As President of the United States of America, I will ALWAYS put #AmericaFirst??#UNGA
Full remarks: https://t.co/ksaMsQ2Lhm pic.twitter.com/XrtpAWwuCn— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 19, 2017
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Excerpted from a longer Op-Ed (full post here) by Max Boot
Harry Truman was a modest man from a humble upbringing who served his country in war and peace. In other words, the anti-Trump. Thus it is no surprise that when he addressed the conference that founded the United Nations in 1945, his message was pretty much the opposite of what his bombastic successor Donald Trump said at the U.N.General Assembly on Tuesday.
Truman’s speech in San Francisco was all about the need for countries to curb their exercise of self-interest for the greater good of mankind. He urged the assembled delegates to act on the “lessons of military and economic cooperation” learned during World War II by creating a “great instrument for peace and security and human progress.” He warned U.N. members against using their power “selfishly – for the advantage of any one nation or any small group of nations.”
“We all have to recognize – no matter how great our strength – that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please,” Truman said. “If any nation would keep security for itself, it must be ready and willing to share security with all. That is the price which each nation will have to pay for world peace.”
Truman’s words laid the foundation for the liberal postwar order underwritten by America. Rather than pursuing our narrow self-interest, the Greatest Generation chose to help defeated enemies and devastated allies, sending generous aid via the Marshall Plan and creating lasting institutions such as NATO and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (forerunner of the World Trade Organization) to promote prosperity and security for all.
Truman and his aides would have been appalled if they had lived long enough to see Trump preening before the U.N. General Assembly, praising national sovereignty as the greatest good in the world, while threatening war and warning that “major portions of the world … are going to hell.”
“Our government’s first duty is to its people, to our citizens, to serve their needs, to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights, and to defend their values,” Trump said. “As president of the United States, I will always put America first, just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.”
The Trump doctrine is selfishness squared. Just as Trump has never done anything in his life that did not benefit him personally, so he cannot imagine any nation acting for the general good. In his private life, it’s me first. In his foreign policy, it’s America First
