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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsSydney Morning Herald: "World be warned-Trumps conversations not private & his word, unreliable"
The corollary point is that Trump is the Mad King: volatile, vainglorious, and untrustworthy. Turnbull is right to handle him with kid gloves.
Australian government sources confirm the Washington Posts story is substantially correct. Trump was angry, did describe the Obama deal as the worst hed seen, and did treat the Australian leader with contempt.
But Turnbull persisted.
Presumably someone who stood up to Margaret Thatcher, Kerry Packer, and Conrad Black has seen bravado and alpha-male bullying before.
Heroically, the government still hopes to salvage its deal over the 1250 refugees, despite equivocations and a bizarre tweet by Trump on Thursday afternoon which appears to have all but killed it off.
The pre-eminent danger now is not this precarious deal, but the risk of sustained damage to the US-Australian relationship.
Trump is now gainsaying his own private commitments, via Twitter. This is an extraordinary situation and one that is almost impossible to manage. American prestige is on the line.
World leaders be warned: Trumps conversations are not private and his word, unreliable.
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/malcolm-turnbulls-approach-vindicated-by-president-donald-trumps-madness-20170202-gu3yjp.html
BSdetect
(8,989 posts)What a colossal craphead twitler is.
cilla4progress
(24,585 posts)With the election of this monstrosity. Putin has every reason to gloat.
matt819
(10,749 posts)Trumbull, Merkel et al should get on the phone to their counterparts around the world and say three things:
Do not accept phone calls from Trump.
No state visits
Threaten to limit/reduce US presence in their countries. Let's face it, these countries are going to be on their own anyway in the event of an external threat.
Someone, somewhere has to show some spine and stand up to our rogue government. In the same way that Reuters is advising its reporters to treat the US as an authoritarian regime, our (former, and maybe future) allies have to treat the US regime the same way.
PA Democrat
(13,225 posts)the Australian government was the source of the leak. "Alternative facts" once again.
Cracklin Charlie
(12,904 posts)For saying what needs to be said.
That's what allies do.
TheDebbieDee
(11,119 posts)Any classified info. He's got a big mouth and everyone in his office leaks!