Trump's Big Foreign Trip!

um. I'm not sure anyone ever said that he never, ever was nice to anyone.  We said he often does weird, awkward, WTF, vulgar, sometimes awful stuff that most of us would not do.  I think that's actually hard to dispute, but your mileage may vary.  to note: there is no human who ever existed who didn't have people who liked them or had a good interaction with them. (Phew! I managed to get that out without mentioning Hitl...doh!)

I must ask if you are convinced by the people who've met Hillary Clinton and say she's smart, idealistic but pragmatic, tough-minded, indefatigable, funny, a very valuable colleague, and a superb representative of the United States all over the world.

And then I must ask that if you do accept those characterizations as accurate, whether you then rush in to defend her from those who say she's corrupt, dishonest, calculating, greedy, incompetent...

Some of those reddit stories... er, let's just say I'm unimpressed by an already starstruck person's account of a two-minute interaction with a billionaire celebrity wherein the celebrity was soooo nice! And stuff like, he gave us all a $100 tip, ZOMG. Dude, a billionaire giving you a $100 tip is like me giving you a nickel to split with your fifty closest friends.

Not to say he isn't nice/friendly. But it's kind of easy for someone who thrives on praise and adulation to be nice and friendly when people start out being totally awed by your very presence.

Also, I'm somewhat curious how many of those accounts were already established, with posting history. We all remember Trump aka John Miller.

Well, Trump's "will never forget" isn't that different from saying "we must never forget." 

In any case, if it helps, I can share a personal story that this reminds me of. This is a bit of an explanation for why I'm a little more sympathetic toward the message Trump wrote. 

A few years ago, I visited a synagogue in Sarajevo which had been turned into a Holocaust museum. The guide showed me around and afterwards, as I was getting ready to leave, I asked one final question about the Jewish community in Sarajevo. I asked him how many Jews were still living in the city, and he said about 500. Then he added that--before the Holocaust--it was more like 15,000. Of course it was easy to connect the dots: the vast majority of the Jewish community had been killed in the Holocaust. It was actually a very powerful moment for me. And the rest of the museum had been a powerful experience as well; there were some very shocking artifacts, like Stars of David which had been worn by actual Holocaust victims. And yet, all I could say in response was something like, "Huh, that's interesting." And I remember the guide had a bit of a surprised expression, as though what I had said made no sense as a response. And later on, I felt pretty strongly that it was a dumb response. But I think it was also a moment where I just didn't know what to say, didn't feel like I could articulate myself all that well. I know for sure that it wasn't because the experience hadn't affected me. 

I got the sense from Trump's message that he probably didn't have a pre-planned message in mind. He probably just wrote whatever came to him, I would imagine. I read Obama's message from his visit when he was a senator, and it was much more articulate and detailed. But it also came off as something prepared in advance, not so much off the cuff. And of course I'm sure many people who visit that museum are able to come up with deeper reflections off the cuff, as well. But I can understand why not everyone is like that, why not everyone can express themselves well when they're responding to something as overwhelming as the Holocaust. 

For what that's worth. 

Ah. I may have an explanation of Trump not being overwhelmed emotionally by the museum.

He only spent half an hour there. He'd requested to spend no more than 15 minutes, which apparently didn't go over so well (that museum, as you can imagine, is VERY important to the Israelis.  I think every Israeli I spoke to asked me if I'd been yet.)

He spent the time getting a brief explanation of the museum, participating in a ceremony, giving a short speech, and then signing the guestbook.

www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-trump-yad-vashem-note-20170523-htmlstory.html

www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4963527,00.html

forward.com/fast-forward/372286/15-minutes-trump-yad-vashem-israel/

But, yeah. If he just sat there and listened to someone give a talk, then he didn't get the overwhelming emotional impact most visitors do.

So now I get better why he wasn't emotionally overwhelmed, but I'm cringing at his request to spend only 15 minutes. I mean, it won't make Israel our enemy or anything, but it was a faux pas. That museum is a very, very important stop.

ETA:

Clinton also wrote something long and eloquent.  George W. just wrote "God bless Israel."  www.cbsnews.com/news/what-presidents-trump-obama-clinton-and-bush-wrote-at-yad-vashem-holocaust-memorial/   And not to do yet another comparison between Bush and Trump -- ok, I'm gonna -- that was just fine.  It's very short and simple, but it's got an appropriate message that is entirely about Israel and that conveys an impression he was emotionally moved.  THAT'S the kind of thing you write when you don't know what to say.  It's like "I'm sorry" at a funeral -- that's plenty, says all you need it to say.  But "it's an honor to be at this wake with all my friends. It was amazing -- will never forget" -- yeah, not so much.

ETA:


Gaah! He didn't go to Masada, either!

 www.forbes.com/sites/drsarahbond/2017/05/23/dear-mr-president-you-really-should-have-gone-to-visit-masada/#52a8a03643fa. That's the other really, really, really important symbolic place to the Israelis.  Also, it's an incredible site to visit, even taking aside the important symbolism.  Again, every Israeli will ask you if you went, and urge you to go.   

I was so busy worrying about his speech on Islam to the Saudis, I actually missed this stuff.  I just assumed that, since Israel seemed really important to him, he'd surely follow the usual protocol of visiting their most important places.  I think these are standard stops for presidents and visiting dignitaries.   Well, he hit the Western wall, at least, and half an hour is twice as good as fifteen minutes.  And I'm sure he and Netanyahu got on fine. 

He missed out, though.  He really did.  I would not have missed experiencing either place.  It was worth all the Israelis nagging me to go.

ETA:

I'm really surprised Jared and Ivanka didn't push him to go to Masada.  I'll bet they did push for a longer visit to the holocaust museum.

ETA:

I might have to post some Masada pictures. 

ETA:

I am just like an Israeli in that I cannot help but tell you where you MUST go on a trip, if I've been to the place you're planning.  Be sure and tell me about any trips you have coming up and I'll mod...er, I mean, advise you.

Well, he wasn't allowed in Mecca, so we can't give him a hassle for that (non-muslims not allowed). Damn it.

Apparently he'd planned to give a speech at Masada, the site did some preparations for it -- but then he learned that his helicopter wouldn't be permitted to land on the actual site (because it could damage it). The only way up is either via a very steep, snaking path, or else a cable car. The path might have been a bit much for him, but the cable car is easy. However, apparently he doesn't like cable cars, so he nixed the visit. Like I said, his loss -- quite an unforgettable place to visit.

I'll be curious to see how he mixes with the pope, who has done some criticizing of Trump.

I think given the history of the Jewish people and Israel, Masada has way more significance than the Alamo. But yes, I think the holocaust museum was more important.

I don't think it would matter as much if it it had been purely a matter of time, rather than his originally planning to go, and deciding not to do so because of the cable car ride. And putting the two together -- ugh.

My sense of the enduring symbolic importance of Masada rests in part on my own impression from my visit. I have an Israeli friend who was all "you must go." At my guest house, the staff were all "have you been to Masada yet? everytime I chatted with pretty much everyone, I was asked about those two stops. And until I could answer yes, they'd immediately follow up urging me to go and telling me about it.


No one asked if I'd been to Tel Aviv or the Sea of Galilee, or even the Dead Sea. (yes. yes. and yes, btw. don't miss the Dead Sea.) Christians asked me about the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (yes, and it's another don't-miss, even if you are an atheist), but never Israelis.

so, yeah, certainly not the end of the world, but I wish he'd gone.  I suppose I am more worried about this kind of thing with Trump because his interactions with foreign governments was something I was especially worried about, both allies and enemies. I feel certain he will stick his foot in his mouth often. I'd rather he not neglect symbolic type stuff like this.