Reminiscences and Current Circumstances

We're visiting Bonn, Germany, a small German town that inadvertently served as Germany’s capital city for over 40 years because the Russians sealed off east Germany, and with it, Berlin. So locals called it ”the capital village.” I was here in 1963, when President John F. Kenny visited Germany and spoke from the staircase of the town hall (pictured). An enormous audience came out to see him, filling the square and neighboring streets. I stood in this square that was body to body and held my camera high to get a photo of him.

He was the first American President to visit Germany after the end of the horrible world war. He pledged America’s support for German democracy and the German people loved him. He then went to Berlin and promised to stand firmly by West Berlin against the Russians, uttering the famous statement, ”Ich bin ein Berliner.”

Months later, he was assassinated. Throughout Germany, he was deeply mourned. In the department store restaurant where we ordinarily ate, it was almost completely quiet. Hardly anyone spoke.

Germans felt the same love for Barack Obama, turning out to see him by the hundreds of thousands before he became President, prompting his U.S. political opponents to churlishly mock him as a “celebrity.”  They being “real Americans.” This was effective in some of the parts of the country that posted on social media: “He’s different.” Wink wink, nod nod.

So on the train yesterday, I picked up a Bild Zeitung and read that Trump is angry with Angela Merkel and threatening to withdraw all American troops from Germany. Angela Merkel has been Germany’s Chancellor since 2005.  She has a PhD in chemistry and has worked as a research scientist.  Donald Trump hosted a reality TV show.  Before that, he bankrupted his casino, his charity has been closed down for mismanagement, his “Trump University” has been fined for fraud.  The PhD Chemist vs. the Grifter.  The America First guy supported by the Russians is threatening to abandon Germany, damaging if not destroying, everything America has accomplished here during the past 70 years. Because Angela Merkel isn't sucking up. Isn’t paying enough in protection payments. Allegedly.  But the underlying issue is that he’s following the narcissist playbook: Create a problem, then fix the problem you created, then demand praise for fixing the problem you created.

So we’ve come 180 degrees, from protecting Germany from the Russians to the Russian puppet bullying Germany. Germans are rightly dismayed. They have experience with how badly things can go wrong when a clown and a bully becomes The Leader.

Reminiscences and Current Circumstances. 
We're visiting Bonn, Germany, a small German town that inadvertently served as Germany’s capital city for over 40 years because the Russians sealed off east Germany, and with it, Berlin. So locals called it ”the capital village.” I was here in 1963, when President John F. Kenny visited Germany and spoke from the staircase of the town hall (pictured). An enormous audience came out to see him, filling the square and neighboring streets. I stood in this square that was body to body and held my camera high to get a photo of him.
He was the first American President to visit Germany after the end of the horrible world war. He pledged America’s support for German democracy and the German people loved him. He then went to Berlin and promised to stand firmly by West Berlin against the Russians, uttering the famous statement, ”Ich bin ein Berliner.”
Months later, he was assassinated. Throughout Germany, he was deeply mourned. In the department store restaurant where we ordinarily ate, it was almost completely quiet. Hardly anyone spoke.
Germans felt the same love for Barack Obama, turning out to see him by the hundreds of thousands before he became President, prompting his U.S. political opponents to churlishly mock him as a “celebrity.”  They being “real Americans.” This was effective in some parts of the country that posted on social media. “He’s different.” Wink wink, nod nod.
So on the train yesterday, I picked up a Bild Zeitung and read that Trump is angry with Angela Merkel and threatening to withdraw all American troops from Germany. Angela Merkel has been Germany’s Chancellor since 2005.  She has a PhD in chemistry and has worked as a research scientist.  Donald Trump hosted a reality TV show.  Before that, he bankrupted his casino, his charity has been closed down for mismanagement, his “Trump University” has been fined for fraud.  The PhD Chemist vs. the Grifter.  The America First guy supported by the Russians is threatening to abandon Germany, damaging if not destroying, everything America has accomplished here during the past 70 years. Because Angela Merkel isn't sucking up. Isn’t paying enough in protection payments. Allegedly.  But the underlying issue is that he’s following the narcissist playbook: Create a problem, then fix the problem you created, then demand praise for fixing the problem you created.
So we’ve come 180 degrees, from protecting Germany from the Russians to the Russian puppet bullying Germany. Germans are rightly dismayed. They have experience with how badly things can go wrong when a clown and a bully becomes The Leader.