This is how dictators behave. “President Trump has mused privately during his nearly 16 months in office about revoking reporters’ press credentials, according to multiple people familiar with his comments. On Wednesday, he brought it up publicly, tweeting ‘take away credentials?’ as a question. If he intended to provoke a reaction, he succeeded. Some journalists expressed outrage at the idea. Others dismissed it as typical Trump bloviating.”
Some lawmakers do act on principle. “President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal drew criticism from somewhat unexpected sources — lawmakers who opposed the deal then-President Barack Obama brokered in 2015. . . . ‘As I have previously said, this deal has an insufficient inspection regime, insufficiently addresses long range ICBM missile development, and is limited to 10 years, giving the appearance of permission to develop nuclear weapons in the future,” [Rep. Michael R. Turner (R-Ohio)] said in a statement. ‘However, without proof that Iran is in violation of the agreement, it is a mistake to fully withdraw from this deal. Now, we need to work with our allies to fix this flawed agreement to ensure the world is not facing a nuclear Iran.'” Read the whole thing.
One does not conduct foreign policy based on impulse. Rep. Edward R. Royce (R-Calif.): “‘I believe the best path forward at this point is to continue pushing to fix these flaws as we enforce the hell out of the deal,’ the California Republican said, noting he fears withdrawal will set back efforts to galvanize allies to do more to address Iran’s dangerous activities.'”
Tamara Cofman Wittes warns this is no way for America to acquit itself. “In withdrawing from the JCPOA, Trump once again delivered on a campaign promise regarding foreign policy without much concern for the effects on broader U.S. interests or relationships. . . . All together, the picture is of Trump’s determination to abandon a traditional American role managing conflicts and stabilizing the region, instead leaving American partners there empowered to pursue their own agendas unconstrained. As Iran continues to press its advantage in Syria, Israel and Jordan are increasingly alarmed.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association realizes that it better operate like a defender of the First Amendment (and stop apologizing for comic jabs at Trump): “Some may excuse the president’s inflammatory rhetoric about the media, but just because the president does not like news coverage does not make it fake. A free press must be able to report on the good, the bad, the momentous and the mundane, without fear or favor. And a president preventing a free and independent press from covering the workings of our republic would be an unconscionable assault on the First Amendment.”
Europe will have to function as the grown-up defenders of the West’s interests. “European powers, jolted by the U.S. decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal, turned attention Wednesday to trying to save the pact by preserving enough of the deal’s economic benefits to persuade Tehran to stay on board. But they face a tall task, as the U.S. threatens punitive sanctions to companies doing business with Iran and Iranian officials expressing diffidence that the Europeans can deliver enough economic benefits to stick with the accord.”
A damning indictment of right-wing talk show hosts who serve as cheerleaders for mob rule. “Many words might accurately characterize the sort of commentator who responds to an FBI investigation he believes to be unfair — but that is lawfully constituted, overseen by Congress, and embraced by a huge popular majority — by indulging fantasies about his minority faction marching on D.C. to oust its leader with mob pressure. Absent among those words is ‘conservative.'”