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Dem strategist on Fox: Trump is "Somebody who likes to talk loudly and carry a small stick"

Donald Trump’s saber-rattling threat to bring “fire and fury” to North Korea was immediately and appropriately derided by a Democratic strategist on Trump-friendly Fox News. Reacting to reports that North Korea may have developed a miniaturized warhead that could be delivered on an intercontinental missile, Trump — speaking from his vacation destination golf club in […]

By Oliver Willis - August 08, 2017
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Donald Trump

Reacting to reports that North Korea may have developed a miniaturized warhead that could be delivered on an intercontinental missile, Trump — speaking from his vacation destination golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, with arms folded like a young child — declared, “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.”

Immediately after, Fox News anchor Jon Scott turned to Democratic strategist Christy Setzer for commentary. Her words were stinging, and probably upset Fox’s conservative viewers — including Trump himself, if the past is any guide.

“Trump is full of a lot of tough talk,” Setzer noted. She added that he is “somebody who likes to talk loudly and carry a small stick.”

Setzer also remarked that in a situation like this, de-escalation should be the goal, and that Trump “doesn’t seem to have a lot of ability to know how to do that exactly.”

SCOTT: Breaking news from the president’s visit to his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. During his opioid event, President Trump just said this, quote: “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States. It will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen. They will be met with fire, fury, and frankly, power, the likes of which the world has never seen.”

Christy, that is what the president just said from his working vacation in Bedminster, New Jersey. Tough talk, but these are tough times.

SETZER: Yeah, uh — tough talk. The danger for him is that President Trump is full of a lot of tough talk. He is someone who, as some have joked about, is somebody who likes to talk loudly and carry a small stick. That’s not the approach that we should be going after here. I just don’t think that, as I said, sort of, you know, verbal bullying and empty — potentially empty threats are the way to go. You want to de-escalate. He doesn’t seem to have a lot of ability to know how to do that exactly. I’m sure that there are cooler heads that can prevail in his administration, I hope that they will do so.

Trump’s behavior since assuming office has shown somebody woefully unprepared for international diplomacy and military leadership.

In fact, he seems determined to live down to Hillary Clinton’s warning that “A man you can bait with a tweet is not a man we can trust with nuclear weapons.”

Even the former generals in his own cabinet seem to agree with that sentiment.


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