Trump’s Ambassador to Estonia, James D. Melville Jr., resigned in disgust after Trump’s series of attacks on US allies in Europe.
Foreign Policy reported that Melville wrote in a private Facebook post to friends:
“A Foreign Service Officer’s DNA is programmed to support policy and we’re schooled right from the start, that if there ever comes a point where one can no longer do so, particularly if one is in a position of leadership, the honorable course is to resign. Having served under six presidents and 11 secretaries of state, I never really thought it would reach that point for me,†he wrote in the post, which was obtained by Foreign Policy.
“For the President to say the EU was ‘set up to take advantage of the United States, to attack our piggy bank,’ or that ‘NATO is as bad as NAFTA’ is not only factually wrong but proves to me that it’s time to go,†he wrote, citing Trump’s reported comments in recent weeks that have unnerved U.S. allies.
Melville is a career diplomat who served under both Republican and Democratic presidents for 33 years, but it was Donald Trump who accelerated his retirement plans. Melville’s comments underscore the reality of how impossible it is for diplomats to conduct effective diplomacy when the President Of The United States is undercutting vital and long-standing alliances at every turn. It is almost as if a hostile foreign power who wanted to weaken the United States and the West colluded with Trump to put him into power.
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Trump is doing long-term damage to the United States government. A country doesn’t replace 33 years of diplomatic experience easily. The story isn’t just that qualified and experienced people are fleeing from the federal government. There is also the problem of damage to critical alliances that may take decades to repair.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
