Hoosiers Visits the Whitehouse

In a surreal moment, diplomacy evaporated and a new, and yet very old, reality was born at the White House. It was not just a dressing down of an arrogant (also brave) hubris driven leader, Zelensky, it was a signal to the world that America First has real consequences.

By now virtually everyone has seen the tableau: a dimunitive, poorly dressed, Zelensky, arms defiantly crossed staring at a bigger than life, perhaps most recognized figure in the world, Trump, is flayed and then defenestrated. Aargh, that was sight one will not forget.

In this week when Gene Hackman passed away, I could not but imagine this was a remake of one of his most famous films, Hoosiers. Recall the scene—Coach Norman Dale confronts George, a local guy committed to the team. George’s comments could be those of Trump, “Look, mister, there’s two kinds of dumb: A guy that gets naked and runs out in the snow and barks at the moon, and a guy who does the same thing in my living room. The first one don’t matter. The second one you’re kinda forced to deal with.”

Now all this was, as Trump later observed, “Great television,” but on the heels of JD Vanc’s Munich address demanding accountability from the governments of Europe for their abandonment of Western ideals of freedom, free speech and more, it has far greater meaning. Post-War (that is post-WWII) Europe was rescued by the United States. The Marshall Plan (Truman), “Ich bin ein Berliner” (I am a Berliner) (Kennedy) and “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” (Reagan) were watershed moments that preserved and fortified Europe. Each came at an enormous cost to the United States, financial and more, and each represented our most sincere beliefs of an era. Each promised a special reckoning, and each did just that.

For good or ill, and one may argue both, a new reality was born this past week at the White House, and it will be a very different world that goes forward. The tree has been planted, fertilized and pruned by Trump, and the fruit of that process will be borne out in the coming years.

In a sense, this ‘new reality’ is an ancient tale. A great nation (think Rome, Napoleonic France, the Commonwealth of Britain) spends and spends and then one day wakes up to a reality that there is no more money. What seemed like unending wealth ends, and the country/nation implodes, its power and prestige evaporate. With billions spent in the Ukraine (and much more elsewhere), virtually all of it borrowed money, the money was destined to run out, and with it so would go our future as a nation.

Trump believes he can reverse that slide into irrelevance and Vance clearly intends to be the scrivener, the voice, of that new approach. Together they are sending unequivocal messages. And, for now, I think that message also echoes an ancient phrase, popularized by Winston Churchill, “Nations do not have friends, they have allies.” While we stand by friends through thick and thin, we stand with allies when our interests are aligned.

Let there be no doubt, this whole shift feels uncomfortable. We cheer it—Trump stands up for us (or US, if you like), and we love that. But, once the cheering stops and reality returns, we must also acknowledge that the outcome of this shift will not be known for quite some time. Seismic shifts inevitably have unknown, often serendipitous, consequences. Do not doubt for a moment, that this earthquake in the Ukraine, has far broader implications.

Judge Jim Troupis

Retired Wisconsin Circuit Court Judge. President Trump’s attorney in 2020. Speaker, columnist, talk radio guest, father, grandfather and fisherman.