The Straits Times (October 24)
“It will almost certainly turn out that Britain was more powerful—with more sovereignty—when it was part of a large organisation with international clout.” Following Brexit, the UK will likely be isolated, “with far fewer allies. British consumers, workers and entrepreneurs will pay the price.” But the UK’s fall should provide the rest of the world with a valuable lesson. “The sight of Britain’s sudden banishment to a world where you are better off dealing with cousins will be a useful tonic for everybody else.”
Tags: Allies, Banishment, Brexit, Clout, Consumers, Entrepreneurs, Lesson, Powerful, Price, Sovereignty, UK, Useful, Workers
Washington Post (July 4)
“Trump’s most unpardonable offense isn’t his implied threat to members of the fourth estate but his minimizing of the nation’s stature in the world. Our allies must shudder while our enemies devise new ways to celebrate…. We look like fools because our president so convincingly plays one.”
Washington Post (May 18)
“Nothing could be more disconcerting to allies than dealing with an impulsive, ignorant president — one whose future is far from certain…. The 100-day mark was the end of the beginning of Trump’s term. The appointment of a special prosecutor just four months into his presidency might be seen as the beginning of the end.”
Tags: Allies, Beginning, Disconcerting, End, Ignorant, Impulsive, Special prosecutor, Term
USA Today (May 4)
Kim Jong Un “governs the cruelest and most tyrannical regime in the world, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea…. And President Trump would be honored to meet him.” Trump also called the tyrant “a pretty smart cookie” since “at a very young age, he was able to assume power.” Kim Jong Un is a disgrace. To host him “in the nation’s capitol would be unacceptable, because it would give him undeserved approbation and put his rogue nation on an equal footing with our allies.”
Tags: Allies, Cruelest, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Regime, Rogue, Trump, Tyrannical
New York Times (April 17)
Donald Trump is finally paying attention to North Korea, “but not in a helpful way. His intemperate talk is adding to regional tensions, unnerving allies and likely reinforcing North Korea’s longstanding fear that it could one day be attacked by America.” Trump should avoid letting “overconfidence and bombast, expressed in tweets and public statements, box him into some kind of showdown with the North’s ruthless leader, Kim Jong-un, who has displayed similarly macho traits.”
Tags: Allies, Fear, Intemperate, Kim Jong Un, North Korea, Overconfidence, Regional tension, Trump, U.S.
The Economist (January 28)
The upcoming White House visit by the UK’s Prime Minister will be “a study in awkwardness: the mother superior dropping in on the Playboy Mansion.” Theresa May is not a natural fan of the Donald. “So why is Mrs May hurrying to Washington? Because Brexit compels Britain’s leaders to show that the country has powerful allies.” She “is desperate to line up a Britain-America trade deal that can be closed as soon as Brexit takes place, probably in 2019.”
Tags: Allies, Awkwardness, Brexit, Desperate, Prime minister, Theresa May, Trade deal, UK, Visit, White House
The Economist (November 12)
Trump’s election “threatens old certainties about America and its role in the world.” America’s allies have been rocked by “the sense that old certainties are crumbling…. The fear that globalisation has fallen flat has whipsawed markets. Although post-Brexit Britons know what that feels like, the referendum in Britain will be eclipsed by consequences of this election. Mr Trump’s victory has demolished a consensus. The question now is what takes its place.”
Tags: Allies, Brexit, Certainties, Consensus, Election, Fear, Globalization, Markets, Trump, U.S.
Washington Post (August 26)
“To appreciate what’s at stake for the world in this year’s U.S. presidential election, it’s useful to visit a place such as Australia that has been one of our most faithful allies.” Laid back Australians are “mortified at what’s happening in American politics.” Only 11% support Trump (versus 77% for Clinton) and, “most amazing, in a country that has backed every U.S. military action for a century, 59 percent of Australians say their country shouldn’t join in U.S. military action if Trump is elected.”
Washington Post (July 12)
“China is increasingly asserting itself as a great power, and nowhere is its rise more likely to lead to war than in the South China Sea” where tensions have been rising with nations who dispute China’s claims. “These tensions are likely only to increase in the wake of the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling Tuesday undermining China’s claims and bolstering those of the Philippines, one of the closest U.S. allies in the region.” We have not escaped from “perilous waters.” In fact, “China is more prepared for a confrontation than Western experts may expect.”
Tags: Allies, China, Claims, Confrontation, Dispute, Perilous, Philippines, South China Sea, Tensions, U.S., War
Washington Post (June 24)
“British voters have defied the will of their leaders, foreign allies and much of the political establishment by opting to rupture this country’s primary connection to Europe in a stunning result that will radiate economic and political uncertainty across the globe.”
Tags: Allies, Establishment, Europe, Leaders, Stunning, UK, Uncertainty, Voters
