Liberals outraged by Trump using a phone

Soon to be former President Obama once famously boasted that he had a pen and a phone, and if Congress didn't do what he wanted to, he would act unilaterally. Liberals didn't have a problem with that. But now that Trump is using a phone, liberals are outraged. Imagine what color they will turn when he whips out his pen! The left is outraged that Trump spoke to foreign leaders without the sage counsel of the State Department. Look at the New York Times' inflammatory, and untrue headline: "How Trump's Calls to World Leaders Are Upsetting Decades of Diplomacy."

Decades of diplomacy! Among Trump's alleged missteps is that he spoke to the leader of Taiwan. Evidently, no president has spoken to the leader of Taiwan since 1979 for fear of upsetting China. But Trump did, and now China is upset. It is almost as if we are considering our own national interests before China's. Taiwan is a democracy; China is a communist country with expansionist ambitions. I'm sure the State Department would not have advised Trump to do this, and I am glad he didn't consult with them first. Trump also spoke to Rodrigo Duterte, the leader of the Philippines, who had terrible relations with Obama, calling him a "son of a b----." After the conversation, Duterte immediately signaled better relations with the United States. I would call that a foreign policy success. Liberals are enraged by this call because Duterte has been executing drug dealers instead of releasing them from prison, as Obama has done. It seems in one immediate stroke that Trump has improved relations with a nation in a strategic location near the disputed South China Sea. Trump also called Theresa May, the prime minister of Great Britain, but did not call her first before other nations. That is supposed to be offensive. He also asked that Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party, be named ambassador to the U.S. That is supposed to offend the British, too. But it is hard to find British government officials who are offended. Another shocking event: Trump called Pakistan a "wonderful country" and accepted an invitation to visit. There I agree with critics. Pakistan, which developed nuclear weapons and has aided the Taliban for years, protected Osama bin Laden, and allows radical schools to flourish, is not a wonderful country. But again, those are just words. I think it is clear that the media, which has been slumbering in bed with Obama for eight years, only waking long enough to bestow wet kisses, will be critical of every act of the Trump administration. And so far, Trump has only a phone. What do you think the media will say when he starts using his pen? Ed Straker is the senior writer at NewsMachete.com.