Video duration 48 minutes 23 seconds
The American writer Thomas Friedman continued, in an episode of “The Interview” (16/1/2022) about the period of US President Donald Trump, who prayed to God not to return to the presidency again and to cause a split within the Republican Party.
He added that Trump is not the president that Americans deserve, but he is the person that China deserves, noting that his arrival after a black president paved the way for him in stimulating racism and populism within America, until it became a phenomenon in America called “Trumpism.”
China and America
Friedman considers that America unconsciously participated in the Chinese dragon industry from 1979 until 2019, and there was a Chinese-American merger during 40 years as one country with two political systems, and someone had to reveal the game, until Trump came and put things back in order.
He added that China was the one who contributed to creating a gap between it and America after many American companies operating in China got bad contracts in exchange for Chinese companies getting all the concessions in America.
He added that Chinese policies in dealing with foreign files are suspicious for America, especially after the emergence of the Corona virus (Covid-19), and Beijing’s refusal to disclose the source of this virus or the reasons for its spread, and it also destroys confidence due to Taiwan’s continuing threats, and standing behind the lack of semi-transportation. In the world.
Friedman and the press
The American writer emphasized that the press today is at a crossroads, as major newspapers have become very powerful, in exchange for the disappearance of local newspapers with limited influence, and that major newspapers have extensive activity on the Internet and have become global newspapers and are no longer local, for example, the New York Times newspaper ( The New York Times) which has 100 million subscribers worldwide.
He added that he is against social networking sites that have contributed to the elimination of many newspapers, revealing that he does not have any accounts on Facebook or Twitter, and does not smoke because the common denominator between communication sites and smoking is addiction, vowing to die without doing any of these things.
Arab Spring
And about the Arab Spring revolutions and Friedman’s opinion of them, he expressed his optimism about the peoples’ movements, and said that they confirm what he said years before the start of the spring when he called on rulers to build their legitimacy on flexibility, not resistance, and this is what appeared, and the new generation has proven that it is capable of making changes and achieving its goals. .
He added that achieving pluralism in the Arab world will achieve remarkable development for young people, and Arab youth will be able during the coming period while living in their homeland and achieving all their aspirations, and what is happening now is the dying out of the current era and the birth of a new era that will enable young people to work.