Donald Trump laid out nothing of value in his sham Afghanistan speech Monday other than a general commitment to stay militarily engaged there with zero details about that engagement and even less of a diplomatic strategy. But details weren't necessary for Steve Bannon and his Breitbart crew to know that Trump had once again bailed on all his campaign pledges to ditch U.S. involvement abroad, and they weren't particularly soothed by his new "principled realism" approach. Breitbart pounced, saying the speech "confirmed the fears of many on the right that without a strong nationalist voice in the West Wing, the president would revert to the same old fare that Americans had voted to reject in November." Politico writes:
“Trump’s ‘America First’ Base Unhappy with Flip-Flop Afghanistan Speech,” blared one headline.
The lead of the main story contained a series of subtle digs: “President Trump unveiled his plan for Afghanistan after seven months of deliberation Monday evening, announcing tweaks around the edges of the current strategy instead of a different approach,” read the lead sentence of Breitbart’s wrap on the speech. [...]
One piece was headlined “His McMaster’s voice: Is Trump’s Afghanistan policy different from Obama?” It amounted to a two-fer: Ripping national security adviser H.R. McMaster — a former Bannon rival — and likening Trump’s decisions to those of Obama.
Another article drilled down on similarities between the two presidents’ approaches in Afghanistan, contending that Trump “specifically echoed his predecessor’s 2009 speech, after acknowledging that the war had gone on too long.”
Ouch ... being likened to Obama surely makes Trump's skin crawl.
But more importantly, get ready for more of this, only nastier. This was just Breitbart’s first shot across the bow at Trump, but given how thin Trump's legislative wins are shaping up to be, foreign policy will likely swell in importance over his term. That does not bode well for his Breitbart coverage. And Trump, with his freakishly thin skin, won't be able to resist taking swipes at Bannon and his team of writers. What comes around, goes around … only to come around again.