President Donald Trump begins an all-out diplomatic sprint this week with his national security team in flux and his anger boiling over at the special counsel’s Russia investigation.
But it also arrives as Trump remains preoccupied with an encroaching Russia investigation, growing angrier and angrier at the widening circle of his advisers and confidants caught in Robert Mueller’s web. The latest was his private attorney Michael Cohen, whose office and hotel room were raided by the FBI on Monday.
The ambient presence of the Russia investigation has distracted Trump as a major schedule of summits and negotiations looms. The talks begin Tuesday with the emir of Qatar and proceed at a rapid pace toward a possible meeting next month with North Korea’s dictator.
Trump enters the meetings with no permanent secretary of state and a new national security adviser, John Bolton, whose arrival to the West Wing has led to uncertainty and concern among some of Trump’s aides. One of Trump’s top staffers, homeland security adviser Tom Bossert, was pushed out on Tuesday. His national security spokesman Michael Anton departed earlier in the week.
Already, one of Trump’s major diplomatic efforts has been scrapped. The White House said on Tuesday that Trump would forgo a planned trip to South America, set to begin on Friday, to remain in the United States as he plans a response to an alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria and « to monitor developments around the world. »
Officials said the rush of meetings has White House advisers working overtime to prepare the President, who has a notoriously short attention span. On Monday, his national security team was consumed with consultations over how to respond to the suspected Syria attack, even as aides continued to prepare briefing materials for the President’s upcoming talks.
Trump himself has spoken by phone with foreign leaders on most days over the past week as his diplomatic efforts scale up, including intensive conversations with French President Emmanuel Macron over a Syria response.
The President has told his associates recently that he’s grown more confident in his talks with foreign leaders, according to people familiar with the conversations. Describing himself as the consummate negotiator, Trump has said he is now more comfortable on the global stage having served as president for more than a year. He remains highly attuned to interpersonal dynamics, people who speak with him say, and believes his ability to alternately charm or intimidate his foreign counterparts is the key to diplomatic success.
In private conversations, Trump has recounted in detail the lavish welcomes that leaders offered him in Riyadh, Paris and Beijing, suggesting the state pageantry reflected his standing on the global stage. He’s hailed his own ability to cultivate leaders like China’s Xi Jinping, even as the US and China exchange tit-for-tat tariffs that could lead to a trade war.
« He is pretty good at negotiating, » said Trump’s new chief economist, Larry Kudlow, on CNN’s « State of the Union. » « But he is also pretty good at standing his ground. »
Diplomatic calendar
The crowded diplomatic calendar begins Tuesday with the Qatari emir, who is among the Persian Gulf leaders Trump has pressed to contribute more to regional stabilization efforts. The President also hopes to patch up a bitter regional dispute among the Gulf states that’s gripped the region for months.
Next week in Florida, he will sit for talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who rushed to arrange a meeting amid differences over North Korea.
Trump next returns to Washington to host his first state visit for France’s Macron, a test of his hospitality but also his willingness to bend on issues like Syria, Iran and trade.
