May 24, 2017
NATO Prepares to Be Disappointed by the Cheshire Cat President
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.
More from CNAS
-
A State of “Unorder?”
As conversations about the status of the liberal world order swirl in capitals on both sides of the Atlantic, many are realizing that old ways of thinking about the rules-base...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Rising Domestic Pressure in Russia?
Over the last several weeks, strain within Russia's domestic political system has become increasingly apparent. The Kremlin has intensified digital controls, intermittently di...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend
-
Charles on a Mission: Can King’s State Visit Salvage U.S.-UK Ties?
Call it the royal trump card: King Charles III has been dispatched to Washington on a state visit at the lowest point in the "special relationship" in at least seven decades. ...
By Jim Townsend
-
Transatlantic Adaptation: A More European NATO?
Doubts about U.S. reliability and the future of NATO are top of mind for most in the transatlantic community. The concerns that spiked after President Donald Trump’s threats t...
By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend