Diplomacy, Trump Style

The United States under President Donald Trump abandoned the Paris climate agreement; it subsequently withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership; it is threatening not to renew the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada; it is constantly criticizing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which safeguards peace in Europe; and this Tuesday, it announced that it is pulling out of the nuclear deal with Iran negotiated by the Obama administration, opening the door to more violence and a possible war in the Middle East.

Thus, it is clear that the current administration is completely changing the way Washington deals with the rest of the world. To the Trump administration, it is not important to be a part of the international community, but rather to give lessons on financial and military power. Diplomacy does not appear to be on its agenda. The times are long gone when cultural and educational interchanges were utilized to influence the way the world sees the country.

The United States won the Cold War in large measure by promulgating its music, its Hollywood movies and even its “jeans,” in contrast to the Soviet Union’s rigid lifestyle. The 20th century was without a doubt the “American Century”; but things have changed, and they are undoubtedly going to keep changing.

The White House has reduced, or completely eliminated, financial aid to friendly developing countries; on the other hand, the armed forces have seen a budget increase of 10 percent. As a consequence, programs that promote friendship with other countries are disappearing. This includes the famous Fulbright Scholarships, which each year provide an opportunity for distinguished academics and professionals to travel abroad, and for an equal number to come here.

Trump is doing serious damage to the United States by abandoning universal values and ceasing to promote “soft power,” the support of democracy and the defense of human rights. He explicitly praises and admires leaders who are in fact dictators, such as Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi and President of the Philippines Rodrigo Duterte. Of Duterte, Trump says, he is doing an “unbelievable job on the drug problem” when what the Philippine president is doing is encouraging the murder of drug addicts.

Worse yet, the dangerous U.S. diplomacy of the past 15 months is not expected to improve, now that the State Department has Mike Pompeo as its new head. Pompeo has gone from being the country’s chief spy, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency, to now being the country’s top diplomat. This is the highest cabinet post on the international stage, after the president. It has previously been occupied by such notables as Henry Kissinger (1973-1977), George Schultz (1982-1989), James Baker (1989-1992), and Madeleine Albright (1992-2001), as well as by Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton, among others. They were all controversial, but not one of them had the reputation for bellicosity that he has.

The 54-year-old Pompeo is a lawyer by profession and a tea party member; he represented Kansas in Congress for six years. He assumes the responsibilities of Rex Tillerson, with whom Trump never got along, and whom he fired via a tweet. Pompeo studied at the United States Military Academy at West Point and was an Army officer in the Gulf War before graduating from Harvard University. He is known for his extremist and anti-Islamic positions, is against homosexuals and is completely in favor of a wall on the border with Mexico.

Certainly, Mexico and Israel are relationships that would be again expected to be part of the Secretary of State’s portfolio; up until now, they have been in the hands of Jared Kushner, the president’s adviser and son-in-law. Pompeo inherits a department in total chaos, with dozens of unfilled jobs; starting with at least 38 embassies around the world that do not have an ambassador, among them Mexico’s, the European Union’s and even those of major Washington allies like Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Until now, Trump has not been tested by a major crisis − and we hope he never is, because everybody is frightened by his temperament. According to experts, with his “America First” idea and motto, he has isolated the country and weakened it. With him as president, this country is no longer the shining example of democracy. The good news, the optimists say, is that in 2020 he will go away, and everything will return to normal. The bad news is that nobody is willing to bet that that is the way it will turn out.