President Trump regards UK and Ireland as good trading partners, has issues Mexico
'Outnumbered' panel discusses the direction of trade talks as Secretary Mike Pompeo and Vice President Mike Pence are set to sit down with Mexico's foreign minister.
I know President Trump is a counter-puncher but I wish that he would exercise some restraint while traveling abroad. Interacting with other world leaders with differing views is not the same as interacting with a political opponent during a domestic campaign. Or, at least in my opinion, it shouldn’t be the same.
I guess I hold a more traditional view when it comes to how I think our president should conduct his or herself overseas. Yes, it is important to show strength and represent America’s interests in an unwavering manner. But that should not mean trading barbs with global allies as if they were opposing candidates in a presidential debate.
The people duly elected President Trump as his supporters often point out. He is no longer candidate Trump the businessman. He is President Trump, leader of the free world. Once someone assumes that role, I feel there are certain rules of decorum that one should adhere to. Those rules should not include name-calling and insults especially while representing the United States abroad.
CAPRI CAFARO: 'TRUMPIFICATION' IS HAPPENING ACROSS EUROPE, AND IT SPELLS TROUBLE
But that is exactly what we have seen this week in the run-up to and during President Trump’s first official state visit to the United Kingdom. The Twitter feud between President Trump and London’s first Muslim Mayor Sadiq Kahn is well documented. Before Air Force One even landed on U.K. soil, Trump dropped a virtual word bomb on London’s mayor calling him a “stone cold loser” amongst other things. Admittedly this Trump tweet was likely a reaction to Mayor Sadiq Khan’s scathing op-ed comparing the American president to modern day far right-wing European leaders as well as 20th Century fascists.
Yes, those are indeed fighting words. But instead of countering Khan’s critical article with an invitation to meet the mayor and discuss their differences or point out that Americans helped Europe defeat fascism, President Trump belittled London’s Mayor as being “nasty” towards him. Trump went on to further insult Khan by saying he reminded the president of New York City’s “very dumb and incompetent mayor” while also taking a swipe at Khan’s short stature.
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Trump has a point in so far as London’s knife crimes have skyrocketed by 52 percent during Sadiq Khan’s tenure. In that sense, Khan has failed his community. So, let me be clear, I am not picking the side of Britain or London’s mayor over my own country or my own president. But I sadly remain disappointed by President Trump’s trading childish jabs with others as I find it unbecoming to the office of the president.
Conversely, I found President Trump’s prepared remarks struck the right tone, recognizing the historic significance of the U.S.-U.K.’s “special relationship” particularly in the context of defeating Nazi Germany. The statesman-like behavior President Trump exhibited while addressing Queen Elizabeth II and others in official events is more in line with what I expect from our president. Acting like a statesman does not necessarily mean one needs to be phony or scripted. I wish we would see more of the diplomatic side of President Trump when he travels overseas.
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