This past weekend, none other than Donald Trump was at a rally in Wisconsin expressing his disputed beliefs about North Korea and its threats to surrounding countries.
Claiming that the U.S. can’t be the “policeman” of the world, Trump stressed that the U.S. gains no benefit from sending troops around the world in order to assist other countries who did not repay American taxpayers. He urged the U.S. to start pressuring NATO member states to pay their fair share.
The controversial politician made sure to make reference to NATO members states such as Japan. Trump believes they should should arm themselves in order to discourage North Korea from attacking, instead of asking the U.S. for help. Trump blatantly disregarded the fact that Japan is constitutionally forbidden from retaining an army.
When questioned about Trump’s unpopular views on alliance protection, President Barack Obama made sure to express his opposition.
“The person who made the statements doesn’t know much about foreign policy or nuclear policy or the Korean Peninsula or the world generally.”
During the rally, Trump made sure to emphasize that his main reason for putting the responsibility on Japan to protect itself is so that the U.S. stops losing so much money.
“I would rather have them not arm, but I’m not going to continue to lose this tremendous amount of money,” he said. “If they fight, you know what, that’d be a terrible thing. Terrible. … But if they do, they do.”
In an interview with Anderson Cooper of CNN the following day, Cooper asked Trump if he was comfortable with Japan, North Korea and South Korea possessing nuclear weapons. Trump responded:
“At some point we have to say, you know what, we’re better off if Japan protects itself against this maniac in North Korea, we’re better off, frankly, if South Korea is going to start to protect itself . . .”
When Cooper responded in disbelief, Trump continued:
“Can I be honest with you? It’s going to happen, anyway. . . . It’s only a question of time.”
Well, there you have it, folks. It doesn’t matter if nuclear weapons could wipe out the entire nation’s population in a matter of seconds because “it’s going to happen anyway.”
Not only are Trump’s insensitive comments reflective of his irrational mindset, but his beliefs strengthen the notion that he is the absolute worst candidate for the U.S.
Clearly, it’s a recipe for disaster, and I for one want no part in his third world war.
Featured image by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license.
