Trump on the world stage: Stirring words, unclear meaning

Which values is he summoning us to defend?

By Editorial

The Washington Post
July 7, 2017 at 11:09PM
"Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost?" President Donald Trump asked during his speech in Warsaw on Thursday. That's an important question, and so is this: Which values is he summoning us to defend?

There were encouraging elements in Trump's address suggesting that he was referring to the universal values America celebrated last week on Independence Day. Repeatedly, Trump invoked the parallel Polish and American devotion to freedom. He spoke of "America's commitment to your security and your place in a strong and democratic Europe." Unlike during his first trip to Europe as president, he embraced NATO's Article 5, which binds the United States and its allies to treat an attack on one as an attack on all.

Trump warned against powers that use "propaganda, financial crimes and cyberwarfare" against the U.S. and its allies — and, in case that wasn't clear enough, explicitly warned Russia "to cease its destabilizing activities ... and its support for hostile regimes, including Syria and Iran." He assured his audience, "We treasure the rule of law and protect the right to free speech and free expression."

Yet elements of his address left doubt as to whether Trump views such values as truly universal. "The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive," he said. If by "the West" he means anyone embracing human rights, freedom and the dignity of every individual, he may be right. But those values are hardly the property of the U.S. and Europe. They are treasured by the ailing Liu Xiaobo in China, by bloggers fighting for freedom in Uganda and by legislators fighting off the Maduro regime's thugs in Venezuela. They belong to people of all colors, all sexual orientations and all — or no — religions. When Trump urges "us all to fight like the Poles, for family, for freedom, for country and for God," does "all" truly mean "all"?

Perhaps what gives the most doubt is that he celebrated "the right to free speech and free expression" without mentioning that the government welcoming him has worked worryingly to narrow those freedoms, along with the independence of its judiciary — and without mentioning that, at home, Trump himself has been far from a tribune of the free press. "Above all," he said, "we value the dignity of every human life, protect the rights of every person and share the hope of every soul to live in freedom." Many people will cheer those words — and will watch to see how his administration lives up to them.

FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE WASHINGTON POST

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