The political elites are deeply threatened, and so schoolmarm Kerry upbraids Trump for calling Merkel’s migrant policies a “catastrophic mistake,” which they are, as if Trump were a novice who needs to learn the ropes from experienced old hands like Kerry. No. Trump is not a novice who needs to be schooled; rather, he represents a repudiation of the entire mindset and world view that people such as Kerry and Merkel hold, and of the elite class to which they belong. If he follows through on his promises, Kerry and Merkel and their way of thinking will be decisively rejected, which is why the Left is so petulant and furious this week.
“‘Inappropriate’: Kerry Scolds Trump’s Criticism of Merkel’s Migrant Policies,” by Patrick Goodenough, CNS News, January 16, 2017:
(CNSNews.com) – It was “inappropriate” for President-elect Donald Trump to wade into another country’s politics by criticizing German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s migrant and refugee policies, Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday.
“I thought, frankly, it was inappropriate for a president-elect of the United States to be stepping into the politics of other countries in a quite direct manner,” Kerry told CNN.
He noted that Trump will be responsible for the relationship with Germany with effect from Friday.
“I think we have to be very careful about suggesting that one of the strongest leaders in Europe – and most important players with respect to where we are heading — made one mistake or another. I don’t think it’s appropriate for us to be commenting on that.”
In an interview with the mass-circulation German tabloid Bild, Trump called Merkel’s controversial “open door” policy for migrants and refugees a “very catastrophic mistake.”
Germany admitted nearly 890,000 migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in the Middle East and Africa in 2015, an issue widely seen to have boosted support for the populist right wing ahead of elections scheduled for this year.
Arrival numbers dropped significantly in 2016, to around 280,000. The reduction has been attributed in part to an agreement between the European Union and Turkey that helped to stem the flow of mostly Syrian refugees, as well as other factors such as the closure of borders in Austria and the Balkans.
In reply to a question, Kerry rejected Trump’s description of Merkel’s migrant/refugee policy as “catastrophic.”
“I don’t think it amounts to that characterization at all,” he said.
“It has had some problems, but everybody’s had some problems with this challenge of how do you respond appropriately as a big nation, as a great nation, as the West, where our values and our principles are important with respect to caring for people who are in distress, who are put into refugee status,” Kerry continued.
“We have a great history of that. And we’ve seen what happens when we don’t do that, and so I think she [Merkel] has been extraordinarily courageous. I think she’s been extraordinarily important to Europe as an entity.”
Kerry added that the Obama administration had “valued her leadership enormously.”…
There’s your problem right there.