As we’ve come to expect, Trump saw everything on his Asia summit trip last week in terms of himself. Trump left the tradition of American foreign policy at home says MSNBC foreign affairs commentator for Richard Haass:
“We’ve never before had a presidency who does not perceive themselves to be stewards of the job. So Trump goes out to Asia and doesn’t see himself as carrying the tradition of American foreign policy. But rather as how he’s treated. The real question is did we get any closer to resolving the North Korea crisis? Not obvious to me. The United States opted out of the region in terms of forging new regional trade agreements. The United States will pay an economic and strategic price.”
On the Asia trip Trump thundered a massive tweet attack on the United States intelligence community while siding with Vladimir Putin. Says NBC’s Angela Mitchell: “It would be outragious if Trump said it in America. But to say it on foreign soil is so exponentially worse it’s hard to even compare it to any previous president.”
Angela recalls that when she covered Presidenct Ronald Reagan on his early foreign trips he made some goofs: he would misspeak, but never on substance: “This is so beyond the pale. To side with Putin over the intelligence agencies.”
John Heilemann interviews Richard Haass and Angela Mitchell on MSNBC’s Morning Joe.
Russian and U.S. Presidents Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump talked at the margins of the APEC-2017 summit, which ends its work in Vietnam. On the holding of a full-fledged official meeting, the sides could not reach an agreement.
“Putin and Trump confirmed their determination to defeat ISIS (terrorist organization Islamic State “, IG, banned in Russia in Syria. They expressed satisfaction with the successful efforts of the United States and Russia to more effectively prevent dangerous incidents between US and Russian military forces that significantly increased the losses of ISIS on the battlefield in recent months, the Kremlin website reported.
In addition, the heads of the two countries agreed to support the currently existing military communication channels to ensure the security of the armed forces of Russia and the United States, located in Syria.
It was expected that Moscow and Washington would agree on an official meeting on November 10 in the APEC-2017 fields, but in the morning the White House ruled out such an opportunity. At the same time, neither side denied the possibility of holding the meeting “on its feet” – this professional term is used by diplomats to describe a short meeting that allows only an exchange of views, but without the participation of assistants and other high-ranking officials.
In a similar format, the meetings of the presidents of Russia and the United States occurred earlier. For example, in 2013, Putin and Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama had a meeting “on their feet” at the G20 summit, which was held in St. Petersburg.
Between the countries at that time there were tensions caused by the Edward Snowden business, and Obama did not even come to Moscow because of this.
Despite the fact that the meeting between Putin and Obama was short, the parties were able to agree on a joint process for the elimination of chemical weapons.
At the same time, observers note that there is a sharp contrast in behavior between Trump and Obama. If Obama always respected the diplomatic protocol, then Trump constantly violated it, neglecting the rules of decency.
So, he left the diplomatic reception at the APEC-2017 summit before its end, which is a sign of disrespect to the organizers and guests. In addition, he missed several official events of the summit.
Observing the situation, local media commentators reminded Trump that he was on a visit to Asia, where many things related to the protocol and ceremonies were taken seriously enough.
“Similar rules of etiquette and protocol are part of the culture of the region, which here is called the” face “. In many respects, they are opposed to the impulsive, the image of President Donald Trump, “notes the Philippine Daily Inquire.
Particularly painful such things are perceived in China, where any retreat of the norms it has adopted can cause a negative reaction. This, by the way, encountered during one of his visits, and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
When during one of the events Putin – the “old school gentleman” – threw a warm blanket on the shoulders of the wife of the head of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, the Chinese side perceived this as a violation of business etiquette. Censors even removed this episode from the broadcast.
Leaving the diplomatic reception before his graduation photo is considered a bad tone in diplomacy, but Trump is not too concerned about the rules of decency. He is known for his rude manners, which often cause the displeasure of those present.
So also during the NATO summit this summer, Trump, walking through the crowd, roughly dismissed the Prime Minister of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic.
At the same time, those who know Trump believe that rude manners are a style of communication that the politician has worked out over many years.
He looks like we say, “The man is not from Manhattan. ” He’s from the Queens. And even the way he talks and walksis like a guy from Queens. He managed to build his image in such a caricature.
For example, take his famous hairstyle. Many people laugh at this, and his hair is like the red nose of a clown – which makes it possible to laugh. When a clown hits someone with a baseball bat or pours water from a bucket, you laugh, although it can be very unpleasant,” says the author of the Trump biography, publicist Gwenda Blair told Gazeta.ru.”
In the same vein, one of the former ambassadors of Russia says: You just have to reconcile yourself with Trump’s behavior, although it does not correspond to the classical understanding of the conduct of the diplomatic process.
“There is not much good in this. A certain violation of the diplomatic protocol in this in that Trump left the reception, and also did not appear at the events. However, these are his manners, with which you can not do anything. Do not give this too much importance,” said the reporter from Gazeta.Ru.
Moscow
November 12, 2017