The Draft-Dodger-in-Chief

Nothing to see here

Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon—a turning point that closed one of America’s costliest foreign entanglements and began a long process of reconciliation between the United States and Vietnam. Yet the Trump administration reportedly instructed American diplomats in Vietnam to boycott commemorative ceremonies organized by the Vietnamese government to mark the anniversary—a symbolic snub that dismisses a half-century of healing and progress.

The Trump administration partially reversed its earlier decision by allowing U.S. Consul General Susan Burns to attend a reception in Ho Chi Minh City. However, U.S. Ambassador Marc Knapper, originally scheduled to represent the U.S., was absent from both the reception and the main commemoration event on April 30.