Missing the reality Show

Beatrice E. Rangel

The beauty of modern times lies in the guaranteed unending parade of triviality that envelopes news castings and transmissions worldwide.  This past week, for instance, world media has concentrated in discussing whether John Bolton was fired or whether he resigned as National Security Advisor to president Donald Trump.
Consequently, despite the shower of words uttered or written on the subject matter the world missed the true meaning of the event. This of course is that Mr Bolton’s boss continues to masterfully perform the most upscaled and consequential reality show ever produced on planet earth. And we all too well know reality shows conform to a format that is rather impulsive, and unscripted aimed at engaging ordinary people who are presented with situations that arise from daily life and into which they can participate obtaining a personal or institutional gain.
John Bolton is a Yale Alumni who upholds complex views about the world, believes in careful and detailed planning; rigid preparation and staunch discipline. As most neocons he advocates the promotion of democracy and American national interest in international affairs, including peace through strength (by means of military force). He professes deep disdain for communism and for political radicalism and believes that America should stay as far away as possible from leaders who spouse these ideologies .
Clearly, Mr Bolton did not match the casting needs of Mr Trump’s reality show and had to be ceased. His repugnance for leaders such as Kim Jong Um, Hassan Rouhani, Nicolas Maduro  or the Taliban could not fit Mr Trumps desires to broker a deal with them that would lead ordinary people in the US to believe that past crises with the countries these leaders represent had been created by inept bureaucrats. Further, in Mr Trump’s script these conflicts can be negotiated out of the way of the US demarche towards isolationism which is truly what ordinary people want.
So, the real question now is not whether Mr Bolton resigned or was kicked out of the White House but how will the reality show will progress and who will be recruited for the job left empty by Mr Bolton. These questions have been partially answered by president Trump himself when he indicated that Mr. Bolton has stepped outside the line in Venezuela and elsewhere in the world. Because for him the initial strength and defiance must be succeeded by a negotiated deal that will put the conflict away once and for all or at the very least during the time his presidency lasts.
This means that should he extract from Iran a firm  promise to truly subject its nuclear program to international supervision while recognizing the right of Israel to exist, Mr Trump will not only meet and talk to Rouhani but will come to Teheran with the first lady wearing a chador. In Afghanistan he will just seek to protect the withdrawal of the US troops as neither him not the rest of the world understands how and where Afghanistan impacts the US national interest.
Finally, comes Venezuela where Mr trump seems focused on Maduro’s departure . And this could happen given that Mr Maduro’s popularity does not seem to be increasing within his inner circle let alone the rest of a country that vociferously rejects him by 96%. So, Mr Trump might get his reward. To begin with, Latin America seems to be awakening and is now all set to invoke the InterAmerican Treaty for Reciprocal defense (TIAR). This will provide Mr Trump and the US a great exit strategy form the Venezuelan conundrum, as once the TIAR is fully applied, management of the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Venezuela will be responsibility of the InterAmerican community and not of the US.
And while instability and low intensity conflicts will plague Venezuela and Colombia for the decade to come Mr Trump will go into history as the deposer of Mr Maduro and the locals in Venezuela and Colombia as the unprepared leadership that could not master the logics of reality TV. As for Mr Bolton’s replacement, stay tuned, there are several reality TV pros warming at the bullpen. Notably among them Secretary Pompeo.

Published by LAHT.com on Monday, Sept. 16th, 2019

*The opinions published herein are the sole responsibility of its author.*

Beatrice Rangel is President & CEO of the AMLA Consulting Group, which provides growth and partnership opportunities in US and Hispanic markets. AMLA identifies the best potential partner for businesses which are eager to exploit the growing buying power of the US Hispanic market and for US Corporations seeking to find investment partners in Latin America. Previously, she was Chief of Staff for Venezuela President Carlos Andres Perez as well as Chief Strategist for the Cisneros Group of Companies.For her work throughout Latin America, Rangel has been honored with the Order of Merit of May from Argentina, the Condor of the Andes Order from Bolivia, the Bernardo O’Higgins Order by Chile, the Order of Boyaca from Colombia, and the National Order of Jose Matías Delgado from El Salvador.