Why Not?: Ukraine, NATO, and Taiwan

This is the tenth in a series of posts on the reasons I will not be voting to return the former president to the White House. My focus here is not to support his opponent but instead to explain why I believe that Donald Trump is manifestly unqualified for the role.

Weirdly enough, this was the first post I started in this series... and it's likely the last before Election Day. Originally, it was an epic roll through the Trump Tower Moscow, the first Trump impeachment, etc... but I finally decided it was more powerful to keep it simple.

Ukraine

It's not a difficult question. 

You have said you would solve this war in 24 hours. You said so just before the break tonight. How exactly would you do that? And I want to ask you a very simple question tonight. Do you want Ukraine to win this war? 

[David Muir asking Donald Trump a question during the presidential debate on Sept. 10]

Yet the final answer the former president gave was boiled down to:

I think it's in the U.S. best interest to get this war finished and just get it done. All right. Negotiate a deal.

Reminder: Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022... with the ambition of overthrowing a democratic government. And our best choice is to negotiate a deal?!

NATO

I did the same thing with NATO. I got them to pay up. NATO was busted until I came along. I said, “Everybody’s going to pay.” They said, “Well, if we don’t pay, are you still going to protect us?” I said, “Absolutely not.” They couldn’t believe the answer. And you never saw more money pour in to Secretary General Stoltenberg. I don’t know if he is anymore, but he was my biggest fan. He said, “All these presidents came in, they’d make a speech, they’d leave. And that was it.”

And they all owed money, and they wouldn’t pay it. I came in, I made a speech, and I said, “You got to pay out.” They asked me that question. One of the presidents of a big country stood up, said, “Well, sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?” I said, “You didn’t pay. You’re delinquent?” He said, “Yes, let’s say that happened.”

“No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want. You got to pay. You got to pay your bills.” And the money came flowing in. And Henry would know this. If I said, “Yes, I will. You don’t have to pay. Yes, I will.” Most politicians have said to that, “Yes, we will protect you under any circumstances.” Well, then they’re never paying up. I said, “No, no. You have to understand you don’t pay your bills, you get no protection.” It’s very simple. Hundreds of billions of dollars came into NATO, and that’s why they have money today because of what I did."

(Donald Trump at a rally in South Carolina, February 2024)

For more information about the 2% guideline, read the actual NATO policy. (In other words, the former president didn't get any nation to send "hundreds of billions of dollars" to NATO.)

Separate of the obvious issues with the veracity of the anonymous president questioning Mr. Trump (a favorite trope of his storytelling), the fact that he is bragging about telling Russia to "do whatever the hell they want" (his words) is chilling.

Taiwan

“Taiwan. I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business. I think Taiwan should pay us for defense. You know, we’re no different than an insurance company. Taiwan doesn’t give us anything. Taiwan is 9,500 miles away.”

(Donald Trump in a Bloomberg interview, July 2024)

In Short

The former president is fixated on money as a measure of loyalty. He's obsessed with a "pay to play"/"protection racket" ('nice country you got there; hate if something happened to it') view of the world. It's like he watched too many gangster movies and was schooled by his father and Roy Cohn to see the world with dollars as the scoreboard - rather than human lives and human freedom.

Important reminder: I am not attempting to defend the Biden administration or the Harris candidacy. I am simply pointing out that Donald Trump's protection racket foreign policy does not deserve and will not receive my support.

The first post in this series focuses on tariff policy - at this point, Mr. Trump's belief that tariffs are a "magic wand" that can cure all sorts of problems - child care, grocery prices, bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S., etc. They're not.

The second post in this series focuses on immigration policy - the dehumanizing language, the abject lies, and the unbelievably foolish promises of mass deportation.

The third post in this series focuses on Mr. Trump's narcissism and potential cognitive decline.

The fourth post in this series focuses on the unbelievable record of lying by Mr. Trump.

The fifth post in this series focuses on the former president's support for those who brutally attacked police officers during the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The sixth post in this series focuses on the extraordinarily odd decisions on the part of so many voters to support Mr. Trump despite his obvious disdain for their opinions and needs.

The seventh post in this series focuses on the opposition of many of his former staff to his re-election as well as his possible choices for government positions of unqualified (at best) individuals. (This post was written prior to the release of more extensive reporting of John Kelly's rejection of Mr. Trump.) 

The eighth post in this series focuses on the former president's desire for harsh laws and law enforcement against others but extreme leniency for himself.

The ninth post in this series focuses on the former president's obsession with dictators and dictator-like behavior.