In the 48 hours following the attacks in Brussels, President Obama watched a baseball game and danced the tango, and that should make you very mad. As Council of Foreign Relations president Richard Haass explained on Morning Joe, “Baseball games and tangos, that’s inconsistent with the seriousness of the day.” CNN’s David Gergen agreed, saying, “When you go to a baseball game, it looks a little frivolous. When you’re dancing like that … people are looking for leadership here.” GOP strategist Ana Navarro called Obama’s actions “inexcusable,” especially considering that “the entire world is standing in solidarity with Brussels, is in shock, is in grief.”
But the most incisive criticism of Obama’s lack of solidarity came from the Republican front-runner.
What made Donald Trump’s rebuke of Obama so powerful was the way he followed up his words with actions, offering the very seriousness and leadership that the president had failed to provide. The morning of the attacks, Trump was the first American political figure to comment on the tragedy, telling NBC News, “I know Brussels and Brussels is a total mess — and I’m not talking about the attacks today!” Throughout the ensuing hours and days, Trump repeatedly assured the people of Brussels that he shares their disdain for the crappy, immigrant-filled “disaster city” they live in.
Beyond these expressions of solidarity, Trump has honored the seriousness of this moment by keeping his campaign for the Republican nomination focused on the most pressing issues facing our country, like whether his wife is hotter than Heidi Cruz.
Such displays of leadership reveal just how shameful the president’s dancing truly was.
