Surprisingly unhinged discussion for Freepers. First, look up the word foe. Second read the entire quote script of the exchange between the president and the reporter...
JEFF GLOR: Who is your biggest competitor? Your biggest foe globally right now? PRESIDENT TRUMP: Well I think we have a lot of foes. I think the European Union is a foe, what they do to us in trade. Now you wouldn't think of the European Union but they're a foe. Russia is foe in certain respects. China is a foe economically, certainly they are a foe. But that doesn't mean they are bad.
Clearly, the matter is taken out of context and is #FAKENEWS. Let's focus on the important things!
Yes, the
explicit context is international trade. However I believe President Trump often presents us with information which operates at more than one level.
Words are not just data, they are symbols. It's possible that President Trump decided to adopt the 'foe' symbol towards the EU in order to imply a broader context than what was explicit in the sentences. There were certainly milder terms he could have used to address nothing more than a trade rivalry, if he so chose.
The substance of the EU is mostly Germany, especially in light of Brexit. We've had forces in Germany since the end of WWII. We don't call them 'occupation forces' these days, but that's how they started. If US military forces in Germany put a constraint on Russia, all the more they constrain Germany. History may be ignored for a while, but it persists.