Trump, Rubio Trash Talking

Donald Trump, a malevolent birther, called Ted Cruz a Canadian anchor baby better qualified to be prime minister of that country than president of the United States.  Sen. Marco Rubio has set his sites further abroad when it comes to another presidential wannabe, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

The Republican junior senator from Florida likes to cite his membership on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to support his claim as an expert on international relations, but some recent gaffes suggest that his notoriously poor attendance record may be taking a toll.

It appears no one has bothered to tell the self-proclaimed foreign policy maven that Sweden and Norway do not have presidents, but are constitutional monarchies.

It came up in this week's GOP presidential debate, when he said,  "Bernie Sanders is a socialist. I think Bernie Sanders is a good candidate for president of Sweden."

That led a Swedish royal expert to lump Rubio with Sarah Palin as an example of "stupid" American politicians who are clueless about the rest of the world, reported the Washington Post.

Rubio had earlier said Sanders should be president of Norway.  Before he nominates the Democratic Socialist candidate to rule the third Scandinavian country, he should know that Denmark is also a constitutional monarchy.

Not to confuse Rubio any more than he already is, but I'm not sure any of those countries would be receptive to a 70-something American Jewish liberal with a home in Burlington, Vermont, as its ruler, but if they are, I'm available.

Roger Lundgren, editor of Sweden’s Kungliga magazine and a leading commentator on Sweden's royal family, said, “The thing with some American politicians, such as Sarah Palin, is – I don’t want to use the word stupid, but I do. They are. They are so ignorant about the rest of the world. They think there are two monarchies in the world. And that’s the U.K. and Monaco, because of Grace Kelly.

About the Author
Douglas M. Bloomfield is a syndicated columnist, Washington lobbyist and consultant. He spent nine years as the legislative director and chief lobbyist for AIPAC.
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