May 24, 2017

NATO Prepares to Be Disappointed by the Cheshire Cat President

The hysteria that now surrounds the Donald Trump presidency has blown the NATO mini-summit out of the water. Allies who once were looking forward to Thursday’s summit for reassurance that the U.S. president supported a U.S. role in Europe will instead come just to see firsthand the spectacle that Trump has become. Whispers of obstruction of justice and impeachment have badly battered the credibility of the president and weakened him. Allies look to the United States for strong leadership. The summit will showcase instead a U.S. leadership in doubt.

At one time, the main outcome of the summit was set to be a family photo of 29 heads of state or government, including Trump, standing together with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. This photo would signify unity, strength, and the end of Trump’s doubts about NATO. Instead, the photo will become a curiosity, and all who view it will wonder if Trump will show up in the next family photo.

Read the full article in Foreign Policy.

  • Video
    • November 21, 2024
    RUSI Recording: The Impact of the U.S. Presidential Election on European Security

    Jim Townsend, an adjunct senior fellow in the CNAS Transatlantic Security Program, joins RUSI to discuss the impact the next US presidential administration will have on NATO, ...

    By Jim Townsend

  • Commentary
    • Sharper
    • November 20, 2024
    Sharper: Trump 2.0

    Donald Trump's return to the White House is widely expected to reshape America's global priorities. With personnel choices and policy agendas that mark a significant break fro...

    By Charles Horn & Gwendolyn Nowaczyk

  • Podcast
    • November 20, 2024
    More Escalation in Ukraine: British Missiles and U.S. Land Mines

    Jim Townsend, adjunct senior fellow in the Center for a New American Security Transatlantic Security Program, joins to discuss British long-range missiles and U.S. land mines ...

    By Jim Townsend

  • Podcast
    • November 15, 2024
    What Trump Means for Europe with the Eurofile Podcast

    For this special edition episode of Brussels Sprouts, Andrea Kendall-Taylor and Jim Townsend join forces with The Eurofile from the Center for Strategic and International Stud...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia