FOLLOWING LAST WEEK’S PRESS CONFERENCE during which President-Elect Trump referred to CNN as a purveyor of “fake news”, he was asked if he would continue using social media after he becomes president. Of course he will! Since social media allows him to turn the table on networks such as CNN accused of “fake news”, his answer, although a shock to mainstream media, is a “no-brainer.’
“I think, I’ll keep it. I’ve got 46 million people right now — including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, so I’d rather just let that build up.”
“I thought I’d do less of it, but I’m covered so dishonestly by the press that I can put out Twitter – and it’s not 140, it’s now 280 – and as soon as I tweet it out — this morning on television, Fox — ‘Donald Trump, we have breaking news.’”
The changes expected from a Trump presidency are already occurring: It looks like CNN has inadvertently catapulted a counter-main-stream-media-revolution that has been gaining momentum for several years. Now- world leaders, such as Trump, need only Tweet news they want the world to hear. Look for Twitter to become an increasingly important avenue for current events; if it is not on Twitter it might just be “fake news.”
Following his nod to Twitter, the real estate mogul proceed to turn the heat up on both Germany and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Like others, Trump is watching a populist Anti-European Union movement sweep across Europe. Adding fuel to the populist fire, Trump implied that the Euro-skeptic movement is understandable not only because family and Christian values are being jeopardized by mass immigration, but also because the other European nations are being exploited by Germany, which, being a highly advanced export economy, is the main beneficiary of the relationship:
“You look at the European Union and it’s Germany. Basically a vehicle for Germany…That’s why I thought the UK was so smart in getting out.
“I believe others will leave. I do think keeping it together is not going to be as easy as a lot of people think. And I think that if refugees keep pouring into different parts of Europe, it’s going to be very hard to keep it together because people are angry about it.”
Speaking of Merkel’s highly unpopular immigration policy (a policy that permitted over a million Middle Eastern refugees to enter Germany), a policy being combated throughout Europe in France, Poland, Hungary and elsewhere, Trump stated it is:
“…a catastrophic mistake” Germany should not have accepted “all these illegals.”
“Nobody even knows where they are coming from.”
DS
NATO
The EU immigration policy has lead to an emergence of Christian political parties throughout the continent. But it is not just immigration and a resurgent Christian identity that the European globalists must deal with; they are also facing a defense problem. The Europeans, long accustomed to being defended by NATO for which the United States has footed the bill, have grown complacent. Trump has indicated that he will not be the type of leader whom one can accept a gift from and then defame when ever possible. The European Union should take notice: Trump does not like to be crossed – CNN is on the sideline, Merkel is in the hot seat. She must run for office in a few months against the populist pro-Christian Alternative for Deutschland Party (AfD) but will presumably receive no help from Trump whom she passively threatened several months ago:
“Germany and America are connected by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views,” she said in a statement, adding: “I offer the next President of the United States close cooperation on the basis of these values” (New York Times).
In other words, if Trump cozies up to Putin or any number of new European leaders who questions some of these liberal values espoused by the German Chancellor, if Trump does not stand behind these values, all of them, Merkel has indicated that she will not cooperate with him. In other words, she has set the basis for relations with the United States. The US will not dictate future relations to the EU and Germany. Chancellor Merkel has marked the EU has her territory. From New Era’s perspective, the Chancellor has made a significant political blunder. Germany will not be able to act as the fulcrum of the EU much longer – that role is shifting to France in union with the rising tide of Euro-sketic nations risings across Europe. Germany will either change its position or get lost in the rising tide.
Merkel has exacerbated German-American relations. Apparently, under Trump, there will be no more free gifts. Europe must pay for its own security and the only one with enough assets is Germany. The Germans long accustomed to living the “good life” have loudly complained about footing the bill to rescue the EU from economic catastrophe, now she must foot the additional mega-burden of footing the military bill as well:
NATO is not only “obsolete” it has according to Trump “outlived its usefulness”, The countries, according to Trump are also “not paying their fair share.”
Nevertheless, they expect to be protected -something that will not continue under Trump unless they ante-up. At such a time Germany should be facilitating cordial relations with the new administration not exacerbating them by attempting to bully a man long accustomed to exercising considerable power with liberal ultimatums.
Related to NATO, Trump has also indicated that he wants to disengage from the costly military engagements and complex nation-building protocols that have plagued the US in the Middle East (Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and Syria) where Saudi Arabia has been the beneficiary of American largess. He accuses the Saudis of the same failure to cover their military cost as most of the nations of Europe. Under Trump, there will be no more free riders in the Middle East or Europe.
NATDS
RUSSIA
Since Vladimir Putin has been a supporter of the Euro-skeptic movement sweeping Europe, and the beneficiary of any NATO reduction, it is more than significant that the President-Elect is also considering the ramifications of rescinding President Obama’s sanction regime imposed on Russia (over Crimean referendum that made Crimea a part of Russia) in exchange for a nuclear reduction deal. Trump told the Times of London:
“They (the Obama Administration) have sanctions on Russia — let’s see if we can make some good deals with Russia…. For one thing, I think nuclear weapons should be way down and reduced very substantially, that’s part of it (the deal).”
Trump was referring to previous sanctions and the round of new sanctions placed on Russia by the Obama administration, which expelled 35 Russian diplomats from the US in response to Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump spoke in favor of finding common ground to facilitate cordial rather than adversarial relations with Moscow. He views Putin as an ally against terrorism, which is an issue that provides a solid basis for cooperation between the two countries. As a result of Russia’s creative response to the sanctions, a response that includes investment in the new silk road project sweeping Asia as well as oil and natural gas deals with China and investment in agriculture that has resulted in Russia surpassing the United States as the leading exporter of wheat around the globe, as a result of responses such as these, Russia is not feeling the bite of the sanctions as Western analysts thought she would. Consequently, Trump being a logical realist, understands that cooperation with Russia can have positive results:
“Something (good) can happen that a lot of people are going to benefit.”
Related to Russia, Trump has stated that the nuclear agreement made with her ally, Iran, is:
“…one of the dumbest deals” he has ever ever seen
Now that Iran, contrary to all Western Intelligence projections, has entered into a strategic military and political alliance with Iraq, there seems to be some truth in Trump’s claim that the invasion of Iraq was
“…possibly the worst decision ever made in the history of our country. It’s like throwing rocks into a beehive.”
BREXIT
As indicated above, Germany’s dominance over the European economy works to the detriment of other European countries who must accept German exports duty-free. In response to this economic verity, Trump stated:
“You look at the European Union and it’s Germany. Basically a vehicle for Germany…That’s why I thought the UK was so smart in getting out.”
Trump is a fan of Brexit, which he views as an opportunity for the UK and the US to closely cooperate.
“I’m a big fan of the UK, we’re going to work very hard to get it done properly.”
If the two countries can seal a deal it should facilitate the UK exit from the EU by demonstrating the ongoing economic viability of the UK outside of the EU.
Being an avid observer of exchange rates, Trump, views the devaluation of the British Pound as an opportunity to spark business between the US and UK prompting him to state that
“Business is unbelievable in a lot of parts of the UK, as you know. I think Brexit is going to end up being a great thing.”
Consequently he indicated his willingness to consummate a new trade deal with the UK, “very quickly.”
Putting it all together:
- A new platform for truthful news
- The populist Euro-skeptic movement sweeping Europe
- Its negative effects on Germany
- Support of Brexit, which further unhinges the EU
- The reduction of NATO
It looks like President-Elect Trump will be facing a hard time from entrenched war-hawks in congress and from military leaders committed to America’s global presence as a beacon of liberal democracy. Nonetheless, as the EU continues to unravel and Germany is left to handle the ever-increasing financial and military burden, Germany will find itself moving out of the fulcrum of power as a new center emerges and coalesces around France. We expect that Germany will find its way and ally with France in a new union that will help usher in an Era of Peace. It behooves the United States to withdraw from its many global engagements and participate in the peace process as an ally of both the newly emerging EU and Russia. The possibility of such an event happening is greater under Trump than under any other modern United States president.
