As I see it | Under Trump, the US has unleashed its own wolf warriors
Chinese diplomats need to project a measured and calming presence on the international stage to contend effectively with American blowhards
Well, Beijing reined them in long ago. But US President Donald Trump has unleashed his own. Open hostility towards host countries and their peoples seems to be a job requirement in Washington for a US ambassador, as well as not having any diplomatic experience.
February was a very good or very bad month – depending on your political stance – for the US’ new breed of wolf warriors.
The French foreign ministry blasted Kushner for his “apparent misunderstanding of the basic expectations of an ambassador who has the honour of representing his country” and announced that he would “no longer be allowed direct access to members of the French government”.
It’s not the first time he has refused to attend a summons. In August last year, he snubbed the ministry by sending someone else in his place for a dressing-down after he wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal blasting French President Emmanuel Macron for failing to curb antisemitism in his country. That was a particularly tense time as Macron was pushing Britain, Canada and Australia to formally recognise the Palestinian state at the United Nations during Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza.
