Trump stokes fears of how he'd handle real crisis

[babylonsister]

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/13/trump-crisis-management-238345?lo=ap_d1

Trump stokes fears of how he'd handle real crisis
After chaotic, self-inflicted week many fear chaos Trump can't control.
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
05/13/17 07:17 AM EDT


So, what if there’s a real crisis?

A real war — not a war with the media, or James Comey. A real showdown — not a political showdown. A real surprise that’s out of the White House’s control — not a situation of President Donald Trump’s own making that spins out of control because the president and his inner circle sprung a decision on an unprepared staff. But what if there’s a real crisis?

Something, and likely more than one thing, is inevitable, because he’s the leader of the country and the free world, and something always does. And Trump’s behavior, chaotic management style and carefree careening through too many versions of what happened this week for any of them to have credibility has people throughout politics and national security terrified.

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No one knows whether Trump’s statements or those of his aides can be trusted. The president himself reinforced the uncertainty during his Friday morning Twitter flurry, writing, “it is not possible for my surrogates to stand at podium with perfect accuracy.”

Imagine, critics wonder, if there’s another shooting like the one in San Bernardino, when the information about connections to ISIS was hazy and for days incomplete. Imagine if there’s more than needling missile tests from North Korea, and a sudden threat that requires the president to call on America and its allies to join with him.

“By having so many false, misleading statements, what it does is it now makes it hard for members of Congress, and even the judiciary, to trust what this administration says,” said Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), who sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee. “That is a massive problem when you don’t then have time to react, as in a crisis. If a crisis deals with people outside the United States, you have foreign leaders who now don’t trust the president either.”

Add to that the lack of structure. Four months in, Trump hasn’t named a director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Top positions throughout the Pentagon and State Department are empty, as is the case across the government.

After recalling all the Obama-era ambassadors, Trump has only one ambassador confirmed, and most not even nominated, including trying to send former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman to Moscow. White House aides told reporters at the beginning of March Huntsman had accepted, though no paperwork has been filed with the Senate.

more...

http://www.politico.com/story/2017/05/13/trump-crisis-management-238345?lo=ap_d1

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Plus how allies, or neutral countries, are going to have to treat him

“This administration has telegraphed a very transactional foreign policy, but they need to understand that a transactional foreign policy only works if other countries think you’re going to keep your word,” Murphy said. “This loose association with the truth has real consequences for a foreign policy that’s going to be based on truth.”