The president has issued a statement on the protests in Hong Kong.

Well no that’s not quite accurate. Donald Trump has said some words on being asked about the protests in Hong Kong. The words were random and meaningless.

Asked by a reporter if the Chinese should show restraint against the demonstrators, Trump said “the Hong Kong thing is a very tough situation. We’ll see what happens. But I’m sure it’ll work out. I hope it works out for everybody, including China, by the way. I hope it works out for everybody.”

It’s almost as if he hasn’t the faintest idea what “Hong Kong” is, let alone what’s happening there and why it’s happening and what any of it means. It’s almost as if he’s just ad-libbing like any student who hasn’t done the homework. Tuff sitch. Wull see wut happinz. M shure it will wurk out.

He also called it “a very tricky situation. I think it’ll work out. And I hope it works out for liberty. I hope it works out for everybody, including China. I hope it works out peacefully. I hope nobody gets hurts. I hope nobody gets killed.”

Deep stuff. Thoughtful. Informed. Useful.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., tweeted, “These answers show that Trump doesn’t know about the situation in Hong Kong and doesn’t care. He sounds like he got cold-called to talk about homework he didn’t do. America’s commander in chief is asleep at the wheel and the whole world is worse for it.”

The comments — which Trump made en route to a speech in Pennsylvania — came after he tweeted that, “Intelligence has has informed us that the Chinese Government is moving troops to the Border with Hong Kong. Everyone should be calm and safe!”

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., responded with one line on Twitter, saying “This is not foreign policy.”