Then he slammed the phone down
Donnie from Queens is confused again. (I do wish someone would speak to him. I wish someone would give him a little guidebook to study. Flash cards. A short video. Something.) He thinks we’re at war with Australia. No no no, Donnie, Australia is an ally. Can you say “ally”? “Al” rhymes with pal – “ly” rhymes with lie (your favorite thing!): ally. Australia is an ally. That means they’re on our side. We’re not at war with them.
It should have been one of the most congenial calls for the new commander in chief — a conversation with the leader of Australia, one of America’s staunchest allies, at the end of a triumphant week.
Instead, President Trump blasted Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull over a refugee agreement and boasted about the magnitude of his electoral college win, according to senior U.S. officials briefed on the Saturday exchange. Then, 25 minutes into what was expected to be an hour-long call, Trump abruptly ended it.
At one point, Trump informed Turnbull that he had spoken with four other world leaders that day — including Russian President Vladimir Putin — and that “this was the worst call by far.”
President Putin, who has stepped up his attack on Ukraine – that was a fun call. Putin’s a stand-up guy who doesn’t put up with any guff from the serfs. That Ozzie guy is a whole other story. Worst ever.
Trump’s behavior suggests that he is capable of subjecting world leaders, including close allies, to a version of the vitriol he frequently employs against political adversaries and news organizations in speeches and on Twitter.
Tactful way of putting it. Trump’s behavior makes it shamefully obvious that he is rash and stupid and conceited enough to be a raging asshole to heads of state who are close allies as well as to senators, newspapers and tv news stations, women, and anyone else he feels like attacking.
“This is the worst deal ever,” Trump fumed as Turnbull attempted to confirm that the United States would honor its pledge to take in 1,250 refugees from an Australian detention center.
Trump, who one day earlier had signed an executive order temporarily barring the admission of refugees, complained that he was “going to get killed” politically and accused Australia of seeking to export the “next Boston bombers.”
He was rude and belligerent as only he knows how to be, waving his Malignant Narcissism around as if it were a badge of honor.
25th Amendment.
In recent years, people have criticized the Pentagon’s doctrine that “readiness” requires being prepared to fight two simultaneous large-scale conflicts. It’s now proven to be wise. Just imagine where we’d be if America wasn’t prepared to take on Mexico and Australia simultaneously!
The most interesting thing to me is “this is the worst by far”. What does that mean? He seems to think the calls are for his personal amusement.
Sea Monster, I think it means just what it is at face value. Trump enjoyed that call the least of them all, and thought that Turnbull would give a shit about that. That it would make Turnbull want to please Trump: one Australian newspaper quipped that Trump tried to “neg” Turnbull like a third-rate pickup artist.
Malignant Narcissism.
Trump really doesn’t care, does he? Turnbull tried to cover up getting his ears pinned back, now we know what really happened. A Trump tantrum seems far more plausible than a diplomatic ‘exchange of views’.
In four years Trump could alienate most, if not all, of America’s allies and make friends with its enemies.
The sheer clumsiness of it all surprises me (well, not *surprises* of course, but you know). I’d imagine that the way it usually works for presidents talking to other national leaders is that you get briefed by your people and you know what any issues of contention are going to be, and that in the course of talking to the other leader you establish a mutually satisfactory agreement on how where you stand, so that each leader can report on how things went without either side looking foolish. It would have been somewhat reasonable (better, at least) for Trump to argue in the phone meeting that he doesn’t feel bound by an agreement made by an outgoing president that is in direct conflict with his clearly stated policy. Of course, I wasn’t in the room where it happened, but Turnbull has clearly done this sort of thing before, and he’s unlikely to be telling untruths about what was agreed.
Clumsily is how Trump does things. I don’t think he can do them any other way.
@RJW:
Any “friends” made of American enemies are liable to also get attacked at some point or another by King Moron… he has no idea what a friend is in the first place.