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Well, Donald Trump was humiliated again today in the Oval Office, sitting in the same chair where he was humiliated in the same way on Monday of this week. On Monday, he made history as the first U.S. President to publicly lie about America's oldest ally, France. With the French President sitting beside him, this created a historic humiliation seen worldwide. President Macron actually reached across to stop Trump from lying about France. Trump claimed Europe contributed less aid to Ukraine than the U.S.—a lie. Europe contributed more. He also falsely claimed U.S. aid was a donation, while European aid was a loan Ukraine had to repay. President Macron couldn't abide this lie and interrupted Trump, stopping him from continuing. Trump is, and has always been, uneducable.
Three days later, Trump walked into the same humiliation trap in the Oval Office with the British Prime Minister. He repeated his false claims about aid to Ukraine, stating that, unlike the U.S., which gifted its aid, European aid was a loan. He said, “You know they get their money back. By giving money, we don’t get the money back. Biden made a deal. He put in $350 billion and I thought it was a very unfair situation. We’re not getting all of ours. I mean, quite a bit of ours was gifted. It was given. There were some loans, but mainly it was gifted actually. It was gifted actually.” Notice the British Prime Minister’s left hand—he doesn’t touch Trump, but he does interrupt him, much like President Macron. Trump’s claim that British aid to Ukraine would need to be repaid was the only thing that forced the British Prime Minister to interrupt. The Prime Minister didn't correct Trump's exaggeration of American aid, which Trump more than doubled, claiming $350 billion when it was actually $119 billion.
This is a typical Trump lie, one the White House press corps has become accustomed to. They rarely challenge his numerical falsehoods. If any other president said $350 billion when the actual figure was $119 billion, every Washington reporter would pounce. But Trump's lying is now fully integrated into press expectations. Imagine a reporter asking, "Why are you lying about it, sir? Why do you keep lying about it, sir?" That actually happened during Trump's first presidency, when White House reporter Andrew Feinberg, fed up with Trump's lies, asked exactly that. A lone voice emerging from the clamor, asking, "Why are you lying about it, sir? Why do you keep lying about it, sir?" Of course, Trump didn't answer.
Today, in the Oval Office, Feinberg again asked the best question of any White House reporter. On tariffs, Trump claimed, "We charge them as we charge China, but the tariffs are paid eventually by American importers and consumers." Finally, a White House reporter confronted Trump with the truth about tariffs. Cornered, Trump did what he always does: he lied. "No, I think they're paid for by the country, but you know, look, we can get into that." It's like saying gasoline taxes are paid at the pump, when Trump says no, they aren't. We don't know if Trump is deeply stupid or knowingly lying. It's one or the other. The British Prime Minister heard the stupidest response by a head of state on tariffs. Some people lack a humiliation reflex. Perhaps Trump doesn't find this humiliating, but the world does.
After lunch, Trump and the Prime Minister held a press conference. In his opening remarks, Trump again proved his uneducability by repeating the lie that got him humiliated in the Oval Office. He said, "Much of the European aid to Ukraine has been sent in the form of loans for which they expect to be paid back, and we didn't have that honor under the Biden administration. He sent money or just send it money after money after money and uh never had any, any knowledge of ever seeing it back, maybe $300 to $350 billion." Manners prevented the Prime Minister from interrupting Trump's teleprompter reading. The reality is the Biden administration sent weapons and ammunition, manufactured in the U.S., costing less than half the amount Trump claimed. No European country expects repayment.
I was delighted when Trump called on Andrew Feinberg first for questions. Feinberg got it right, as he has in the past. He asked, "Earlier today, uh, you told me that you believe that foreign countries pay tariffs, but Americans who are concerned about higher prices believe, as most people do, that they're paid by consumers and importers when they import things into this country. Can you explain how you came to this belief that foreign governments are paying tariffs? And uh for the Prime Minister, did you discuss with President Trump his repeated statements of desire to annex Canada and has the King expressed any concern over the President's apparent desire to remove one of his realms from his control?" Both questions were perfect. Trump, having to answer first, spoke for 150 words without answering how he came to believe foreign governments pay tariffs. He didn't insist on it; he just talked in circles. He ended with, "But I will tell you, uh, it's going to make our country rich and it's going to stop us from being a laughingstock all over the world because we have been taken advantage of like no country has ever been taken advantage of. Thank you very much." Trump is a laughingstock for claiming he can tax other countries. Tariffs are sales taxes, paid by the buyer.
Feinberg’s question about Canada to the Prime Minister was, "Did you discuss with President Trump his repeated statements of his desire to annex Canada?" The Prime Minister easily replied, "You mentioned Canada. I think you're trying to find a divide between us that doesn't exist. We're the closest of nations, and we had very good discussions today, but we didn't." The laughingstock president who wants to make Canada the 51st state didn't discuss this with the British Prime Minister. We can believe Trump heard for the first time that Canada is related to the King of England.
The next great question came from a British reporter: "Mr. President, um, tomorrow you're seeing President Zelensky to sign this deal on minerals and energy that could be hugely important to the United States. Will you take the opportunity to apologize to him for calling him a dictator while praising Vladimir Putin, who is a dictator?" Trump simply said, "I think we're going to have a very good meeting tomorrow." A cowardly response when confronted with the truth. Trump is functionally speechless. He lacks the courage of his convictions because he has none, except for the 34 convictions he earned in a Manhattan courtroom last year. He doesn't believe anything, not even himself. When he calls Zelensky a dictator, he knows he’s lying. Called on it, he has nothing. The bluster is gone.
While Trump was being humiliated, Senator Ruben Gallego said, "This is a war that Russia started. Ukraine did not ask for it. They did not ask to go to war with a nuclear superpower, and they did not ask for their cities to be reduced to rubble. They didn't ask for their children to be displaced and families to be torn apart. If Ukraine had its way, this war would have ended years ago. What happened at the UN puts us on the same side as Russia and North Korea. That's not just embarrassing. It is dangerous. It sent a message to our allies and every other country that relies on the US to stand up to bullies and defend, defend that America cannot defend them and help them defend themselves, that America cannot be relied on to rightfully call out unprovoked aggression. It told them that they are on their own. That America's words mean nothing."