There are good arguments against President Trump’s foreign policy. North Korea, for example, retains its nuclear weapons program and is moving towards a resumption of long-range missile tests. China continues to consolidate its control over the Pacific Rim. Iran is readying a nuclear breakout. Vladimir Putin is heartened by the partisan impeachment battles over Ukraine.
These are issues that the 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls should jump on to offer serious alternatives. But they didn’t. And that’s a deep shame.
Why didn’t, for example, Joe Biden suggest a new deal for North Korea in which Pyongyang suspends its missile program but is allowed to retain a limited number of nuclear weapons in an internationally monitored site on its soil? For example, why didn’t Cory Booker pledge to offer Pacific nations’ new investment in return for a security alliance against China? Why didn’t, for example, veteran Pete Buttigieg say that being tough on terrorism doesn’t mean returning former terrorist strongholds to terrorists?
Instead, Democrats on Wednesday offered a mix of platitudes and weakness. Take the responses to a question from Andrea Mitchell as to whether they would ostracize Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over his murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Joe Biden said little, Amy Kloubachar paused and said, “We need a new foreign policy,” and Cory Booker said, “The values of freedom and democracy are what we are going to lead with.”
Wow, thanks, Cory — that profound line will really scare our enemies. But none of those lines addresses the nuances of Saudi foreign policy or Middle Eastern politics in 2019. And that’s just one example. Another jarring moment came when veteran and scholar Pete Buttigieg joked about alligator-filled moats. And Harris said Trump had been “punked.”
A lot is said about Trump’s willful ignorance on foreign policy. And a lot of that criticism is fair. But the Democratic presidential field on Wednesday made embarrassments of themselves. They offered few ideas and little but deeply ignorant blue meat for their party’s far left.
None of this is a recipe for American leadership or security. Trump, suddenly, looks a lot more credible. And Putin and Xi have reason to smile.
