Written by Andy Kim
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This is the most telling photo I’ve seen — Trump/Vance berating a wartime leader fighting against invasion directly in front of a bust of Churchill. It looks like Churchill is seated in the back, watching Trump kill the very US-Europe alliance that Churchill helped forge.
Why was the Oval Office exchange so humiliating to watch? It’s because every American alive today was born after the Greatest Generation led America’s rise to global leadership. What we saw yesterday was a surrender that could very well lead to American decline.
What we saw was a retreat from three basic pillars of American leadership: reliability, values, and impact. These are pillars that have been built over generations – from Americans landing on the beaches of Normandy onwards.
RELIABILITY: After Vance’s Munich speech, a Euro leader asked me, “If Russia attacks a NATO nation, would Trump respond to Article 5 defense?” We got our answer yesterday, despite fact that Article 5 was only ever used to defend America after 9/11. I didn’t hear Vance say “Thank you” too in his speech.
If America isn’t reliable – if we can’t be trusted to hold true to our word – then why would our adversaries believe that we’d defend our allies? Why would our allies trust us with intelligence that could be used to defend ourselves? Why would they come to our defense?
VALUES: Earlier this week, the US voted against a UN resolution calling for Russia to end its illegal invasion. Walking away from our values is not just a retreat from American leadership, it’s a reversal in everything people have fought for over generations.
Putting democracies before dictators is an American value. Standing up for our partners under attack is an American value. Never surrendering to bullies who want to hoard power at the expense of people who just want freedom and opportunity is an American value.
IMPACT: That’s why Churchill came to America 8 decades ago, to remind us of our leadership role and the impact it has around the world. To tell us that when American leadership retreats, our enemies fill the void.
Churchill reminded us that when America steps up:
“The subjugated peoples of Europe to lift up their heads again in hope. They have put aside forever the shameful temptation of resigning themselves to the conqueror’s will. Hope has returned to the hearts of scores of millions of men and women, and with that hope there burns the flame of anger against the brutal, corrupt invader.”
Trump should think of Churchill not as just a prop in the Oval Office, but as a reminder that American strength comes from our ability to forge a coalition together. It’s not about bullying, it’s about leading.
akintsucrooner 