For some foreign diplomats, the Trump White House is a troubling enigma
By Karen DeYoung, and and Greg Jaffe October 9 at 1:53 PM
After nearly nine months of the Trump administration, many of America’s closest allies have concluded a hoped-for “learning curve” they believed would make President Trump a reliable partner is not going to happen.
“The idea that he would inform himself, and things would change, that is no longer operative,” said a top diplomat here.
Instead, they see an administration in which lines of authority and decision-making are unclear, where tweets become policy, and hard-won international accords on trade and climate are discarded. The result has been a special kind of challenge for those whose jobs is to advocate here for their countries and explain the president and his unconventional ways at home.
Senior diplomats and officials from nearly a dozen countries in Europe, Latin America and Asia expressed a remarkable coincidence of views in interviews over the last several weeks. Asked to describe their thoughts about and relations with the president and his team as the end of Trump’s first year approaches, many described a whirlwind journey, beginning with tentative optimism, followed by alarm, and finally reaching acceptance the situation is unlikely to improve.
“We have to adjust to this,” said a second diplomat from a different continent.
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