Great piece today from Peter Hartcher on the astonishing wreckage of Donald Trump:
Donald Trump is unique among US presidents not for his rough treatment of America’s enemies but of its allies. His Vice-President, Mike Pence, must be aware of the problem. He offered Julie Bishop a way around it: “If you ever have any issues with the boss”, he told Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, “give me a call”. It’s the diplomatic equivalent of a detour around a crash scene, a scene that Malcolm Turnbull had to fight his way through in his notorious first phone call with Trump.
…Trump has already left a trail of wreckage in alliance relationships. He smashed up a difficult election in South Korea, a key US ally, in a tense moment for Asia-Pacific security. Specifically, he broke a deal with the South Koreans by declaring that they’d have to pay for their own missile defence against North Korea.
