President Trump returned to Washington Saturday night from his Middle East and European tour de force. You can tell how powerful it was by the attempts of American and European media to downplay the trip, and by the bitter reaction of some European leaders who had grown accustomed to a president who rejected American exceptionalism and embraced European socialism.

There were many great moments from the president’s trip. But one of the most telling was when President Trump addressed European leaders about the NATO alliance. He bluntly stated:

NATO members must finally contribute their fair share and meet their financial obligations, for 23 of the 28 member nations are still not paying what they should be paying and what they’re supposed to be paying for their defense. This is not fair to the people and taxpayers of the United States.

The left-wing media were stunned by the president’s bold assertion. CNN accused the president of “scolding” our NATO allies. I believe if you polled that statement 80% of Americans would strongly support the president.

Fake News, Fake History

Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law, has become the Russian collusion story de jour. But like much of what the Left and its big media allies think is a growing scandal, this too is fake news.

Consider this Friday headline from The Washington Post: “Russian Ambassador Told Moscow That Kushner Wanted Secret Communications Channel With Kremlin.”

Sounds terrible, doesn’t it? To be clear, it has nothing to do with the election. The alleged meeting between the Russian ambassador and Kushner took place in December — after the election. Moreover, this is not new news.

Even the Post conceded that, writing, “The White House disclosed the meeting … in March” and “It is common for senior advisers of a newly elected president to be in contact with foreign leaders and officials.”

Monday, Fox News provided additional context, noting that the “back channel” was “only a one-off … call about Syria.”

In addition to fake news — like the president being disinterested in translations of important meetings overseas — we are also getting fake history.

The left-wing media would have you believe that Trump and Kushner were doing something nefarious by attempting to communicate privately with the Russian leadership. But John F. Kennedy went around the Defense and State Departments to communicate with the Soviets, using his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, as a secret back channel, even during the Cuban missile crisis.

As historian Doug Wead noted, Alice Roosevelt, daughter of President Teddy Roosevelt, got a lot of publicity for going on a trip to Asia. But what almost no one knew at the time was that she delivered private messages from her father to the Japanese which helped to end the Russo-Japanese war, earning Teddy Roosevelt the Nobel Peace Prize.

And what about Barack Obama’s “secret outreach” to the Russians? Or his secret dealings with Iran? While the media are obsessed with any Trump connection to Russia, no matter how trivial, Obama was caught on tape promising Vladimir Putin “more flexibility.”

Once again, the media’s double standard is disgusting and obvious. The Left made excuses for virtually everything Obama did, while making everything Trump does seem sinister.

Messaging Matters

There have been rumors of a possible White House personnel shakeup for weeks. News broke Tuesday morning that White House Communications Director Mike Dubke has resigned.

Speaking on Fox News yesterday, my good friend Laura Ingraham noted that there were a lot of positive images from the president’s foreign trip, and that the White House should do more positive messaging to counteract the media. Here’s what she said:

So, for instance, last week we learned that 30,000 criminal aliens, including MS-13 members, had been deported from the country since Trump took over. That’s great news. You know, I would like to see Trump go to Manassas, Virginia, and sit with a family for 15 minutes that had to deal with the MS-13 violence and go visit a police station and say, “Guys, thank you for everything you’re doing.”

Ingraham also noted the “positive and patriotic and hopeful” tone of President Trump’s Memorial Day address, adding, “That is what we want to see from our president.”

Values Issues in the News

Planned Parenthood’s trafficking in baby body parts is making headlines again. A video released late last week showed abortionists talking about evading the law against partial-birth abortion, how difficult it is to take a baby apart and “how gross” it was when “an eyeball just fell down into my lap.” Not surprisingly, YouTube has pulled the video.

The Left never questions its support for the abortion industry. Its immediate reaction is to cover up the moral bankruptcy of abortion on demand while accusing conservatives of supporting “gag rules.” The real gag rule is the Left’s censorship — whether it is prosecuting journalists who expose the truth or the progressive media’s refusing to report it.

News like this helps to explain why so many Americans are apprehensive about the state of moral values in our country today. A recent Gallup poll found that only 1% of Americans consider the nation’s moral values to be “excellent,” while 77% say moral values in America are getting worse. Of course, the Left has been attacking the concept of right and wrong and moral values for decades.

The Islamic holy month of Ramadan began Friday. Members of the Islamic State in Egypt “celebrated” this holy time by slaughtering more than two dozen Coptic Christians on their way to visit a monastery. ISIS thugs ordered them to renounce their Christian faith and “to recite the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith.” Twenty-nine refused and were reportedly shot in the head or throat.

Yet even in the face of such atrocities, some of our media elites are so delusional they believe that Muslim persecution in America is a “bigger issue” than Christian persecution overseas.