Pompeo on Trump's diplomatic crisis: 'There are always irritants in relationships'

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post



By Philip Rucker
June 11 at 7:04 AM

SINGAPORE — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday he is “unconcerned” about the diplomatic crisis caused by President Trump’s adversarial trade posture with America’s closest Western allies and his extraordinary insults directed at the Canadian prime minister.

Pompeo played down the rift over Trump’s behavior during and after last week’s Group of Seven summit in Canada, which left allies shocked and dismayed. The top U.S. diplomat said he is confident that partnerships with such countries as Canada, France, Germany and Britain will endure despite the current strains. “There are always irritants in relationships,” Pompeo told reporters at a news conference here in Singapore, where Trump is preparing to meet Tuesday for the first time with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

“I’m very confident the relationships between our countries, the United States and those G-7 countries, will continue to move forward on a strong basis,” Pompeo said. “I’m unconcerned about our capacity to continue to do what we need to do.”

But Pompeo stopped short of offering words of support for Canada or any other ally. And after being asked directly whether he agreed with a fellow Trump administration official that there was a “special place in hell” for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Pompeo demurred, declining to disavow the inflammatory statement made Sunday by White House trade adviser Peter Navarro.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pompeo-on-trumps-diplomatic-crisis-there-are-always-irritants-in-relationships/2018/06/11/78e56a54-6d5e-11e8-bf86-a2351b5ece99_story.html

[PatSeg]

1. Unless that relationship is with Putin

Though it seems to me the irritant in this case was Trump.

[Fred Sanders]

2. Trump has already formed a G2...and we all see it. Even his Cult does...but does not care.

Republican politicians? Scared as shit of the Cult and Fox and hiding in their Foxholes.

[PatSeg]

3. Yes, that's the problem

And Trump had his base figured out way before most of us did. Even he seemed surprised during the campaign, that there was no limit to what he could do or say and still maintain his voters' support. Sometimes it felt like he was playing with that concept, like a new toy, saying the most outrageous things possible and still getting applause.

Then the mainstream republican politicians gave up resisting him and joined the madness. Apparently, there is no bottom for them. We are seeing things that I'd never dreamed possible in our country.

[lagomorph777]

4. The irritant is always Trump.

[PatSeg]

5. Yes

He seems to pride himself in being the irritant. Now as president, he can do it on a world-wide stage.

[lagomorph777]

6. A global hemorrhoid.

[PatSeg]

7. Can't top that!

[olegramps]

10. Pompeo is a racist fat slob. He called Obama a muslim and a communist.

He has all the evil qualities that Trump and his fellow Republican Fascists admire.

[PatSeg]

11. Yeah

A tad smarter than Trump, but rotten to the core.

[yurbud]

8. the only countries he hasn't pissed off are Israel, Russia, and the ones he doesn't know exist

[Bernardo de La Paz]

9. Trump failures at diplomacy a la G6+1 are not normal. . . . nt