Stature of the President<\/p>\n
On Friday night the United States went to war.\u00a0 US military forces attacked targets in Syria.\u00a0 Lives were at risk, and the full force and might of the strongest nation in world history was on display.<\/p>\n
Following tradition dating back to the founding of the Republic, President Trump spoke to the nation.\u00a0He outlined his reasons for the attack, and he explained what choices Syria could make to alter their future.\u00a0He ended his speech with the phrase, \u201cGod Bless our military, and God bless the United States of America.\u201d\u00a0 It was, as another President stated, \u201c\u2026all together fitting and proper\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
It was quite a turnabout for President Trump.\u00a0 Just a few weeks ago, he was making fun of \u201cbeing Presidential,\u201d and even made fun of the phrase \u201cGod bless you, and God bless the United States of America\u201d as pompous and outdated.\u00a0 He is the President who talks \u201creal.\u201d\u00a0 But when the US forces were at risk, when missiles were striking, Trump wanted to be traditional, and Presidential.\u00a0 He knew that the situation required the stature of the President.<\/p>\n
The stature of the President:\u00a0 it is more than just a performance.\u00a0 When President Trump agreed to meet with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, he \u201cequalized\u201d Kim in the eyes of the world.\u00a0 The North Koreans are desperate to be seen as a legitimate, in fact, so desperate that they starved their own people in order to pay the cost of developing the missile and nuclear technology that is their pride.\u00a0 Now Trump is meeting head-to-head with Kim, two heads of state sitting together, equally.<\/p>\n
The stature of the President:\u00a0 the White House invited Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to visit.\u00a0 He is a man who likely had a reporter thrown to his death from a fifth floor window last week; who master-minded the 2016 attack on our elections; who sheltered Syrian weapons and troops from the US attack last weekend. He is to be \u201cwined and dined\u201d with full honors in view of the eyes of Americans, Russians and the rest of the world.\u00a0 His actions and his country equalized by the stature of the President.<\/p>\n
The stature of the President: Nikki Haley, US Ambassador to the United Nations, obviously knew that the Administration was agreed in placing additional sanctions on Russia. Trump clearly changed his mind Sunday afternoon, then let his advisors try to make the mixup about Haley\u2019s confusion.\u00a0 Her response:\u00a0\u201cwith all due respect \u2013 I don\u2019t get confused.\u201d\u00a0 Her stature remains clear, while the President\u2019s looks indecisive and confused.\u00a0Is that the view of the President we want the world to see?<\/p>\n
And finally, this morning the President tweeted about a sketch made by a porn star of her possible assailant.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t even matter if he\u2019s right or wrong, had sex with her or not; the President personally arguing and \u201cdissing\u201d a porn star?\u00a0 Is that the stature he wants as President?<\/p>\n
Most would say: this IS the President we elected.\u00a0 He is a \u201cpost-stature\u201d President, with tweets and porn stars and screaming fits in the White House.\u00a0 He was elected \u201cwarts and all\u201d: \u00a0we knew what we were getting.\u00a0 And they would be right.<\/p>\n
But, after the speech Friday night, it is clear that the President recognizes the power of his stature.\u00a0He used it in the appropriate way for a most serious situation, I wish he could find it in himself to see that power in every action he takes.\u00a0 He needs to recognize that his stature impacts the world \u2013 from Kim to Putin to Stormy Daniels.<\/p>\n
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