Thursday, December 06, 2018

Brian Mulroney takes a subtle swipe at Trump during Bush's funeral

Brian Mulroney takes a subtle swipe at Trump during Bush's funeral
We have heard how "eulogical" Brian Mulroney's eulogy of President Bush (41st) was. But not everyone seems to have noticed the subtle shade at Trump contained in the speech. Or if noticed, no one is talking about it yet.

Prime Minister Mulroney described President Bush with the finest of words: as courageous, leadership personified and attentive.

He very much talked about how Bush was a rallying point for leaders around the world during trying moments, such as during the Gulf War, the NAFTA negotiation, break up of the Soviet Union and the unification of the "Germanys".

Doing so, however, he made statements that many critics would assume to sharply contrast with Trump's attributes. After highlighting Bush's achievements in international diplomacy, he added thus:

There is a word for this. It’s called leadership. Leadership. Now let me tell you, that when George Bush was president of the United States of America, every single head of government in the world knew that they were dealing with a gentleman, a genuine leader, one who was distinguished, resolute and brave.

Prime Minister Mulroney from the excerpt above introduces President Bush as one who engaged with and lead other leaders. His leadership in Mulroney's opinion facilitated the resolution of the Gulf war, unification of the "Germanys" and ensured that the Soviet Union collapse did not result in dire international humanitarian crises. In contrast, President Trump is inward-looking with his America first ideology. He has pulled United States out of so many international pacts that could lead to theses collapse: the Paris Accord; the TPP; the United Nations Human Rights Commission and is threatening  to pull the plug off the nuclear weapon pact with Russia.

Countries are charting collective international path without United States. This is really not leadership in international diplomacy. Well President Trump seems to care less.

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