May 24, 2017

NATO Prepares to Be Disappointed by the Cheshire Cat President

By Julianne Smith and Jim Townsend

The hysteria that now surrounds the Donald Trump presidency has blown the NATO mini-summit out of the water. Allies who once were looking forward to Thursday’s summit for reassurance that the U.S. president supported a U.S. role in Europe will instead come just to see firsthand the spectacle that Trump has become. Whispers of obstruction of justice and impeachment have badly battered the credibility of the president and weakened him. Allies look to the United States for strong leadership. The summit will showcase instead a U.S. leadership in doubt.

At one time, the main outcome of the summit was set to be a family photo of 29 heads of state or government, including Trump, standing together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. This photo would signify unity, strength, and the end of Trump’s doubts about NATO. Instead, the photo will become a curiosity, and all who view it will wonder if Trump will show up in the next family photo.

Read the full article in Foreign Policy.

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