Fareed Zakaria (CNN) says that Senator John McCain’s speech on Monday (October 16, 2017), in which he warned America against turning its back on international leadership in favor of “some half-baked, spurious nationalism,” was an “extraordinary” reminder of what the United States has traditionally stood for.
“One hates to politicize a speech like this, but it was clearly a frontal attack on what is essentially President Donald Trump’s worldview,” Fareed says.
“Trump has for decades been expressing this extremely narrow view of America’s place in the world. Since the 1980s, he has been complaining that the United States is being taken advantage of by the Japanese. More recently, he has said America is being taken advantage of by its NATO allies. And, of course, there are the complaints about the United Nations and China.
“McCain struck a very different note in his speech, and in doing so challenged President Trump head-on. He noted that for the last 75 years, the United States has been a country that is about the very opposite of Trump’s worldview – one that tries to uphold international order, that tries to create a world of peace and prosperity and rules.
“Unfortunately, what we have been seeing is the United States withdrawing – from the Paris climate agreement, from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And now NAFTA seems like it could be on the verge of collapse. As a result, the foundations of the international order that John McCain so eloquently praised are crumbling before our eyes.”
Do you agree with McCain's stand? To what extent is he right or wrong?
“One hates to politicize a speech like this, but it was clearly a frontal attack on what is essentially President Donald Trump’s worldview,” Fareed says.
“Trump has for decades been expressing this extremely narrow view of America’s place in the world. Since the 1980s, he has been complaining that the United States is being taken advantage of by the Japanese. More recently, he has said America is being taken advantage of by its NATO allies. And, of course, there are the complaints about the United Nations and China.
“McCain struck a very different note in his speech, and in doing so challenged President Trump head-on. He noted that for the last 75 years, the United States has been a country that is about the very opposite of Trump’s worldview – one that tries to uphold international order, that tries to create a world of peace and prosperity and rules.
“Unfortunately, what we have been seeing is the United States withdrawing – from the Paris climate agreement, from the Trans-Pacific Partnership. And now NAFTA seems like it could be on the verge of collapse. As a result, the foundations of the international order that John McCain so eloquently praised are crumbling before our eyes.”
Do you agree with McCain's stand? To what extent is he right or wrong?
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