Plus, today’s history lesson: In 1683, it looked like the Muslims (Ottoman Turks) would conquer Vienna and roll over Europe. The Pope called on all of Christian Europe to prevent it, and the Poles responded (among others). They prevailed.
It’s an example of Christianity’s – and Poland’s – importance to the West. If it hadn’t happened, America’s West-hating and Christianity-hating Left wouldn’t even be around today, to do their sneering/hating things.