Trump’s Trip
In Saudi Arabia 2 days ago the president delivered a speech about Islam, calling for a crackdown on extremism and increased cooperation between the U.S. and the Muslim world. His comments—which, Graeme Wood writes, seemed tailored to please his Saudi audience—marked a dramatic shift in tone from the inflammatory rhetoric of his campaign. Today, he’s in Israel, where the government’s right wing eagerly anticipated his presidency—but where the policy shifts of his first few months have disappointed politicians. From Jerusalem, Rosie Gray reports on Trump’s progress toward what he calls the “ultimate deal”: peace between Israel and Palestine.
The popular and less sanguine Dave Pell:
ROAD SLIP?
"Trump stood in front of a gathering of leaders from across the Muslim world and called on them to isolate a nation he said had 'fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terror.'" From the NYT: In Saudi Arabia, Trump Reaches Out to Sunni Nations, at Iran's Expense. The target of Trump's speech was especially interesting given that Iranian voters just gave moderate President Hassan Rouhani a landslide victory. + "Trump's strategy differed most strikingly from Bush's and Obama's in its largely military approach to extremism." The New Yorker's Robin Wright: Trump's Strategy on Jihadism. And from Politico: Donald of Arabia. + CNN: "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross praised President Trump for a trip to Saudi Arabia that was so successful it didn't draw a single protester." Oh Wilbur... + In Saudi Arabia, Trump was treated like royalty, signed a big arms deal, and seemed to leave his domestic scandals behind for a couple days. In Israel, one of those scandals was brought back to the fore -- by Trump himself -- when he offered to reporters that he "never mentioned the word or the name Israel" in his conversations with the Russians in the Oval Office.
What exactly was going on with that orb? It's just too easy to make fun of the pic. The Saudi Prince seems to be losing his life force. Trump is smiling. This could have a laser target for our next bombing embedded? Is this a foray of Harry Potter into the land of Mohammed?
The NYT states:
The real meaning of the sphere had little to do with the occult. The occasion was the opening of a new Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology, based in Riyadh, and the orb was in fact a translucent globe, with the world’s waters represented in light gray and the continents in black. Its purpose appeared to be decorative.What was going on withthat orb?The futuristic look of the darkened room may have helped to fire observers’ imaginations.
Investigation Updates: Mike Flynn, the former national-security adviser, is invoking the Fifth Amendment after the Senate demanded he turn over documents relevant to the Russia investigation. After James Comey agreed last week to testify publicly on what led up to his dismissal, some observers are defending Trump’s authority to fire him—though that argument might miss the risks of politicizing the FBI. Meanwhile, the White House is preparing to face the independent investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller. For a preview of what’s to come, current West Wing staffers can look to the Clinton era.
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