As though the political, military, and trade conflicts taking our world by storm were not enough, we are constantly being flooded with a rage of verbal conflicts, actions and reactions, some wise, others mischievous. Ever since Donald Trump became President of the US on 20 January 2025, we have been up to our necks in shocking, hostile, provocative statements and decisions emanating from the White House. Many in the world see it as Trump picking fights with the global family, be that friends, allies or foes. He appears to not think twice before launching verbal missiles, boasting of plans to destroy anything and everything, deluding himself into believing he is serving America’s strategic interests. In fact, he is destroying these interests, shattering the US’s strongest relations and alliances. Self-evidently, his words and deeds trigger waves of response, some wise, others malicious. Today I present samples of such so-called “diplomatic exchanges”; some are rational and warrant appreciation, others are impulsive and have earned the backlash they got.
I start with President Trump’s declarations regarding the imperativeness of ending the Russia Ukraine War, which is fine had he not coupled it with the “futility” of the US remaining in NATO and, consequently, its intention of possibly pulling out. This would leave the EU with the full burden of financing, arming, and fighting its battles alone. President Trump then hosted the Ukrainian President Zelensky at the White House, and engaged in a stormy media battle with him, which ended with sending Zelensky out of the White House and throwing him into the arms of EU. The US neither coordinated nor consulted with the EU on this, yet it declared it would stop supporting and financing the Ukrainian war, and leave that to the European bloc. This enraged the two poles of the group, Germany and France, and sparked reactions condemning this unilateral move, especially since successive US administrations are seen to be the ones to blame for fuelling NATO’s harassment of Russia with continued threats to its borders. Hence, the US’s withdrawal from the conflict, leaving the European bloc alone, sparked European reactions calling for the inevitability of independence from the US, and working to establish European military capabilities that would create independence for European political decision-making in the face of international challenges.
So far, the matter looked like some normal political development. Yet it took another turn when French politician Raphaël Glucksmann, member of the European Parliament, responded by asking the US to give back to France the Statue of Liberty; Mr Glucksmann said: “It was our gift to you [140 years ago]. But you apparently despise it.” This is an example of “mischief” diplomacy which rushes to blow matters out of proportion. No one in his or her right mind can judge or penalise the American people for declarations made by a wild president. Reclaiming the Statue of Liberty would be stripping the people of the US of a great historic symbol, an emblem of its freedom. Mr Glucksmann has earned the reaction he deserved when the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “It’s only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now… So they should be very grateful to our great country.” Ms Leavitt was referring to the US role in defeating Nazi Germany during WWII; the US entered WWII with the Normandy landings, invading southwest Europe and ousting Nazi German forces from Spain and France. Nazi Germany was eliminated and the independence of European countries, led by France, was ensured. It is unthinkable to prettily resolve transient differences by bringing historical facts into question.
On the other hand, “wise” diplomacy takes me to Trump’s harassment of Canada; he allowed himself to pounce on it suggesting he would make it the 51st State in the United States of America. This spurred shock the world over, starting with Canada itself which I am happy to note was rational in its response and did not get dragged into impulsiveness.
In fact, in response to the blanket 25 per cent tariffs that President Trump imposed on Canada and Mexico, Canada’s then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Today, the United States launched a trade war against Canada, their closest partner and ally, their closest friend… Canadians are reasonable, and we are polite. But we will not back down from a fight, not win our country… The US tariffs came into effect in the early hours of this morning, and so did the Canadian response. Canada will be implementing 25 per cent tariffs against USD155 billion worth of American goods… There are no winners in a trade war. I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don’t want this. We want to work with you as a friend and ally, and we don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you… They’ve chosen to launch a trade war that will, first and foremost, harm American families.”
On the same issue, CNN’s Christiane Amanpour talked to Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly. Ms Joly said: “This is completely unjustified and unjustifiable coming from the Trump administration. Canada is the biggest trading partner to the US. We’re the biggest client. We buy more from American businesses than the UK, France, China and Japan combined. So when President Trump actually imposes 25 per cent tariffs against our economy and starts a trade war, he is actually going after his own American people, because this will cost more for them at the pump, at the grocery store, or when they buy a new house or they want to do renovations. So this will drive the cost of things and products and cost of living in the US. And it will actually also hurt a lot of jobs in the US…. [Trump is] going against the very trade agreement that has bounced for many, many years… So my point is this: We need to make sure that we are able to bring back certainty… But while doing that, and of course being in charge of the Canadian diplomacy, I’ll be working on off ramps. We’ll find a way to get through this… But we are standing strong in Canada, because Trump administration has not only put trade as an issue on the table, they’ve been presenting many other things, including military cooperation, security and intelligence cooperation, water cooperation. And I could go on and on and on… We will make sure that the very targets of this trade war, the American people are very much aware of and are putting pressure on the President that is doing all of that to them and to us… We never started this. We’re close to the American people. We’re their neighbours. We’re their best friends. We’re their partners. So we have many families and friends on the other side of the border. And we know that the American people don’t agree with what President Trump says. We’ve heard it. So many of them have apologised for all the rhetoric that is coming out of the White House on this.”
As I already mentioned, we find ourselves before two types of response to President Trump’s reckless declarations. One tackles his wild announcements by settling historical accounts between two nations; this is what I see as “mischief diplomacy” which has paid the price of its rashness. The other type keeps matters under control, choosing to defend its national dignity and strategic interests without jeopardising precious time-honoured relations, realising that the President will one day go, but the peoples remain. This is “wise diplomacy”.
Watani International
28 March 2025
