Amerexit? Trump and the End of the Anglo-American Order. By Tom Engelhardt
Tomdispatch.com : Donald Trump may prove to be the ultimate Brexiteer. Back in August 2016, in
the midst of his presidential campaign, he proudly tweeted, “They will soon be calling me MR. BREXIT!” On the subject
of the British leaving the European Union (EU) he’s neither faltered nor
wavered. That June, he was already cheering on British voters, 51.9% of whom had just opted for Brexit in a
nationwide referendum. They had, he insisted, taken “their country back” and he
predicted that other countries, including you-know-where, would act similarly.
As it happened, Mr. “America First” was proven anything but wrong in November
2016.
Ever since, he’s been
remarkably eager to insert himself in Britain’s Brexit debate.
Last July, for instance, he paid an official visit to that country and
had tea with the queen (“an incredible lady… I feel I know
her so well and she certainly knows me very well right now”). As Politico put it at the time, “In just a matter of a few hours,
he snubbed the leader of the opposition - who wants a close relationship with
the EU after Brexit and if he can’t get it, advocates a second referendum on
the options - in favor of meeting with two avid Brexiteers and chatting with a
third.” Oh, and that third person just happened to be the man who would become
the present prime minister, Brexiteer-to-hell Boris Johnson.
Since then, of course,
he’s praised Johnson’s stance - get out now, no deal - to the heavens, repeatedly promising to sign a “very big” trade agreement or “lots of fantastic mini-deals”
with the Brits once they dump the European Union. (And if you believe there
will be no strings attached to that generous offer, you haven’t
been paying attention to the presidency of one Donald J. Trump.)
In Britain
itself, sentiment about Brexiting the EU remains deeply confused, or perhaps
more accurately disturbed, and little wonder. It’s clear enough that, from
the economy to medical supplies, cross-Channel traffic snarl-ups to
the Irish border, a no-deal Brexit is likely to prove problematic in barely
grasped ways, as well as a blow to living standards. Still, there can be little
question that the leaving option has been disturbing at a level that goes far
deeper than just fear of the immediate consequences.
Remember, we’re
talking about the greatest power of the late eighteenth, nineteenth, and early
twentieth centuries, the country that launched the industrial revolution, whose
navy once ruled the waves, and that had more colonies and
military garrisons in more places more permanently than any country in history.
Now, it’s about to fall into what will someday be seen as the subbasement of
imperial history. Think of Johnson’s version of Brexiting as a way of saying
goodbye to all that with a genuine flourish. Brexit won’t just be an exit from
the European Union but, for all intents and purposes, from history itself. It
will mark the end of a century-long fall that will turn Britain back into a
relatively inconsequential island kingdom.
By now, you might
think that all of this is a lesson written in the clouds for anyone, including
Donald Trump, to see. Not that he will. ...https://www.juancole.com/2019/10/amerexit-trump-american.html
