Trump tasks son-in-law Kushner, a diplomatic novice, with managing Mexico dispute

[Judi Lynn]

Trump tasks son-in-law Kushner, a diplomatic novice, with managing Mexico dispute

Tribune news services
JANUARY 28, 2017 7:17 PM | WASHINGTON

One week into office, President Donald Trump was trying to clean up his first international incident.

The president shifted a jam-packed schedule Friday to make room for an hourlong phone call with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who had abruptly snubbed the new president by canceling a visit. Trump's team had appeared to respond by threatening a hefty border tax on Mexican imports.

By the end of the conversation, Trump had tasked his son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner — a real estate executive with no national security experience — with managing the ongoing dispute, according to an administration official with knowledge of the call.

The episode, an uneven diplomatic debut, revealed the earliest signs of how the new president plans to manage world affairs. In a matter of days, he both alarmed and reassured international partners. He picked fights, then quickly backed away from them. He talked tough, and toned it down. And at each step, Trump relied on the small clutch of advisers that guided his norm-breaking campaign, a group with scant foreign policy experience but the trust of the president.

More:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/ct-trump-kushner-diplomacy-20170128-story.html

[tazkcmo]

1. And amature hour continues. n/t

[struggle4progress]

2. "He's going to do an incredible job. You just have to hear him say,

Como esta bien usted et tu, Bruce to realize that. Very talented. And his hands? Almost as big as mine! So Mexico will pay for that wall"

[Rhiannon12866]

3. I thought he was assigned to manage the Middle East crisis?

He is going to be one busy guy...

[tenorly]

4. He's what passes for "presidential" in today's GOP.

Ike, wherever you are, please forgive us.

[Rhiannon12866]

5. Ike would be a reassuring presence right now

Hell, even George HW Bush had the sense not to invade Iraq. Nixon opened up relations with China as opposed to pissing them off. Trump is making actual Republicans look preferable...

[tenorly]

6. Yet they all agreed (or went along) with the root cause of it all: the Southern Strategy

[Rhiannon12866]

7. We don't tend to think of Ronald Reagan as particularly racist

But he made his announcement that he was running for president only 7 miles from Philadelphia, Mississippi, of all places, the site of the terrible murders of civil rights workers in 1964. This was seen as a signal that he supported states rights and he won big in the South, where Jimmy Carter had understandably done well before.

I recently listened to Jimmy Carter's autobiography, "A Full Life: Reflections at 90," for the second time and picked up details that I missed the first time through. I recommend it highly. I can't even imagine what's going through his head just now...

[tenorly]

11. Thanks for the tip; I'll pick up a copy right away.

The first book of Carter's I remember reading was Turning Point, which dealt with his entry into Georgia politics during the Civil Rights era. Lots of twists and turns - and lots of chicanery from the Jim Crow types, who targeted Carter and his mother Lillian as "n***er lovers" as early as 1962.

I can't help but think he must see the provincial shenanigans from those days as part of a continuum that later culminated in the Citizens United, Shelby, and McCutcheon decisions - a kind of scorched earth, "if you can't beat'em, cheat'em" approach to politics that has actually worked very well for the extremists in this country.

Between this neo-fascist wave here at home and the ethnic cleansing in Palestine (something he's worked so hard for 40 years to try to prevent, as you know), it must indeed take a lot for him to keep his chin up.

Thanks again, Rhiannon. Have a good Sunday.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. If you've enjoyed his other writings, you'll love this one!

It's quite comprehensive, starts with his boyhood during the depression and chronicles his experiences (and opinions) through the present day (2014). I have the audio book (read by the author himself! ), got it for my birthday last year, and I've listened to it in my car if I have to travel any distance. He really has led a fascinating life, think it was disc #5 before he even got to his presidential run, LOL.

And he did talk about his first run for state office - when he challenged the results and the missing votes were found in a box under the bed of the daughter of the party boss of his opponent. He talks a lot about Miss Lillian and how she kept saying "Jimmy is so naive..."

As for what he must think now, it's got to hurt him deeply. He says many times that his agenda - always - was to promote equal rights everywhere. *sigh*

I thought I knew quite a bit about him, but he goes into detail on so much - his boyhood, his Navy career, his family, his life experiences over the years and those he admires and who inspired him - and his opinions on current issues. I realize now that I agree with him on issues I hadn't even considered before...

And thanks for the tip. After listening to this latest twice through, I was looking for a second work of his to get next. He really has been quite prolific.

Wishing you a decent Sunday, as well, and a belated welcome to DU!

[tenorly]

14. Thanks for the excellent review, and for the warm welcome!

Here's to you:

[Rhiannon12866]

15. Thank you!

You've come to the right place at exactly the right time!

[elleng]

8. 'Thanks.'

They've clearly known about 'framing' for a long time, and have been USING it to their advantage.

[tenorly]

12. Hatred, unfortunately, sells.

Fascists around the world have understood this for decades; for them it was simply a matter of getting corporate elites on board (which they did, for the most part).

[dalton99a]

9. Is Uday or Qusay not available?

[BlueMTexpat]

10. I don't know whether

to laugh or to cry anymore.

I had imagined the worst with Trump. But my bar apparently wasn't low enough.