I am going to vent about Trump slagging @VOANews because I came of age during the late Cold War under Reagan. Younger people cannot imagine how deeply un-American Trump is being on this subject (as he is on so many subjects, yes). /1
Whatever you think of other Reagan policies, one of the most effective things he did in the 80s was to renew the fight against the Soviet Union using public diplomacy - one of the most cost effective and powerful tools of a democracy. VOA, Radio Liberty and Radio Free Europe. /2
This hits home for me; the first professional publication I ever had was for Radio Liberty, and I know that VOA and RL and other outlets were scrupulous in their attempts to bring honest reporting and American culture to people in oppressed nations. Trump knows none of this. /3
I also held the Forrest Sherman Chair in Public Diplomacy at the Naval War College for years. I know a thing or two about this subject. Trump is lighting a national treasure on fire purely because he wants some pal in the job. He has no idea what any of these outlets do. /4
If the former leaders of the USSR could see all this right now, they'd be laughing with glee, but also shedding a tear that they had to go up against Ronald Reagan (and Truman, and JFK, and Nixon) instead of against the stupidest, least patriotic president in US history. /5
We won the Cold War because we were a different country then. If we ever have to stand up and defend our values and lead the world again, we'll have to do it in Chinese or Russian or Arabic if we have another term under an un-American ignoramus like our current POTUS. /6x
