- The global community is quite used to the often impetuous, petulant, and intemperate language used by the president of the USA. Off-the-cuff remarks, blatant lies, bombastic claims, grandiose announcements, self-aggrandizement, and below-the-belt language have by now become synonymous with Trump. Taking a cue from the boss, some of Trump’s colleagues are also using harsh language that hardly befits an administration that increasingly believes it can get away with anything and everything. It must be remembered that the world is no longer beholden to the USA, and multipolarity is the reality that the Trump administration must respect. Irritatingly, shooting from the hip has become the norm for the Trump cabinet.
PC: Financial Times
- It’s advisable for these big-headed administrators to weigh in the possible consequences before letting loose their tongues. Diplomatic etiquette demands the usage of words that are not only sensible, sensitive, and weighty but also worthy of acceptance from different quarters. Unfortunately, like his boss, the US Commerce Secretary trash-talks overestimating the importance of his country and the power of its tariffs. Some aides, like Peter Navarro and Howard Lutnick, are using language that hardly fits into diplomatic niceties. While Navarro’s impertinence can be ignored because he’s only an adviser, the US Commerce Secretary is saying India, Brazil, and Switzerland, all friendly countries, need to be fixed and will be sorted out. Really?
PC: Click Oil and Gas
- Words like fixing and sorted out reflect a lack of schooling in the traditions of diplomacy. Mind you, there’s a reason that diplomacy – the art of managing relations between countries – demands high refinement of language, unless you’re someone insane/irrational shooting off threats. Unlike domestic politics, where coarse rhetoric embitters but has few consequences otherwise, Trump probably won’t miss invitations to previous presidents; in the international sphere, it can only harden India’s resolve to continue buying Russian oil and hurt US farmers because China decides to source more corn and soy from Brazil. You cannot bully sovereign countries anymore. Sadly, verbal temperance has become a virtue of Trump’s administration.
PC: CBC
- Just look at how the president’s thuggish White House receptions, starting with Zelenskyy in Feb, will find a place in textbooks. Vance and other deputies have tried to outdo each other in these displays of boorishness. Perhaps, these are acts meant to signal strength to MAGA voters, but when domestic politics taints diplomacy like this, the outcomes can’t be wholesome. The US is undeniably the richest country in the world, and probably the most powerful militarily, but that does not mean it can coerce others into doing its bidding. Trump’s trade deals, forced with the threat of tariffs, may have given him an illusion of almighty power, but the biggest ones with Japan and S Korea are already looking shaky. Lutnick is not only out of line but also out of depth here.
