In yet another macabre turn from this administration, two Democratic members of Congress were banned from traveling to Israel on a fact-finding mission based upon a Tweet. What was once unorthodox, is now the norm as President Trump decreed federal policy via Twitter.
Make no mistake, this is not America.
The two Congresswomen, who are part of a four person freshman group, known collectively as the Squad, have been the target of Trump’s ire since they showed defiance of his administration and his policies.
They have been targeted for slights against Trump, by vowing to start impeachment proceedings. The two Congresswomen involved, Ilhan Omar( D-MN) and Rashid Tlaib( D-MI) are the only Muslim representatives in Congress, and are fighting back. They are citing this as yet another example of Trump’s racism and Islamophobia.
In instituting the ban, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the Congresswomen only wanted to visit as a part of a plan to damage Israel while Democrats, and even some Republicans, called it a way to punish Trump’s political opponents.
Whatever the reason, it threatens to damage Israeli relations with America. Netanyahu, like Trump, is also the target of investigations. This makes them unusual allies, so when Trump comments via Twitter, it’s likely that Bibi, as he is called, would follow through.
This is the first of many times Trump has issued policy via Twitter. China, North Korea, NATO and several other countries have been the subject of his Tweets. Turkey even slammed Trump for using Twitter to communicate policy. In response, Trump threatened to destroy the Turkish economy.
The irreplaceable damage this is doing to the image of America as a world leader will take years to repair. Relationships will need to be rebuilt and trust will need to be regained before America can resume its place on the world stage.
What was that again about making America great?