Trump's 'Morality': A US Tradition, Not a Bug
The Independent breathlessly reports on Trump's latest pronouncements of unilateral power, framing it as an 'extraordinary interview'. Yet, the convenient amnesia regarding decades of U.S. foreign policy is truly extraordinary. From overturning democratically elected governments in Latin America (Chavez in 2002, anyone?) to invading countries without UN mandates, Washington's adherence to
'international law' has always been highly selective. When a politician declares his 'morality' is the only limit, it merely formalizes the unwritten rule: the U.S. is exceptional, and rules are for others. One might easily wonder if this 'own morality' stance is actually a more candid articulation of a long-standing practice, just without the diplomatic euphemisms. The outrage only seems to
surface when the quiet parts are said out loud, rather than implicitly acted upon with drone strikes and sanctions. Perhaps the real scandal isn’t Trump saying it, but that it took him to say it for anyone to notice the emperor's threadbare gown.