For Trump, no qualms in embracing autocratic leaders

[geronl]

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump congratulated Turkey's president for sweeping up more power. He hailed Egypt's strongman leader as a "fantastic guy." When China's president visited, Trump touted a burgeoning friendship and made no public mention of Beijing's dismal human rights record.

Since taking office, Trump has displayed a striking willingness to embrace autocrats as potential partners in his "America First" agenda, even if it means ignoring their heavy-handed tactics and repression at home. It's a posture he also took toward Russian President Vladimir Putin until a dispute over Syria led him last week to declare U.S.-Russian ties at an "all-time low."

Trump is hardly the first U.S. president willing to look the other way in dealings with governments that flout democratic values. For decades, Republican and Democratic administrations have cooperated closely with Saudi Arabia and China. President Barack Obama opened new diplomatic channels with Iran and Cuba, despite concerns about their repressive rulers.

But rarely are U.S. presidents as warm and unabashed about their relationships with autocrats.

excerpt
http://www.wvva.com/story/35181525/for-trump-no-qualms-in-embracing-autocratic-leaders

[Frank Cannon]

But rarely are U.S. presidents as warm and unabashed about their relationships with autocrats.

Thanks AP for your Hate Trump Commie Pinko point of view but you can get bent. This is not rare and is actually normal for US foreign policy for generations....

[LateForLunch]

Using the term "embracing" is a little unfair Geronl. Giving a few facile compliments is not what I would exactly call "embracing".

Politicians / business people being complementary to people they don't necessarily like is a time-honored tradition. It has strategic value, because it makes it more difficult for the subject being glad-handed to attack the person giving the compliments.

In Erdogan's case, the Trump administration already thumped Edrogan pretty hard by steadfastly refusing to turn over a dissident living in the USA to Turkish authorities trying to extradite him back to Turkey on accusations that he directly conspired and participated in the recent failed coup there.

Also, Erdogan is a duplicitous leader who is hated by as many (or more) Turks than support him, so Trump's fairly tame niceties will very likely be perceived as exactly what they are - part of a strategery (sic) which includes both the carrot (nice) and the stick (naughty). Muslim nations understand that the president is sort of a sovereign and that one does not as a rule insult the sovereign without running the risk of being seen as insulting the nation itself.

The language of diplomacy is often not really the same one as the language of every day conversation. If the US acts against Erdogan at some point in the future, DJT's niceness will make his change in attitude seem even more dramatic at that time.

The dynamics are part of the strategery (sic).