On Thursday, before heading to Hamburg for the G20 Summit (covered in my next blog), President Trump delivered a major speech in Warsaw, Poland.
How significant was his speech? Here’s a pretty compelling answer, courtesy of key excerpts from the Wall Street Journal’s editorial about it:
The White House description of Donald Trump’s speech Thursday in Warsaw was simply, “Remarks by President Trump to the People of Poland.” In truth, Mr. Trump’s remarks were directed at the people of the world. Six months into his first term of office, Mr. Trump finally offered the core of what could become a governing philosophy. It is a determined and affirmative defense of the Western tradition.
But—and this shocked Washington—the speech aimed higher. Like the best presidential speeches, it contained affirmations of ideas and principles and related them to the current political moment. “Americans, Poles and the nations of Europe value individual freedom and sovereignty,” he said. This was more than a speech, though. It was an argument.
Mr. Trump is taking a clear stand against the kind of gauzy globalism and vague multiculturalism represented by the worldview of, say, Barack Obama and most contemporary Western intellectuals, who are willing, even eager, to concede the argument to critics of the West’s traditions.
It was an important and, we hope, a defining speech—for the Trump Presidency and for Donald Trump himself.
Given the unconditional hatred so many in media have for President Trump, it is not hard for him to outdo expectations: you might even call that disparity a strategic win for him.
But Thursday’s speech was more than just better than what we were led to expect. It was an unapologetic, optimistic view of who and what we are. An affirmation that we have no reason to apologize to the world for being ourselves.
It was a speech that Ronald Reagan would have been proud to make. And Mr. Trump should be proud to have made it.
I think President Trump has the potential to be one of this country’s greatest Presidents and one of the world’s great leaders. He alone may be the one who can save Western Civilization, I’m not exaggerating. I agree with Franklin Graham, who said something like “God placed Donald Trump in office and he will remain in office until God’s vision is complete.”
If the WSJ could write that maybe the rest of the media can give him a chance. He may just surprise them and the rest of his critics.