"News coverage of President Donald J. Trump in national media is so reflexively negative that many observers think he has no ideological core.
His actions are often depicted as uninformed, impulsive and ego-driven.
However, even a cursory review of the Trump record before and during his presidency reveals a stable foundation of beliefs—beliefs that earlier generations of Republicans and even DEMOCRATS would have had little trouble embracing.
The main reason this isn’t apparent to many journalists and pundits (aside from their weak grasp of history) is that they can’t seem to separate Trump’s style from the substance of his beliefs. His style is so unusual for a public figure that the “how” of his actions often obscures the “what.”
This is not a new development in American history. Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest president ever, was widely derided during his faltering early years as chief executive, with one newspaper referring to him as “Honest Ape.”
After all, what is so strange about wanting to build a wall on a border? But that is where our political discourse currently stands.
Against that backdrop, it is worth considering what the normative underpinnings of the president’s security policies are. As commander-in-chief of the military and the nation’s top diplomat, Trump has latitude to do as he wishes in national security."
LOL
His actions are often depicted as uninformed, impulsive and ego-driven.
However, even a cursory review of the Trump record before and during his presidency reveals a stable foundation of beliefs—beliefs that earlier generations of Republicans and even DEMOCRATS would have had little trouble embracing.
The main reason this isn’t apparent to many journalists and pundits (aside from their weak grasp of history) is that they can’t seem to separate Trump’s style from the substance of his beliefs. His style is so unusual for a public figure that the “how” of his actions often obscures the “what.”
This is not a new development in American history. Abraham Lincoln, arguably the greatest president ever, was widely derided during his faltering early years as chief executive, with one newspaper referring to him as “Honest Ape.”
After all, what is so strange about wanting to build a wall on a border? But that is where our political discourse currently stands.
Against that backdrop, it is worth considering what the normative underpinnings of the president’s security policies are. As commander-in-chief of the military and the nation’s top diplomat, Trump has latitude to do as he wishes in national security."
LOL
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