As Donald Trump flees the United States and leaves the explosive scandal-ridden White House behind, his hopes of being seen better abroad are likely to be dashed rather quickly.
According to a new report in Politico Magazine, world leaders have already dismissed Trump as a “laughing stock” and described his administration as a complete “circus” so far.
More from the report:
Trump’s tumultuous last two weeks—from firing his FBI director to allegedly sharing highly classified information with Russian officials even as a formidable special counsel was being named to investigate his campaign team’s possible collusion with the Kremlin—has [foreign leaders] still confused about his foreign policy. But now they are more appalled than afraid of the man with whom they have no choice but to partner.
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As the report notes, the good news is that American allies aren’t necessarily scared of Trump, though that is certainly a factor. Instead, world leaders appear to be viewing Trump as more of a slow-motion train wreck brought up by his “clownish nature” and lack of knowledge and experience.
“People are less worried than they were six weeks ago, less afraid,” one German official said, according to the report.  “Now they see the clownish nature.â€
Politico Magazine cited another person saying, “People here think Trump is a laughingstock.”
More from the report:
“The dominant reaction to Trump right now is mockery,” Jacob Heilbrunn, the editor of the conservative journal the National Interest, told the meeting at the German Foreign Office here while moderating a panel on Trump’s foreign policy that dealt heavily on the difficulty of divining an actual policy amid the spectacle. Heilbrunn, whose publication hosted Trump’s inaugural foreign policy speech in Washington during last year’s campaign, used the ‘L’ word too. “The Trump administration is becoming an international laughingstock.†Michael Werz, a German expert from the liberal U.S. think tank Center for American Progress, agreed, adding he was struck by “how rapidly the American brand is depreciating over the last 20 weeks.â€
Counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance touched on this Saturday in an interview with AM Joy:
“What we’re seeing right now is the United States being viewed by the rest of the world as the clown show.” pic.twitter.com/FxHhwk2uAT
— Sean Colarossi (@SeanColarossi) May 20, 2017
Nance said:
What we’re seeing right now is the United States being viewed by the rest of the world as the clown show. But I think, on the other hand, the reason that it’s less dangerous than six weeks ago is because they also see the brilliant, just absolutely brilliant, checks and balances the founding fathers put into place now coming into motion, and they feel that the president will now be given some guardrails that he’s never had before.Â
In other words, Trump has failed so miserably so quickly that the world views him as a weak, incapable cartoon character, not an all-powerful leader who will be able to bully and strong-arm other countries into doing what he wants them to do.
The United States may be happy to have a temporary reprieve from this president, but Trump should think again if he feels overseas trips will bring him into friendly territory.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
