BAK
JF-Expert Member
- Feb 11, 2007
- 124,790
- 288,124
Amsterdam, Netherlands (CNN)
Not a day goes by in the Netherlands without President Donald Trump making news. If you're an American traveling overseas, you have likely been buttonholed by locals asking you to explain what is going on with the new administration. The local news carries clips of Trump attacking the media, disparaging NATO or falsely suggesting a terrorist attack just occurred in Sweden. At the same time, top Cabinet officials are making the rounds in Europe, appearing to contradict the President on the most basic matters of foreign policy.
This is precisely the type of situation into which the US Department of State -- America's foreign ministry -- would normally step in and allay confusion, make sense of the mixed signals and explain to the world precisely where the United States stands.
Oddly, the State Department has gone mum.
The last time the State Department held its "daily briefing" was January 19. That might as well have been another century.
Who, exactly, is running US foreign policy? (Opinion) - CNN.com
Not a day goes by in the Netherlands without President Donald Trump making news. If you're an American traveling overseas, you have likely been buttonholed by locals asking you to explain what is going on with the new administration. The local news carries clips of Trump attacking the media, disparaging NATO or falsely suggesting a terrorist attack just occurred in Sweden. At the same time, top Cabinet officials are making the rounds in Europe, appearing to contradict the President on the most basic matters of foreign policy.
This is precisely the type of situation into which the US Department of State -- America's foreign ministry -- would normally step in and allay confusion, make sense of the mixed signals and explain to the world precisely where the United States stands.
Oddly, the State Department has gone mum.
The last time the State Department held its "daily briefing" was January 19. That might as well have been another century.
Who, exactly, is running US foreign policy? (Opinion) - CNN.com