To his credit, Michael McKenna wore many hats in life and has accomplished much as a result.
But there came a moment when
Michael McKenna was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and he sincerely
thought he was at the right place at the right time.
To his surprise, the power of
destiny decided to show him it was the boss that will forever have the last
word. It pulled the rug from under his feet when he was at the peak of his most
glorious moment. He fell on his face and let out a shrill the likes of which
you rarely hear in civilized circles.
Here is the long story made
short. Michael McKenna was close to Donald Trump when the latter invited Xi
Jinping of China to his home in Florida where they celebrated a friendship
thought will remain as enduring as the Great Wall of China. But a falling out
between the two leaders happened as quickly as Trump can change his mind upon
someone whispering in his ear. Well, something did happen––no one can explain
exactly what––and Donald Trump turned ferociously antagonistic toward Xi
Jinping and China too.
McKenna, who had by then
become the right hand of Donald Trump, thought he could dismiss as irrelevant
the falling out between the two leaders because the White House was waiting for
a moment of great triumph that was thought will dwarf everything else. But when
the moment came, it showed that Donald Trump had not won but lost the bid to
get reelected President of the United States. The bad news was that he’ll be
out of the White House, not returning to it for another four years as
anticipated and foolishly prepared for.
Pressed by the agony of a
defeat that he and Trump refused to publicly acknowledge, McKenna nevertheless
thought it appropriated to let out a painful shrill denouncing China as if it
were the cause of Trump's defeat at the polls. He expressed his pain in an
article that came under the title: “Chinese communists cannot be brought into
civilized world through trade,” and the subtitle: “If that actually worked, we
wouldn't be dealing now with arrested nuns and concentration camps.” The
article was published on January 24, 2021 in The Washington Times.
There is no doubt that this
piece is a cathartic expression for both McKenna and Trump, and in that sense
may be useful for something. But the piece is also packaged and presented as
advice to Joe Biden, the man who beat Donald Trump and became the President
that took his place in the White House.
The fashionable method by
which to score cheap debating points in America these days being to accuse
someone of suppressing religion, it is the method that McKenna picked to attack
China in his article. He denounced China for what he says was its ill-treatment
of its Muslim communities but did not dwell too long on this subject because
many who tried that stunt before, were burned when the Muslim countries that
investigated the claims found that China was innocent of all charges.
McKenna felt more confident
attacking China for what he says is that country's ill treatment of Catholics
both in Hong Kong and on the mainland. He began by telling the story of two
nuns who were originally of the mainland but served in a Honk Kong mission.
Apparently, what happened was that at a time of great turmoil, the Chinese
authorities became suspicious of their back-and-forth travel across the border
between Honk Kong and the mainland. The authorities detained the nuns,
questioned them and released them but told them to stay home and not go back to
Honk Kong.
This being a non-story in
itself, Michael McKenna tried to give it a bigger meaning by speculating on
something. Here is what he did: “The arrest of the two nuns is a clear sign
that Beijing is trying to exert control over Honk Kong and the selection of its
next bishop.” While at it, McKenna demonstrated the depth of his wrath by
delivering a broad one at the Pope. He said this: “Honk Kong was excluded from
Pope Francis's ill-advised 2018 deal that lets the Chinese nominate the bishops
from whom Rome selects who will be appointed to the College of Cardinals.” This
last quote was slightly altered for clarification.
Had McKenna stopped here
telling the story of Catholics in China, he might have convinced some people
that the Chinese government was suffering from unwarranted paranoia, but he did
not stop here. On the contrary, he went on to brag as follows:
“After the Communist Party
took power, Honk Kong became a conduit for missionary outposts that helped keep
contact with the mainland faithful. There are an estimated 400,000 Catholics in
Honk Kong, and many of the city's elite are products of Catholic schools. They
have been influential in the city's pro-democracy movement. One of them was
recently arrested for violating the national security law. Pope Francis, who
seems to have an opinion about everything, sat by silently while the wolves
have circled his sheep”.
And anyone that thought the
Chinese were needlessly paranoid, would have changed their mind. They would
have realized that after a century of humiliation (during which foreign
religions, imported into the country by missionaries, played a big role at
maintaining the population subdued,) it makes sense for the Chinese government
to be suspicious of Catholics who get involved with subversive movements in
Honk Kong.
Done with the Pope, Michael
McKenna took on the European Union that, “agreed to an economic investment deal
between the EU and China.” And this is when he opined that the Chinese
Communist Party cannot be brought into the civilized world through trade. But
having said this, did he recommend something?
No, Michael McKenna did not
recommend a course of action because he had nothing new to add. Instead, he
expressed the hope that the Biden team will follow in the footsteps of the
Trump team.
Here we go again with someone wishing to overturn the result of the election.