The Trump administration's latest self-contradictory trolling
Trump reportedly might sanction Chinese officials for detaining Muslims. That's … ironic.
As the world continues to devour the "we're all going to die"-inducing revelations of Bob Woodward's Fear, it's worth pausing to consider the slower-motion disaster of the Trump administration: Our nation is losing its moral authority.
According to a New York Times report, administration officials are weighing sanctions against "Chinese senior officials and companies to punish Beijing's detention of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Uighurs and other minority Muslims in large internment camps."
About which:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In normal times, we would expect the U.S. government to seek to punish such abuses.
Alas, we do not live in normal times. To quote the cliche we tell our toddlers, when we point a finger abroad, there are now four fingers pointing back at us.
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. government has specifically targeted Muslims with its infamous (and Supreme Court-blessed) travel ban. And it has ordered the forcible separation of children from their migrant parents, confined them to, well, detention camps, and created hundreds of orphans in the process.
Am I suggesting a moral equivalence between the United States and China?
No, I am not. To be sure: The Trump administration is not trying to indoctrinate Muslims or force them to denounce their religion. And the best thing that can be said of its policy toward migrant families that cross the southern border is that it's small-fry compared to the scale of China's detention of ethnic and religious minorities.
However: No matter what you think about the United Nations human rights panel in Geneva and its thorny relations with Israel, alarms should go off when it declares that behavior by America's government "may amount to torture." And, after all, many of the same U.N. human rights officers are helping to spotlight the case against Chinese abuses now.
Look, our nation had a divisive debate about a different form of torture in the recent past. The point is not to rehash that. The problem now is — to quote that anonymous op-ed-writing administration official — the president of the United States is "amoral." Everyone in the world knows this, and, when they're honest, his most obnoxious defenders admire him for it.
To delve into the details of the Times report is to be reminded that there's a significant tranche of Republican "normies" who populate the Trump administration. The fact that we're even considering these sanctions is a refreshing blast from the blast.
And there, the game is given away. If we've learned anything about the inner-workings of the Trump administration over the last 18 months, it's that the most skilled White House officials and outside pleaders know how to manipulate him to achieve their own exogenous goals. The administration officials and congressional allies who truly care about curbing Chinese human rights abuses no doubt framed the imposition of sanctions as a way to squeeze the Xi regime on trade and, perhaps, ongoing negotiations over North Korea.
To use a basketball analogy, a couple of human rights points are scored off a geopolitical bank shot.
That's the best we can expect right now in this indefinite period of moral decline.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Scott Galupo is a freelance writer living in Virginia. In addition to The Week, he blogs for U.S. News and reviews live music for The Washington Post. He was formerly a senior contributor to the American Conservative and staff writer for The Washington Times. He was also an aide to Rep. John Boehner. He lives with his wife and two children and writes about politics to support his guitar habit.
-
The week's best photos
In Pictures Playful goslings, an exploding snowman, and more
By Anahi Valenzuela, The Week US Published
-
What is rock flour and how can it help to fight climate change?
The Explainer Glacier dust to the rescue
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: April 19, 2024
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How green onions could swing South Korea's election
The Explainer Country's president has fallen foul of the oldest trick in the campaign book, not knowing the price of groceries
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Ukraine's battle to save Kharkiv from Putin's drones
The Explainer Country's second-largest city has been under almost daily attacks since February amid claims Russia wants to make it uninhabitable
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
India elections 2024: the logistics of world's biggest vote
The Explainer More than 10% of the world's population is registered for a historic democratic exercise, with PM Modi likely to dominate again
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Erdogan set back in key regional elections
Speed Read The main opposition party flipped or held Turkey's biggest cities, including Istanbul
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published