David Frum Profile picture
May 9 4 tweets 1 min read Read on X
Biden making the same error w/r/t Israel that he previously made with Ukraine: trying to micro-manage from a distance somebody else's defensive war by limiting categories of weapons. This error doesn't limit war. This error prolongs war, by denying the ally the means of success.
I often think the Biden foreign policy would produce more success if its architects were less clever. "Give the Ukrainians/Israelis enough that they don't lose, but not enough to win" is an idea to baffle all lesser minds.
The micro-management of Israel's war is one part of a much bigger scheme: an Arab force to police Gaza, reform of the Palestinian Authority, a Saudi-US defense agreement, etc. etc.

Less clever people would have arrived at a simpler plan: fight Hamas until it's beaten.
Biden will seek re-election in November on a foreign policy record that includes the fiasco of the Afghanistan exit, inconclusive wars in Europe and Middle East, no new trade agreements. He needed one clear success. Israel's war could have been it. But no. Too simple.

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More from @davidfrum

Sep 20
Trump tonight: "I haven't been treated right .... If I don't win this election ... the Jewish people would have a lot to do with the loss."
I don't think of Trump as an antisemite, exactly. He stereotypes Jews, but he is not especially hostile to Jews. But he is tonight offering a "stab in the back" legend that will resonate powerfully with the next generation of MAGA that is more self-consciously antisemitic.
The next generation of MAGA pulses with antisemitic conspiracy theories and Nazi apologetics. Trump tonight invited them to regard his likely defeat in November as the work of the Jews. MAGA world has not many inhibitions against accepting that invitation.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 17
The difference:

The upsetting things said by Trump and Vance are not true.

The upsetting things said about Trump and Vance are true.

Trump really did mount a violent coup against the Constitution. He and his relatives really did take bribes in office, including from foreign governments. He really was helped into power by Russian espionage agencies. He really did steal secret documents from the US government after his election defeat. And Vance really did, and by his own admission, intentionally "create stories" for political advantage that put residents of his state at risk of physical harm.
When a group of right-wing extremists were arrested for plotting to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer during the COVID pandemic, then-President Trump shrugged it off. "Maybe it was a problem, maybe it wasn't."

cbsnews.com/news/gretchen-…
When a Republican candidate for governor of Montana assaulted a reporter who asked a question he didn't like, Trump praised the candidate: ""Any guy that can do a body slam, he is my type!" axios.com/2018/10/19/tru…
Read 7 tweets
Sep 15
I wrote this after the attempt on Trump's life in July. theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
Image
Trump and his running mate have spent the past week successfully inciting violence in Springfield, Ohio. Today they want to present themselves as near-victims of violence - in this case, of violence completely unrelated to themselves and at a very safe distance from themselves.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 13
Everybody remembers Ronald Reagan's famous question from the 1980 presidential debate, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?" But have you recently watched the whole 60 seconds? A link follows ...
Notice the simplicity and dignity of the language. Notice the temperateness of the mood. Notice that he "suggests" - not demands - the viewer's vote. Notice the respect for the voter's ultimate right of decision.
Reagan's greatest vulnerability in 1980 was the perception of him as intemperate. That's the fear that finished Goldwater in 1964: "in your guts, you know he's nuts." Reagan refuted the fear by consistently speaking temperately.
Read 4 tweets
Sep 12
There's no mystery about this election. Trump's party talked itself into the idea that their guy led some mighty popular movement. In fact a voting majority of Americans have rejected Trump and Trumpism every chance they got since 2015. Now they're readying to do it again.
Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million in 2016. He lost the popular vote by 7 million in 2020. He was under 50% approval in every reputable poll every single damn day of his presidency.
Trump's party lost the House in 2018. Trump's party lost the US Senate in 2021, because Trump personally cost the GOP two Senate seats in Georgia. In 2022, Trump's party lost -1 in Senate, -2 governorships, -4 state chambers. An expected "red wave" in the House proved a trickle.
Read 13 tweets
Sep 11
A Trump loss would be good news for the MAGA grifters. Their target market will feel even more isolated and aggrieved- therefore, even readier to donate to scam PACs, subscribe to antisemitic podcasts, etc. etc. 1/x
A Trump loss will fall hardest on those who wanted real-world results: big tax cuts for the very rich; the surrender of Ukraine to Putin; etc. Such persons had *goals*; MAGA offered only performance - a performance that once fluked into power, but was too weird to hold it. 2/x
Unfortunately for the goal-oriented, they had no means to protect their goals from the MAGA grifters. JD Vance was chosen to serve the practical interests of some very rich people - but he could not break the habit of disparagement of women, cat owners, etc. etc. 3/x
Read 5 tweets

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