President Trump vs the ProgDem and EU Swamps -- He Is Winning with Real People in Europe and in America

PRESIDENT TRUMP IN PARIS. Sometimes, I ask myself why we bother. Why does America keep saving Europe from its darkest demons, and protecting Europe from the dark demons that are seeking to destroy it? I know the answer is because somebody has to, and America signed on a century ago to do the job. I don't count Britain in Europe because it isn't really European. That is largely why it is trying to get out of the EU, if Europe will let it go. Money is the key. Europe doesn't 'want' Britain any more than it 'wants' America. But, it needs both America's and Britain's money and protection. Besides money, the Europeans want and need the British military and its IT security net. Without the British, there is no real armed forces in Europe, despite the fact that they have been talking about a European army for decades. And, without Britain's sophisticated security systems and networks, Europe is flying pretty much blind in this age of national security based on IT intelligence. • So, why bother? Why should the Anglo-Saxon world -- the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand -- bother with Europe? As my brother often tells me about mountain climbing -- a sport I really cannot understand -- it is because "it's there." • • • MACRON ALMOST WASHED EUROPE DOWN THE DRAIN LAST FRIDAY. French President Macron, for the umpteenth time, was calling for a Europe-wide armed forces when he said : “We have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America.” Landing in France Saturday to join world leaders in ceremonies commemorating the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I, President Trump tweeted a warranted response : “President Macron of France has just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Very insulting, but perhaps Europe should first pay its fair share of NATO, which the US subsidizes greatly!” • Retired Brigadier General Anthony J. Tata told Fox News : "President Trump was right to tweet an outraged response Saturday to remarks by French President Emmanuel Macron after Macron said in a radio interview that France and Europe need an army to defend against America, Russia and China. By saying that “we have to protect ourselves with respect to China, Russia and even the United States of America,” Macron naively paints America as a potential enemy. In so doing, he ignores the hundreds of thousands of American lives sacrificed on French and European soil to save the free world during World War I and World War II." General Tata said Macron could not have levied a greater insult at America and its veterans on this 100th anniversary of the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918 to end World War I and, ironically, save Europe. • The French and US presidents met Saturday and Macron tried to backpedal from his earlier comments, saying he had been misunderstood, and that what he really meant was the Europeans needed to spend more on their own defense and be less dependent on America to defend them, as President Trump has called on them to do. But, Macron’s diplomatic backpedaling does not in any way make up for his insult to American veterans. Macron knows full well what America has done for France and for all of Europe in the past 100 years. He should take some quiet time for himself and walk among one of the 11 cemeteries maintained by the American Battle Monuments Commission in France where over 60,000 Americans rest eternally, their headstones standing guard against further invasion. As many have pointed out before, without the United States the people of France would all be speaking German today. • General Tata noted that : "To further underscore Macron’s misunderstanding of his country’s security environment, his remarks about building a European defense force came in response to President Trump’s opening gambit to remove the United States from the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty with Russia -- a treaty that Russia has already violated and obviated. Macron would kneel before the Russian nuclear threat, unable to understand the overarching security implications of encouraging American withdrawal from collective security in Europe." • But, as we all know, America will never withdraw from protecting Europe. General Tata says the reason is "chiefly because Europe’s economy is central to the health of the American and world economies. Likewise, President Trump’s National Security Strategy states that China and Russia are our peer competitors. The strategy states : 'A strong and free Europe is of vital importance to the United States. We are bound together by our shared commitment to the principles of democracy, individual liberty, and the rule of law. Together, we rebuilt Western Europe after World War II and created institutions that produced stability and wealth on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, Europe is one of the most prosperous regions in the world and our most significant trading partner.' Further, the strategy identifies Russian subversive actions intended to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe and says : 'Russia is using subversive measures to weaken the credibility of America’s commitment to Europe, undermine transatlantic unity, and weaken European institutions and governments.' In other words, Macron is playing into the hands of the enemy. He fails to recognize both the sacrifice and the commitment of the United States to European security." BUT, says General Tata : "Macron’s ignorance is outpaced, though, by his disrespect. Calling America a potential enemy on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War is an unmitigated insult to American veterans everywhere. Instead of spitting in our soup, Macron has shamefully spit on the graves of the Americans who saved his country and on Americans who defend it today." • The US was a late entry in WWI, in April 1917, but over 1 1/2 years it became a key player and tipped the scales for the allies. At the war's end, the US had 2 million troops in Europe and another 2 million ready to cross the Atlantic if needed, a force that turned the United States into a major military power. • • • WHY BOTHER WITH EUROPE? According to NATO estimates issued in July, 2018, only 5 out of 29 NATO members -- Estonia, Greece, Latvia, the United Kingdom and the United States -- will spend 2% of their GDP on defense, the target set by the alliance. Macron has been long advocating for EU’s greater military autonomy. He has also maintained that France could not rely on the United States when it comes to the European security. However, some prominent military experts doubt that EU countries could create an effective defense structure. In particular, a 1952 treaty established a European defense community that was never built. Other efforts were limited to one-of operations, like the Franco-German Brigade, which took part in the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1996 and in military campaigns in Afghanistan. • The economic reasons for protecting Europe are not, in my opinion, the prime reasons the US remains the backbone of NATO and European defense. We stay the course in Europe because it is an inextricable part of our western democratic heritage. President Trump spelled it out in Warsaw, Poland, in 2017 : "As long as we know our history, we will know how to build our future. Americans know that a strong alliance of free, sovereign and independent nations is the best defense for our freedoms and for our interests. That is why my administration has demanded that all members of NATO finally meet their full and fair financial obligation. As a result of this insistence, billions of dollars more have begun to pour into NATO....To those who would criticize our tough stance, I would point out that the United States has demonstrated not merely with words but with its actions that we stand firmly behind Article 5, the mutual defense commitment. Words are easy, but actions are what matters. And for its own protection -- and you know this, everybody knows this, everybody has to know this -- Europe must do more. Europe must demonstrate that it believes in its future by investing its money to secure that future. That is why we...salute the Polish people for being one of the NATO countries that has actually achieved the benchmark for investment in our common defense....I must tell you, the example you set is truly magnificent, and we applaud Poland....We have to remember that our defense is not just a commitment of money, it is a commitment of will. Because as the Polish experience reminds us, the defense of the West ultimately rests not only on means but also on the will of its people to prevail and be successful and get what you have to have. The fundamental question of our time is whether the West has the will to survive. Do we have the confidence in our values to defend them at any cost? Do we have enough respect for our citizens to protect our borders? Do we have the desire and the courage to preserve our civilization in the face of those who would subvert and destroy it?" • Today, Europe is uncertain that it wants to pay the price of freedom. And so, we Americans and our Anglo-Saxon cousins are staying the course. We are standing up Europe during this era when it is too weak militarily, culturally and intellectually to stand up for itself. Just as Americans and British and Canadians and Australians and New Zealanders went to Europe's aid in World War I, and again in World War II, we are doing it today. Eventually, Europe will recover its force and stand shoulder to shoulder with us. Until then, or until the unthinkable happens and Europe walks complicitly into the hands of democracy's enemies, we Anglo-Saxons will be there -- because we understand, even if President Macron does not. • • • MACRON'S CALL FOR GLOBALISM. Not content with his all but unforgivable insult to America, Macron decided to push ahead with his insulting gibberish. When he should have been honoring the 8.5 million soldiers and 7 million civilians killed World War I -- a meaningless war started by Europeans -- President Macron chose instead to punch at President Trump on Sunday in Paris during his speech at the 11 a.m. Commemoration Ceremony. He called nationalism a “betrayal of patriotism” : “Patriotism is the exact opposite of nationalism. Nationalism is a betrayal of patriotism by saying, ‘our interest first, who cares about the others?....By putting our own interests first, with no regard for others, we erase the very thing that a nation holds dearest, and the thing that keeps it alive : its moral values.' ” • Macron said that “the old demons have been resurfacing." He was referring to nationalism. President Trump has declared himself a nationalist : “You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, OK? I’m a nationalist. Nationalist! Use that word. Use that word,” he told reporters at an October 22 rally in Houston. The President was referring to love of country. The Oxford English Dictionary defines "patriotism" as "devotion to and vigorous support for one’s country.” It defines "nationalism" as the “identification with one’s own nation and support for its interests, especially to the exclusion or detriment of the interests of other nations.” The two words’ are complementary. • And, the traditional meanings of patriotism and nationalism were not what President Macron was using. He was calling for a globalist world with no nation states and a supra-national structure that allows elites to call the shots for every country -- for example, a UN that decides worldwide policy and enforces it globally. Despite President Trump's polite thank-you to President Macron -- "Beautiful ceremony today in Paris commemorating the end of World War One. Many World leaders in attendance. Thank you to @EmmanuelMacron, President of France! Now off to Suresnes American Cemetery to make speech in honor of our great heroes! Then back to the U.S.A." -- President Trump did not stay for the afternoon session about "multilateralism" that Macron organized as the post-lunch event at the Elysée Palace. We can almost feel the President breathing a sigh of relief to be leaving the stifling globalist, anti-American affair in Paris. • • • THE ANGLO-SAXON WORLD LARGELY ABSENT FROM PARIS CEREMONY. It was America that held the torch up for the Anglo-Saxon world in Paris. • British Prime Minister Theresa May, another apparent target of Macron and Merkel's remarks amid the dividing European Union and Brexit, was not in attendance on Sunday. PM May visited France last week to commemorate the end of World War I, but decided to attend a separate war memorial service in London instead of going to Paris. Thousands of people marched to central London's Cenotaph war monument, where members of the royal family and other top British officials had placed wreaths. The AFP wrote : "Theresa May today [Saturday] marked the centenary of the Armistice by laying a wreath honoring the first and the last British soldiers killed in the First World War. She visited St Symphorien Military Cemetery in Mons, Belgium, which holds the graves of more than 500 soldiers, most of whom died during the Battle of Mons in August 1914. Joined by her Belgian counterpart Charles Michel, Mrs. May laid a wreath at the graves of John Parr, from Finchley, believed to be the first British soldier killed during the war, and George Ellison, who died 90 minutes before the Armistice came into effect at 11am on November 11, 1918. Their graves lie opposite one other, in what the Prime Minister described as a “poignant symbol that brings home the eternal bond between them and every member of the armed forces who gave their lives.” Queen Elizabeth, the head of the Commonwealth, along with two Commonwealth countries that suffered major casualties in World War I -- New Zealand and Australia -- held their own ceremonies. • And, Poland held its own official ceremony marking Poland's Independence Day, in Warsaw, Poland, on Sunday. The Independence Day in Poland celebrates the nation regaining its sovereignty at the end of World War I after being wiped off the map for more than a century. • • • PRESIDENT TRUMP AT SURESNES AMERICAN CEMETERY. President Trump was ridiculously criticized for not going to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial on Saturday in a hard rain that made helicopter travel impossible. The Cemetery is a World War I cemetery in Belleau in northern France, at the foot of the hill where the Battle of Belleau Wood was fought, and 6,000 Americans are buried. The trip by limousine would have taken 2 1/2 hours. • But, on Sunday, President Trump spoke at a rain-soaked observance of Armistice Day at the Suresnes American Cemetery outside Paris on Sunday. The Suresnes Cemetery contains the graves of 1,500 Americans who died in World War I. The President praised the "American and French patriots" of World War I, in a speech that sharply contrasted with the overtly political tone of an earlier address by French President Macron. President Trump was joined by senior military officials, members of Congress, and dozens of other world leaders, but he began by introducing several veterans and noting that it was Veterans Day in America : "Exactly 100 years ago today, on November 11, 1918, World War I came to an end. Thank God. It was a brutal war. Millions of American, French, and Allied troops had fought with the extraordinary skill and valor in one of the bloodiest conflicts in human history. We are gathered together, at this hallowed resting place, to pay tribute to the brave Americans who gave their last breath in that mighty struggle. Earlier, Melania and I were deeply honored to be the guests of President Macron and Brigitte at the Centennial Commemoration of Armistice Day. It was very beautiful and so well done. To all of the French military leaders and dignitaries in attendance with us now : Thank you for joining us as we honor the American and French service members who shed their blood together in a horrible, horrible war, but a war known as the Great War....On this day, in the year 1918, church bells rang, families embraced, and celebrations, as you know, filled the streets like never before, in towns throughout Europe and the United States. But victory had come at a terrible cost. Among the Allied Forces, more than one million French soldiers and 116,000 American service members had been killed by the war’s end. Millions more were wounded. Countless would come home bearing the lasting scars of trench warfare and the grisly horrors of chemical weapons. During the final battle of the war, over 26,000 Americans lost their lives and more than 95,000 were wounded. It was the single deadliest battle in United States history. Think of that -- 26,000 Americans lost their lives in a battle. Here on the revered grounds of Suresnes American Cemetery lie more than 1,500 U.S. service members who made the ultimate sacrifice in the First World War. Among those buried here are legendary Marines who fought in the Battle of Belleau Wood. In that treacherous forest and the surrounding fields, American Marines, soldiers, and Allied Forces fought -- and they fought through hell -- to turn the tide of the war. And that’s what they did -- they turned the tide of the war....Each of these marble crosses and Stars of David marks the life of an American warrior -- great, great warriors they are -- who gave everything for family, country, God, and freedom. Through rain, hail, snow, mud, poisonous gas, bullets and mortar, they held the line, and pushed onward to victory -- it was a great, great victory; a costly victory but a great victory -- never knowing if they would ever again see their families or ever again hold their loved ones. Here are the words of a young soldier named Sergeant Paul Maynard from a letter he wrote only a few days before the end of the war : 'Dear Mother, I think of you all at home, and I know if I am spared to get back, that I shall appreciate home more than ever, [ever] before. It will seem like heaven to me to be once more where there is peace and only peace.' On November 11th, 1918, Paul died in the final hours of battle, just before the end. No, sadly, he did not make it. He was among the countless young men who never returned home. But through their sacrifice, they ascended to peace in heaven. Rest in peace, Paul. The American and French patriots of World War I embody the timeless virtues of our two republics : honor and courage; strength and valor; love and loyalty; grace and glory. It is our duty to preserve the civilization they defended and to protect the peace they so nobly gave their lives to secure one century ago." • The President called out a young boy : "We're also joined by another very special guest : a 13-year-old boy from the United States. Matthew is in the eighth grade, and he worked and saved all of his money for two years to make this trip to France. He wanted to be here in person to honor the American heroes of World War I. Matthew, thank you -- you make us very proud. You're way ahead of your time, Matthew." • • • PRESIDENT TRUMP UNDER ATTACK AT HOME. At the end of his remarks at Suresnes American Cemetery, President Trump said : "Thank you all. God bless you. This has been a wonderful two days we spent in France. And this is certainly the highlight of the trip. Thank you very much. Appreciate it." • It was the "highlight" of his trip -- we can understand how weary the President must be occasionally as he continues to receive ill-will and snide remarks as a thank-you for trying to save Europe and the West. And, "Appreciate it" told me he felt like he was on American soil at Suresnes -- and indeed he was since all American military cemeteries in Europe are on land ceded to the US. • And, it is not just in Europe that President Trump is so badly misunderstood and disliked. • CNN and Jim Acosta are allegedly suing the Trump administration for removing the press credentials of the controversial reporter following an incident last Wednesday during a news conference tussle with the microphone between Acosta and an intern at the White House. According to ABC’s former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson, Acosta and his employer filed a lawsuit and are expecting a court hearing in the upcoming week. But, a CNN spokesperson would not say that it was going ahead with any legal action against the Trump administration, telling TheHill that “no decisions have been made.” • The mid-term elections in Florida, Georgia, and Arizona -- all won by Republicans -- are being "stolen" by Progressive Democrats in yet another effort to damage and unseat President Trump. Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio said Democrats are trying to “change the results” of the election. Rubio is warning that the fate of his state’s governorship could hang in the hands of Florida’s Broward County Supervisor of Elections Brenda Snipes, whom he’s called incompetent for violating state and federal laws. A liberal candidate similarly painted her as incompetent and corrupt. The races are the governorship and a Senate seat. Democrat gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum initially conceded the Florida race to Republican Ron DeSantis, but backtracked after vote totals changed Thursday, narrowing the gap to less than half a percent in both the gubernatorial and senatorial races. Broward County is often the slowest of the state’s 67 counties to count votes, and its election department has repeatedly been faulted for wrongdoing. AND, now, Perkins Coie lawyer Marc Elias -- the Clinton-Democrat Party loyalist election lawyer who hired Fusion GPS to create the Steele Dossier that smeared then-candidate now-President Trump -- has been hired to go to Florida to try to steal the Senate seat back form Rick Scott and give it to Bill Nelson. GOP Governor Rick Scott, who, by initial vote tallies, beat Nelson in the race for the Senate, said Elias will use aggressive techniques to “steal” the election. As Governor Scott said : "No ragtag group of liberal activists or lawyers from DC will be allowed to steal this election from the voters in the state of Florida." Scott has filed a lawsuit about the Florida elections process and accusing officials of "rampant fraud" in two counties. Senator Rubio said : "Bay County was hit by a Cat 4 Hurricane just 4 weeks ago, yet managed to count votes & submit timely results. Yet over 41 hours after polls closed Broward elections office is still counting votes?” Rubio also pointed out that Snipes “doesn’t know how many ballots are left to be counted” and that she isn’t regularly reporting results, which are “chipping away at GOP leads.” A judge found in August that Snipes improperly handled mail-in ballots, and ordered her not to open mail-in ballots in secret after the Republican Party complained. Snipes’s defense rested on a claim that she didn’t know what the word “canvassing” meant, even though she is on the county’s Canvassing Board. In May, a judge found that Snipes’s office broke the law by destroying ballots in the 2016 race between Wasserman Schultz and her opponent, Tim Canova, who said of the current vote count mess : "They’re using taxpayer money while bleeding us dry....We’re dealing with organized crime. I just don’t trust anything that comes out of this office." Senator Rubio also retweeted that a teacher said found a box of provisional ballots left behind at a school after Election Day. In Broward County, Miramar Elementary School teacher Lakeisha Sorey came across a box labeled “Provisional ballots” left behind at the school from Election Day and she’s concerned it might have votes. She didn’t look in the box because she didn’t want to tamper with it. Senator Rubio stated that by law, all early votes had to be counted by Tuesday night. Nevertheless, "48 hours after deadline," Broward had yet to report all results. Also by law, Florida requires a recount for races with a margin of less than 0.5%. Rubio, echoing remarks Scott made Thursday night, warned that Democrat operative lawyers were "descending on Florida" to involve themselves in the overdue count and likely recount in order to reverse the results : "This was not simple a case of 'incompetence,' but of operatives trying to 'steal' the election." Rubio tweeted last Friday : "The incompetence of & the violation of #Florida reporting requirements by #BrowardCounty elections dept could impact more than just the outcome. The last thing our already dangerously divided nation needs is an important election 1/2 our people believe was rigged by the other 1/2." • American Thinker's Monica Showalter wrote on Friday : "First the Blasey/Kavanaugh show, which was a redux of the Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas show. Now the Florida recount, which ecrudescences, well, the 2000 Florida recount. Are Democrats so out of ideas they can't come up with new dirty tricks? It's just getting amazingly predictable what they are capable of pulling. Having lost two or three close elections in Arizona and Florida, all of a sudden, they are 'finding' new ballots and attempting to change the outcome. Just like they did in Florida's 2000 election. In Arizona, boxes and boxes of uncounted ballots are somehow turning up, quite unlike in the rest of the country where the vote tallies get done and the state moves on, all because the losing candidate, far-left congresswoman and Code Pink activist, Kyrsten Sinema, seems to have narrowly lost to Republican congresswoman and fighter pilot Martha McSally for the vacant Senate seat. Never mind that Arizona is a generally red state and the late Senator John McCain who vacated the seat was a moderate Republican. Never mind that McSally comes fairly close to fitting into that military/moderate template, which would presage the outcome we see. And on the other side, never mind that the candidate was bad : crazy suddenly trying to act respectable tends not to win. Sinema was a tremendously flawed candidate with a far-left past, with mistakes quite comparable to those that sank past GOP Senate nominee Christine O'Donnell, and yet somehow, she's supposed to be the winner? Only if new ballot boxes are 'discovered.'....All of these things are suggestive of a party unable to take 'no' for an answer, and thus, unable to adapt to democracy itself. Democrats are reacting to everything they don't win with childish tantrums, and in each case, trying to move back the clock for a do-over. Yet they're using a really old playbook, not new stuff. As a party, they are run by gerontocrats, and their beloved socialism has failed in practice, so maybe they've run out of ideas. But it's significant that they are using the same sleights of hand they used 20 years ago, and thinking we're fools who'll fall for it. They aren't even coming up with new kinds of dirty tricks, they are just replaying the old ones, hoping for a different result. This has just got to fail in the era of Trump because one can only go to the well once in politics. Democrats' latest trick shows they think it's an open bar." • • • DEAR READERS, President Trump has Swamps to deal with everywhere. At home. In Europe. At home, the elections are scheduled and people vote -- but then the Democrat losers try to steal them through fraudulent recounts, tampering with ballots, and hiding the ballots they don't want counted. When it comes to the European Union it's easier -- people just don't have a vote -- the EU Swamp Creatures have lifetime jobs. American Thinker called it the "Euro-Swamp" a few days ago. After beating back the ProgDem-Swamp in the US mid-terms -- unless of course the ProgDems somehow manage to steal enough of the results -- President Trump flew to Paris to deal with the EU Euro-Swamp during the Armistice Day commemorations that ended Sunday. It was pretty easy. French President Macron is in deep trouble in France -- teachers are now staging a 'practice strike' in some areas before calling for a national strike, and November 17 the entire nation will be striking against high gasoline prices and other high and higher taxes. The un-elected EU is in trouble in Britain, Italy, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Greece. The Greeks and Poles have threatened to sue Germany for a trillion dollars in war reparations as compensation for what the Nazis did to their countries in World War II. The Greeks would have a good case for reparations from Germany for the German-led austerity that recently flattened Greece into permanent debtor status while Germany bought up Greek infrastructure on the side. Italy is now worried that its refusal to toe the EU budget limitation line will put it on the same Greek road to austerity and 'death of a nation.' There are signs of voter revolt all over Europe, and the EU elites are beginning to run out of tactics. Macron just suggested that Europe build its own military in order to protect itself from the US, China and Russia. Actually, it could be that Macron really wants an EU military to protect the EU elites and himself when ordinary Europeans finally revolt en masse. The new, peace-loving non-empire EU is neither new nor peace-loving nor non-empire. They are just like the American Progressive Democrats -- when things don't turn out their way, they throw a collective tantrum. But, European populist groups and parties -- call them nationalist if you like, they are simply people who want their countries back -- are gathering political steam by pointing out the very wrong EU agenda -- open borders, supra-national elite power, suppressing national cultures, and high taxes. Sound familiar?? The Euro-Swamp is the American ProgDem-Swamp gussied up in Fake independence from America. And, just like the ProgDem-Swamp, the Euro-Swamp plans to use US taxpayer money to kill the goose that lays their golden egg -- that's us, dear readers, there ain't nobody else. We can only rely on President Trump's unshakable determination and on Margaret Thatcher's words : "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." But, we know that President Trump doesn't plan to wait that long. So, President Trump landed in Paris to honor the WWI dead on Armistice Day, and when he saw that the Paris ceremony was just another Swamp tantrum against him and the citizens of Europe and America -- he went to the Suresnes American Cemetery to be on US soil and among friends. Most of France -- no matter what you read or hear, the French are still openly grateful to America for saving them in two wars -- would undoubtedly have preferred to go to Suresnes with President Trump IF they could have afforded the gasoline. Vive L'Amérique!