There’s nothing like a blustery, warlike speech before a full house at the United Nations to heighten President Trump’s global image. He’s doling out threats, blunt talk and even the quick slap nickname of “Rocket Man” for North Korea’s dictator.
The president’s first full-dress appearance before the world body is a primer on the harsh doctrines of his “America first” nationalism. He’s not wavering from his campaign-trail disparagement of foreign foes or global pacts. There was little call for unity, conciliation or diplomacy, the United Nations’ stock-in-trade.
Instead Trump is enumerating a roll call of White House foes. He ridiculed a deal to limit Iran’s nuclear work, denounced Venezuela’s authoritarian president and criticized “radical Islamic terrorism” and corners of the world that are “going to hell.” He saved his angriest words for North Korea, which he threatened to “totally destroy” if its impulsive dictator continues with a missile-equipped nuclear program.
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Trump’s targets are all undeniable problem areas that carry harm for both the U.S. and other nations. A presidential reminder of the stakes can be clarifying.
But his harsh words and pointed refusal to invoke the United Nations as a solution and by extension all negotiations and partnerships underscores the reckless nature of his shortsighted appeal. This country can’t hope to solve its worldwide problems by pushing past other nations and slamming down solutions that won’t work.
North Korea may be the prime example of this problem and the speech topic drawing the most notice. “Rocket man is on a suicide mission to destroy himself,’’ Trump said of the North’s impulsive dictator Kim Jong Un. If the U.S. finds it necessary, “we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,’’ Trump said.
Without naming Russia or China, he berated “some nations” that continue trading with the North and sustaining its feeble economy. Trump’s words are nothing close to the measured approach needed to unify allies and stare down an unpredictable and dangerous nation.
More unneeded trouble could lie ahead with the Iran deal. As a candidate he derided the pact that lifted sanctions in exchange for a verifiable halt to Tehran’s nuclear work. Now he’s calling the agreement “an embarrassment” and sharply criticizing Iran as a “rogue nation.’’ The agreement could be hanging by a thread.
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The world now has a clear look at Trump’s foreign policy thinking. It’s a troubling worldview that ignores the hard work of diplomacy in favor of narrow nationalism.
This commentary is from The Chronicle’s editorial board. We invite you to express your views in a letter to the editor. Please submit your letter via our online form: SFChronicle.com/letters.
