DEMS/GOP/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/VIETNAM: “Republicans may want to re-think one of their planned 2020 campaign themes: It seems that President Donald Trump has met a ‘socialist’ country he actually likes. In recent months Trump has repeatedly cited what he calls the growing threat of socialism in an effort to tarnish leftist Democrats eyeing the Oval Office while also justifying his efforts to oust Venezuela’s dictator. But this week, the U.S. leader has been praising Vietnam, the socialist-in-name country hosting his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. In fact, Trump has pointed to Vietnam’s economic advances as a model Kim could emulate if he gives up his nuclear weapons…During his meeting with Vietnamese leaders the same day, Trump waved a small Vietnamese flag, praised growing U.S.-Vietnam economic ties, and signed new trade deals. The president’s public schedules also used the country’s full official name: the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Though it is standard diplomatic protocol to refer to foreign countries by their preferred name, the repeated presence of the word in official White House statements this week was jarring.”
–Nahal Toosi, “In Vietnam, Trump finds a ‘socialist’ country he likes,” Politico, February 27, 2019 1:17 pm