In 2015, while running for president, Donald Trump gave an interview to Stephen Bannon, not yet his campaign manager, in which he talked about Turkey.
“I have a little conflict of interest cause I have a major, major building in Istanbul,” Trump told Bannon during a Breitbart radio show. “It’s a tremendously successful job. It’s called Trump Towers — two towers, instead of one.”
Hold that thought.
According to the Bible, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. One can surmise that Trump’s betrayal of the Kurds, our Christian allies in Syria, came at a much steeper price to President Erdogan of Turkey. Or, perhaps it was enough for Erdogan to allow Trump to continue to enrich himself from his investments there.
Trump is now claiming that all American troops are out of Syria, yet another lie among thousands he has told. Apparently, our troops have been pulled back only far enough to allow Turkey to attack the Kurds.
Trump has also claimed repeatedly that we have defeated the Islamic State group. What he fails to say is that “we” refers to our troops and the Kurds and that, while we supplied the weaponry, the Kurds did the vast amount of fighting and dying. Their casualties are estimated to exceed 10,000.
Trump has also espoused the view that the release of thousands of I.S. fighters being held by the Kurds doesn’t matter because they will just return to Europe (presumably to kill Europeans, also our allies).
Judas at least had the decency to hang himself in remorse for his betrayal. There is faint hope that Trump will ever show any signs of remorse for condemning thousands of our allies to death.
Some time ago, I wrote that Donald Trump was, in my view, the Elmer Gantry of American politics. I was being too kind. I believe he is closer to Benedict Arnold.
Kenneth Yockey, Holladay
