The price of ignorance

Donald Trump is distracted by shiny objects with no understanding of history.

Back in the 1970s, when the Cold War was still raging, the United States began building a new embassy in Moscow. In what seems like a failure of common sense, they contracted with the Soviets to provide concrete block modules for the building. After more than half the building was built, the US brought in some new-fangled x-ray equipment to survey the project.

According the an LA Times article in 1991, the inspectors found bugs throughout the blocks provided by the Soviets. The bugs couldn’t be detected by traditional x-ray machines and steel rods that looked structural served as antennas. In 1985, after six years of work and $23 million (about $68 million today), Russians were banned from the construction site and much of the project had to be dismantled and rebuilt.

So why in the world are we even considering using a plane provided to us by Qatar, a country that flirts with terrorists? Have we not learned anything from history?

Maybe it’s all just a distraction, but I think the story is really revealing to the rest of the world. Trump seems ridiculously naive and easily bought. Flattery gets you everywhere.

Trump seems more enamored with Middle Eastern princes than with middle income Americans. He fawns over their wealth and all its trappings. He’s a guy who values money and luxury. He was salivating over the plane because he wanted to enjoy the same level of ostentatiousness as Qatari royalty.

In the not too-distant future, Trump is going to find out that, somehow, he’s been had. The Qataris are probably getting a better deal than he is. The scenario plays out time and again.

Trump entered office fawning over Vladimir Putin. He was convinced that Putin liked him enough to end the war in Ukraine. Trump told us that he would end the war on day one of his presidency. Ever since, Putin has been stringing him along while our European allies see Trump as a patsy who’s easily played. They no longer consider the United States a trusted partner. They now consider us an unreliable ally. Putin 1, Trump 0.

Trump also got played by Netanyahu. Trump was going to end the war in Gaza and free all the hostages on day one. Remember when he told Hamas on February 11 to release all the hostages in five days or else? Three months later they are still being held hostage.

Trump is like a toddler, distracted by shiny objects and unaware of history. He gets played because his eye is always on what he wants, not what’s best for the people he serves. He’s ignorant of history so he never learns the lesson that it teaches. He makes the same mistakes over and over again. Unfortunately, we all pay the price: The United States is less respected by both our friends and our enemies and we’re losing the influence we once took for granted.