Let's talk about a GOP Senator, Trump's 'amateur hour' policies, and Greenland.... - Belle of the Ranch

Well, howdy there Internet people. It's Belle again. So, today we're going to talk about a GOP senator, Trump's amateur hour policies and knowledge.

Republican Senator Tom Tillis of North Carolina tried to inject a little common sense into Trump's foreign policy. Look, Tillis is not my favorite senator by any means, but at least he apparently understands that the Trump administration rhetoric on Greenland could end NATO and the US as a superpower. During a pretty lengthy rant, of which I'll give you the highlights of in a second, he basically called for Steven Miller to be tossed out of his job.

From the opening of his speech, he pulled no punches talking about Miller's comments specifically saying, "I'm also here to talk about what I think is amateurish behavior with respect to the treatment of our NATO allies." He went on, "It was an amateurish comment and something that a deputy chief of staff and senior policy adviser should not have taken the position on. Number one, he doesn't speak for the US government. He speaks for the president of the United States.”

Tillis said that Trump's rhetoric about Greenland is not the US government's position. He launched into a lengthy history about Denmark and NATO's relationship with the US. He talked about how Greenland is part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which apparently he didn't think was a known fact amongst his colleagues, then talked about Denmark's contribution to the US and Afghanistan. If you don't know, they contributed massively for a country of their size. He pointed out that NATO's Article 5 had only been used once to defend the United States and that Denmark suffered losses that were the highest of any ally on a per capita basis and that their troops were in some of the most dangerous regions. He entered a photo of US Marines thanking Danish troops for their help in Afghanistan into the record.

Once that was done, his tone changed from angry educator to, frankly irate and lashed out at Trump's yes men. “Folks, amateur hour is over. You don't speak on behalf of this US senator or the Congress. You can say it may be the position of the president of the United States that Greenland should be part of the United States, but it is not the position of this government because we are a co-equal branch and if that were to come to pass, there would be a vote on the floor to make it real, not the surreal sort of environment that some deputy chief of staff thinks was cute to say on TV. So, you want me back to thanking the president for the good things he's doing? Then give him good advice.”

One of two things happened with Greenland. Either one, the president came up with the idea that maybe we should have Greenland as part of our assets and somebody said, "That's a great idea." versus saying, "Mr. President, take a look at the most important alliance in the history of the United States, the NATO alliance--this could actually destabilize that.

He {Tillis} then pointed out that the US withdrew forces that had been welcomed in Greenland, noting that at one point we had 17 bases there. He then challenged the audience to find a single credible general who would say this is a good idea before returning to how he believed Trump got this idea. "The flip side could be that Mr. Miller or somebody else said, ‘Hey, this will be cool. Let's take over Greenland. It'll be like a big aircraft carrier.’ Well, that's stupid, too. And I'm sick of stupid.

He then added, "The amateurs who said it was a good idea should lose their jobs." A move against Greenland is so bad that even Thom Tillis knows it will be devastating to the US.

Anyway, it's just a thought. Y'all have a good day.