People are worried about Donald Trump’s state of mind after he sent a very odd tweet regarding the current situation in Northern Syria.
Trump took to Twitter to defend his controversial decision to pull US troops from Northern Syria, which opponents from both sides of the aisle say leaves our allies, the Kurds, to die at the hands of Turkish invaders.
Trump tweeted “As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!).”
Many people have considered some of Trump’s more outlandish tweets to be more than just funny or something to mock. The president has used language like this before, stating “I am the chosen one,” and citing himself as the source of a quote that he is a “very stable genius.” These statements raise a number of red flags for many political commentators.
Representative Katherine Clark (D-Mass) tweeted “Trump’s narcissism is a threat to our national security and stability around the globe,” adding that America’s real “great and unmatched wisdom” is in its democracy and peacefulness.
Walter Shaub, a former director of ethics for the Obama administration, tried to put the situation into terms everyone could understand. “If the leader of a major corporation publicly explained that a controversial action was taken “in my great and unmatched wisdom,” the board would call an emergency meeting to reassure shareholders and discuss next steps,” Shaub tweeted.
“For elected officials to ignore this is Russian roulette.”
Even people who are normally sympathetic to Trump are alarmed by his tone. Piers Morgan, a British TV personality who is often supportive of Trump, scolded him over the tweet’s language. “I, in my own great and unmatched wisdom, consider this tweet to be off limits,” the TV personality wrote. “Please destroy & obliterate it @realDonaldTrump – you’re the President of the United States, not some tinpot dictator.”
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), who is a frequent critic of Trump, tweeted “I never thought I would live to see an American President speak this way, using language the [sic] can only be described as authoritarian. Fellow Republicans, where is the line?” Senator Flake was not alone in his assessment of Trump’s language as authoritarian.
