On Tuesday evening we had the pleasure to watch President Trump give us an overview of what he planned to do over the next year. In his foreign policy segment, he went over common topics many Americans are familiar with including the Israel-Palestinian conflict. His managed to brag about the military campaign against ISIS. However he neglected the other political issues occurring in the world.
Trump mentioned the Russia-China conflict with the US, which is considered one of America's highest priorities, only once. Earlier this month, Secretary of Defense, Jim Mattis clearly declared that, Great power, like Russia and China are our main threats, not terrorism. However Trump's disregard to the subject shows his naivety of presidency. He scarcely mentioned it before continuing on to gloat about all he has accomplished in the past year. This is due to the fact that he did not want to badmouth Beijing on such an international level, however a little more in-depth explanation of his plans would have been satisfying for the Americans.
Trump also omitted to disclose details on the wars in Afghanistan and Syria, in which the US has been getting deeper involved in. He did not mention as to why he has sent so many troops to Syria in the past year nor did he explain the motive behind bombing Afghanistan three times as much than in 2016. As a candidate he promised to not involve the US in any more wars, however he is doing the exact opposite as a president.
Newer conflicts such as the involvement in the Yemen wars were also not touched upon. Trump did not give his reasons as to why he has aligned with Saudi Arabia and is now sending troops there in fight brutally with the Yemenis. This war has cost a lot for both the US and especially the Yemenis as 20,000+ civilians do not even have basic needs, such as water and food. In this harsh war, many US troops also died and Trump gave no reason as to why the cost of these lives was necessary.
Lastly, Trump overlooked the morals of which America was built upon. He did not indicate what America stands for in the world. Both President Obama and President Bush gave reassuring statements about how they see America with the rest of the world and how they want to create peace and freedom. Overall Trump may have wanted to make his speech seem like it was more for the people of the United States however he neglected the ideology of America's foundation.
Discussion Questions:
1. Did Trump talk sufficiently about foreign policies and the ideas that the US has for the next year? Why or why not?
2. Is the addition of more troops to wars that were hardly mentioned in his speech justified? Should the public be notified of the sending of troops to other countries? Why or why not?
3. Should the American people be satisfied with the amount of information that was presented in his speech? Should Americans be more informed on foreign policies? Why or why not?
Since there are many faulty areas in his speech, I think Trump’s State of the Union speech was both messy and had bad content. He pointed out problems about America but didn’t propose any way to fix it, and barely said anything about problems outside of the US and about foreign policy. Although he considered some good changes such as lowering the price of prescription medicine, many of his other propositions didn’t appeal to me or any of the Democrats. He mentioned his four pillars of the immigration plan that included the building of the wall on the south border that I am strongly against, and even though USA's infrastructure could improve, spending 1.5 trillion more dollars on building new infrastructure is not needed at the moment. Although he is very patriotic, Trump should focus more about and make public the foreign relationships and movement of troops in other countries. Lastly, I think his idea for letting people into America only if they’re willing to do labor as well as opening vocational schools will defeat the value of education and citizenship. Overall, I think the material in his speech was very minimal and unsatisfying, as he didn't talk about specific plans and didn't inform Americans about any changes he wishes to make regarding foreign relations.
ReplyDeleteA year ago, when he was simply a Presidential Candidate, Trump made sure we knew that he wanted to put America first -- and he did just that in his State of the Union speech. He barely uttered a word mentioning foreign policies and diplomatic relations with other countries and how to improve international conflicts. Much of his speech was gloating about all the improvement he has made over the past year, such as lowering unemployment (although he has mostly been going off of the progress Obama made during his two terms as President). Although he did mention his four pillars of immigration, it appeals only to the Republicans, as Brianna pointed out, and repeats everything he has been stating for the past year and a half. For example, he once again points out the America/Mexico wall that was a big appeal to Republican voters, yet no progress has been made toward constructing it other than trying (and failing) to force Mexico to pay for it. Trump did not provide a sufficient amount of information to inform anybody of America's progress while he has been President. Trump is more nationalistic than patriotic, as Brianna has said, and makes no effort to humble himself. In fact, not long after his speech, he announced that he deserved to be on Mount Rushmore along with Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Washington. As an American citizen myself, I feel that his speech gave me no new insight to America; in fact, Twitter has told me more than Trump has.
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ReplyDeleteHe absolutely did not speak enough about US foreign policy; in fact, he barely spoke about it. Although I am not yet old enough to vote, I am still an active american citizen and as one, I simply believe that Trump needed to tell us more. This country can't make informed decisions about voting and such unless they are informed. Briefly and shallowly going over foreign policy IS NOT informing the people of America. I've learned more about US foreign policy through social media and adults around me then from Trump's speech. So no, I don't think Trump covered foreign policy sufficiently or in depth - not at all. Along his campaign trail he promised people a greater america; I didn't see it then, and I definitely don't see it now. Is this really making 'America Great Again'?
ReplyDeleteYes, I completely agree with you, as with Brianna and Stacey. Though I am not old enough to vote, I would like to know what our country is doing outside of the US. This country will soon be passed down to our generations so we deserve the right to understand its issues. However Donald Trump's State of the Union speech seemed to do the exact opposite. He seems patriotic yet all of his 'bragging rights' (ex: creating new jobs) are simply ricocheted off of Obama's administration. Overall I believe President Trump should have given the American people a larger overview of America's foreign policy plans for the next year.
DeleteTrump’s main focus seemed to be everything the US had accomplished rather than on his actions, and plans for the future. As Stacy pointed out, in his State of the Union speech, he fulfilled his promise to put America first in focusing solely on America, and in doing so, he neglected on foreign affairs, which is a major part of ensuring the safety and stability of the US: maintaining a good relationship with foreign nations ensures the US will not struggle alone in the case of war, and will not have embargoes—and like sanctions—placed, not hindering the US economy. Because he lacked to adequately inform the people of his plans for this crucial aspect of government management, the American people should not be satisfied with the amount of information presented in his speech; in the same vein, Americans should be more informed on how their representative will interact with other nations, which in turn will affect how they are able to interact with said other nations. Additionally, his justification for sending more troops to wars—wars that added troops would do nothing to resolve—was extremely weak. And the public should be informed of troops being sent to other countries, as it is their tax dollars that are supporting the war, and their countrymen they are sending to an effort they may not even support; being notified of this information could give them the opportunity to revoke their support, and perhaps get the government to change their minds—to do what the people they represent want—and if it is what the people they represent want, they should at least then be able to take that in consideration.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Trump shared some information regarding foreign policy and projections for the upcoming year, the amount of information provided was definitely not sufficient. It is incredibly important for the people of America to be informed, because it is knowledge that helps not only voters, but those active in the political community to make informed decisions. By merely touching on important issues like the Russia-China conflict or the war in Yemen, President Trump failed to provide adequate information to American viewers. The reason sufficient information regarding worldwide issues is crucial is because the public cannot give feedback or refute ideas or policies in which they lack depth or understanding. Also, Trumps decision to involve more troops in overseas fighting lacks a sufficient public justification. Although he touched base on the fighting in Yemen, he did not provide enough information for anyone viewing to confidently support or disagree with his decisions. Further, by providing the public with insufficient details for future plans etc., Trump has restricted public feedback. Without requisite information, people simply do not have enough understanding to either support or disapprove of their own country's foreign business.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Trump talked sufficiently enough about foreign policy and ideas US has for the next year. He barely talked about foreign policy, and he did not inform us about his plans for war. He did not tell us why he sent so many troops to Syria and why it was so important to sacrifice so many American lives. I believe Trump should aim to keep us out of war, not further involve us. He should tell us why he is sending more troops and, Americans should have a say in whether it is a good decision. We should be able to have an opinion on whether or not we want to send more troops. Trump should at least inform us on his plans instead of keeping us in the dark. I think Americans should not be satisfied on the amount of information given in his speech.
ReplyDeleteI am honestly severely bothered by the fact that President Trump was so hesitant to even make reference to any issues concerning foreign policy. The general consensus among both those on the right-wing and left-wing seems to be that he is struggling in that area, i.e. the general reaction to his decision in April of 2017 to send airstrikes into Syria. By avoiding the issue he is only raising more and more eyebrows to what his intentions are. All things considered, his presidency has only escalated the unrest in the Middle East and primarily in Afghanistan, and he seems to be doing nothing to even attempt to sooth the issues revolving around America's involvement there. One of the biggest components however, which I feel is often overlooked, is his lack of addressing America's core intentions in international affairs. There are specific and pressing issues, such as America's interactions and general agreements with both Russia and China, but after listening to the full speech, he never seems to actually present a clearly ideal moral compass to follow when approaching issues pertaining to, well, just about anything. For the most part he seemed to be merely placing emphasis on achievements which are often sorely taken out of context and exaggerated with comparison to statistics considered to be staggering. He presented no proper plan or sense of direction for the United States, both domestically, or internationally. As a result I believe it to be highly important that American citizens take the time to inform themselves on foreign policies, as out president does not seem to be doing so by any stretch. I am sorely disappointed by his State of the Union, and I feel as though American citizens have the right to be as well.
ReplyDeleteEven though Trump spoke of doing things for a better future for the United States, he failed to specify his plans & skimmed the very surface of each topic he addressed. He primarily congratulated & recognized people who have done great acts, almost as if to take up time & to avoid having to get into the nitty gritty details about his "plans" for the future. Many questions were left unanswered, such as why he sent troops into Syria, further discomforting me as it seems like he is not fully intending on trying to avoid war, but rather pushing boundaries which may result in further involvement in conflicts, like Sydney stated. I feel like his speech didn't truly address anything important, and left me confused and in the dark as I have no clue what he intends on doing for the greater good of the people of America.
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